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Home » Recipes » Dessert Recipes » Cake Recipes » Strawberry Angel Food Cake

Strawberry Angel Food Cake

By Lynette on April 11, 2019 · 69 Comments

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strawberry angel food cake
fresh strawberry dessert recipe made with angel food cake

This strawberry angel food cake vintage recipe is made with jello, cool whip, frozen fresh strawberries, and angel food cake.  That’s it! Only four ingredients. It’s a sweet no-bake make-ahead refrigerated strawberry dessert that has become a true family favorite for us.

If you like this recipe (and have plenty of strawberries around), you’ll also love fresh strawberry pie and strawberry shortcake from scratch.

strawberry angel food cake on a plate

Why You Need Strawberry Angel Food Cake In Your Life

A good fresh strawberry dessert recipe is one of my favorites this time of year.  While the strawberries aren’t ripe for picking YET in Ohio, I do know that they are in other parts of the country, which has me thinking about strawberry desserts like strawberry rhubarb pie. And because I see the prices drop at our area grocery stores, I wanted to make a fun dessert that was very easy but used fresh strawberries!

  • Fresh strawberries. When strawberries are in season they are the best! This is a unique strawberry dessert that uses only 1 pound of fresh strawberries.
  • Easy to pull together. This dessert is super simple to make and a great one to have the kids join in on!
slice into strawberry dessert

Only Four Ingredients

To make this fresh strawberry dessert recipe you will only need four ingredients!

  • Strawberry Jell-O – I recommend the name brand. This is one instance where generic just doesn’t cut it.
  • Fresh Strawberries – You will need your strawberries to be frozen. You can use fresh; just pop them in the freezer for 24 hours before making this recipe.
  • Cool Whip – It brings this recipe all together. Use good ol’ cool whip or make your own.
  • Angel Food Cake – I buy it at the store in the bakery section. I mentioned, easy, right?
frozen fresh strawberries on parchment paper

How to Freeze Fresh Strawberries

It was easy to freeze the fresh strawberries. I would recommend doing this as you’re able to control the size of each strawberry. You know how huge strawberries can be? I like to be able to control that and cut cut them before freezing.

  1. Wash: The day before you plan to make this recipe, wash and cut one pound of fresh strawberries.  You’ll want the strawberries to be bite-size. 
  2. Freeze: Place them on parchment paper and freeze. 
  3. Store: Once they are semi-frozen you can put them in a plastic bag to use when you’re ready to make the strawberry angel food cake.
step by step photos on how to make strawberry angel food cake

How to Make

  1. Break the angel food cake into 1 – 2 inch pieces.  Add to a bowl and set aside.
  2. Boil 1 ¼ cups of water on the stove.  Dissolve the Jell-O into the boiling water.  Once dissolved, add the frozen strawberries and stir.  I then transferred the strawberry mixture to a mixing bowl.
  3. Fold in the cool whip into the strawberry mixture.  Yum!
  4. Add the angel food cake into the strawberry mixture until well combined.
strawberry angel food cake in pan

5. Pour into an 11×7 pan.  You can use a 9×13 pan, but I like my strawberry angel food cake thicker. 
6. Chill. Place the cake into the refrigerator for at least 3 hours to chill.  Longer is better!

This Fresh Strawberry Dessert recipe took minutes to make!  It’s an easy and fresh dessert to enjoy those fresh strawberries on a hot day!  No oven required.   Top with whipped cream if you prefer and enjoy!

Strawberry Angel Food Cake FAQ

What size pre-made angel food cake do I need to purchase?

I used a 13 oz bakery made angel food cake for this recipe.

Do I need to grease the pan before adding the strawberry mixture?

No. I didn’t and had no problems.

Why use fresh strawberries and not buy frozen ones?

I like to be in control of how big the strawberry bites are. I’ve also found that buying fresh certain times of the year is much cheaper. That being said, you could use store bought frozen strawberries if you prefer.

Can you use an angel food cake pan to make this recipe?

I did in the past, but it was very difficult to get the cake out of the pan. For this reason, I suggest using an 11×7 or 9×13 inch pan.

Watch How to Make This Strawberry Dessert

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fresh strawberry angel food cake recipe

Strawberry Angel Food Cake

★★★★★ 4.6 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Lynette Rice
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 0 min
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: No Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This strawberry angel food cake vintage recipe is made with jello, cool whip, frozen fresh strawberries, and angel food cake. That’s it! Only four ingredients. It’s a sweet no-bake make-ahead refrigerated strawberry dessert that has become a true family favorite for us.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 oz package of strawberry Jell-O
  • 1 ¼ cups water, boiling
  • 1 lb fresh strawberries, frozen
  • 1 (8 oz) package of Cool Whip, thawed
  • 13 oz angel food cake

Instructions

  1. Wash and cut fresh strawberries into bite-size pieces.  Freeze until ready to use.
  2. Break angel food cake into 1 – 2 inch pieces.
    angel food cake ideas with fresh strawberries in bowl
  3. Dissolve Jell-O in boiling water.  Add frozen strawberries and stir.
    fresh strawberries and jello in bowl
  4. Place strawberry mixture into a large bowl and fold in the Cool Whip.  Add angel food cake pieces and combine.
    easy strawberry cake recipe mixing cool whip with strawberries
  5. Pour into 11×7 or 9×13 pan.
    strawberry dessert in pan
  6. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or until fully set.

