Strawberry Pretzel Salad Recipe
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Strawberry Pretzel Salad is an easy, delicious dessert with a buttery pretzel crust, a cheesecake-like layer, and a sweet strawberry topping. It is an old-fashioned recipe that is great for holidays and potlucks.
It’s the perfect combination of creamy, crunchy, sweet, and salty and a Southern dessert favorite!
Strawberry Pretzel Salad is such a loved recipe, especially throughout the warmer months. It’s cool and delicious, simple to make, and even better made a bit ahead of time.
We enjoy this delicious pretzel salad for Easter, family reunions, Fourth of July celebrations, and any gathering throughout the spring and summer. It can be enjoyed as a side dish, but most love it as a creamy, sweet, salty fruit dessert. You’ll love how easy it is to make โ just a few simple steps!
How to Make Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad is easy to make. Here’s an overview of the dish’s preparation, but follow the recipe instructions for more details.
Make the Pretzel Crust
Mix the ingredients for the pretzel crust, then press into the bottom of the dish. Bake until it has set. Then allow it to cool completely.
Create the Strawberry Topping
While the pretzel crust is cooling, dissolve the Jello in boiling water, then mix in the frozen strawberries. Allow the mixture to thicken slightly.
Make the Cream Cheese Layer
Mix together the ingredients for the cream cheese layer until smooth. Spread this mixture over the cooled pretzel crust, making sure to spread it completely to the edges of the crust to form a seal before adding the strawberry layer.
Add the Strawberry Layer
Then pour the cool to room-temperature strawberry Jello mixture over the cream cheese layer and spread evenly. Refrigerate until firm.
Slice, Serve and Garnish
After the recipe is set in the refrigerator, slice it with a sharp knife. Serve and enjoy! If you wish, garnish with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Tips for the Best Strawberry Pretzel Salad Recipe
- Use small salted pretzels and don’t crush them into dust – just small pieces.
- Whipped topping will not soften the pretzel layer as much as whipped cream could. And it will hold up to storage overnight in the fridge.
- Use frozen strawberries in the Jello mixture. They work better.
Storage Tips
To store: Wrap the dish well or cover it with a lid and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freezing is not recommended.
How to Serve Strawberry Pretzel Salad
You can certainly serve this dish however you wish. It can be served during the meal or later as a dessert. And it is great for making ahead.
Whether you serve it alongside your chicken salad or hamburgers as a side dish or as part of the dessert buffet for a holiday or family gathering, it is always a hit. I think you are going to love it!
And to address the name “salad,” for so many years here in the South, some version of this recipe has been served at gatherings – and was named “salad” sometime far in the past. So serve it when and however you wish – you can’t go wrong with this Strawberry Pretzel Salad.
More Favorite Sweet Salads and Fruit Desserts
Southern Banana Pudding Recipe
Here’s how Iย make my family’s Strawberry Pretzel Salad.ย 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 ยฝ cups boiling water
- 2 (3-ounce) packages strawberry Jell-O
- 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ห.
- 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 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. (Spreading to the edges of the crust makes a seal before the strawberry layer is added.)
- 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.
Notes
-
- Pretzel Crust – I like to use small whole, salted pretzels and crush them with a rolling pin or in a zip-lock storage bag. Don’t pulverize them; crush them into small pieces.
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- Cream Cheese Layer – This cheesecake-like layer is made with softened cream cheese and whipped topping. The whippedย topping works best in this recipe because it doesn’t make the pretzel crust soft, and it keeps better overnight.
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- Strawberry Topping: Frozen strawberries are stirred into Jello for this topping. You can also substitute raspberries, blackberries, and peaches. I find the frozen berries work best with the Jello. When ready to serve, I sometimes garnish it with fresh strawberries.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2010.
Made this in the summer, no sugar in cool whip, didn’t need! Added pecans to crust. It was FABulous. As matter of fact, my 27 year old son and a friend ate the remaining as part of their breakfast!!!! Lol
Can I use fresh strawberries and if so how many baskets?
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. My pretzel crust is not sticking to each other. Any ideas or tips?
You may want to check to make sure that your pretzels are crushed just a bit finer. If the crumb of the pretzel is a bit to large, it can cause the pretzel crust not to stick together as well. Just be sure not to get them too fine, you want to make sure that you still get the idea of the pretzel. Let me know how that works for you.
Can you use sliced strawberries with sugar
One question–are the pretzels supposed to make like a crust? When I tried to spread the cream cheese on the pretzels, they were all crumbly & stuck to the cream cheese which made it difficult to spread. Also when I cut it, the pretzels fell apart everywhere. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Renee, the pretzels are supposed to make a crust on the bottom, but it will have a little bit of a crumbly texture to it. Maybe next time, try popping the cooled pretzels into the freezer for a bit before adding the cream cheese layer on top. That should help with being able to spread more easily. I have a feeling that maybe the pretzels could have been crushed a bit finer so that they made more of a crumb as well. That will hold together more easily than larger pieces of the pretzel when cutting. Let me know if you have any more questions.
We used to have this at family gatherings all the time when I was young, I had forgotten it existed! Making it this weekend for the family reunion, so excited!
WAY up in Wisconsin my family makes this all the time for birthday parties with raspberries and raspberry jello. I love it!
Hello,
I haven’t heard of pretzel salad before but this one really looks great. It seems that preparation is not to demanding, so I really like it. Thanks.
If all salad looked like this, I’d eat it for every meal!!
This recipe is a family FAVE! GOOD GOOD GOOD stuff!!!
I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and supper!
I think the instructions on step 2 might be wrong. It says to “add sugar and 3 teaspoons of melted butter”. There is no mention in the rest of the instructions for the rest of the melted butter so I am thinking it should be add butter and the 3 teaspoons of sugar. I am making this salad this weekend for my father-in-law’s 90th birthday. I think he will love it!
Thanks so much, Diane! Happy 90th birthday to your father-in-law! I know y’all will have a wonderful celebration. You are absolutely right! I’ve updated the recipe with that correction now. I hope everyone loves it for your father-in-law’s birthday.