This is a great combination of fruity, crunchy, sweet, salty, creamy “salad” (that’s really a dessert!)
I used 2 boxes of Jello- one full sugar and one sugar-free, to ease up a bit on the sugar. My super finicky husband didn’t even notice! I think you could easily go full on sugar free with the Jello without too much interference with the taste.
Bash up some pretzels. The recipe calls for 2 cups but I weighed it out and it’s just short of 6 ounces.
Add melted butter (3/4 cup) and 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Press in 9X13 pan. My pan is just a bit larger so it’s not as thick as it would be in a normal 9X13 pan. Cook in preheated oven 8-10 minutes. Cool completely (this is important!)
Slice your strawberries. Mine were still slightly frozen, and I used 16 ounces. Many of the recipes call for 2 ten ounce boxes of the strawberries but I find there is too much syrup in them and I think the strawberries are a bit mushy. Fresh would work well too.
Mix 8 ounce block of cream cheese very well with 1 cup of white sugar.
Fully mixed.
Until fluffy even.
Fold in defrosted whipped topping.
Spread on pretzel layer.
Evenly as you can and all the way to the edges.
All. The. Way. This forms a nice water-tight fat seal to prevent the pretzels from getting soggy. Cool completely (I left in refrigerator several hours).
Add your 2 boxes of Jello to 2 cups of boiling water and stir until dissolved.
Add your strawberries and allow to cool for a bit. This goes pretty quickly if the strawberries are still partially frozen. You still want it to be spreadable but definitely not hot enough to melt the layer of cream cheese/ whipped topping.
Spread over completely cooled cream cheese/ whipped topping layer.
Refrigerate several hours until all cold (or overnight works very well).
Slice and enjoy! Even the kid liked this one (and Mason’s not so much a fan of Jello, generally).
If you like this recipe you will also like:
- Doe’s House Salad
- Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
- Smoked Paprika Salad Dressing
- Spinach Salad With Hot Bacon Dressing
- Spinach and Strawberry Salad With Poppy Seed Dressing
Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups crushed pretzels This is just short of 6 ounces
- 3/4 cup butter melted
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
First Layer
- 8 oz package cream cheese softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 8 oz container frozen whipped topping thawed
Second Layer
- 2 3 oz packages strawberry flavored Jell-O®
- 2 cups boiling water
- 16 oz Fresh or frozen sliced strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter and 3 tablespoons sugar; mix well and press mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until set. Set aside to cool.In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and 1 cup sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture onto completely cooled crust. Make sure to seal the edges, or the jello will make the pretzels soggy! Chill until firm. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in still strawberries and allow to set until thickened (if you use slightly frozen strawberries, it helps speed the process) Refrigerate several hours (overnight is better!)
Leave a Reply