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Easy Strawberry Cupcakes use my favorite method for doctoring cake mix to make cupcakes that are bursting with strawberry flavor. Top them with strawberry buttercream for double the sweetness!
You guys, it’s been quite the start of a week.
I know I shouldn’t complain at all because we just got home from an amazing vacation in Boca Grande, Florida, but I seriously feel like I’m suffering from a vacation hangover.
I’m so freaking tired, I have pretty much zero motivation to cook, bake, or even work.
Napping. That’s pretty much what I have motivation for right now.
I blame it all on Ohio’s weather – rain, clouds and just all around blah-ness. Which is pretty much the complete opposite of the glorious weather we just experienced for two weeks.
If I’m being real, I haven’t even unpacked my suitcase. I kinda keep telling myself there’s realllllly no point because it’s 40 degrees in Ohio right now, so it’s not like a beach wardrobe is a necessity.
However, instead of napping, or binge watching something on Netflix, I’m trying to get our lives back into a routine.
Even my sweet babe is having a hard time getting back into the swing of things and has consistently begged me for just 5 more minutes every morning I’ve gotten her up for school.
Basically we’re all struggling around here.
When we are all on the struggle bus like this, I like to reach into my arsenal of easy recipes. Sometimes just the act of baking, even if it’s something simple like Easy Strawberry Cupcakes, can kick my butt back into gear.
MAKING STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES WITH CAKE MIX
You guys love my Doctored Cake Mix. I get a ton of questions from readers curious if they can adapt the recipe with different flavor combinations.
Of course you can! This is one of my all-time favorite tricks.
I am all about berry recipes this time of year, so turning a simple vanilla cake mix into Easy Strawberry Cupcakes is a must.
Boxed vanilla cake mix combines with Greek strawberry yogurt and fresh strawberries to create simple, moist cupcakes that are bursting with strawberry flavor.
The diced fresh strawberries in the batter are what really make Easy Strawberry Cupcakes out-of-this-world good. They add extra flavor and texture to these cupcakes.
Add on a swirl of strawberry buttercream and you’ve got one stellar cupcake with minimal fuss.
STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
Of course you can top your Easy Strawberry Cupcakes with any flavor of homemade buttercream frosting that you like. (Lemon frosting would be delish!)
But me? I love to double the strawberry flavor with strawberry buttercream frosting.
To make buttercream bursting with flavor and tinged a natural light pink, I simply swapped the milk I would normally use in my buttercream for fresh strawberry puree.
You can add a drop or two of food coloring if you’d like an even bolder pink color, but I personally like seeing the darker flecks of strawberry in the light pink frosting.
MORE EASY CUPCAKE FLAVORS
If strawberries aren’t your thing, that’s ok. You can use the method for these Easy Strawberry Cupcakes to make other fruity cupcake flavors.
The world is your oyster here, folks!
Try it with peach Greek yogurt and fresh peaches, or blueberry yogurt and fresh blueberries. I’d love to hear the combinations you come up with, and how they worked for you.
Easy Strawberry Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 box French Vanilla cake mix 15.25 ounces
- ½ box instant vanilla pudding mix 3.4-ounce box
- 1 cup Greek strawberry yogurt
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup water
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup diced fresh strawberries about 10 medium berries
For the Frosting:
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1.5 pounds confectioners' sugar sifted (24 ounces or about 5.5 cups)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- About 8 medium fresh strawberries pureed (you'll need 4-5 tablespoons of puree)
Instructions
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, Greek yogurt, oil, water, eggs and vanilla. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined. Fold in diced strawberries
- Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells; about 3 tablespoons of batter per well.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 10 minutes. The cupcakes may develop a slight divot in the center as they cool, but no worries, you'll cover that with delicious frosting.
- Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare your frosting.
For the Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed and gradually add in the confectioners' sugar until it is completely incorporated. Add in vanilla and 3 tablespoons of the strawberry puree, mix until incorporated. Turn off the mixer and check the buttercream for taste and texture. Gradually add in the last 2 tablespoons of strawberry puree until you reach the desired level of strawberry flavor. Please note that adding more than the recommended 5 tablespoons could result in a thinner frosting. Turn the mixer back up to medium-high speed and beat the mixture for about 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and if desired, garnish with fresh strawberries.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Back again… I used the Organics brand of cake mix and the Organics brand of vanilla pudding, even though it was not instant pudding, they were the only brands I could find that were dye free.. They turned out very well. I made 2 batches so that I could make a mini cake for the birthday girl. I have used and followed your other recipes to a tee and they are amazing, but when it comes to the vanilla mixes, they tend to have more dyes in them… and the chocolate mixes do not. So I have to venture outside the intended recipe.
I’ve made a similar version of this recipe; instead of the pudding mix, I used 3 Tbsp of strawberry jello. For the buttercream cream frosting, I cooked down frozen strawberries, pureed them and once cooled, added to frosting.
These are So Yummy!!! This is my most requested flavor, done as cupcakes or a cake
If you used the cake box with pudding in the mix, does that mean you don’t need to add a pudding package in?
Hi there –
No, you still need to use the package of pudding.
– Jamie
These look yummy! I wonder if I can use Strawberry syrup for the puree? Either way I can see a batch of these in my future.
Hi Gretchen,
I wouldn’t recommend swapping in syrup.
– Jamie
Hi I’m fairly new to baking, so I was wondering if the Betty Crocker’s mix already has pudding, would I still need the instant pudding? Thanks!
Hi Belle,
Yes, you would still need the pudding mix.
– Jamie
I just made your cupcakes! Absolutly delicious!!!!! I will be making them again. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Great directions!
Thanks so much for your recipe! I Love it! They turned out perfect!
ok… I have to say… I altered this to death! They were great. I was tryin to accomidate a cowarker that has a restrictive diet. No food dyes, cotten seed oil and no dairy.
I found an organic cake and pudding mix, even though I like to use what is reccommended. I wanted to take extra caution. I used coconut oil. Eggs were ok, but I had to use soy yogurt(it looks nasty). They didn’t rise as well, but I expected worse to be honest with you.
I did have to find a coconut oil icing recipe elsewhere, but it worked beautifully with the strawberry puree.
making these again, only the right way on Friday :)
Melanie-
It’s sweet of you to alter them so much for them, and it sounds like they were still delicious! Stop back and let us know your experience with the recipe this time too! Have a wonderful day and thank you for following MBA!
-Jamie
My cupcakes fell in the middle once they cooled off. I followed the instructions to the T. my cake mix had pudding in it, but it still added the additional box. Was i suppose to add the additional ingredients that was on the cake box also. IPlease advise.
Shamitra,
It’s fine that you added the pudding to the cake mix that also had pudding. The recipe above should have the same ingredients that were called for on the back of the box. Usually cupcakes fall if the wells are too full. Try to make sure they’re no more than 2/3 full.
– Jamie
Your recipe sounds and looks wonderful. If you use the cake mix with the pudding in the mix, do you still use the 1/2 package of pudding mix?
Hi Ethel,
Yes, you do.
– Jamie