Strawberry Pretzel Salad with Fresh Strawberries
The perfect combination of salty, creamy, and sweet, this Strawberry Pretzel Salad with fresh strawberries is the perfect dessert for a summer picnic.
It would probably be an understatement to say we like berries.
The firsts thing we planted this summer were two blueberry plants, a raspberry, a blackberry, and 14 strawberry starter roots.
Everything but the strawberries seems to be doing well, even with the see-saw of temperatures we've been having.
We're just keeping our fingers crossed that the strawberry plants will poke their little heads above the soil sometime here soon.
Until then, we'll be content using store-bought berries, to make summery desserts like this Strawberry Pretzel Salad.
Our Strawberry Pretzel Salad With Fresh Strawberries
Say hello to delicious!
This strawberry pretzel salad is a family tradition.
My Aunt makes it whenever I'm home for family gatherings, since she knows it's one of my favorite childhood dishes.
Fresh strawberries combine with strawberry jello to create a fresh, berry layer over a layer of sweetened cream cheese and a pretzel crust.
Yes. It's a bite of summer!
Strawberry Pretzel Salad with Fresh Strawberries
Ingredients
For The Strawberry Layer
- 2 (3 oz) packages strawberry jello (just the powder)
- 2 c boiling water
- ½ c cold water
- 4 - 5 c (20 oz) strawberries, sliced (fresh or frozen)
For The Pretzel Crust
- 3 c crushed pretzels (well-crushed)
- ¾ c salted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon sugar
For The Cream Cheese Layer
- 12 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 c cool whip
- ¼ c sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
Start The Strawberry Jello
- Mix the 2 jello packets with boiling water until dissolved. Add cold water and strawberries.
- Let mixture gel until it reaches the consistency of jam – jiggly and holding together, but not set firm. (About 2 hours.)
Bake The Pretzel Crust
- In a medium bowl, mix broken pretzel pieces and crumbs with melted butter and 1 tablespoon sugar.
- Press mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking pan.
- Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely.
Whip The Cream Cheese Layer
- Beat cream cheese, cool whip, and sugar together until smooth. Set aside until ready to make the salad.
Putting It All Together
- Gently spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust. (This is most easily done by dropping the cheese mixture my tablespoon over the crust so that it is nearly covered with the dollops. Then, take a flexible spatula, and gently smooth the layer with continuous movements – that is, lifting the spatula away from the mixture as little as possible.)
- Spoon nearly-gelled jello mixture over the cream cheese layer, making sure to evenly distribute the strawberries.
- Cover and refrigerate 2-4 hours before serving.
Notes
Sarah founded Curious in 2010 as a way to save her recipe creations and share culinary experiences. Her love for cultural cuisines was instilled early by her French Canadian Grandmother. Her experience in the kitchen and in recipe development comes from over 10 years working in professional kitchens. She has traveled extensively and enjoys bringing the flavors of her travels back to create easy-to-make recipes.
Strawberries and pretzels! Um, hello!!!!!!!!
Oh my goodness, this looks so good. I love the salty and sweet combo!
Looks oddly delicious! Never would have put those ingredients together myself
That is one beautiful dessert!
What a fun salad, I know I would love the salty with the sweet!!
I have heard about this dessert for years...I must make it for the family. Nothing better than the combination of berries and cream cheese!
My grandmother made a similar strawberry pie, but not with the pretzel dough, which I suspect is probably the main part with the salty flavor. It looks fantastic!
My grandma makes a similar dessert that is my mom's favorite (but calls it cherry dessert...that's it)...hers does not use pretzels, though - I NEED to try this! Such a fun combo and perfect for our next family get-together.
Crunchy, creamy, salty, sweet - oh yea!!
Ok, now this sounds like an awesome flavor combination - sweet, salty, tart, etc! I am so intrigued!
What a great dessert! I can see how it would appeal to kids and kids at heart, like us... yum!!! Thanks for sharing this family favorite!
Love it, thank you for sharing.
Strawberries and pretzels?!!? Yes!
I made this salad ages ago. Thanks for bringing it back! I love sweet and salty!
Wow, what a different combination! I would have never thought of a pretzel base! DELISH!!