Bundt pan substitutes
Bundt pan substitutes — 6 options, ranked
Also called fluted tube pan, Bundt cake pan, ring cake pan, kugelhopf pan
Use Tube pan
A 10-inch tube pan (angel food pan) is the closest swap: it has the same center tube, holds about 16 cups, and bakes a Bundt recipe in about the same time, with smooth sides in place of the flutes. Without one, divide the batter between two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans (8 cups each) and start checking at 40 minutes, or use a 9 x 13-inch pan (about 14 cups) and start checking at 30 minutes. For monkey bread, a 9 x 13-inch pan or a tube pan set on a baking sheet both work.
- Verdict —
- Works
- The tweak —
- Grease and flour the pan, including the tube. If the pan is two-piece, set it on a rimmed baking sheet, and for a thin batter wrap the outside of the base in foil. Bake at the recipe's temperature and time.
- Best for —
- pound cake and coffee cake
Updated 8 Oct 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the bundt pan doing?
Pick your caseWhat is going in the pan?
Keep the batter shallow or keep the tube. A tube pan bakes it as written. Two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans are the next best; start checking at 40 minutes.
Notes on tube pan or two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans
A 9 x 13-inch pan takes the whole recipe; start checking at 30 minutes. Two 9-inch rounds make a layer cake; start checking at 25 minutes.
Notes on 9 x 13-inch pan, two 9-inch round cake pans or muffin tin
A 9 x 13-inch pan gives one layer of dough balls that bakes in 25 to 30 minutes at 350°F. For the ring shape, use a tube pan on a baking sheet or a deep round pan with a ramekin in the center.
Notes on 9 x 13-inch pan, tube pan, round pan with a ramekin in the center or two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans
For butter cakes and coffee cakes the two are interchangeable if the volume fits: check that the batter fills the Bundt no more than three-quarters. Angel food cake is the exception; see the cases below.
A Bundt pan solves a heat problem. Bundt recipes are large, dense, buttery batters, 10 to 12 cups of pan, that would be burnt outside and raw inside in a plain deep pan. The tube puts hot metal in the middle so no part of the cake is more than about 2 inches from the pan. The flutes add crust and the look. A substitute has to keep the batter from being too deep, with a tube, or by splitting it between pans, or by spreading it in a shallow one, and has to hold the same volume.
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of bundt pan | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tube panpound cake and coffee cake | See notesWorks | Works |
| 2 | Two 9 x 5-inch loaf panspound cake | See notesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | 9 x 13-inch pancoffee cake and snack cakes | See notesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Two 9-inch round cake panslighter butter cakes | See notesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Round pan with a ramekin in the centermonkey bread | See notesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | Muffin tincupcakes from a Bundt batter | See notesYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| Not a swap | One loaf pan for the whole recipe | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
| Not a swap | Glass mixing bowl | not a swapNot for this | Not for this |
Tube pan
similar taste and texture
The straight-sided angel food pan has the same center tube, so a deep batter bakes through the same way.
- Best for
- pound cake and coffee cake, monkey bread, any 10- to 12-cup Bundt recipe
- Prep
- Grease and flour the pan, including the tube. If the pan is two-piece, set it on a rimmed baking sheet, and for a thin batter wrap the outside of the base in foil. Bake at the recipe's temperature and time.
A 10-inch tube pan holds about 16 cups, more than a Bundt, so the cake sits lower in the pan. The sides are plain, with no fluted pattern. Two-piece pans leak thin batter and melted butter and sugar from monkey bread.
Two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans
similar taste · similar, with more top crust
Two loaf pans together hold about 16 cups, and the narrow shape lets a dense batter bake through without a tube.
- Best for
- pound cake, banana and zucchini cakes, monkey bread, dense, buttery batters
- Prep
- Grease the pans and line each with a strip of parchment that hangs over the long sides. Divide the batter evenly, filling each pan no more than two-thirds full. Bake at the recipe's temperature and start checking at 40 minutes.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
Each 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan holds about 8 cups; an 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch pan holds about 6, so two of those may not take a full 12-cup recipe. Do not put the whole recipe in one pan. The loaves dome and crack along the top, which is normal.
9 x 13-inch pan
similar taste · lighter and a little drier at the edges
Holds a full Bundt recipe in one shallow layer, which bakes faster and is cut in squares.
- Best for
- coffee cake and snack cakes, monkey bread, cakes that will be frosted or glazed in the pan
- Prep
- Grease the pan or line it with parchment. Bake at the recipe's temperature and start checking at 30 minutes; a toothpick in the center should come out with a few dry crumbs.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
A 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan holds about 14 cups, so it takes a 10- to 12-cup recipe with room to rise. The layer is about 2 inches deep, not 4, so it has more crust for its size and dries out if baked for the Bundt time. It is served from the pan, not turned out.
Two 9-inch round cake pans
similar taste · more crust, slightly drier
Splits the batter into two shallow layers that can be stacked and filled.
