Strawberry pretzel salad is a layered dessert made up of crushed up pretzels for the crust, cool whip, and cream cheese for the middle layer, and it gets topped up with jello strawberries. You don't have to wait until a special event or Holiday to make it. Just make it now cause it is delicious!
This was a recipe made from Paula Deen and I made it lighter for Weight Watchers.
This recipe can be tough to get right on the first try because of all the different layers involved. Here are some tips that have helped me to make this recipe. I’ll let you all in on a little secret. It took me a couple times to get this right.
If you like more easy dessert recipes try No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies, No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, or Chewy No Bake Granola Bars.
Jump to:
Tips for Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- The jello layer with the strawberries takes the longest to make because it needs to set. Make that portion first.
- Let the jello layer completely cool before pouring it over the cream cheese and cool whip layer. If it is warm the jello will start seeping through.
- Spread the 2nd layer (cream cheese and cool whip) completely over the pretzels to help the jello.
- There is a lot of different kind of jello flavors out there. Change it up to your favorite. Raspberries or mandarin oranges would be good.
Ingredients:
- Crushed Pretzels - sub crushed graham crackers or Wafer cookies
- Melted butter - sub lightened up butter or margarine
- Cream Cheese - Let the cream cheese sit out for a while on your countertop to become room temperature.
- Frozen whipped topping - Use Heavy Whipping instead of Cool Whip but that will be more WW points.
- White sugar - Can use sugar substitutes if you wish. Look up the conversations for your favorite online. FYI - I don't like them cause they upset my stomach.
- Strawberry Gelatin - sugar-free jello can be used
- Boiling Water - has to be boiling to dissolve the jello
- Strawberries - fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries
- See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Step 2: Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar; mix well and press mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until set. Set aside to cool.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and ¼ cup sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture onto cooled crust.
Step 4: Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in still frozen strawberries and allow to set briefly. When the mixture is about the consistency of egg whites, pour and spread over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set.
Recipe Tips
I've never had any success and getting the jello and strawberry mixture to not seep through to the bottom of the pretzels. It's going to happen anyway so don't let that discourage you!
You can chop up the strawberries more if you don't like them whole like this.
This is an easy layered dessert to make and you can mix up the flavors! Try different fruit in the jello mixture like crushed pineapple or fruit cocktail salad.
Recipe FAQS
Pretzel salad is a classic dessert that combines the sweet and salty flavors. It is typically made with a pretzel crust, a creamy layer of sweetened whipped cream and cream cheese, and a layer of strawberry or raspberry jello on top.
Yes, you can definitely make strawberry pretzel salad the night before. In fact, it's recommended to make it ahead of time to allow the flavors to meld together and to give the dessert enough time to set properly. After assembling the crust with the pretzels and melted butter, you can let it cool to room temperature before adding the filling. Once the creamy filling is added, you can refrigerate the dessert overnight to allow it to set up properly. Finally, you can add the sliced strawberries on top just before serving to ensure they stay fresh and juicy. Enjoy your delicious strawberry pretzel salad!
Other Recipes to Try
Starbucks Salted Caramel Cold Brew Copy Cat
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
If you tried this Strawberry Pretzel Salad or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Recipes Diaries.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- Prep Time: 20min
- Cook Time: 8-10min
- Total Time: 28min
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Medium
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Strawberry pretzel salad is a layered dessert made up of crushed up pretzels for the crust, cool whip, and cream cheese for the middle layer, and it gets topped up with jello strawberries.
Ingredients
- 1 cup crushed pretzels
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 8oz package fat-free cream cheese, softened
- 1 8oz container fat-free whipped topping, thawed
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 3oz package strawberry gelatin (can use sugar-free)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 10 package frozen strawberries or fresh strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter, and 2 tablespoon sugar; mix well and press mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until set. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and ¼ cup sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture onto cooled crust.
- Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in still frozen strawberries and allow to. If the jello isn't cooled enough the liquid will seep through the other layers. Refrigerate until set.
- Divide into 9 equal portions
Notes
See the ingredients section above the recipe for ideas to make this WW-friendly. If using fat-free Cool Whip and cream cheese, sugar-free jello, and light margarine the points will be 7 per serving.
myWW points blue 7 ; green 7; purple 7 (WW recipe builder)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
- Calories: 247
- Sugar: 27g
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Carbohydrates: 36g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
Jenna says
Orange jello and canned mandarins would be good. So would raspberries.
Julie says
Looks delicious!! Unfortunately I’m allergic to strawberries. Have you ever used another fruit besides strawberries?
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says
Looks so delicious! I love a strawberry pretzel salad 🙂
jgisvold says
No, you don't need to drain the canned pineapple.
Christy Bllings says
Can you tell me if you drained the canned pineapple?
jgisvold says
It's 8 servings.
Sonny says
I was just wondering what a serving size would be. It looks delish!