This old-fashioned Strawberry Pretzel Salad consists of a salty pretzel crust topped with a creamy and sweet cream cheese layer and a strawberry jello topping filled with fresh strawberries.
Easy Dessert Recipe
It’s the perfect dessert to satisfy your salty-sweet cravings and take advantage of in-season strawberries.
This is far from your typical salad. In fact it’s not a salad at all. Strawberry Pretzel Salad is along the lines of Watergate Salad. A dessert that’s called a salad. It tastes similar to a no-bake cheesecake.
Tips For Making Strawberry Pretzel Salad
You can use frozen strawberries instead of fresh.
Be sure to spread the cream cheese layer all the way to the edges so that the jello layer doesn’t seep down and make the pretzels soggy.
If you like a little saltiness in your sweets, you will find this layer dessert to be positively addictive. Each of the 3 layers is delicious on its own, but put them all together and you have amazing flavor and texture contrasts.
Different versions of this recipe can easily be made. Try a Pineapple Pretzel Salad or using peaches or raspberries.
How To Serve
Strawberry Pretzel Salad is a classic summer dessert that makes a wonderful make-ahead dish for a potluck or picnic.
If it’s not strawberry season, you can use frozen strawberries. Be sure to thaw them and drain them well.
Storage
Will keep in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.
Try These Other Strawberry Desserts
- Strawberry Sheet Cake
- Easy Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Twinkie Cake
- No-Bake Strawberry Lasagna
- Strawberry Pretzel Icebox Pie
- Strawberry Nutella Dessert Pizza
- Strawberry Lemonade Bars
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed thin salted pretzels
- 3/4 cup butter,, melted
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 8 ounces cream cheese,, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 (8-ounce) container frozen whipped topping,, thawed
- 1 (6-ounce) package strawberry Jello-O
- 2 cups boiling water
- 2 cups thinly sliced fresh strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, mix together crushed pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Press into a lightly greased 9X13-inch pan. Bake for 8 minutes and cool completely.
- Use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese and 1 cup sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping using a rubber spatula. Spread over cooled pretzel crust being sure cream cheese mixture completely covers and seals the crust. This will help keep the jello layer from seeping down.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (can be refrigerated overnight at this point).
- In a bowl, whisk together jello and boiling water until jello is completely dissolved. Add the strawberries. Refrigerate for 5 minutes and then pour on top of cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until firm.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published May 5, 2014
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Such a classic! Love this gorgeous dessert!
Desserts with a little saltiness are my favorite! Love the sound of that crust!!
This is one salad that definitely would not mind eating every single day! All that fresh strawberry goodness looks amazing with the pretzel crust!!
Christin, this ‘salad’ dessert looks so festive! I’m with you in loving summer strawberries. They are so juicy and flavorful this time of year. And, I love how light and fluffy this gem looks. Pinned!
You know that I love this one with all of those fresh strawberries! And you said it’s salad, right? That means I can have two pieces 🙂
2 helpings due to being a salad.
What a lovely dessert with strawberries! 🙂 Not too sweet.. Yummy!
Not too sweet is right. But I also like the cream cheese in here not to mention the pretzel crust. And I’m on dessert duty for Mother’s Day. This is more stressful than loosing to my students at badminton (gym teacher here). And my in-laws are coming and expect me to whip up something.
loved the colors. Looks yummilicious..
Oh this looks fantastic, Christin! My aunt makes something very similar for family parties and I devour it every time. Love the strawberry and pretzel combo!
The perfect summer treat!
I love using strawberries in desserts, especially this time of year when they’re so fresh. This looks delicious! Love the pretzel crust on the bottom too.