A cool strawberry gelatin salad with a cream cheese middle and pretzel crust.
My family has been making this salad for years and we've learned a few tricks I thought I would pass on. 1) Freeze the pretzel layer until completely cooled and hardened. 2) Add 1/3 of a packet of gelatin to the jello mixture. 3) Allow the jello mixture to chill before pouring on top of the cream cheese layer. Hope these hints help!
Read MoreGood recipe - it tasted similar to a "Banana Split Cake." ***Tip: crush pretzels in a deep bowl, with the bottom of a heavy glass. I tried using a ziplock bag but the sharp edges of the pretzels put holes in the bag. I also followed the suggestion of melting butter and mixing in the brown sugar before adding the crushed pretzels. Lastly, I used frozen whole strawberries which helped the jello set faster.
Read MoreMy family has been making this salad for years and we've learned a few tricks I thought I would pass on. 1) Freeze the pretzel layer until completely cooled and hardened. 2) Add 1/3 of a packet of gelatin to the jello mixture. 3) Allow the jello mixture to chill before pouring on top of the cream cheese layer. Hope these hints help!
Great recipe!!! Whenever I make it I bring several copies of the recipe because people ALWAYS ask for me for it! ***Hint*** I made the mistake of crushing the pretzels in their original store bought bag and ended up with all of the extra salt from the bottom of the bag in my recipe...Too Salty! I recommend putting the pretzels in a Ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin.
My cousin-in-law made this for Christmas two years ago. I couldn't get enough of it, and she forgot to send me the recipe. Needless to say, I was very glad to find it here! It's delicious. One suggestion for cooks using electric ovens and Pyrex-type bakeware, lightly cover the pan with cooking spray before baking the pretzel crust.
Good recipe - it tasted similar to a "Banana Split Cake." ***Tip: crush pretzels in a deep bowl, with the bottom of a heavy glass. I tried using a ziplock bag but the sharp edges of the pretzels put holes in the bag. I also followed the suggestion of melting butter and mixing in the brown sugar before adding the crushed pretzels. Lastly, I used frozen whole strawberries which helped the jello set faster.
Very good, however, really ensure you do have your cream cheese/whipped topping layer sealed well before you add the jello layer. I obviously did not, and some of my jello went to the bottom! It would also help to not add the jello layer until it has some thickness to it.
The margarine & brown sugar should be melted before adding to the crushed pretzels, otherwise the crust doesn't hold. Also, try reducing the crushed pretzels to 2 cups instead of 2 1/2. Also, the cream cheese layer is disproportionately small, especially compared to the gelatin layer on top.
This recipe was excellent! I made it for our daugther's first birthday as part of the menu, and everyone absolutely loved it. The only change I made was that I pureed the strawberries in a food processor and then added it to the gelatin. I think next time I make it, I'll make the gelatin layer first since it took quite some time to cool off. The pretzel crust didn't get soggy, even after 3 days and we've enjoyed the leftovers. This is definitely a recipe I'll make again and again.
I have made this over and over. People always ask for the recipe. I follow the ingredients exactly. I have found if you make it exactly according to instructions though, the jello layer will seep into the bottom layers and the crust crumbles when cutting. To prevent these issues freeze the curst layer before adding cream cheese layer. Then freeze again with cream cheese layer on. I also allow the jello/strawberry mix to set up nearly all the way before adding to the layers. You will get a perfect, easy to serve layered dessert everytime this way.
Turned out great! Didn't overcook crust, didn't use light cool whip, and made sure edges were sealed so jello didn't seep to bottom. Thank you for posting the recipe and thanks to everyone else who wrote in their tips! You all helped make this perfect! Fantastic!
I had this at a party several times and now I have the receipe. This is a dessert and the saltiness of the pretzel bottom gives it an unique flavor. I tried raspberries and raspberry gelatin in instead of strawberry and it was superb!!! thanks.
Pretzels..who would of thought. This is just plain yummy! Being a gal from the South, I like my food rich and fattening...no fat free and sugar free for me. I might get hit by a car tomorrow, so I'm enjoying good stuff like this today! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
this was a great success,it was easy, and comes out delicious. Just leave yourself enough time to let the top layer set.
I don't give out 5 stars easily, but this one really deserves it! What a perfect balance between the sweet and the salty. I was concerned that the strawberry flavor would be left behind after the pretzels and the creamy filling, but I was wrong. For those of you concerned about the amount of sugar in this recipe, (I will sometimes cut back), the flavors are balanced perfectly. Despite having some rich ingredients, this salad still tastes light, barely sweet, with just a wonderful combination of flavors. This is a terrific "multi-generational" side dish because the kids and the grandparents seem to love the jello aspect of it and I think those in between appreciate it for its delightful and surprisingly sophisticated flavor. Try this one AS IS.... it's perfect.
