This Old School Boxed Red Velvet Cake Mix Is The Best You'll Find

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Red velvet cake is a classic known for its moist texture, vibrant color, and rich cocoa flavor. While you can definitely make a great rendition of the sweet treat at home or from a mix, it's important to note that not all red velvet boxed cakes are equal. In a recent ranking of the most popular red velvet cake mixes, we ranked Old School Brand as the best take on the classic cake — which dates back to the "velvet" cakes of Victorian times, and was popularized in the United States during the early 20th century thanks to its signature red hue. Old School Brand's red velvet outshined the others due to its simple ingredient list, moist texture, and chocolate-forward taste — making it most similar to homemade.

While red velvet cake traditionally achieves its striking red appearance with a range of coloring ingredients, from beets to food dye, some of the biggest boxed cake mix brands can go too far with intense flavorings, preservatives, and added oils or emulsifiers, which can give store-bought cake mixes an off flavor or spongy texture. Old School Brand, which was established in Ablemarle, North Carolina in 1992, includes artificial food coloring, but it pulls off its product with a comparatively sparse ingredient list, similar to what you'd whisk together in your own kitchen: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and food coloring. The front of the cake mix pack boldly declares: "Quality & Goodness," and we'd have to agree.

Though bigger brands like Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker may be more widely available in large retail stores, you can easily find Old School Brand boxed red velvet cake mix on Amazon, in smaller local shops, or on the Old School Brand website. At first whisk, you'll notice the mix gets its home-baked taste from the addition of fresh ingredients including eggs, milk, and softened butter – as opposed to water and oil sometimes called for in other boxed mix preparation methods. This contributes to the cake's super fresh, authentic taste, just like you'd find from a classic (and decadent) red velvet recipe. 

While the baking instructions of Old School Brand's red velvet are specifically for making a loaf cake, similar to a breakfast bread, when making the mix, you can get creative and depart from the pack's instructions. Prepare the cake batter and transfer it to a cupcake tin, bundt pan, or round cake pans for more traditional takes on the cake. Just reduce the bake time as needed, and know that it's done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For flavor twists on the mix, substitute regular dairy milk with buttermilk to reflect the tangy liquid ingredient used in many home recipes. Or add some spices to the mix to spruce up boxed cake mix like Duff Goldman does, before baking, cooling, and covering the cake in cream cheese frosting.