Easter Trifle

This vibrant and colorful spring dessert is made with layers of Funfetti cake, creamy vanilla pudding, and Cool Whip. Easter Trifle is easy to make, fun to eat, and a delicious dessert that everyone enjoys.

Are you looking for an easy dessert to serve with your Easter meal? I have the perfect dessert for you! Vanilla Easter Trifle. I love all those pretty pastels. It’s a dessert that’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

All you need is a trifle dish and a little imagination. Get the kids involved, too! They can help with its easy assembly.

It gets a little messy when you serve it, but boy, does it ever taste delicious. You can experiment with different flavor combinations. I used vanilla and Funfetti in this recipe.

Get our FREE
e-cookbook

I want it!

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at anytime.

If you’ve never made a trifle recipe before, this layered dessert is a great one to try. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy to prepare with boxed cake mix, instant pudding, and Cool Whip
• Easter bunny approved
• Customizable to suit your preferences
• It can be made any time of year if you change up the colors and flavors
• Feeds a crowd
• Preparation can be started a day in advance
• Kids can help make
• Beautiful dessert for your Easter celebration
• Scrumptious with creamy pudding and layers of cake
• Perfect for people who like easy desserts

Ingredients

The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.

• Party Rainbow Chip cake mix. Prepare the cake box mix according to the package directions. Funfetti cake mix can also be used. 
• Vanilla instant pudding. Prepare two boxes of vanilla instant pudding according to the package directions.
• Milk. I used 2% milk.
• Blue and pink food coloring.
• Cool Whip. You can also make your own homemade Cool Whip if it’s not available in your area.
• Green, pink, and blue edible candy grass.
• Easter egg candies for decorating. I used Whoppers Robin Eggs, but you could use chocolate eggs, or mini eggs.

How to Make Easter Trifle

• Step One: Bake the cake according to package directions, with parchment paper inside the pan for easy removal. After 10 minutes, remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool completely. Using a serrated knife, cut the cake into 1-inch pieces.

• Step Two: Prepare the pudding according to package directions, keeping each package of pudding in a separate bowl. Add a few drops of blue food coloring to one bowl, then add a few drops of pink food coloring to the other bowl. Be sure to only add a little at a time until you get the desired color. 

• Step Three: Tightly place one layer of cake cubes in the bottom of the trifle bowl or large glass bowl (fit as much cake as you can, without gaps). Spoon one of the bowls of pudding mixture over the top of the cake. Now, spoon in 2 cups of the Cool Whip over the pudding layer. 

• Step Four: Repeat this process with another layer of cake, the other color of pudding, and then two more cups of Cool Whip.
• Step Five: Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. 

• Step Six: Make bird nests (2 of each color) from the edible candy grass. Do this by holding a half-inch-thick group of grass and spinning it tightly in a circle, starting from one end. 
• Step Seven: Before serving, decorate the top of the trifle with six bird nests and add three candy eggs into each nest. 

What to Serve for Easter Dinner

Along with your Easter Trifle, here are some more ideas for Easter meals.

• Carrot Casserole
• Brown Sugar Dijon Pork Tenderloin
• Air Fryer Asparagus
• Company Peas
• Cheesy Corn Casserole
• Swedish Potatoes
• Hot Cross Buns

Variations and Substitutions

• Substitute the vanilla instant pudding for another flavor. You could try banana, lemon, or white chocolate pudding. Keep in mind that yellow and white-colored puddings work best for dyeing them different colors.
• Use whipped cream instead of Cool Whip. You can make your own by combining 1 cup of heavy cream, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat until stiff peaks form.
• Try another flavor of cake. You could use a yellow or white cake mix. Lemon cake, sponge cake, or angel food cake are also yummy.
• Include cookies. Add a layer or two of crushed Golden Oreos or other cookies. 
• Make it more colorful. Add food coloring to the whipped topping for more colored layers.
• Small sweet details. Add sprinkles or berries to the layers.

Storage Instructions

Store Easter Trifle Bowl, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I don’t recommend freezing this dessert.

Can I Make It In Advance?

You can bake the cake one day in advance. This will allow you to assemble the trifle more quickly.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• When adding the cake to the trifle bowl, try to fit as many pieces of cake as you can in a single layer without gaps. You don’t want the pudding to seep through the gaps in the cake. You can break up the cake pieces to fill in any tiny gaps between the pieces of cake. 
• The cake will be easier to cut if you chill it first. 
• To get brighter colors, use a white chocolate pudding mix instead of vanilla. This way, the food coloring is mixed with a white base versus a yellow base.
• Tightly roll the candy grass nests to keep them together. Stray strands can be tucked into the whipped topping to hold them in place.
• Refrigerating a trifle for at least 4 hours prevents it from falling apart as much when it’s being served. I find it tastes better chilled.

Easter Desserts

• Easter Bark
• Leftover Easter Candy Rice Krispie Treats
• Berry Cheesecake Trifle
• Classic Carrot Cake
• Easter Egg Brownies
• Italian Easter Cookies
• Easter Puppy Chow

Plus many more Easter recipes!

Follow me on Instagram @simplystacieblog, Facebook at Simply Stacie, TikTok @simplystacierecipes or Pinterest at @simplystacie and let me know how you liked this recipe and my other recipes.