This salad was good and passed the Sunday family dinner test...all that said I did just a few things different, I sliced the strawberries it doesn't really say what to do with them and I put the strawberry/jello mix in the freezer until the jello was almost set...hope this helps.
A family favorite. I double the cream cheese, whipped topping mix. It not only adds extra zip, but stretches the servings as well.
I always receive rave reviews about this. Note: Please don't make with Light Cool Whip because it will "float" to the top.
how i miss this dish! we don't have cool whip over here in the UK (sob) but i improvised with redi-whip. so yummy.
Pretty excellent. Instead of whipped topping, I whipped 1 cup of heavy cream with a tiny bit of sugar and vanilla. I also used fresh strawberries. This was wonderful. I loved the pretzel crust!
I have had this recipe for many years. My family absolutely loves it. It's not a "real" family picnic wwithout this dish! Make it once and it will immediately become a staple!
This recipe is delicious! My husband and I enjoy it for a quick breakfast as well as dessert.
This was indeed quite good. I made it precisely as the directions say, including all frozen strawberries, juice and a full 2 cups of water, and the jello was perfect. I ONLY baked for 10 minutes as everyone suggested and I did let the jello/strawberries sit for an hour in the frig first. Even then they still seemed to pour onto the cream cheese layer fairly liquidy so I worried that it wouldn't gel but it did set up perfectly. The jello did not seep into the cream cheese. The pretzel crust certainly does get more mushy the longer it's in your frig after making so if you can eat all of this in 1-3 days, that's preferable.
This was very good!!! I made it for memorial day and used cran/raspberry jello and pureed 16 oz of thawed frozen strawberries instead (I don't like the texture of whole thawed ones). To make it festive I put fresh blueberries on top of the jello before it set completely. The tartness of the mixture worked well with the first two layers. Perhaps 1/2 of the pretzels should be unsalted.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing this!!! My aunt always made this at the holidays with raspberries instead of strawberries and when I was a teen I would beg her for the recipe and she would always be mysteriously vague about it. Having the recipe now to make for my own family brings me great joy and I can't wait to tell my aunt that I finally found out her secret! :-)
Pretzels? Yesss! You will definately have no leftovers of this dessert. I even recomend that you double this recipe.
I followed the suggestions: - spray non-stick cooking spray in pan -completely cool crust (I made crust the night before...easy!)! -1 1/2 times the creme cheese filling -make sure cr. cheese filling touches all edges of pan -added 1/3 pkg. gelatin to the jello and let it thicken some before putting it on top. Then all you have to do is have extra copies of the recipe with you...to hand out! Everyone wants it
I took this recipe to a 4th of July Party and it was a winner. There were NO leftovers, they ate every bite. It was also very easy to make... I was a little worried about the jello liquid seeping below into the pretzles, but everything turned out great. I will surely be making this for every occasion in the future. Thanks Susan!!!
Love This! Have made this for a long time, and usually in the summer. For some reason my grocery store just ran a special on strawberries so it was a special treat! This is always great for carry-in's and get togethers especially.
Not quite sure why it's called salad, but it was really good! I love the pretzel crust and will try using it for other recipes as well. I didn't really care for the strawberry Jello topping, just a personal preference because I don't much care for Jello anyway. The second time I made it, I made a strawberry topping that is more like a pie filling and I liked it a lot better! Either which way, everyone always comments how good it is when I make it.
My boyfriend fell in love with this recipe. He is hounding me to make more!!
Well, there were leftovers of all of the fancy, schmancy desserts but this was polished off in NO TIME! Just a perfect recipe. I added a little square of blueberries in the corner to make it look like a flag. Yummy. Perfect blend of sweet and salty flavors.
LOVE IT!! I use raspberries instead of strawberries and top with extra cool whip. Everyone always ask for the recipe. BEWARE this dessert melts fast and is hard to serve when it becomes too soft.
I served this for the first time at my kids birthday party and it was a HUGE hit! It is absolutely delicious! I will definitely make it again!
I have been looking for this recipe for a long time. Finally found it and tried it out. It is perfect. I just love the crust! Very good dessert! A must try! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
I thought there was way too much of the pretzel crust. I thought it distracted from the rest of the salad. I would either cut it in half, use a graham cracker crust or just use another layer of the jello on the bottom. Other than the crust, it was great.
