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Cupcakes and Cutlery

Easy Cocktails and Recipes | Mom Life and Style | Orange County Blogger

Easy Strawberry, Jello and Angel Food Cake Dessert Recipe

August 18, 2020 By Sharon Garofalow 136 Comments

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easy strawberry dessert recipe with text overlay

We always just call this “strawberry cake” but it’s SO much more than that. This perfect pink dessert uses cubed angel food cake and Jello to make a quick dessert that you’ll crave all year long!

Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake Dessert is a nostalgic no-bake dessert that uses frozen strawberries for tons of flavor. And it totally reminds you of being a kid!

I love this quick and easy dessert recipe for spring and summer celebrations but no matter what occasion you make it for, it’s always a crowd-pleaser.

Easy pink strawberry JELLO dessert in a baking dish with a serving on a plate next to it.

Some links in this post may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, I earn from qualifying purchases by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. I also participate in other affiliate programs for other retailers. 

This recipe was originally published in October of 2015. It has since been updated to include more detailed directions and suggestions on other variations.

I’ve uploaded most of the images in this post but you still may recognize some of the process shots if you came over from Pinterest!

This Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake is a family favorite! 

This Strawberry Angel Food Cake with Cool Whip is so easy to make and is always very well received! From the comments left on this post and my pins, it’s totally sentimental and reminds people of beloved family members.

It only uses a few simple ingredients like store-bought angel food cake pieces, frozen strawberries, Cool Whip whipped topping and strawberry Jello.

This light and fluffy cake is super flavorful and totally reminds me of summer! My mom used to make it for us on summer break and it makes my heart smile just thinking about it.

I love that I now get to make it for my own kids! Same thing with Ice Cream Floats! Such a fun family tradition!

Close up on strawberry and mint garnish for a Strawberry Angel Food Cake dessert with JELLO.

This strawberry angel food cake dessert with Jello is really more like a dump cake. And it’s no-bake which is why it’s perfect for warmer weather.

This poor, sad, ugly little cake.

This is not the dessert you will make if you are trying to impress guests who are superficial and into outward appearances.

For that, I would make this faux croquembouche or even this Angel Food Cake with Peaches and Cream instead.

But this angel food cake with strawberry JELLO is super easy and it’s what you make for your friends when you want to give them a mouth hug.

This is my go-to dish for a family party or neighborhood potluck and it’s always gone immediately.

It’s so unfortunate that this lush-type dessert is just not that pretty. But it sure is pretty on the inside.

At the very least use fresh mint and strawberries to draw the eye away from that heap of pink.

Ingredients for strawberry angel food cake on wooden cutting board.

How to Make this Angel Food Strawberry Jello Cake

It’s just an angel food Jello cake dessert. Pretty straightforward stuff. But absolutely delicious. 

Scroll to the end of the post for a printable recipe card with full measurements and instructions! 

Ingredients

  • Angel Food Cake (store-bought)
  • Strawberry Jell-O
  • boiling water
  • frozen whipped topping (like Cool Whip, thawed in fridge)
  • frozen strawberries in sugar (the kind that also has juice, not whole frozen berries), not thawed but not straight from the freezer

The grocery store sells a ready-made angel food cake option that just needs to be torn (which is a great task to have the kids do!).

The store-bought cake keeps this dessert super quick to prepare.

Take the time you would have used to make the cake and go take 15 minutes for yourself. 

Frozen strawberries in the freezer section of the grocery store.

What type of strawberries do I use

Over the years I’ve had people ask me about the right type of strawberries to use for this yummy strawberry dessert recipe.

They are in plastic containers like that shown above, in the freezer section. They sometimes come in a container that looks like a frozen juice concentrate but in a rectangular shape.

Some people have a hard finding the right type of frozen strawberries in sugar. I haven’t figured out a good swap yet, but will work on that at some point.

If I had to guess, the best thing to do would be to cut up fresh strawberries and add sugar so they create their own juices, let sit for an hour at room temperature, then freeze!

Can you use fresh strawberries

Fresh strawberries aren’t the best because they won’t have the extra sweet juice that comes in the frozen strawberries. It helps to flavor the dessert and give it that fun pink color.

You can potentially get a similar look by macerating the berries with sugar to bring out their own juices but it may not give you the same amount of flavor. Worth a try! Fresh strawberries are never a bad idea! :)

To macerate I would do 1 pint of strawberries with 2 TBSP sugar and let them sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to release their juices.

