Lemon Jello Cake [+ Video]

This Lemon Jello Cake is perfect anytime of year, but it’s especially great for Easter and the 4th of July. It’s an easy lemon cake that uses a few shortcuts to speed things up!

The Best Lemon Cake Recipe

Hey guys! It’s Sarah, yes that one who was able to share our road to adoption with your help and the most incredible day when we finally held our baby girl and the miracle of adoption. But today is about lemon jello cake.

I got so excited about this easy lemon cake recipe that I have to warn you that this post not only includes a delicious recipe for lemon jello cake, but it also includes a lot of tangents that you’ll read in the gazillion parenthesis! Writing this down instead of telling it to you personally allows my brain too much time to wander as I write simple sentences.  You will learn the inner-workings of my head!

I love lemony food. Everything with lemon tastes fresh—lemonade, lemon squares, pasta lemon cream sauce…Sour Heads (those freshen up your senses pretty quickly). And there is nothing better than a fresh tasting dessert! (Do you want to know how I learned to spell dessert? In elementary school my teacher told me that you want more dessert so you spell it with two “s”es and not one…desert. Shout out to you, school teachers!)

This lemon jello cake is one of our favorite treats. It is the moistest (my sister-in-law’s favorite word…and anything that has the “oi” sound) cake with help from the Lemon Jell-O flavor packet and the icing on top that seeps down through the sponginess (is that a word? I like to make up words) of the cake. And moist cakes are the only way to go.

This lemon jello cake will forever and ever remind me of visiting my grandparents house on Sunday evenings where we would play, talk and eat.  I still see their 50-year-old antique silverware and old plates lining the table before everyone digs in. Food does that, doesn’t it? What recipe do you make that transports you back in time?

Lemon Jello Cake Ingredients

This lemon cake recipe comes together quickly with the help of a few shortcuts. I love homemade cakes, but simpler family recipes like this one are great to have on hand too! Here’s what you’ll need to make this cake mix lemon cake recipe:

• Lemon Cake Mix: We prefer Duncan Hines brand, but any brand will work great.
• Eggs: Adds structure to the cake.
• Water: Adds moisture and helps activate the jello making the cake extra moist
• Oil: The fat that keeps the cake moist and tender.
• Lemon Jello: You will use just the jello powder and be sure it isn’t sugar free
• Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice is an absolute must!
• Powdered Sugar: Adds all the sweetness to the icing

The measurements for all the ingredients can found down below so keep scrolling down to the recipe card for all

Strawberry Jello Cake

This delicious strawberry Jello cake is the perfect summer dessert! Made with a white cake mix and strawberry Jello, this dessert is sure to be a hit at your next gathering. It is quick and easy and a moist cake with a hint of strawberries and cream!

Years ago our friend Sarah gave us her family recipe for Lemon Jello Cake (I know you’re supposed to write, Jell-O, but no one actually follows that rule, right??) and it’s been one of the most popular recipes on our site year after year. We’ve experimented with Pineapple Crush Jello cake, orange Jello cake, strawberry lemonade jello cake, even a festive 4th of July Jello cake and now a strawberries and cream jello cake!

It’s important to use a white cake mix and strawberry jello for this recipe as it will tone down the strawberry flavor and allow you to taste that “strawberries n creme” thing.

What Does Adding Jello to Cake Do?

There are several reasons to add Jello to a cake. Jello enhances the flavor and color of a cake. It also helps the cake be more moist and dense in texture. I highly recommend it!

Ingredients for Strawberry Jello Cake

I hope you’re sitting down because you aren’t going to believe that you only need 7 ingredients to make this jello cake recipe! Keep in mind that when you make the glaze, you have a few different options. I’ll explain that more below. Here is what you will need:

CAKE

• White Cake Mix: A vanilla cake mix is our preferred flavor, but yellow works fine too. The color will just be a little more orange with a yellow cake mix. We use Duncan Hines brand.
  • NOTE: You will use just the box cake mix powder when making the batter for this cake. You will not follow the directions for making the cake on the box.
• Eggs: Gives the cake structure and richness.
• Water: Adds needed moisture to create a perfectly moist cake.
• Oil: Canola oil or vegetable oil both work great and don’t alter the flavor of the cake while still keeping it moist and fabulous.
• Strawberry Jello: You just need the small box (3 oz) and you will only be using the jello powder. Don’t use the sugar free jello. It doesn’t set up the same.

ICING

• Heavy Cream: Helps bind the icing together and adds richness to the flavor and texture. Save some extra cream to whip up and spread on top of the cake after cooling.
• Powdered Sugar: Acts as the base for the icing and provides all the sweetness.