A little bit too sweet, I'd cut back on the sugar next time. Mine stuck to the pan big time, so theres some tweaking needed too. Mine got all runny so I think I needed to let the jello set more before pouring it over the cream cheese mixture. All in all, it was still delish!
This is my son's favorite desert, he always asks for it on special occaisions. I had lost my sisters recipe, this one is exactly like it. If you use strawberry whipped cream it is even better!!!!
I have had this before, but never made it until last night. It was more work than I expected, but worth it in the end. I followed the chilling and sealing steps carefully, as other reviewers mentioned that being important. It turned out great. The only thing I did differently as all, was I melted the butter. I will try this again. Thanks for the recipe!
This was great!!!! We had company over with this and they were fighting to take the leftovers.
Thanks for this delicious recipe! I took it to a large family gathering and everyone -- young and old -- loved it. Even my picky aunt (herself an excellent baker), asked for the recipe! I knew I had a hit!
This is a very good dessert but it is even better if you use Strawberry Cool Whip.
Excellent dish. I loved that it used fresh strawberries. I didn't think was too sweet at all. I may make 1 1/2 of the amount of cream cheese/whipped topping next time. I also cooled the crust completely, put the jello mixture in the freezer for a bit, and absolutely made sure my topping was sealed. I will be making this next week.
I couldn't believe how many people were going back for seconds (and thirds) of this dessert. Very delicous!!!
Very good- made a day in advance. Don't make the same mistake I did, however, and let the gelatin sit too long- make sure to spread it before it is too firm.
this "salad" pretty much rocks my world! i took this to a potluck and EVERYONE raved about it. i doubled the crust because it is my favorite part!
Yum, I had to make 4 desserts for my sons high school hockey teams pasta dinner, this one was gone in a minute! Thanks!
Well, I got anxious.. I added the cream before the pretzels were cooled and then added the jello before it was set enough... the cream came up and the jello went down... soooo i have an opposite cake with probably soggy pretzels. Better luck next time, I guess.
Used a little less sugar than it called for and substituted Sugar-Free Jello and it turned out great. My family absolutely loved it. Something a little different than the usual.
I'm not a big fan of jello, but this was a very good (and different!) dessert. Everyone complimented me on it. I'd make it for summer picnics.
Yum! This is the perfect mix of salty and sweet. The mixture of textures is perfect. This is a great recipe for a classic dish! Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
I had been looking for a recipe similar to this and I finally found it, this recipe is sooooo what I was looking for, yum.
I wish I had read the reviews before I made this. And I wish I'd made a practice salad before making this for Easter Potluck Dinner. I followed the directions and also doubled the recipe. Two problems occurred: one is that the salad sat out for over an hour before everyone ate so the topping started to melt, and two is the hostess provided a spoon to scoop up the salad and it really needed a metal spatula to pry the crust from the pan. After reading all the reviews, I can see that freezing the crust first and also spraying the Pyrex baking dish would have been a big help. This is has to be one of the best Jello salad recipes I've ever tasted and easy to make. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I made this for a family get together this weekend. Everyone loved it. Instead of strawberry, I used raspberry. One note I wanted to make that when you mix the jello, boiling water and fruit, the recipe states to let it chill until partially thickened. I chilled it in the fridge for about an hour and it never thickened up. I was worried that it would not thicken after I added it to the cream cheese layer, but it did. So don't panic if the jello mixture doesn't thicken, it should turn out just fine.
I've had this dessert several times and I just love it. I finally made it for the first time for my graduation party, and by the middle of my party there was none left.
I've prepared Pretzel Salad for years and my family and friends love it. I switch it up using sugar free jello which saves on the calories. Also, I use Orange gelatin and add pineapple tidbits in place of Strawberry. This is nice for the fall and Thanksgiving holiday. It's also great served with chicken salad and croissants. Enjoy!
I used rod pretzels which I wouldn't suggest because they're too hard & then the dessert is too crumbly.
This is so delicious! My family loves it...we make it for every party we have. We even use different flavors of jello with mixed berries including raspberries and blueberries.
This recipe was great!! I made it for a Birthday party and it was a hit! I would make it again in a heart beat!
I made this for company and it was a hit. I think I overbaked the pretzel crust because it was very hard but it kept well it the fridge for several days without getting soggy. I want to experiment with the whipped cream/cream cheese filling to make it less like whipped topping and more like a cheesecake consistency. Very yummy!
This is awesome. Just make sure not to over cook the pretzel crust or it becomes very hard!
This salad was so good that my husband just wanted to eat the whole thing. I cut the recipe in half to try for the first time. Next time I will make a full recipe. I substituted cherry jello for the strawberry jello and it was delicious.