Girl putting chunks of angel food cake in to a baking dish for a strawberry dessert recipe.

Directions

This pink strawberry angel food cake dessert couldn’t be easier to make!

Remove the strawberries from the freezer and let them sit on the counter while working through the next steps.

Crumble up the ring of cake and add half of the angel food pieces to the bottom of a dish. If a few pieces fall up into your mouth, that’s ok.

Stirring strawberry jello for a Cool Whip Angel Food cake dessert.

Mix Jell-O in a bowl with 2 cups boiling water. Stir well to dissolve the Jell-O powder.

Angel food cake in a baking dish next to a bowl with frozen strawberries and Cool Whip.

Add strawberries immediately and stir. The cold strawberries will help the Jello start to set.

Stirring will help to melt the strawberry juice the rest of the way, but you may need to use your hands to break them up if they remain in a chunk. 

Fold in spoonfuls of Cool Whip until well mixed.

If you forget to take the Cool Whip out of the freezer to thaw, it will still work.

Pouring strawberry jello and Cool Whip over angel food cake.

Spoon ½ mixture over the first half of angel food cake in dish.

Repeat with a second layer of angel food cake chunks and the rest of that gorgeous, creamy strawberry mixture.

You may want to take the back of a wooden spoon and push down any cake pieces that are sticking out the top so they are submerged and can soak up all the flavor.

Don’t leave them exposed like this photo shows. I mean, it really doesn’t ruin anything because Angel Food cake is delish no matter what.

But still, you’ll get the best flavor if you drown those bad boys. 

Cover, then set in the refrigerator for several hours.

How to serve Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake

When ready to serve, cut into squares and serve immediately.

I would leave it to set for at least 2 hours but 4 or more will make sure it is totally set and will keep its form when cut into squares. 

Or you can scoop it into bowls. This is an anything goes types of dessert recipe.

Feel free to top it with a little bit of whipped cream and some fresh mint if you want to.

To make it look a little nicer, you could also “frost” it with additional Cool Whip then lay out sliced strawberries in a pretty way.

Overhead shot of a simple chilled strawberry dessert.

It doesn’t require any baking skills or much kitchen know-how.

Putting this strawberry Angel Food jello cake together (I realize this isn’t really a cake, but it has cake in it so…and it’s so much easier than saying Strawberry Angel Food Cake Dessert with Jello, right?) is SO easy.

Plus, pink desserts are always the best! Just look at all that pink goodness!

How to store this pink dessert

The best way to store this delicious dessert is to cover it with foil and put in the fridge. I would think this will keep in the fridge for about 3 days.

But you probably won’t have too much leftover.

Who knew that Angel Food cake, frozen strawberries and Cool Whip could taste SO simple and so tasty!

Can this recipe be made ahead of time

Yes! Since this is kept in the fridge, you can make it ahead of time then keep in their, covered, until ready to serve.

Or Make it A Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake Trifle! 

Strawberry jello angel food cake in a trifle bowl on a table.

This fluffly make-ahead dessert recipe is perfect for parties!

A reader suggested I try using a trifle bowl so I did.

It’s a lot cuter in terms of dish choice but the dessert itself…still not so much.

A trifle is a great dessert to serve when you have company.

It’s also a great idea for people, like me, who aren’t great at decorating cakes! 

Someone else suggested making this in a bundt pan. That’s the route I’m going to try next time. It will look nice when turned out onto a plate and the slices would probably even look nice on a dessert plate. 

Strawberry Jello angel food cake dessert in a baking dish next to a plate with a serving of the easy dessert

I must have taken 300 pictures of it trying to get it to look appetizing. Nope.

You’re going to have to trust me on this one. And I know my sweets.

Close up of no bake refrigerator pink dessert on a plate

Try to serve it on a cute plate at least, and definitely use a trifle bowl instead of the 9 x 13 pan. Everything looks better in a trifle bowl! Growing up, this strawberry cake was always our favorite.

It reminds me of big get-togethers with neighbors and hanging out with my sister. I hope you’ll make this for the ones you love too.

It’s a great recipe to get the kids to help out with.

Aside from the boiling water (parents, YOU do that part please!), it’s a lot of stirring and tearing. Kids excel at tearing.