Equipment

set of 3 glass mixing bowls

Mixing Bowls

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11x7 ceramic baking pan

11×7 Baking Pan

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Notes

How to Freeze Fresh Strawberries

  • Wash: The day before you plan to make this recipe, wash and cut one pound of fresh strawberries.  You’ll want the strawberries to be bite-size.
  • Freeze: Place them on parchment paper and freeze.
  • Store: Once they are semi-frozen you can put them in a plastic bag to use when you’re ready to make the strawberry angel food cake.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 169
  • Sugar: 21
  • Sodium: 301.8
  • Fat: 1
  • Carbohydrates: 37.5
  • Protein: 3.7
  • Cholesterol: .1

Keywords: strawberry angel food cake, strawberry angel food dessert, angel food cake dessert, strawberry dessert

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @cleverlysimple on Instagram and hashtag it #cleverlysimple

More Strawberry Recipes

  • Strawberry Pretzel Salad Recipe
  • Homemade Strawberry Bread Recipe
  • Easy Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam Recipe

Strawberry Angel Food Cake Recipe originally shared May 2014.  Updated 2021.

« Deep Dish Pizza Recipe
Chocolate Coconut Pie »

About Lynette

Lynette is the home cook, recipe tester and photographer for Cleverly Simple which she created in 2010.  Most of her recipes come from the treasured recipe box passed down from her great-grandma, grandmother, and mother.

Lynette’s recipes and projects have been featured in Country Living, Good Housekeeping, House Beautiful and others.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tess

    July 22, 2021 at 8:55 pm

    Can I use already frozen strawberries (like from the frozen section) or will they make this too soggy?

    Reply
    • Tess

      July 22, 2021 at 9:16 pm

      It’s me. Replying to me. Don’t worry everyone. I actually read the recipe and it answered this question. Imagine that.

      Reply
    • Ashli

      August 07, 2021 at 12:53 am

      My store only had whipped cream not cool whip. Is this okay?

      Reply
      • Lynette

        August 23, 2021 at 1:41 pm

        It will work. I’ve used homemade whipped cream in the past and it worked fine.

        Reply
  2. Katie Slinde

    May 15, 2021 at 12:58 pm

    Can I use fresh strawberries without freezing

    Reply
    • Lynette

      May 26, 2021 at 12:42 pm

      I would not recommend using fresh strawberries as they are too juicy and will lead to sogginess.

      Reply
  3. Debbie

    March 30, 2021 at 12:02 pm

    The instructions do not include frosting the finished recipe with cool whip as it appears in the picture. Would that require additional cool whip and if so, how much, and should it be frosted before chilling for four hours?

    Reply
    • Lynette

      May 13, 2021 at 11:35 am

      Hi! Frosting the top is completely optional. It’s delicious as is. If you are going to frost the top, you can do it before serving. I would just purchase an additional container of cool whipe.

      Reply
  4. Maria

    September 14, 2020 at 12:32 am

    I made this recipe but it came out watery, I put it in the refrigerator. Was it suppose to go in the freezer?

    Reply
    • Lynette

      September 27, 2020 at 11:10 am

      Hmmmm, were your strawberries frozen when you added them? Or were they fresh? I’m trying to figure out where your extra water content came from.

      Reply
    • Anita

      May 24, 2022 at 10:28 pm

      Does this have to be eaten when cold, or it’ll start to disolve?

      Reply
  5. Barb

    August 15, 2020 at 8:13 am

    Assume this uses 1-1/4 CUPS of water? I’m making it now, and suggest that edit.

    Reply
    • Lynette

      August 26, 2020 at 9:47 am

      Yes! 1 1/4 Cups. Thanks for catching that. I’ve updated the recipe.

      Reply
      • Julie

        May 30, 2021 at 5:24 pm

        Has anyone ever tried making this with raspberries? I can’t find strawberry jello!

        Reply
        • Lynne

          February 04, 2022 at 9:32 am

          I’m looking for the same information. My mom is allergic to strawberries. Think I’ll try it anyway.

          Reply
  6. Debbie C

    July 14, 2020 at 3:48 pm

    I’ve been making this recipe for many years and it’s a big hit especially in the summer. The original recipe calls for whipping cream, but I use Cool Whip. Walmart cake doesn’t work very well for me, it’s too crumbly; a regular grocery store chain cake seems the best. I add 2T sugar to the strawberries before freezing and use a 9×13” pan. Make this soon, you won’t be disappointed.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  7. Yvette

    June 30, 2020 at 5:25 pm

    Making this right now. I can’t wait until it’s ready to eat! 😋

    Reply
  8. Lisa

    May 24, 2020 at 5:48 am

    Definitely going to try this. I’m on WW so going to try with sugar free jello and lite cool whip. Hope the end results are still the same!!

    Reply
    • Lynette

      May 31, 2020 at 3:16 pm

      I’m sure the taste will be a bit different but the texture should be the same. Let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
    • Debbie C

      July 14, 2020 at 4:32 pm

      My family can’t tell the difference.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
  9. Yvonne Mills

    May 12, 2020 at 4:28 pm

    I was so happy to find the strawberry, jello, angel food cake and whipped cream dessert.
    Many thanks

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lynette

      May 20, 2020 at 3:44 pm

      It’s one of our favorites! The perfect dessert this time of year!

      Reply
  10. Annmarie

    November 25, 2019 at 12:14 am

    Just made this yummy looking dessert! Can’t wait to try it! Couldn’t help but licking the spoon when i was done stirring the cool whip in LOL just wondering though, how long is this recipe good for while stored in the fridge?

    Reply
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Lynette Rice head shotHi, I’m Lynette. My desire is to help women who feel uninspired weave time honored recipes into their routines to create a sense of simplicity. Most of my recipes come from the treasured recipe box passed down from my great-grandma, grandmother and mother. And I want to share them with you.  Learn more.

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