Recipe for Strawberry Pretzel Salad- Spaceships and Laser Beams

Name: Recipe for Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 145 min
Ingredients: 2½ cups crushed pretzels; 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)

a close up shot of Strawberry Pretzel Jello Dessert Salad on plate with a bite taken out of it

A simple pretzel crust is topped with a sweetened cream cheese and Cool Whip middle layer and then finished off with a strawberry jello layer for this delicious dish.

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Table of Contents

Jello Pretzel Salad Ingredients
Substitutions And Additions
How To Make This Strawberry Pretzel Salad
How Far In Advance Can I Make Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad?
How To Serve Jello Pretzel Salad
How To Store This Recipe For Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Strawberry Pretzel Dessert FAQs
More Recipes You’ll Love
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Strawberry pretzel salad is an old-fashioned Southern no-bake dessert recipe that’s popular at potlucks and holiday dinners, but why it’s called a salad is anyone’s guess! This fruity, sweet, and salty treat is actually a strawberry dessert with a creamy filling and buttery pretzel crust.

a slice of Strawberry Pretzel Salad on plate with a bite taken out of it

Jello Pretzel Salad Ingredients

strawberry pretzel salad raw ingredients that are labeled

You’ll need:

5 cups of salted pretzels (You’ll need five cups of whole pretzels. After you crush them, you’ll have about two and a half cups.)
1½ cups of sugar, divided in half
¾ cup of butter
12 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
12 ounces of Cool Whip, thawed
6 ounces of strawberry gelatin
2 cups of boiling water
2 cups of ice water
3 to 4 cups of fresh strawberries, sliced

Substitutions And Additions

STRAWBERRIES: Pretzel jello salad doesn’t have to be strawberry flavor.

You can use fresh raspberries, blueberries, cherries, oranges, peaches, pineapple, or even a mixture of different fresh fruit if you’re feeling fancy.

WHIPPED TOPPING: If you can’t get Cool Whip, an alternative to this whipped topping would be softly whipped cream with a little sugar added.

Check out our own homemade whipped cream recipe.

How To Make This Strawberry Pretzel Salad

STEP ONE: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly butter the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan.

STEP TWO: In a medium bowl, combine crushed pretzels (you’ll need five cups of whole pretzels giving you about two and a half cups crushed), ¾ cup sugar, and melted butter.

Press the mixture 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.

PRO TIP:

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 also use a food processor to crush them.

crushed pretzel pressed into the baking dish

STEP THREE: Bake the pretzel base for ten minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

STEP FOUR: 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.

cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and cool whip folded in a bowl

STEP FIVE: Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the cooled pretzel crust.

When adding the cream cheese filling to the pan, make sure that it goes all the way to the edges of the pan.

This creates a barrier to prevent the jello from seeping down into the pretzel bottom layer and making it soggy.

cream cheese mixture spread on top of the pretzel crust

STEP SIX: 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.

PRO TIP:

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.

water added to the jello and stirred in a bowl

STEP SEVEN: Carefully pour the strawberry jello mixture over the cream cheese and whipped cream layer.

Cover and refrigerate for two hours or until the jello is set. Slice into squares to serve.

PRO TIP:

If the Cool Whip is your favorite ingredient in this dessert, you can add a little more on top of each serving.

strawberry jello poured over the top of the cream cheese mixture

How Far In Advance Can I Make Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad?

You can make strawberry pretzel jello salad a day or two in advance of serving it, but we wouldn’t recommend keeping it any longer than that, as the pretzels may begin to get soggy.

How To Serve Jello Pretzel Salad

Make this tasty treat to bring to a gathering. The sweet and salty combo will be a huge hit with everyone.

Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an added level of decadence.

Other fruity and easy-to-make potluck desserts we love include blueberry dump cake and no-bake strawberry jello pie.

MORE STRAWBERRY RECIPES

Drinks

Southern Strawberry Sweet Tea

Pie Recipes

Cream Cheese Strawberry Pie

How To Store This Recipe For Strawberry Pretzel Salad

IN THE FRIDGE: It’s perfectly fine to make this strawberry pretzel dessert a day or two ahead of your party.

Just cover it and store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve it.

Leftover strawberry pretzel salad with fresh strawberries will keep for up to three days in the refrigerator.

IN THE FREEZER: It’s not a good idea to freeze this delicious recipe.

Freezing jello destroys the chemical bonds in the gelatin, which means that it will become runny when you defrost it.

The strawberries and hard pretzels are likely to go a bit mushy too.

a close up shot of Strawberry Pretzel Jello Dessert Salad in a baking dish with a spatula picking up a piece of the dessert salad

Whether you’re hosting a barbecue, bringing an easy dessert to a family gathering, or just want a simple dessert for the holiday season, this classic strawberry pretzel salad recipe is sure to go down a treat.

The sweet strawberry jello, creamy Cool Whip, and salty pretzel crust together create a taste sensation that will be a family favorite.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert FAQs

Can I use a different base for this salad?

While pretzels are in the name of this strawberry jello pretzel salad, you could replace the crushed pretzels with graham crackers or vanilla wafers for the crust.

Can I change the flavor of this dessert?

This recipe is flexible. Change up the fruit and jello flavor to whatever you prefer. Or mix and match. Try blueberries with lemon or black cherry jello for fun combinations.

What kind of pretzels are the best choice for this recipe?

Salted pretzels should be used for this recipe as they add that salty element. You can use either pretzel sticks or twists.

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