Holidays are my favorite and I love celebrating with food. Using the easy poke cake method, these red, white and blue cupcakes make the perfect treat to get you into the patriotic spirit for July 4th this summer.

Make your cupcakes from scratch, or use a simple box mix (which is what I typically do) and you’ll be enjoying these treats in no time.

And don’t worry, if you have a family member who isn’t into cupcakes (like I do) these adorable firecracker marshmallows are the perfect way to have something for everyone.

What I love about this recipe is the holiday part is more than just fun cupcake liners.

Thanks to Jell-o, the color is in the cake!

Here’s what you will need to create 4th of July Cupcakes

• White cake mix
• Eggs
• Vegetable Oil
• Water
• Strawberry Jell-o
• Berry Blue Jell-o
• White Frosting (cream cheese frosting is delicious)
• Blue gel food coloring (optional)
• Red gel food coloring (optional)
• Cupcake liners
• Red, white, and blue sprinkles

How to Make Red White and Blue Cupcakes

Once you have your ingredients, use the box of cake mix, eggs, and oil to prepare as the box instructs by mixing together in a large bowl.

Add your favorite patriotic holiday cupcake liners to your muffin tin, fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full with the cupcake batter.

Then, bake as instructed.

Allow cupcakes to cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

Then using a straw or chopstick, poke holes starting in the center of the cupcake.

In a small bowl for each color, combine of the Jell-o flavors with one cup of boiling water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved. 

After the gelatin cools, use a spoon or drizzler to pour each color into the holes on the cake, alternating between red and blue to create stripes.

Place the cupcakes in the refrigerator to chill for one hour, then the last step is to top with icing and sprinkles.

A little bit goes a long way.

I love this simple recipe and it would be great for Memorial Day or a fourth of July patriotic celebration.

Optional Frosting Ideas

For quick and cute decor, this Wilton decorating kit couldn’t be easier.

If you want to take your cake decorating a little further, divide your vanilla frosting into 3 separate bowls.

Add red food coloring to one, blue food coloring to another and leave the third bowl of frosting white. NOTE: I prefer the rich colors of gel coloring.

Feel free to stop there and decorate your cupcakes as normal.

Or using the method below, add a stripe of red frosting, blue frosting, and white frosting to a large piping bag for a tie-dye effect on top of each cupcake.

So cute!

Poke cake cupcakes are easy to make and so fun for a July celebration.

They are just a little different but so much fun to make and kids will love how colorful they are. It may just become one of your favorite recipes for a July dessert. Enjoy!

Print the Recipe: Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes