Robyn Stone
Strawberry Pretzel Salad makes a classic, nostalgic recipe. It is deliciously creamy, crunchy, sweet, salty and great for any gathering! An easy strawberry dish and a favorite Southern recipe!
One of my favorite desserts throughout the spring and summer growing up was always this Strawberry Pretzel Salad. It was always a family favorite addition to so many special occasion meals and you’ll always find a large casserole dish with it’s sparkling red, strawberry filled top on the buffet for Easter, Southern reunions, and all throughout the summer. It is loved by so many and is always one of the first things to disappear.
Sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy, it has so much going for it that it is always a definite hit!
Strawberry Pretzel Salad Recipe
There are so many versions of this dish served here in the south that I have no idea who invented it first, but oh my goodness am I ever so thankful! It’s one of those dishes that goes with so many meals and works easily on the side – because, you know, it does have “salad” in its name – or as a dessert.
How to Make It
To make this delicious dish, you will need:
- Crushed Pretzels
- Melted Butter
- Sugar
- Cream Cheese
- Frozen Whipped Topping
- Boiling Water
- Strawberry Jello
- Frozen Strawberries
To make it, preheat the oven to 400˚.
What to Serve With Strawberry Pretzel Salad?
No matter if you serve it right alongside your chicken salad as a side dish or as part of the dessert buffet offerings, I can just about bet you that it will be well loved by everyone that tries it. And you know, if they are from this neck of the woods, they most likely have been expecting it. 🙂
More Favorite Salads and Desserts
Here’s how I make my family’s version of Strawberry Pretzel Salad. I hope you enjoy it!
Strawberry Pretzel Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups pretzels crushed
- 3/4 cup butter melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 (8-ounce package) cream cheese
- 1 8-ounce package frozen whipped topping
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- 2 (3-ounce) packages strawberry Jell-O
- 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚.
- Mix crushed pretzels with melted butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Press pretzel mixture into the bottom of 9 x 13-inch casserole dish and bake until set, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Mix together cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, and whipped topping in a large bowl until smooth. Spread over the cooled crust, making sure to spread completely to the edges.
- Dissolve the Jell-O in boiling water and mix in frozen strawberries. Allow to set until the jello and strawberry mixture has slightly thickened and set and then pour over the cream cheese mixture. Chill until firm and serve.
Nutrition Information
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2010.
I made this recipe as written. Delicious. I cook for 2 and am ashamed to admit how much I ate myself.
Absolutely love it..
One quick tip though,
When mixing the cream cheese , sugar an whip cream.. Mix the cream cheese an sugar first them add the whip cream to that mix.. Also using Powder sugar works better!! Mixes quicker … Happy eating!!
Can this salad be frozen?
have made it many times… Love it!
this is awesome. when we have a team function at work, a coworker makes this and wow!
I first made this salad/dessert for my little boy who has a peanut allergy. The crust tasted so good to him. 20 years later, he still loves this salad. I first got the recipe from my MIL who had gotten it from a Belk’s Department Store where they had a little cafe in the store. It’s been something that my son looks forward to since there are so many desserts made with nuts.
Good Evening
I made the recipe but I ran into a problem with the strawberry jello and frozen strawberries. I mix the jello with the water and added the frozen strawberries, but it did not gel together. I even brought another pkg of jello and mixed it in and it still did not gel together. Do you want could have happened or is there something that I did wrong?
Please let me know when you get a chance.
Hi Teresa,
I’m sorry your Jello didn’t gel, or thicken. I’ve not had this happen before. Did you use boiling water and allow the Jello mixture the time it needed to thicken? It takes a bit of time for this to happen. Step 4 of the recipe instructions where you allow the mixture to thicken should help. I hope this helps and you enjoy it if you make it again. Thanks!
Dessert was fabulous, but I had one problem. The crust stuck to the dish. I could not find one version of this recipe that said to spray the dish before putting in the pretzel crust. Every time I have made it since that first time, the dish is sprayed!
Thanks for the tip, D. I’ve never sprayed my dish and haven’t had the crust stick. But it sounds like it works for you.