And more than anything, this pink dessert makes people smile. 

This recipe totally reminds people of recipes their grandmas made for them! 

Wath the Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake Recipe Video again on Youtube.

Tips and suggestions

Over the years I’ve received tons of comments on this post. Every family had a little different way of doing things. Here are some of the suggestions that may help you.

Substitution ideas

–Don’t want to use Cool Whip, here is how one user made this instead: “Dissolve large box of strawberry jello in 3/4 cup hot water.

Once dissolved stir in 3/4 cup cold water and refrigerate. After it sets up whip in a pint of whipping cream to the jello on a low setting.”

–Make it sugar-free: You can make this more diet-friendly or ok for diabetics by using sugar-free ingredients. Several commenters mentioned this.

–A fruitier version: This version uses 1 small strawberry Jello, 1 small lemon Jello, 2c boiling water, 1/4 c sugar, juice of 1 lemon, 2 oranges and juice from a 10oz pineapple can.

Mix together. Cool until it starts to set. Fold in 8oz cool whip, add pineapple tidbits and fresh sliced strawberries.

Other serving suggestions

–Make it more cake-like: Line a large bowl with waxed paper. let sit a few hours and when set turn upside down on a plate or cake dish.

Top with Cool Whip or whipped cream, as if you were icing a cake, then add fresh some strawberries.

– Make it a little more structured: Bake your own angel food cake in a 13×9 pan. Cut the cake into 2 layers instead of ripping it into chunks.

Place one layer down, spread half of jello mixture on top, placed the next layer down and spread the remaining jello mixture on top.

Chill for about 8 hours. It cut just like a cake and it looked pretty!

–A pool of Cool Whip!: In this suggestion, the Cool Whip is served separately. Tear the cake into pieces and put in a greased bundt pan.

Mix the strawberries and Jello and pour over the cake. Let set and flip onto a cake plate. Fill the hole in the middle with the Cool Whip!

To serve, slice the cake and put a dollop of Cool Whip on top.

–To ensure the cake is soaked with flavor: After mixing the Jello, strawberries and Cool Whip, combine it with the angel food cake pieces then pour into the pan and chill.

It’s much easier and mixes together better for a smoother look.

–Fill the angel food cake: Mix the strawberries, Cool Whip, and Jello and put them in the refrigerator until it is thick but not solid.

Slice a thin piece off the top of the angel food cake and tear out a trench all the way around the cake.

Pour the very thick Jello strawberry mixture inside, put the top back on and frost with the remaining whipped cream.

Return the cake to the refrigerator. It was so pretty when cut because of the Jello strawberry surprise at the center.

More strawberry desserts to try

  • Stupid Easy Strawberry Snack
  • Easy Strawberry Refrigerator Cake from Crystal and Comp.
  • Strawberry Poke Cake from It Is a Keeper
  • White Chocolate Strawberry Cake Roll from We’re Parents

Other easy desserts to make for a crowd

  • Peanut Butter Pie
  • Sherry Wine Cake
  • A Pie. Inside a Cake! A Pake!
  • Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

Printable Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake Recipe

Continue to Content
Yield: 8 servings

Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake Dessert

White baking dish with Strawberry Jello dessert with a small plate holding a serving in front of it on a table.

This light and fluffy no-bake strawberry cake recipe is a nostalgic dessert that my mom used to make when I was a kid! With store-bought angel food cake, Jello, Cool Whip and frozen strawberries, this easy dessert recipe is great for sharing with family or taking to a party.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Setting Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ring Angel Food Cake, store-bought
  • 1 6 oz. pkg. Strawberry Jello
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 regular container frozen whipped topping, like Cool Whip, thawed in fridge
  • 16 oz. container frozen strawberries in sugar, the kind that also have juice, not whole frozen berries

Instructions

  1. Set out frozen strawberries to thaw while working on the rest of the recipe.
  2. Boil water. 
  3. Break 1/2 of the angel food cake in to chunks and put in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
  4. Mix powdered Jello in a bowl with 2 cups boiling water.
  5. Add strawberries immediately and stir.
  6. You may need to use your hands to break up chunks of frozen strawberries.
  7. Stir in spoonfuls of Cool Whip until well mixed.
  8. Spoon 1/2 mixture over angel food cake in dish.
  9. Repeat layers and set in refrigerator for several hours.
  10. Cut in to squares and serve immediately. (Your squares won't be perfect. The gelatin is not firm.)