- Best for
- lighter butter cakes, cake-mix Bundt recipes, layer cakes
- Prep
- Grease the pans and line the bases with parchment rounds. Fill each no more than two-thirds full, bake at the recipe's temperature, and start checking at 25 minutes.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
A 9 x 2-inch round holds about 8 cups, but a 1 ½-inch-deep pan holds only 6, and two of those are too small for a full 12-cup recipe; bake the extra as cupcakes. A dense pound cake makes a heavy layer cake, so this suits lighter batters better.
Round pan with a ramekin in the center
similar taste and texture
An oven-safe ramekin set in the middle of a deep round pan stands in for the tube and gives a ring-shaped cake.
- Best for
- monkey bread, ring-shaped coffee cakes, pull-apart breads
- Prep
- Use a round pan or Dutch oven at least 3 inches deep and 9 to 10 inches across. Grease the outside of an oven-safe ramekin, stand it in the center, fill it with dried beans or rice so it stays put, and arrange the batter or dough around it. Twist the ramekin out after the cake has cooled 10 minutes.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
The ramekin can float or shift in a thin batter, so this suits dough and thick batters. Use only a ramekin or cup marked oven-safe; a drinking glass can shatter and food cans have linings that are not made for baking. Check the pan's volume with water and fill it no more than two-thirds full.
Muffin tin
similar taste · more crust, drier sooner
Bakes the batter as cupcakes or the dough as individual pull-apart portions.
- Best for
- cupcakes from a Bundt batter, individual monkey breads, small tea cakes
- Prep
- Line or grease the cups and fill each two-thirds full. Bake at 350°F and start checking at 18 minutes. A full Bundt recipe makes about 24 standard cupcakes.
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
This is a different cake in shape, with much more crust for the amount of crumb, and it stales faster. Dense pound cake batters make heavy cupcakes that barely dome.
One loaf pan for the whole recipe
not applicable
A full 10- to 12-cup Bundt recipe poured into a single 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- Best for
- half a Bundt recipe only
- Texture
- raw center, burnt top
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
One loaf pan holds about 8 cups to the rim, so a full recipe overflows in the oven and the middle is still raw when the top is dark. Use two loaf pans, or bake half the recipe in one.
Glass mixing bowl
not applicable
A deep glass or ceramic mixing bowl used as a cake pan.
- Best for
- nothing unless it is marked oven-safe
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
A bowl that is not marked oven-safe can shatter in the oven. Even an oven-safe bowl is deep with no tube, so a full recipe of dense batter stays raw in the center long after the outside is done.
Don’t swap it here
2 cases- Angel food or chiffon cake in a greased or nonstick Bundt pan.Use an ungreased two-piece tube pan, or bake the batter in an ungreased 9 x 13-inch pan and cool it upside down with the corners resting on four cans.
- A full Bundt recipe in any single deep pan without a tube.Split the batter between two pans or spread it in a 9 x 13-inch pan.
Questions
6 questionsWhat can I use instead of a Bundt pan?
A 10-inch tube pan is the closest. Otherwise use two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, a 9 x 13-inch pan, or two 9-inch round pans. Keep the oven temperature the same and check early: about 40 minutes for loaf pans, 30 for a 9 x 13 and 25 for rounds.
What is a substitute for a Bundt pan for monkey bread?
A 9 x 13-inch pan, with the dough balls in a single layer, baked at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes until the center pieces are cooked through. For a ring, use a tube pan set on a baking sheet, or a deep 9- or 10-inch round pan with a greased, oven-safe ramekin in the middle. Two loaf pans also work.
Is a tube pan the same as a Bundt pan?
Both have a center tube. A tube pan has tall, straight, plain sides and often a removable base, and holds about 16 cups; a Bundt pan is fluted, one piece, and holds 10 to 12. Butter cakes move between them freely. Angel food cake needs the ungreased straight-sided tube pan.
What can I use instead of a tube pan?
For a butter cake or coffee cake, a Bundt pan, as long as the batter fills it no more than three-quarters. For angel food cake, an ungreased 9 x 13-inch pan or two ungreased loaf pans, cooled upside down; the cake will be shorter.
Can I bake a Bundt cake in a 9 x 13 pan?
Yes. A 9 x 13 x 2-inch pan holds about 14 cups, enough for a 10- to 12-cup Bundt recipe. Bake at the same temperature and start checking at 30 minutes. The cake is shallower, with more crust, and is served from the pan.
How long do I bake a Bundt cake recipe in loaf pans?
Start checking at 40 minutes at the recipe's temperature. Most take 45 to 55 minutes in two 9 x 5-inch pans, a little less than the 55 to 65 minutes a Bundt usually takes, but batters vary, so go by a toothpick in the center.
Tips for substituting bundt pan
5 tips- Measure the pan with water before you start. Fill it to the rim from a measuring cup: a standard Bundt holds 10 to 12 cups, a 9 x 13-inch pan about 14, a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan about 8.
- Fill any pan no more than two-thirds full for a cake that rises, and bake extra batter in muffin cups.
- Keep the oven temperature the recipe gives and change the time. Shallower pans finish sooner: start checking 15 to 25 minutes before the Bundt time.
- Go by the cake, not the clock: a toothpick from the center comes out with a few dry crumbs, and the edges pull slightly from the pan.
- Put a rimmed baking sheet under a two-piece tube pan or a very full pan. Monkey bread syrup that drips onto the oven floor smokes.