Rainbow Jello Cake is unbelievably simple to make using a box of cake mix and jello for an effortless treat that is full of flavor and color. Perfectly pretty for rainbow parties and special celebrations.
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This delicious Rainbow Jello Poke Cake is a fun and vibrant way to brighten up any occasion! This easy-to-make dessert takes just minutes to prepare because it’s made with a boxed cake mix. It combines the classic jello flavors of strawberry, lime, orange, and blue raspberry with an airy white cake making for a quick and easy sweet and colorful treat!
Rainbow Jello Poke Cake
A Rainbow Jello Cake is my favorite, most fun, colorful creation of feel-good food that not only looks bright and beautiful, but tastes absolutely delicious!
It is so easy to make this rainbow dessert with minimal work simply by baking a basic white cake mix from a box, poking it with holes, filling them with multiple fruity jello flavors, and covering it with whipped cream and sprinkles.
This jello rainbow cake is just as colorful as my original rainbow poke cake recipe, but instead of layering the batter in multi-colored rainbow rows and filling the holes with pudding, this retro jello cake recipe is made with a shortcut step and then drizzles different colored gelatin into the poked holes.
I love making a rainbow poke cake using jello because it keeps the texture ultra-moist and infuses it with so much flavor. And when topped with cool whip instead of frosting, each serving remains fresh and light without being overly-rich or heavy, so there’s always room for a slice!
Why We Love Rainbow Jello Cake
- Quick and easy to prepare in 20 minutes.
- Uses a handful of simple ingredients.
- Kid-friendly rainbow recipe that’s overflowing with fun and festive colors.
- It’s the happiest sheet cake you’ll ever make!
- Perfectly pretty for birthday parties, unicorn parties, potlucks, Pride month, or any special occasion.
Rainbow Jello Poke Cake Ingredients
- White cake mix
- Water
- Vegetable oil
- Egg whites
- Strawberry jello mix
- Orange jello mix
- Lemon jello mix
- Lime jello mix
- Berry blue or blue raspberry jello mix
- Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue food color gel
- Whipped topping
- Rainbow sprinkles (optional garnish)
Substitutions and Additions
- Change The Cake Mix: Feel free to substitute a yellow or French vanilla cake mix for the white cake. Or use your favorite homemade recipe to make the cake from scratch.
- Customize Your Cake: This jello cake recipe is so easy to customize for any themed party or holiday. Simply switch up the jello flavors and gel food colors to match your celebration. Make red and green rows for Christmas; red and pink for Valentine’s Day; or red, white, and blue for Fourth of July.
- Tasty Toppings: Cover your cake with gold sprinkles or gold coins for St. Patrick’s Day, festive sprinkles (such as nonpareils, sugar pearls, and jimmies) for a birthday party, fresh fruit, or colorful candy.
Recommended Tools
- 9×13 baking dish
- Baker’s spray
- Handheld mixer
- Chopstick or round wooden spoon
- Teaspoon or a drizzling spoon
- Offset spatula or a silicone spatula
How to Make Rainbow Jello Cake
- Bake The Cake: Mix together the cake mix, water, oil, and egg whites until no lumps remain. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-28 minutes.
- Poke: Poke holes in the cake ¾-1 inch apart. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- Color The Cake: Add boiling water to each flavor of jello and stir completely dissolved. Add 5-7 drops of food color gel to each corresponding gelatin flavor and drizzle just enough of the jello into a hole to color the hole, alternating colors. Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Spread, Sprinkle, and Slice: Spread the entire container of whipped topping over the cake. Sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles. Slice into 12 slices.
- Serve: Keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Tips for The Best Rainbow Jello Poke Cake
- You can substitute any flavor of gelatin for the gelatin listed in the recipe.
- You can use the leftover gelatin to make gelatin squares or even use small-shaped cutters (like stars, hearts, or other shapes) to garnish the top of the whipped topping instead of rainbow sprinkles.
- I used the end of a chopstick to poke the holes in the cake, but you can use the back of a wooden spoon, a straw, toothpick, fork etc. You may have smaller or larger holes.
- You must let this cake cool the full 2 hours for the jello to set properly, otherwise you may end up with a soggy bottom.
What To Do With Leftover Jello
You will not use all of the jello called for in this recipe and will have plenty of extra to prepare jello shots, jello pie, jello cookies, or pans of jello! Don’t let your leftovers go to waste — check out my many jello recipes for both adult and family fun!
How to Store Jello Poke Cake
- To Store: Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the un-topped rainbow jello cake for up to 3 months. Allow the cake to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before topping it with the whipped topping and rainbow sprinkles.
More Easy Cake Recipes
- Heaven On Earth Cake
- Pudding Cake
- Vanilla Mug Cake
- Cakesicles
- Rainbow Cake Truffles
- Blackberry Poke Cake
- Rainbow Cake Pops
Rainbow Jello Cake
Serves — 12
Rainbow Jello Cake is unbelievably simple to make using a box of cake mix and jello for an effortless treat that is full of flavor and color. Perfectly pretty for rainbow parties and special celebrations.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Chill and Rest Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 18 minutes
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces box of white cake mix
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 egg whites room temperature
- 3 cups boiling water
- 3 ounce box of strawberry gelatin mix
- 3 ounce box of orange gelatin mix
- 3 ounce box of lemon gelatin mix
- 3 ounce box of lime gelatin mix
- 3 ounce box of berry blue gelatin mix
- Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue food color gel
- 8 ounce container of whipped topping thawed
- Rainbow sprinkles optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with baker’s spray (Baker’s Joy or generic version)
- Add the cake mix, water, oil, and egg whites to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Use a handheld mixer on medium speed to mix the ingredients just until combined and no lumps remain. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes away clean.
- Allow the cake to cool slightly before using the handle of a chopstick or slim, round wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake ¾-1 inch apart. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- Add 1 flavor of gelatin to a small heat-safe bowl. (You will need 5 heat-safe bowls) Add ½ cup boiling water to each flavor and stir well until the sugar completely dissolves.
- Add 5-7 drops of the food color gel to the corresponding gelatin flavor (red food color to the strawberry gelatin, orange to the orange gelatin, and so on). This will make the colors more vibrant.
- Using either a teaspoon or a drizzling spoon, alternate drizzling just enough of the jello into a hole to color the hole. Do not fill the hole completely up. That will cause the cake to become overly drenched, and you will not get the defined shafts of color you want. You will not use all of the jello; you will have leftovers.
- Once you have drizzled the different colors, cover and chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Once completely chilled, remove the cake from the refrigerator. Use an offset spatula or a silicone spatula to smooth the entire container of whipped topping over the cake. Sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles. Slice into 12 slices. Keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the un-topped rainbow jello cake for up to 3 months. Allow the cake to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before topping it with the whipped topping and rainbow sprinkles.
- You can substitute any flavor of gelatin for the gelatin listed in the recipe.
- You can use the leftover gelatin to make gelatin squares or even use small-shaped cutters (like stars, hearts, or other shapes) to garnish the top of the whipped topping instead of rainbow sprinkles.
- I used the end of a chopstick to poke the holes in the cake, but you can use the back of a wooden spoon, a straw, toothpick, fork etc. You may have smaller or larger holes.
- You must let this cake cool the full 2 hours for the jello to set properly, otherwise you may end up with a soggy bottom.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 0.4mg | Sodium: 449mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Calcium: 96mg | Iron: 1mg
My favorite cake in any flavor. Never cared much for traditional birthday cakes 🎂 so my family would always make jello cake on my birthday!!