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

8 Servings

Amount Per Serving Calories 77Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 67mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 2gSugar 12gProtein 1g

Nutrition information isn't always accurate.

Save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board!

Pin any image in this post to save it! Or click the "P" to the left to follow me on Pinterest. Made this yourself? Rate this recipe by clicking the stars in this recipe card up above.

© Sharon Garofalow
Cuisine: American / Category: Dessert

Pin this Dessert for Later

Pink strawberry Jello angel food cake dessert in a pan with a text overlay.

This Angel Food Strawberry Jello Dessert is a mouth full. But it will become a family favorite and one that you make for parties all the time!

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About Sharon Garofalow

Sharon lives in Southern California with her adorable family. She loves to share ideas to make mom life easier and encourage busy gals to make time for themselves too! Sharon's "me" time often includes watching Hallmark Channel movies, sipping sauvignon blanc, trying not to eat Salt and Pepper potato chips, and planning girlfriend getaways.

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Comments

  1. Denise says

    October 25, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    Sharon, so glad I’m seeing this delicious dessert again! I used to make this as a very young wife. We used Strawberry Jello, some Cool Whip or Whipped Cream AND some Strawberry Yogurt. Added the strawberries and chunks of cake. And, used a springform pan for the mold. We would then use Reddi Whip to make a pretty pattern on the top and slice it onto plates. Never met anyone that didn’t rave about it. Perfect for warm weather!

    Reply
    • Sharon Garofalow says

      October 26, 2020 at 10:02 am

      Those swaps sound delicious!!! You are right, everyone LOVES this recipe!

      Reply
  2. Sharon says

    July 8, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    My grandmother made this and a identical lemon one with lemon pie filling. She didn’t mix the cool whip in and not sure if she used jello or not with the strawberry one. She definitely fight with the lemon one. I have never seen the either version anywhere but this Is the closest I’ve seen! Has anyone ever heard of these made the way my MomMom did it?

    Reply
    • Sharon Garofalow says

      July 20, 2020 at 10:38 am

      OMG! I’ll have to try the lemon. That sounds fantastic!

      Reply
  3. Annie says

    June 15, 2020 at 12:23 pm

    Can this recipe be made a day in advance?

    Reply
    • Sharon Garofalow says

      June 16, 2020 at 9:53 am

      Hi! Yes! You can make this ahead of time and just keep it in the fridge! I hope you love it as much as my family does!

      Reply
  4. Nancy says

    April 7, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    My mom always made this and we called it Strawberry Delight! She put it in a Bundt pan. It was pretty when it came out! She cut slices of it to serve! You have inspired me to make it!!

    Reply
    • Sharon Garofalow says

      April 26, 2020 at 8:51 am

      I will try it in the bundt pan next time! I’m sure that looks way prettier!

      Reply
  5. Nancy says

    March 29, 2020 at 2:47 pm

    I just put together a fabulous dessert using what I had on hand. Since the global pandemic is looming and we are staying indoors, I made some majoy adjustments. For those of you who wondered about a different fruit, I had a partial bag of frozen cherries, 12 boxes of Jello NONE of which were cherry so used 1 small package of berry blue adding the cup of cold water to the frozen cherries & 3/4 cup boiling water to the gelatin . I mixed those separately then pour the hot gelatin into the ice cold cherries w/1 cup of cold water. It began to set up. Had no whipped topping so shook some milk & instant vanilla pudding mix together and added by dollops to the first layer after pouring on 1/2 the gelatin cherry mix. Finished with a second layer of cake pieces, gelatin mix w/cherries & a few more dollops of vanilla pudding. Used the back of a spoon & made sure it was all covered with the liquid…mine is cooling AND it’s a pretty blue with dark red cherries. Can’t wait to taste it in 2 hours. Next time, I’ll follow the recipe – that will be summer or whenever we can safely be shopping again. Hope you keep your spirits high.

    Reply
    • Sharon Garofalow says

      April 26, 2020 at 8:53 am

      I’m so glad you could still make a delicious dessert! It sounds super tasty!

      Reply
  6. Marisa says

    February 10, 2019 at 11:54 am

    How long does it take to set in Fridge?

