Strawberry Pretzel Salad

How To Make Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Whether you are new to cooking or you’ve been around the kitchen for years, this simple strawberry pretzel dessert recipe is easy to make and is guaranteed to elicit wows at any gathering. Here are the general directions for making it—but use the recipe for all the specifics, so it’s sure to turn out perfectly:

Prepare the Strawberry Topping

Dissolve the gelatin in boiling water and stir in the strawberries. Refrigerate the mixture until it’s only partially set. If it’s too runny, it will seep down into the other layers. If it’s completely set, you can’t spoon it over the filling for a nice even layer on top.

Make the Pretzel Crust

Mix crushed pretzels with melted butter and sugar then press into the baking dish. Bake and cool the crust before adding the filling.

Mix the Creamy Filling

Beat thawed whipped topping, softened cream cheese, and sugar until smooth. Be sure the whipped topping is completely thawed, and the cream cheese has softened on the counter for about 30 minutes prior to using so that they can be beaten into a smooth mixture.

Layer the Salad

Spread the creamy filling over the cooled crust. Refrigerate the salad until the cream cheese filling is cool and the gelatin topping in the bowl is partially set. Spoon the gelatin over the topping.

Refrigerate and Serve

Refrigerate the salad at least 4 hours but up to 6 hours until it holds firm when the dish is jiggled. If it’s soft, the pieces won’t hold their shape when served. Cut into pieces, serve, and enjoy!

Making Strawberry Pretzel Salad in Advance

This pretzel salad recipe is a great one to make ahead to get a jump on preparing your meal or if you need to bring a dish to share. Since it is made in advance, you can get the crust in and out of the oven hours before you need it for other dishes! It needs time for each layer to set up, so they cut beautifully into nicely shaped pieces.

The pretzel Jell-O® salad is best prepared and served the same day, so that the pretzel crust will have the best crunchy texture. As it sits longer, the moisture from the cream cheese filling will leach into the pretzel crust, making it less crunchy and more tough.

Since this is a gelatin-based dessert, it needs to be kept cold, as heating it will melt the gelatin. And because it has cream cheese in it, always serve it straight from the fridge or leave it out no longer than 2 hours. This will prevent any bacteria from growing that could cause food borne illness.

The Best Pretzels and Jell-O to Use

Either regular-size or mini salted pretzels in the traditional pretzel shape can be used for our best strawberry pretzel salad. Use what you have in the cupboard (if they are still fresh and crunchy) and measure 2 cups before they are crushed. To crush them place them in a resealable food-storage bag and pound with a rolling pin, meat mallet, or even the back of a pan! This should keep the mess down. They don’t have to be crushed to a fine powder, but the pieces should be small (about 1/4 to 1/2-inch each).

For the best strawberry flavor, we used regular strawberry-flavored gelatin with thawed frozen strawberry slices, for a burst of strawberry flavor in every serving. The salad is also faster to make when you start with pre-sliced and perfectly sweetened berries, rather than making your own. Want to change up the flavor of this strawberry pretzel salad with Jell-O? See the delicious ideas below in the strawberry pretzel salad variations section.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad Variations

Change up the flavor of the gelatin and/or the frozen fruit in this recipe, and you’ve got an entirely different dessert. Try any of these delicious combinations:

Cherry-Berry Pretzel Salad: Use 32 oz of thawed frozen cherries & berries blend with strawberry, blueberry, or cherry gelatin.

Red, White, and Blueberry Pretzel Salad: Use blueberry gelatin instead of the strawberry gelatin and the sliced strawberries. If you’re searching for a patriotic theme, check out our collection of red, white, and blue cake recipes.

Summery Fruit and Pretzel Salad: Use 32 oz of thawed frozen summer fruit blend (containing fruits such as blackberries, peaches, and strawberries--cut the peach slices crosswise into 3 pieces each) with the strawberry gelatin.

Love strawberry desserts? Give one of these other scrumptious strawberry recipes a try:

Fluffy Strawberry Pie with Pretzel Crust All the flavors of the dessert squares, made into a pie.

Best Strawberry Shortcake Homemade shortcakes made with Bisquick™ mix, filled with sweetened fresh strawberries and billowy whipped cream.

Storing Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Strawberry Pretzel Salad is best served the day it is made, so that the pretzel crust is at its crunchiest best. As it sits longer, moisture from the cream cheese filling transfers to the pretzel crust, taking away the crunchiness and making it tough. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy leftovers! They are still ok to eat, but the crust just won’t be as enjoyable as when it is eaten fresh.

To store leftovers, wrap remaining pieces in the dish it was made in tightly with plastic wrap. Or place servings in an air-tight food safe storage container. Refrigerate up to 2 days.

Freezing this dessert is not recommended as the crust and layers will get watery during thawing.

Other Easy Dessert Recipes

Here are some other easy desserts for your holiday or summertime gatherings. Great for when your oven is full, or you don’t want to heat up the kitchen baking all day.

No-Bake Desserts

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Make-Ahead Desserts

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Chocolate-cherry-cheesecake impressive enough for your holiday meal and it’s made ahead to take the pressure off of entertaining.

Tiramisu cake No one needs to know this restaurant-worthy cake was made easily with a cake mix. The flavors come alive when it gets a chance to hang out in the fridge before serving.