The measurements needed for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end

Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad

Some things just belong together…like raspberries and summertime or raspberry pretzel jello salad and your next BBQ! Three layers of jello salad joy.

Now I don’t know if this is a salad or a dessert, but it is so delicious that it doesn’t matter! It has a sweet and salty pretzel crust layer, a sweet cream cheese filling layer and a fruity tart jello layer on top.

I’m realizing people have a bigger opinion on berries than I ever knew. Are you a lover of raspberries and hater of blueberries? 

If you had to pick would you go strawberry or raspberry?

Our strawberry pretzel jello salad brought up so many requests for one vs the other and since I happen to love both, I tend to pull for team strawberry, but I really had no choice but to create a raspberry pretzel jello version. I mean, it’s all in the name of research, am I right? 😉

Plus it tastes like cheesecake but you serve it as a side dish. Who in the world is the genius that brought this first to Thanksgiving dinner?

Ingredients Needed for Raspberry Pretzel Salad

Here is your grocery list for each of the three layers of this salad:

Pretzel Layer

• Pretzels: any brand or shape of pretzel will work great since they crushed into small pieces
• Butter: helps bind the crust together and adds rich yummy flavor
• Brown Sugar: adds flavor and sweetness
• Sugar: adds more sweetness

Cream Layer

• Sugar: adds sweetness to the creamy layer
• Cream Cheese: make sure it is softened to room temperature so it doesn’t get lumpy
• Cool Whip: adds sweetness, structure and creaminess to the cream layer

Jello Layer

• Raspberry Jello: you will follow the instructions on the Jello box to make this layer
• Water: used to make the Jello
• Raspberries: fresh or frozen can be used and will work great

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card below.

How to Make Raspberry Pretzel Salad

The steps for making this recipe are simple. Here they are broken down by layer:

Pretzel Layer

• Preheat oven.
• Combine all the ingredients well.
• Press into baking dish.
• Bake and let cool completely.

Cream Layer

• Beat the sugar and cream cheese together.
• Fold in Cool Whip.
• Spread over cooled pretzel layer.

Jello Layer

• Mix the jello powder and boiling water until the powder is dissolved.
• Stir in the rasp

Kara’s Christmas Cranberry Jell-o

Simple cherry jell-o full of fresh cranberries, apples and bananas makes for the best Christmas side dish on the dinner table!

Two years ago we had our cute friends over and Kara brought jell-o. Whhhhaaaaaa? When is the last time that someone brought jell-o to dinner? I was OBSESSED with it growing up, like it was one of my favorite things, but now I’m so old and it’s so sugary so I kinda ditched it, but I AM BACK!!! 

I’m so in!!

Kara’s Christmas Jell-o is one of those unexpected surprises. It’s so flavorful, the color is so bright and cheery and my goodness, it hits every good thing about life. I cannot get enough of it and I wouldn’t even share it except based on the love you all have for our raspberry pretzel jello, lemon pudding orange jello and our lemon jello cake, I’m gonna guess you all are fans of those killer jello recipes too. 

Kara is the friend that always remembers me. I don’t know how else to say it, she just is. She’s the one that pops by when I’m totally not expecting it. She’s the one that invites us over, asks about our kids and just loves us. 

And we love her, and her jell-o. Pretty sure you’re going to love it too.

Ingredients for Christmas Jell-o

You only need 5 ingredients to make this bright and festive Christmas side dish! Here is your shopping list:

• Cherry Jello
• Sugar
• Cranberries
• Apple
• Banana

The measurements for each can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Jello Popcorn

Jello in popcorn? You only need 4 simple ingredients for this fun snack! Jello popcorn is our family’s latest obsession and you can use any flavor Jello you like best!

I was totally and completely obsessed with Jello growing up and this would have been one more amazing way for me to enjoy it but the truth is, I just learned about it a few months ago. Our neighbors, Rod and Tawya, totally hooked us up with a batch one weekend and I’ve been utterly obsessed ever since. 

I honestly can’t even explain this treat to you. It’s better than caramel popcorn IMHO, and it’s also easier than caramel popcorn so it’s a huge win at our house. The kids love how bright and gooey it is and it has started all sorts of kid conversations about what else we should take from classic to new and wild.

So far Claire has requested Muddy Buddies Rice Krispies Treats. 

Thoughts? Should we try it out?

Ingredients for Jello Popcorn

I mentioned that you only need 4 ingredients for this recipe. So simple! Here they are:

• Jello (3oz)
• Butter (unsalted)
• Mini Marshmallows
• Popcorn

Do you have them in the pantry already?? I’ve started to just buy mini mallows every time I grocery shop. The measurements for each can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.