These easy strawberry brownies are really super quick and are easy strawberry cake bars packed with strawberry flavor and a cream cheese topping.
These are moist and chewy and include cream cheese, strawberry cake mix and strawberry jam.
They’re quick to throw together and are the easiest way to satisfy a strawberry cake craving.
Table of Contents:
These strawberry bars start with a strawberry cake mix, which makes them quick and easy to throw together. You’ll also add in a little strawberry jam to punch up the strawberry flavor.
The topping is rich, creamy, and made with cream cheese, a touch of strawberry jam, butter, and confectioner’s sugar. You will LOVE this topping. It really completes these strawberry brownies.
Basically, these aren’t brownies with chocolate, they’re more like pink brownies. I like referring to them as brownies though because the texture is similar. They are rich, chewy and moist and make the perfect strawberry snack.
Ingredient Notes:
Now let’s talk a little about just some of the ingredients that are in these strawberry cake mix brownies. (The printable list of all ingredients is in the recipe card below.)
Strawberry cake mix: This will be the basis for this recipe and it’s what makes everything come together so quickly. I prefer using Betty Crocker strawberry cake mix, but Duncan Hines should work as well.
Vegetable oil, eggs and cream cheese: These will give the cake lots of moisture. The eggs will make it rise and the cream cheese will give it a chewy texture, plus moisture and give the brownies a nice taste.
Strawberry jam or spread: Adding a bit of jam or spread to the batter will give it that extra punch of strawberry flavor.
Vanilla extract: This is always a good basic ingredient to add to baked goods, especially in recipes using a cake mix as it helps to add a homemade taste to it.
How to Make these Cake Bars
Let’s talk about how to make strawberry cake bars from a cake mix. (The printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Step 1:
First, make the brownie bars. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray or grease a 9×13 inch pan.
Step 2:
Add all of the brownie bar ingredients to a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high until well mixed.
Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again until everything is well incorporated.
Step 3:
Add the batter to the prepared pan and spread it evenly.
Step 4:
Bake these at 350 degrees F for approximately 15 minutes. Make sure to pull these out of the oven when the baking time is up. If these overbake, they will dry out.
The bars will still feel a little jiggly in the middle when they’re pulled out of the oven, but they will firm up as they cool.
Once fully baked, take the bars out of the oven and set the pan on a cooling rack to cool completely. Make sure to let them cool completely before adding the glaze and cutting them.
Step 5:
While the bars are cooling, you can make the topping. Add the butter, cream cheese and jam to a mixing bowl and mix on medium-high speed until well mixed and creamy.
Step 6:
Add the confectioner’s sugar and mix on low until incorporated, then on medium-high until well mixed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
Step 7:
If you want the topping to be pink, add a drop or two of pink or red food coloring and mix well.
Step 8:
Add the topping to the completely cooled brownie bars. Slice and serve.
Easy Strawberry Brownies (Strawberry Cake Bars)
Ingredients
For the brownies/bars:
- 1 (15 ounce) box strawberry cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Strawberry cake mix)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons strawberry jam or spread (I used Smucker's Natural Strawberry Fruit Spread)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the topping:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1/2 stick)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- drop of pink or red food coloring optional
Instructions
For the brownies/bars:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray or grease a 9×13 inch pan.
- Add all of the brownie bar ingredients to a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high until well mixed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again until everything is well incorporated.
- Add the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 15 minutes. Pull these out of the oven when the baking time is up. Be careful not to overbake as that will dry them out. These bars will still feel a little jiggly in the middle when they're pulled out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool.
- Once baked, take the bars out of the oven and set the pan on a cooling rack to cool completely. Make sure to let them cool completely before adding the glaze and cutting them.
For the topping:
- Add the butter, cream cheese and jam to a mixing bowl and mix on medium-high speed until well mixed and creamy.
- Add the confectioner’s sugar and mix on low until incorporated, then on medium-high until well mixed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again.
- Add a drop or two of pink or red food coloring and mix well if you want the topping to be pink in color.
- Add the glaze to the top of the brownie bars and smooth out.
Notes
Nutrition
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Tips & FAQs:
I like referring to these as brownies because the texture is similar. They are rich, chewy and moist. They’re more like pink brownies.
I used Betty Crocker, but Duncan Hines should also work just fine. You can basically use whatever brand you prefer, however it will need to be a cake mix that’s around the 15-ounce range.
Make sure the cream cheese is almost room temperature when adding it the bar batter and when making the topping. It’s much easier to mix and much creamier. When it’s cold, it tends to clump up.
No, it’s optional, but it does add extra strawberry flavor.
No, you can omit that if you don’t mind having a cream-colored topping and not pink. That’s totally your call.
It’s very important to pull these out of the oven when the baking time is up. If they’re really soft in the middle, you can give them another minute, but be careful not to overbake as that will dry them out. These bars will still feel a little jiggly in the middle when they’re pulled out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
I would not make these ahead of time to freeze. They may turn out okay, but I have a feeling that they wouldn’t be soft and chewy after freezing them.
Cover these well and store these in the refrigerator for up to about 5 days.
To serve, pull the brownie bars out of the refrigerator and let them sit out for about 20 minutes, so they come closer to room temperature and are chewy instead of cold and firm.
Feel free to add semi-sweet mini chocolate chips or white chocolate chips.
These bars would be perfect in the summer or any other time you have a strawberry treat craving. You could also make them for gender reveal parties or baby showers and they would be fun for Valentine’s Day as well.
Video:
Supplies used for this recipe:
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