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
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar — Step by Step
(For all the detailed instructions, refer to the printable recipe card above.)
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.
Snag the planner I use to simplify grocery trips and dinners!
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Strawberry Shortcake In a Jar
Learn to stack cake, whipped cream and strawberries in mason jars for a pretty summer dessert that guests will enjoy.
Ingredients
Method
- Toss the sliced strawberries with sugar and let them sit for 30 minutes.
- Whip the cream to soft peaks. If using pudding mix, add it and whip until stiff peaks form.
- Layer cake, whipped cream and strawberries in 8-ounce mason jars. Repeat once more and finish with strawberries on top.
Notes
Fresh whipped cream is best served right after assembly. Stabilized whipped cream, such as a whipped topping, lets you assemble the jars earlier and refrigerate them until serving.
Serve these straight after assembling if you’ve used fresh whipped cream. With stabilized whipped topping, you can build them ahead and keep them chilled until it’s time to serve.