I tasted this at my monthly card club, and asked the lady who brought it for the recipe. She told me it was on this site and I found it right away. I went out the next morning and bought the ingredients. I crushed the pretzels (the mini ones) between two sheets of waxed paper and bashed them with a rubber mallet (a standard cooking tool in my kitchen). They crushed just fine that way. I know the recipe says to cream the butter and sugar together, but I figured I wasn't making a wedding cake, so I just dumped the butter and brown sugar in the bowl with the crushed pretzels and mashed them around with a spatula until they were blended. I love this dish! It really is the perfect combination of sweet and salty.
I see that some of you were having trouble with the Jell-O setting. My Grandma told me to add a few ice cubes in the Jell-O after it's all dissolved. Then put it in the fridge. I was having trouble getting mine to set as well and apparently Grandma's have the magic touch because this worked like a charm!
I don't write a lot of reviews but I have been making this treat for a couple years now and it gets rave reviews every time. To make it a little fancier, I whipped together heavy cream and marscapone instead of cool whip and cream cheese. It was devine! Five people ate over half the pan last night!
Pretty good, my jello layer didnt stick to my cream cheese layer but other than that it was pretty good.
I love this recipe! I made for Thanksgiving last year and am planning on making it again for Easter. I love the freshness of the jello and cream cheese and the crunchiness from the pretzels. Yummy!
Awesome! I added a cup of crushed, drained pineapple to the jello along with the strawberries since my husband said that is how his grandmother made it. It was a nice addition.
This was just O.K. I have been served this dessert before and I really enjoyed it. However, I thought this recipe had too much of a "cool whip" taste and not enough cream cheese. I will make this again but with a different recipe. Sorry!
This was very good, the whole family liked it. Normally when I make dessert, I take the leftovers to work with me, but this time my husband wouldn't let me. Next time I'll add more butter to the pretzel crust, it needs more to hold together well. I used my food processor to crush the pretzels, and that worked great. Definitely will make again and again!
Used it as a dessert - wasn't quite a salad but everyone loved it including my picky sister.
Excellent! The idea kind of worried me, but I decided to give it a try due to all the great reviews, and we are all glad I did! I made this with light Jell-o, and took the advice of another to put the pretzel crust into the freezer, as well as melting the butter a bit to form the crust better. DH asked me to make this for his Easter pot luck at work...
Oh so great!!! Just wonderful the kids love this one. Even the big kids loved it! No one can pass this up. A must at any family function.
I love this recipe, however is is MUCH better if you use raspberries instead of strawberries. Less acidic. You can still use strawberry Jell-O if you like. Delicious! Whenever I take this to a party, it is gone in no time and everyone asks for the recipe.
I Tried this dessert? salad? at a bridal shower. At first I thought ik! I didn't want to try it but I did and it was great! In fact I could finished off that 13x9 pan by myself.
I was not real pleased with this one. I followed the recipe as stated and the pretzel bottom stuck to the bottom of the pan. The middle tasted good, but the top was too much like jello and I thought it should have had a softer texture. I will not be making this again. What a waste of ingredients!
This really sounds great but when I got this recipe I simply used about 1 cup pecans and 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar and a little (1 teaspoon) butter mixed together as the bottom layer. Cooked it for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, let cool then added the other layers. Wow!
This was lots of work and in the end, I don't think it is worth it. My pretzels couldn't get fine enough, so the butter never really got through and the crust stayed a crumbly mess. As for taste it was good but not worth the hassle.
very rich and sinfully delicious
I was a little disappointed with how my strawberry pretzel salad turned out but it could be my fault. I didn't get my pretzels crushed too fine and that might have been the problem. Second, I used, frozen strawberries and will try fresh next time. The frozen strawberries probably held too much water and that's why the gelatin part of the salad, was not too firm. Otherwise, the cream cheese layer was delish. Will try again next time and hope for better results
Yummy! Time consuming and gets a little soggy after two days but this was I nice change for dessert. I pureed the strawberries as we don't like mushy fruit chunks in our desserts.
We love this recipe! It's very light and not hard to make. Add this to your list because it's a hit no matter where you take it!
FANtastic. I should have made more - everyone was going back for seconds and thirds! Many thanks for a recipe I am sure to use over and over again.
I did not like the crust on this at all. The pretzels just tasted stale after mixing with the butter and cooking. Next time I will do a graham cracker or shortbread crust.
I have always loved this dessert... but this time I used a graham cracker crust and instead of jello, I used two cans of cherry pie filling on top of the cream cheese/whipped topping mixture. Tasted more like a cheesecake... YUMMY:P
