Strawberry Jello Cupcakes

Name: Strawberry Jello Cupcakes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 box White Cake Mix; 3 eggs; 3/4 cups whole milk; 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1 pkg. Strawberry Jello (3 ounce size); 6 strawberries, sliced in half; 1 batch Best Ever Vanilla Buttercream; 1/4 cup strawberry jam; 2 TBSP powdered sugar

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Need an easy cupcake to make for all your summer parties? These Strawberry Jello Cupcakes are perfect! With a delicious strawberry taste and a gorgeous pink color, this semi-homemade dessert is one you’ll love to share with friends.

Strawberry cupcake frosted with sliced strawberry on top on white counter.

Growing up, my mom always made us this Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake. It was refreshing and creamy and a dish we had at all our potlucks and parties. It introduced me to using flavored Jello to flavor desserts and now it’s one of my dessert ingredients. Ever.

These easy Strawberry Jello Cupcakes are full of strawberry flavor and have the prettiest pink color that your guests will love. Best of all, it doesn’t even need to be strawberry season!

Why this recipe works

You may be able to tell from the name of this blog that I really enjoy cupcakes. Whether they’re Alcohol Infused Cupcakes or cupcakes in a jar, I’ll eat them.

Using a boxed cake mix keeps these Strawberry Jello Cupcakes quick. The strawberry Jello gives them tons of flavor and they can be prepped and baked in about 30 minutes.

A simple strawberry frosting is a perfect way to top them off. A slice of fresh strawberry tells everyone exactly what they’re in for flavor-wise.

It’s a great recipe to have the kids help with and they’ll love when the Jello powder turns the batter bright pink! The color makes them a great idea for baby and bridal showers and all kinds of other parties too!

Looking for more strawberry recipes? Try my favorite Strawberry ShortcakStrawe Dump Cake, make my quick homemade Strawberry Ice Cream with Condensed Milk, indulge in my ridiculously easy Strawberry Snack Idea or make some Strawberry Simple Syrup for a Strawberry Basil Margarita.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients needed to make Strawberry Jello Cupcakes with ingredient images and words written out.

White cake mix is my favorite thing to use in this Strawberry Jello Cupcakes recipe because it really lets the strawberry flavor shine through.

But if you only have a yellow cake mix, that will work, but it will change the flavor slightly. Not in a bad way, though, yellow cake mix is never bad! You could even try it with strawberry cake mix for another layer of flavor.

Strawberry Jello makes these such a gorgeous color and a yummy flavor I love to have all summer long. But you can use other flavors of Jello if you prefer.

Or, you can make these easy Red, White and Blue Jello Poke Cupcakes instead!

How To Make Strawberry Cupcakes With Jello

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

A bowl of dry cake mix with milk being added.

To a large bowl add the boxed cake mix and the whole milk.

A hand pouring a small bowl of oil into a bowl with cake mix.

Add vegetable oil.

A bowl of dry cake mix on a counter with dry strawberry Jello powder being added.

Add the dry Strawberry Jello powder. (You can also Make Your Own Fun Dip at Home with Jello! and Jello Flavored Popcorn!

Bowl with dry cake mix, strawberry Jello powder and eggs on a counter.

Add the eggs.

Bowl of pink cupcakes batter on a table with a whisk sticking out.

Mix until everything is well incorporated. You can do this by hand with a whisk, or give it a quick mix with a hand mixer.

Divide the batter between the cupcake liners until 3/4 full and put in the oven.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Delicious strawberry cupcakes with frosting and unfrosted on counter.

Remove from the oven and from the pan and let it cool down completely before decorating.

Decorate with an easy strawberry buttercream frosting and garnish with a sliced strawberry.

The buttercream uses my basic vanilla buttercream recipe with some strawberry jam to give it the best flavor to pair with these Strawberry Jello Cupcakes. Or you could use my simple Cool Whip Frosting.

Tips and Tricks

You can change up the flavor of the cake by changing up the flavor of the Jello.
To add a more intense strawberry flavor you can add a little bit of strawberry extract.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I don’t see why you couldn’t add some chocolate chips to the batter for a chocolate covered strawberry-esque flavor!

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens when you add gelatin to a cake mix?

Adding gelatin to a cake mix can have two different effects. In this recipe, I’m using the dry powder to flavor the batter. But in my Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake recipe, I add hot water to the Jello to activate it. Not only does it give the dessert flavor, but also help to “set up” since it is a no-bake cake.

Can I use frozen strawberries for this recipe?

Fresh strawberries are best and I just use them as a garnish. Frozen strawberries release a lot of liquid that can cause a mess. As a pretty unskilled baker, I like to stick with recipes that I know will work and not sink or fall apart if I can help it! That’s why I didn’t add any to the actual batter.

Can I add Jello to Buttercream?

You can add Jello to buttercream to help flavor it. You can add 1-2 TBSP of flavored Jello to your buttercream recipe. I prefer to use strawberry Jam for the flavor. It’s the perfect sweetness and has a bit of a more fresh strawberry flavor (in my opinion).

How do you store cupcakes?

If you plan on storing these cupcakes before eating, let them cool completely then store them in an air-tight container, at room temperature for up to 2 days. Then you can frost them before serving. If the cupcakes are filled with a filling or topped with a frosting, you will need to refrigerate them which can make them lose their freshness faster. See this great article about keeping cupcakes fresh from The Spruce Eats.

Close up of a frosted Strawberry cupcake topped with a sliced strawberry and more cupcakes behind it.

This recipe for Strawberry Jello Cupcakes is a fast and easy way to have a delicious strawberry dessert any time of the year.