Strawberry Pretzel Salad

A sweet and salty layered dessert with a pretzel crust, cream cheese filling, and strawberry filled jello on top.

Author Amber Brady

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Inactive Time 3

Total Time 3 30

Yields servings

Ingredients

Crust:

2½ cups (126 g) mini pretzels, or pretzel sticks
⅓ cup (68 g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, (12 Tbsp) melted

Cream Layer:

8 oz (226 g) block-style cream cheese
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
8 oz (226 g) Cool Whip, thawed, or stabilized whipped cream

Strawberry Layer:

1 lb (454 g) strawberries, hulled and sliced (about 3 1/2 to 4 cups)
6 oz (170 g) strawberry flavored gelatin, 1 large box Jell-O brand
2 cups (473 ml) boiling water

Whipped Cream (optional, for topping):

1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream
¼ cup (30 g) powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350℉.
CRUST: Place the pretzels and sugar in a food processor. Process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (some fine crumbs with bits and pieces). Add the melted butter and mix until the crumbs are evenly coated. Empty the moistened crumbs into a lightly greased 9×13-inch pan and press firmly into the bottom of the pan.
Bake the pretzel crust at 350℉ for 10-12 minutes, until slightly puffy and baked together. Cool completely. (May speed this up by placing crust in the fridge for 30 minutes or more.)
CREAM LAYER: In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, creamy, and the sugar has dissolved. About 2-3 minutes. Add the Cool Whip and beat together until combined. Place filling in fridge if crust is still cooling.
Once crust has cooled, dollop the cream cheese filling over the crust and spread it evenly, making sure to reach all the edges. Top with fresh strawberries that have been sliced thin. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
STRAWBERRY JELLO: Combine the strawberry gelatin powder with 2 cups boiling water. Stir until completely dissolved. Allow Jello to cool until lukewarm to the touch, about 30-60 minutes. Stir occasionally so gelatin doesn’t set up. (May add 3-4 ice cubes to help speed up the process.)
Gently pour lukewarm gelatin over the strawberries. Cover and chill the strawberry pretzel salad for 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
OPTIONAL WHIPPED CREAM: Whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/4 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Then dollop or pipe the whipped cream over the top of each piece when serving.

Notes

Cool Whip Alternative: You may make stabilized whipped cream in place of Cool Whip. It's important to stabilize it, so that it doesn't weep and make the crust soggy.
For frozen strawberries: Add 1 pound frozen strawberries to jello mixture after stirring the boiling water and jello powder together. Crush whole strawberries with a potato masher as they begin to thaw, or leave sliced frozen strawberries as-is. May alternately use 23-oz thawed frozen strawberries in sugar/syrup. To layer: Spoon berries onto the cream cheese layer and then gently pour the jello on top. NOTE: Using frozen berries will chill the jello faster than by using fresh strawberries.
Storage: Strawberry Pretzel Salad with fresh strawberries will last 2-3 days covered in the fridge or up to 5-7 days covered in the fridge if using frozen strawberries. Note: The crust will soften the longer it is stored.

Nutrition