Strawberry Jello Poke Cake Recipe

Strawberry Jello Poke Cake recipe is an easy dessert made with white cake mix, strawberry Jello and Cool Whip whipped topping for frosting. Top this delicious cake with fresh strawberries for a simple spring dessert or perfect summer dessert!

Easy Strawberry Jello Poke Cake is a super easy dessert that’s been around for ages. It’s light, fluffy and makes a delicious Easter dessert similar to strawberry shortcake. Actually, this easy strawberry cake is perfect anytime!

Jello poke cake recipes are so easy that my kids love to make them. We make Lime Jello Poke Cake for St. Patrick’s Day and Red, White and Blue Poke Cake for the patriotic holidays. Sometimes, I use syrup instead of Jello when I make strawberry poke cake with chocolate frosting.

You can also make a layered poke cake if you want to get fancy. My grandma used to make a layered Jello poke cake with red and green Jello during the Christmas holidays. You can find our family favorite Oreo Poke Cake and more poke cake recipes on my easy desserts page!

Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients for this easy strawberry poke cake recipe. They should be easy to find in your grocery store.

• White cake mix — or vanilla cake mix or yellow cake mix. Use your favorite brand of boxed cake mix.
• Strawberry Jell-O — look for the 3-oz box of Jello or generic strawberry gelatin
• Water — hot water and cold water to mix the gelatin
• Eggs and butter or oil for the cake

You will also need a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and a straw or wooden spoon to make the cake.

How to make Strawberry Jello Poke Cake

First, you follow the directions on the back of the box of cake mix to make the cake.

Then, you let it cool slightly, and poke holes into the baked cake with a large drinking straw or the handle of a wooden spoon.

We like to make the holes bigger so that you get wider ribbons of Jello. But, that’s just us.

Next, you mix up the Jello gelatin powder in a medium bowl. Just add the gelatin, and pour very hot water or boiling water over the powder.

Mix until the gelatin is mostly dissolved. Then, add the cold water, and mix until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

Pour the liquid jello mixture all over the top of the cake. Make sure  you get the Jello into the holes.

You can also use a spoon to spread it evenly over the top and make sure the holes are filled with Jello.

Place the poke cake into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. This will allow the Jello to firm up.

Then, you can frost this delicious poke cake with your favorite frosting. I usually use Cool Whip to frost poke cakes since I want to keep everything nice and light and fluffy.

You can also use whipped cream if you’re serving the cake right away.

Decorate the poke cake with festive sprinkles and fresh strawberries before serving.

How to Store

Store this delicious cake in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. Poke cakes stay fresh for up to 4 days, if they last that long!

Recipe Variations

I almost always use a cake mix when I make any flavor of Jello poke cakes. But you can use a homemade cake from scratch if you prefer.

Use your favorite frosting for this strawberry Jello cake recipe. You can use homemade whipped cream instead of Cool Whip or cream cheese frosting.

Use chocolate cake mix to make a rich, chocolate strawberry Jello poke cake.

FAQ

More Jello Recipes

• Strawberry Jello Fruit Salad
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad
• Orange Jello Fruit Salad
• Lime Jello Salad
• Strawberry Jello Pie

I hope you enjoy this easy strawberry poke cake recipe as much as we do! If you do make this easy recipe, please add a comment and/or star rating.

For more easy dessert recipes and delicious desserts for family gatherings, sign up for the weekly newsletter and follow on social media.

This delicious strawberry poke cake recipe was first published in 2019 and updated in 2023.