Easy Christmas Trifle

This easy Christmas trifle won't stress you out but will save your holiday entertainment. Layers of red velvet cake, pudding, and whipped cream come together quickly and make this gorgeous and delicious holiday treat.

Easy to make and so festive!

This Christmas trifle is quick and easy but it looks like you've spent hours making it.

I had fun using gingerbread cookies and sprinkles to decorate it, but you can certainly make it your own.

Red velvet cake mix and vanilla pudding tinted with green food color are so festive and will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.

Doesn't it look just so Christmassy and inviting? Dig into this delicious dessert this festive season! Happy Holidays to you and yours!

For more Christmas recipes, be sure to check out my Edible Christmas Candles and Homemade Christmas Baileys.

📃 Why it Works

• Although I prefer homemade cake to control what goes into it, I used a boxed mix for this recipe. Christmas cooking is already so demanding and stressful, so why not make baking a little easier, right? The little ones certainly don't care if it's made from scratch or not.
• Because we use a boxed cake mix, you can easily make this gluten-free if you or someone in your family has an intolerance.
• This is such a great make-ahead dessert! Perfect for the busy holidays!
• If you are entertaining a crowd, this Christmas trifle will easily serve 10!
• You can serve it in one dish or as individual servings!

🛒 Ingredients and Notes

• Red velvet cake: I use a box mix for this recipe to make this a really easy and convenient dessert. If you have a killer recipe for a red velvet cake, by all means, use that!
• Instant Pudding: I used vanilla flavored pudding, but you can use chocolate if you prefer a double chocolate trifle!
• Green food coloring: I used this gel food coloring, as it is more concentrated than liquid food coloring.

🔪 Instructions

1. Prepare the batter and bake in a 9x13-inch pan as directed on the package. Cool completely.
2. Beat pudding mixes and milk in a medium bowl with whisk for 2 minutes. Mix in green food coloring until the desired shade is reached.
3. Cut cake into ½-inch cubes. Distribute two layers of the cake, pudding, and the whipped cream evenly into individual glasses or layer half each of the cake, pudding, and the whipped cream in a trifle bowl; repeat layers.
4. Decorate as desired.

• Use white chocolate instant pudding mix instead of vanilla.
• If you like, omit the food coloring and use pistachio pudding instead. It won't be as vibrant in color, but it will still look great! 
• Let the cake cool completely before building your Christmas trifle. If it's still warm, the pudding will slide off the pieces and end up in the bottom of the bowl.

👉 Variations

There are plenty of ways to adapt this trifle for any occasion.

You can really use any boxed cake mix with any flavor pudding, different color of the coloring, or even swapping out whipped topping for frosting or something else - the world’s your oyster!

Well, the world’s your trifle at least! For example:

• A yellow cake mix with pink coloring in the pudding, with mini eggs and chopped chocolate sprinkled through the layers for Easter.
• Funfetti cake mix with no coloring (but sprinkles between each layer) and candles on top for a birthday
• Chocolate cake mix with red-colored pudding and plastic spiders and other Halloween decorations for a Halloween treat - and, of course, hidden candies between the layers.
• Chocolate cake with chocolate pudding and chocolate frosting instead of whipped cream for the chocolate-lover - and don’t forget to decorate with different types of a chocolate bar!
• White cake with pink or blue coloring for a gender reveal (or half pink and half blue!)
• Vanilla cake (all at the bottom) with blue coloring in both the pudding and whipped cream (with either jello, candy, or plastic sea creatures - think Swedish fish - scattered throughout the layers) for an ocean-lover. Don’t forget to put some of the sea creatures around the outside of the trifle bowl to serve as a sort of aquarium!

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Try more delicious Christmas desserts:

• Tiramisu Cheesecake
• Eggnog Gingerbread Cheesecake Cake
• Cranberry Orange Cream Tart
• Gugelhupf with Candied Fruit
• Guava Charlotte

Liked this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section. Your feedback is always appreciated! Stay in touch through Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook! Don't forget to sign up for my email list below too!