    Reply
  7. Rosalie Ogden says

    December 6, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    Never cool whip! I’ve been making strawberry dessert for over 35 years. Dissolve large box of strawberry jello in 3/4 cup hot water. Once dissolved stir in 3/4 cup cold water and refrigerate. After it sets up whip in a pint of whipping cream to the jello on a low setting. Meanwhile break up angel food cake and mix with fresh macerated strawberries (or use thawed strawberries) with sugar to taste. Combine the jello/whipped cream mixture (reserve 3/4 cup, set aside) and the cake and strawberry mixture in a nice serving dish of your choice. Spread the reserved jello/whipped cream mixture on top adding some fresh sliced strawberries for decoration. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving.

    Reply
    • Wanda Midkiff says

      July 17, 2020 at 9:54 pm

      I just made it for our Relay For Life ( Cancer ) group called Flamingo Mafia … Have an idea to decorate and will take a pic if it works ! Hint wet marshmallows a bit to sprinkle … and Hubba brought home this candy bar well like I said will show if it turns out or NOT ! Lol

      Reply
      • Sharon Garofalow says

        July 20, 2020 at 10:38 am

        Let me know! I’d love to see how it turned out!

        Reply
  8. greg says

    November 21, 2018 at 8:23 am

    My family always called this Pink Dessert

    Reply
    • Sharon Garofalow says

      November 21, 2018 at 9:13 am

      I know! I struggle with calling it a cake!

      Reply
      • Cindy de Nottbeck says

        May 8, 2019 at 10:04 am

        Hi Sharon I make it like you but I line a large bowl with Waxed paper let sit a few hours and when set turn upside down on a plate or cake dish then top with cool whip or whipped cream ,like you were icing it then add some strawberries looks like a cake then.I always made it that way.Kids love it and so do adults.

        Reply
        • Sharon Garofalow says

          May 8, 2019 at 11:17 am

          OMG! That is such a great idea!!

          Reply
          • Sharon Garofalow says

            May 8, 2019 at 11:18 am

            A few hours. If you want to be able to cut it into squares, I like to let it sit for at least 4 hours. If you don’t really care about it holding its shape you can probably get by eating it a little bit sooner!

  9. Kayla says

    August 18, 2018 at 6:37 pm

    To make it look appetizing try and cover it it fresh strawberry halves and or fresh peach slices or pear slices! I have tried all three ways and it is still awesome!!!

    Reply
    • Sharon Garofalow says

      August 19, 2018 at 7:38 am

      YES! Such a great idea! It would look so much better like that!

      Reply
      • Jen says

        May 3, 2020 at 4:50 pm

        Could fresh strawberries be used?

        Reply
        • Sharon Garofalow says

          May 5, 2020 at 8:17 am

          Hi! Fresh strawberries aren’t the best because they won’t have the extra sweet juice that comes in the frozen strawberries. It helps to flavor the dessert and give it that fun pink color. You can potentially get a similar look by macerating the berries with sugar to bring out their own juices but it may not give you the same amount of flavor. Worth a try! Fresh strawberries are never a bad idea! :) To macerate I would do 1 pint of strawberries with 2 TBSP sugar and let them sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to release their juices.

          Reply
  10. Debbi says

    July 1, 2018 at 8:41 pm

    My mom was just telling me about a dessert like this that she had made. Do you think you could do 1 layer of strawberry jello/strawberries & 1 layer with a blue jello/blueberries for the upcoming holiday?

    Reply
    • Sharon Garofalow says

      July 2, 2018 at 3:12 pm

      I’m sure it would be delicious with blueberries! If you stir it up instead of layer, the strawberry juice and whipped cream turn pink but it would taste pretty delish not stirred up too I bet!

      Reply
      • Anne says

        March 18, 2020 at 6:49 pm

        We used to make this when I was young but we used whipped cream instead of coolwhip. Thank you for posting this because I had lost Mom’s recipe and she died in 2012.

        Reply
        • Sharon Garofalow says

          April 26, 2020 at 8:55 am

          That sounds like a logical swap! I’m glad you found this recipe. I’m sure you’ll think of your mom when you make it.

          Reply
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Based in Southern California, I am the mom to two amazing boys and married to the raddest man in all the land. Cupcakes and Cutlery is your resource for simple solutions to help you be an awesome wife and mother and not lose yourself in the process. Email me at [email protected]! MORE ABOUT SHARON

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