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Review RecipeStrawberry Pretzel Salad

Sweet. Salty. Creamy. Crunchy. This Strawberry Pretzel Salad hits every note. If you’ve never had this iconic American dessert, imagine a no-bake cheesecake meets a fruit-topped jello, all resting on a buttery, salty pretzel crust. It’s retro. It’s ridiculous. And it totally works. This is one old fashioned dessert that is absolutely delicious.

🎉 Despite the name, there’s no lettuce in sight. Just a gloriously layered dessert that looks impressive but doesn’t require any fancy tricks—which is a lifesaver if you’re juggling a busy schedule or holiday chaos. 🎉
What Goes Into Strawberry Pretzel Jello

Ingredients Overview
- 2½ cups crushed salted pretzels – Crushed, not pulverized—you want texture and crunch, not crumbs.
- ¾ cup melted butter
- 1½ cups sugar
- 12 oz cream cheese
- 12 oz Cool Whip – If you cannot get it, you can make your own homemade Cool Whip.
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 6 oz strawberry gelatin – Two 3-oz boxes
- 3 to 4 cups fresh strawberries
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups cold water
How To Make This Strawberry Pretzel Salad
1. Make the crust:
Crush your pretzels (Ziploc bag + rolling pin = therapy session). Mix with sugar and melted butter, then press firmly into your pan. Bake it for 10 minutes and let it cool completely. This crust is salty, buttery, and holds together like a dream.

⚠️ Don’t skip the crust bake. It’s the key to holding everything together. ⚠️
2. Beat the filling:
Cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla get beaten until smooth, then folded gently with Cool Whip. This middle layer is what keeps your crust crisp and your jello in its place—don’t skip smoothing it all the way to the edges!

3. Make the jello topping:
Dissolve your strawberry gelatin in boiling water, stir in cold water, and add in the fresh strawberries. Chill until it’s thickened but not set—you want it pourable, not firm.

When making the jello, don’t leave it in the fridge for too long. If it sets too much, it will have chunks and won’t pour evenly.
4. Layer and chill:
Gently spoon or pour your jello over the cream cheese layer (start slow so it doesn’t sink). Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours until set.

How To Serve
Whether you’re making it for a holiday dinner, a family gathering, or just because jello desserts are having a comeback (they are!), this recipe brings the wow-factor with barely any effort.
Use a sharp knife to cut clean squares straight from the fridge—this dessert holds its shape beautifully when cold. A small offset spatula or pie server works wonders for getting those tidy layers out in one swoop.
It’s perfect just as it is, but if you want to take it up a notch, try adding a dollop of whipped cream. For a pretty presentation, top each slice with an extra strawberry slice, a pretzel or a little mint leaf.

How To Store A Jello Pretzel Salad
Strawberry pretzel salad is best made no more than a day in advance—you don’t want the crust to start to soften.
Store leftovers covered in the fridge for two to three days. but fair warning, people tend to go back for seconds and thirds. So you might not have any.
⚠️ Don’t freeze it—jello turns watery, strawberries go mushy, and the pretzels lose their crunch. Not worth it. ⚠️
More Pretzel Crust Desserts
Strawberry Pretzel Salad is nostalgic, no-fuss, and ridiculously good. The salty-sweet combo keeps it from being overly sugary, and the fresh strawberries balance everything out. But a pretzel jello salad doesn’t have to be strawberry flavor, here are some additional fun options:
- Orange Pretzel Salad Recipe
- Peach Pretzel Salad Recipe
- Lemon Pretzel Salad Recipe
- Pineapple Pretzel Salad Recipe

Recipe for Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Ingredients
- 2½ cups crushed pretzels (You’ll need five cups of whole pretzels. After you crush them, you’ll have about two and a half cups.)
- 1½ cups sugar, divided in half
- ¾ cup butter, melted
- 12 ounces cream cheese
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 12 ounces Cool Whip
- 6 ounces strawberry gelatin (2 packages)
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups cold water
- 3 to 4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly butter the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan.
- In a medium bowl, combine crushed pretzels, ¾ cup sugar, and melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. (You can crush pretzels by putting them in a Ziploc bag and using a rolling pin, wooden spoon, or your hands to crush them.)
- Bake the pretzel base for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, the remaining ¾ cup of sugar, and the vanilla until well combined. Next, carefully fold in the Cool Whip.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the pretzel crust. When adding the cream cheese mixture to the pan, make sure that it goes all the way to the edges. This creates a barrier to prevent the jello from seeping down into the pretzel base and making it soggy.
- In a medium bowl, dissolve the jello in two cups of boiling water. Once it is completely dissolved, add two cups of ice water and stir. Stir in the sliced strawberries. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until the jello is just starting to thicken but has not yet set.
- Carefully pour the strawberry jello over the cream cheese layer. Cover and refrigerate for two hours or until the jello is set. Slice into squares to serve.
Video
Notes
- Be sure to crush the pretzels very well to make sure there aren’t any large pieces of pretzels. If you would like, you can use a food processor to crush them.
- When making the jello, don’t leave it in the fridge for too long. If it sets too much, it will have chunks and won’t pour evenly. If you just can’t get enough of jello, you can add an extra 3-ounce box of gelatin and an extra two cups of water.
- If the Cool Whip is your favorite ingredient in this dessert, you can add a little more on top of each serving.
Comments
Karen says
Everyone liked this! I made a double batch (since I had a lot of ingredients) and froze one batch. I thawed it and served it 5 months later and it was still good and I got a lot of compliments again! Many said it brought back memories of years ago when a family member made this.