Eastern Shore Strawberry Pretzel Salad Recipe
The Pretzel Jello Salad is a mix of fun textures and tastes. It starts with a crunchy pretzel bottom that's a little bit salty. In the middle, there's a smooth cream cheese layer that's sweet and rich. On top, there's a bright strawberry Jello layer with real fruit pieces. It's firm, fruity, and a little bit tart. Each part is different, but they work together to make a dessert that's exciting to eat and full of great flavors.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 cups pretzel sticks, crushed
- ¾ cup melted unsalted butter
- ¼ cup sugar, granulated
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
- 1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 1 8oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
For the Topping:
- 1 pkg Jell-O® strawberry-flavored gelatin, (6 oz strawberry Jell-O)
- 2 cups water, boiling
- 1 lb fresh strawberries, topped and sliced
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Blend strawberry Jell-O with 2 cups boiling water and stir until completely dissolved. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Crush 2 cups pretzels in a resealable bag. You want to break up the pretzels but still have texture, not dust.
- In a medium sauce pan, melt butter then add 1/4 cup sugar and stir. Combine with crushed pretzels.
- Transfer to a 13x9 glass or metal casserole dish. Press the pretzel mix evenly over the bottom of the dish and bake for 10 min at 350°F. Make sure you keep an eye on this as it will burn quite easily. Set aside and let cool.
- When pretzel crust has cooled, use a hand mixer to beat 8 oz cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar on med speed until light and fluffy. Fold in 8 oz Cool Whip thoroughly. There should be no streaks of cream cheese. Spread mixture over pretzel crust, spreading to the edges of the dish to create a tight seal. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Top and slice strawberries, then stir into your room temperature jello. Pour and spread strawberry jello mixture over the cooled cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until jello is for at least 2 hours.
Notes
✅ You can use fresh or frozen strawberries
✅ It is important to let the pretzel crust cool, before adding the cream cheese mixture
✅ Make sure to allow for at least 2 hours in the fridge for ingredients to firm up
💡 The more time you allow this recipe to cool the better. I suggest making the night before for best results!