mRNA vaccine was approved clinically in 2020. Future development includes delivering mRNA to dendritic cells (DCs) specifically to improve effectiveness and avoid off-target cytotoxicity. Here, we developed virus-like particles (VLPs) as a DC tropic mRNA vaccine vector and showed the prophylactic effects in both SARS-CoV-2 and HSV-1 infection models. The VLP mRNA vaccine elicited strong cytotoxic T cell immunity and durable antibody response with the spike-specific antibodies that lasted for more than 9 months. Importantly, we were able to target mRNA to DCs by pseudotyping VLP with engineered Sindbis virus glycoprotein and found the DC-targeting mRNA vaccine significantly enhanced the titer of antigen-specific IgG, protecting the hACE-2 mice from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additionally, we showed DC-targeted mRNA vaccine also protected mice from HSV-1 infection when co-delivering the gB and gD mRNA. Thus, the VLP may serve as an in situ DC vaccine and accelerate the further development of mRNA vaccines.