Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Strawberry Pretzel Salad is no salad at all, but a delicious dessert made with easy store-bought ingredients like Jell-O, Cool Whip, pretzels and strawberries. Always a hit at potlucks and picnics.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 10

Refrigerated Time 2

Total Time 2 40

Servings

Calories 3021kcal

Author Katie Cooksey

Ingredients

for Jell-O layer-

6 oz strawberry Jell-O mix
2 cups boiling water
16 oz strawberries fresh or frozen (hulled & sliced)

for pretzel layer-

2 1/2 cups salted pretzels (measured before crushing)
3/4 cup butter unsalted
3 tbsp granulated sugar

for cream cheese/whipped cream layer-

8 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 oz Cool Whip* thawed in refrigerator

Instructions

for Jell-O layer-

Add package of Jell-O to a small bowl. Pour in 2 cups of boiling water, whisking until completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

for pretzel layer-

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place pretzels in a zip bag. Using a mallet or rolling pin crush into small crumbles.
Add butter and sugar to a small sauce pot and cook on medium heat to melt butter, stirring occasionally to completely dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, then add pretzel crumbs, stirring to combine.
Pour pretzel mixture into a 9x13 baking dish, pressing down to create an even layer on bottom of dish.
Bake for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

for cream cheese/whipped cream layer-

In a mixing bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer beat the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes...scraping sides of bowl as needed.
With a spoon or spatula, fold the Cool Whip into the cream cheese mixture until no white streaks remain.
Evenly spread cream cheese/Cool Whip mixture over cooled pretzels being sure to create a seal all around baking dish so the Jell-O doesn't seep through and you have nice clean layers.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

put it all together-

Evenly disperse sliced strawberries overtop cream cheese layer.
Evenly pour Jell-O overtop strawberries. This should completely fill the dish, but if your dish is not deep enough, you may need to omit some of the Jell-O mixture to avoid overflowing. This will not affect the final outcome.
Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-4 hours or until Jell-O is set.**
Slice into square portions and serve cold. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Video

Notes

*Fresh homemade whipped cream can be used instead, but is not recommended as it tends to make the pretzels soggy. Cool Whip is more stable and the better choice for this recipe.

**I like to place the baking dish on a baking sheet first to make for easier transfer since the Jell-O is not set and fills the dish to the tippy top.

Nutrition