Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar — Easy, Beautiful & Perfect for a Crowd!
These strawberry shortcake jars are layered with fresh berries, fluffy whipped cream, and tender cake right in mason jars — gorgeous for Canada Day, 4th of July, picnics, or any summer gathering. So easy and absolutely stunning!
The other day I was digging through old photo files and stumbled on this forgotten set of images—mason jars filled with fluffy cake, whipped cream, and juicy strawberries. And I couldn’t believe I forgot to share with you this beautiful idea for strawberry shortcake in jars!
This fun summer dessert idea is perfect for patriotic holidays like the 4th of July or Canada Day, or as a pretty and fun-to-serve option for summer picnics and reunions. It’s easy to customize, looks beautiful, and will be a hit!
Why You’ll Love This Summer Dessert idea
- Perfect for Entertaining – These individual desserts are portable and easy to hold in your hand while eating – perfect for outdoor, casual settings. Set them on a tray for people to grab, or set up a station for them to assemble their own!
- Easy to Customize – You can certainly make homemade shortcake, but if you’re short on time- use store-bought pound cake or angel food cake.
- Beautiful Presentation – This dessert presentation is a stunner – the beautiful layers show up like sparkling stars in Mason jars.
Ingredients Needed for Mason Jar Strawberry shortcake
This strawberry shortcake idea is highly customizable based on whether you want it totally homemade and from scratch, or if you want a quicker & easier option! To layer up the elements of this dessert, you’ll need
- Cake: You could use any of the following options: homemade shortcake (the ones pictured are from my friend’s Strawberry Shortcake Sliders recipe), homemade or storebought vanilla cake, angel food cake, or poundcake.
- Whipping cream: Freshly whipped, canned, or Cool Whip would work
- Strawberries: Fresh, sliced and sprinkled with sugar
- Blueberries: Optional, but would make a great red, white, and blue dessert!
- Mint leaves and decorative sliced strawberries for decoration on top: Optional
Strawberry Shortcake In a Jar
Discover how to layer homemade or store-bought cake, whipped cream, and strawberries in mason jars for a beautiful summer dessert everyone will love.
Ingredients
- 4 cups cake cubes (shortcake, poundcake, or white cake)
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, & sliced
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped or 1- 8 ounce container cool whip
- 1 tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix (optional)
Instructions
- Combine sliced strawberries with sugar. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add pudding mix (if using) and whip to stiff peaks.
- Layer in 8 ounce mason jars: cake, whipped cream, and strawberries. Repeat again and end with strawberries.
Notes
If using fresh whipped cream, it is best to serve these immediately after assembling. If you use stabilized whipped cream (like cool whip) they can be assembled earlier and stored in the fridge before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 767Total Fat: 49gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 152mgSodium: 332mgCarbohydrates: 80gFiber: 1gSugar: 62gProtein: 6g
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar — Step by Step
(For all the detailed instructions, refer to the printable recipe card above.)
1. Slice strawberries & sprinkle with sugar. Let sit for at least 15 minutes. 
2. Layer up cake, strawberries, & whipped cream 
3. Top with a decorative sliced strawberry.
How to Slice Strawberries for Garnish
Watch the quick video below for an easy way to turn strawberries into a pretty garnish:
Helpful Tips When Making This Recipe
- Use wide-mouth mason jars for easier layering and serving.
- For a neater look, pipe the whipped cream using a piping bag or zip-top bag with the corner snipped.
- Let the strawberries sit long enough with the sugar so they get nice and juicy!
- You can customize this and use whatever size mason jars you’d like. Jam jars would make a cute little dessert serving.
- If using fresh whipped cream, serve immediately after assembling to prevent the layers from getting soggy. (Cool Whip is more forgiving.)
FAQs
“Can I make strawberry shortcake in a jar ahead of time?” Yes, with one little trick! If you’re using Cool Whip or stabilized whipped cream, you can assemble these several hours ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator. If you’re using freshly whipped cream, assemble right before serving so the layers stay beautiful and the cake doesn’t get soggy. Either way, you can prep all the components ahead of time!
“What size mason jars work best for strawberry shortcake jars?” Wide-mouth 8-ounce mason jars are my favourite — they’re the perfect single-serving size and the wide mouth makes layering so much easier. That said, you can use whatever you have on hand! Smaller jam jars make adorable little desserts for a large crowd, and pint jars work beautifully for a more generous serving.
Substitutions and Variations for these Mason Jar Strawberry Shortcakes
- Cake: Try chocolate cake for a fun twist.
- Fruit: Substitute raspberries, blueberries, or peaches.
- Whipped Cream: Use store-bought whipped topping for speed, and let guests assemble their own.
- Pudding Layer: Add a thin layer of vanilla pudding between the cake and strawberries for an extra creamy treat.
Grandma Rita’s Kitchen Tips
Don’t worry about perfection—layered desserts like this are beautifully forgiving. You can experiment with cake types, fruit combos, or different jar sizes. Be bold and tweak what you have on hand!
Other Strawberry Recipes You May Enjoy:
- Grandma’s Strawberry Pie is always a hit, and can be made ahead of time.
- Strawberry quick bread is perfect for brunch, breakfast, or tea time – and freezes beautifully.
- This best vanilla strawberry cake is a showstopper with fresh strawberry frosting and strawberry slices on top.
Free printable set!!
Snag the planner I use to simplify grocery trips and dinners!
Pin It Now, Make It Later
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I made these for a family picnic last weekend, and they were a huge hit! The layers stayed so beautiful in the jars, even after traveling in a cooler. Do you think this would work with gluten-free cake mix, or would the texture be too crumbly?
I made these for a family barbecue last weekend and they were a huge hit — the individual jars made serving so easy and kept everything neat. The layers looked so pretty that everyone grabbed their phone before digging in. Do you think this would work with gluten-free cake mix?