Duncan Hines is thinking outside the cake box with these new crumble bar mixes.
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Duncan Hines is one of those brands you don’t think too hard about. It’s simply there—the dependable box associated almost entirely with cake mix and straightforward, low-effort baking. So when the brand released a new product that doesn’t involve cake mix at all, it was always going to raise a few eyebrows.
I tested both mixes in the new line, and the defining characteristic was speed. From start to finish, the actual time spent in the kitchen was less than five minutes, with almost zero preparation required.
Duncan Hines Strawberry Flavored Crumble Bar Mix
Duncan Hines Blueberry Flavored Crumble Bar Mix
What are the new Duncan Hines mixes?
The company’s latest line of dessert mixes focuses not on cake, but on fruit crumble bars—a layered dessert that typically requires multiple components and a far bigger time commitment than just a few minutes.
The process is wonderfully simple. Inside the box are two packages: a dry mix and a fruit filling (either strawberry or blueberry). You start by combining the dry mix with 10 (yes, 10) tablespoons of melted butter, which creates a sandy, crumbly mixture that does double duty as both the crust and the topping. About two-thirds of that mixture is pressed into the pan to form the base, and is then covered by a layer of the fruit filling. The remaining crumble is scattered over the top. The bars then bake at 350°F until they’re set.
From opening the box to getting the pan into the oven took only a few minutes, with no additional ingredients to measure beyond the melted butter. The only adjustment I found necessary was the bake time. While the box suggests 26 to 30 minutes, both of my batches needed closer to 35 to 40 minutes for the center to fully set and the top to get any color.
How do they taste?
Once baked, the bars have a soft, slightly chewy base, a balanced fruit layer and a loose, oat-forward crumble on top. They land squarely in that familiar coffee cake territory—comforting rather than indulgent, with just enough sweetness to read as dessert without feeling heavy or cloying.
The topping doesn’t brown deeply—even with a longer bake time—so the visual payoff is more subtle than dramatic. But texturally, it works: The crumble stays tender rather than crisp, which makes the bars easy to slice and keeps them pleasantly soft once they’re fully cooled.
Between the two flavors, blueberry is the clear standout. It tastes brighter and more balanced, with a gentle tartness that cuts through the buttery crumble and keeps each bite from feeling one-note. The strawberry version is milder and sweeter, leaning more toward classic jam-bar territory.
What surprised me was how restrained the overall sweetness was in both flavors. These don’t have the sugary intensity you’d expect from a box mix, which was delightful. Instead, they’re simple, homey, and very easy to snack on—the kind of treat that disappears quickly from the kitchen counter.
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