Lime Jello Poke Cake is a super easy delicious cake that is light, fluffy and the perfect dessert for St. Patrick's Day. This simple cake recipe is a real crowd pleaser, perfect for potlucks or any special occasion.
Jump to:
We make this easy lime jello poke cake every year for St. Patrick's Day dessert. It's such an easy dessert because it starts out with a box of cake mix, and you use whipped topping for the frosting.
I love Jello poke cake recipes because you can customize them with different flavors, and they are perfect desserts for just about any occasion.
Try my red white and blue poke cake or Strawberry Poke Cake and find more easy desserts in my dessert recipes archives.
FAQ
It's called poke cake because you poke holes in the cake and fill the holes with Jell-o, syrup or pudding for decoration and flavor.
The best way to poke holes in a poke cake is with a large straw or the handle of a wooden spoon. The holes will be large enough to hold liquid so you can see the color when the cake is sliced.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients for this easy cake recipe. They should be easy to find in your grocery store.
- Box of vanilla cake mix -- and ingredients to make the cake, according to package directions
- Lime Jell-o -- or any brand lime gelatin
- Water -- to make the Jello
- Cool Whip -- or any whipped topping to frost the cake, thawed
- Festive Sprinkles -- I used St. Paddy's Day sprinkles
How to Make Lime Jello Poke Cake
First, make the cake and bake cake according to directions on the package. You will need a 9x13 cake pan for this recipe.
Allow the cake to cool down. It doesn't need to be completely cool, but it shouldn't be straight out of the oven.
Poke holes in the cake using a large drinking straw or the end of a wooden spoon.
Then, add the lime gelatin powder to a medium bowl. Pour in one cup hot water and mix until the gelatin dissolves. Then, mix in the half cup of cold water.
Pour the liquid Jello mixture evenly over the entire surface of the cake. You want to make sure all of the holes are filled with Jello.
Place the cake into the refrigerator and allow it to cool for 2 hours or until the Jello is absorbed.
You can even refrigerate the cake overnight if you need to make it ahead of time.
Spread the Cool Whip evenly over the top of the cake. A rubber spatula is perfect for this.
Then, add decorative sprinkles over the whipped topping. I found some cute Saint Patrick's Day sprinkles online, but you can use any green sprinkles or decorative green sugars.
Green, white and gold is the ideal color combo for this Irish holiday!
How to Store
Refrigerate this festive lemon lime Jello poke cake until you are ready to eat. Store leftover poke cake in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap for up to 3 days.
Recipe Variations
You can use a box of white cake mix, vanilla cake mix, yellow cake mix or lemon cake mix in this jello poke cake recipe.
Make a lemon lime poke cake using lemon cake mix. You can dust lime zest or a mix of lime and lemon zest over the cake instead of sprinkles. Fresh lime slices would be perfect for a lemon lime Jello cake!
Make homemade whipped cream and use that instead of Cool Whip. You can also use your favorite frosting here.
If you don't have a large drinking straw or wooden spoon, you can use a wooden skewer or a large fork or knife to poke holes in the cake.
Recipe
Lime Jello Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 3 oz box lime Jello
- 1 cup boiling water
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 8 oz tub whipped topping, like Cool Whip thawed
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Prepare cake according to directions on box, bake in a 9x13 inch baking dish, and allow to cool slightly
- Using the end of a wooden spoon handle or a large drinking straw, poke holes all over the cake
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix the lime Jello powder with the boiling water until the powder fully dissolves. Then, stir in the cold water and mix well
- Pour the Jello mixture all over the cake and into the holes. Place the cake in fridge to cool
- Spread whipped topping evenly over the cake, then decorate with festive sprinkles. Refrigerate until ready to serve
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
I hope you enjoy this festive lime poke cake as much as we do. With such pretty green colors nestled in the fluffy white cake, this is a delicious dessert for St. Patty's Day or anytime during spring and summer.
If you do try this green jello poke cake, please leave a comment and/or star rating.
For more Jello recipes and easy dessert recipes, sign up for the weekly newsletter and follow on social media.
Danielle says
I never grew up with poke cakes but I saw this recipe on your instagram post and I thought it looked very interesting, and my son loves lime flavors. So I made this and it was actually great, and my son liked it too. Moist and simple, I used white cake mix and it was still good.
Tracy says
Deliciously light and fluffy! I love your poke cake recipes
Dee says
Thank you so much for the compliment, Tracy!