Lemon Pretzel Salad with Mango and Kiwi

Rating: 4.4 stars
5 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 2
  • 4 star values: 3
  • 3 star values: 0
  • 2 star values: 0
  • 1 star values: 0

Refreshingly satisfying! Fresh lemon, mango, and kiwi are fused with fluffy cool cream cheese, all sitting atop a yummy salty sweet pretzel crust...wow, what else can you say?! It always disappears with a quickness. Perfect for BBQs, holidays, pitch-ins, or just a tasty treat with a hot cup of tea. Enjoy!

By Coastal Roots

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Recipe Summary

prep:
20 mins
cook:
10 mins
additional:
3 hrs 30 mins
total:
4 hrs
Servings:
12
Yield:
1 9x13-inch baking dish
Nutrition Info
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Ingredients

12
Original recipe yields 12 servings
The ingredient list now reflects the servings specified
Pretzel Crust:
Cream Cheese Layer:
Fruit Layer:

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

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  • Mix crushed pretzels, butter, and brown sugar together in a bowl; press into a 9x13-inch baking dish.

  • Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes; set aside to cool completely. Crust will be soft when taken out of the oven and will harden as it cools.

  • Mix white sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl until smooth. Stir juice from 1/2 lemon and lemon zest into cream cheese mixture and mix well; fold in whipped topping. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over cooled crust; refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

  • Mix boiling water and lemon-flavored gelatin mix together in a bowl until dissolved. Add 1/2 cup strained lemon juice and mix well. Refrigerate gelatin mixture until slightly thickened, about 1 hour.

  • Ladle enough gelatin mixture over cream cheese layer to cover, setting remaining gelatin mixture aside. Arrange mango and kiwi onto gelatin mixture layer and pour remaining gelatin mixture over fruit layer. Refrigerate until completely chilled and set, about 2 hours.

Cook's Notes:

This can also be made in a 9-inch springform pan.

The amount of lemon is easily adjusted depending on your preferred level of tartness. Simply taste the cream cheese mixture and increase or decrease lemon juice and zest based on your liking.

I sometimes substitute the kiwi with raspberries, which is also really good. Just make sure your raspberries are dry or they could discolor the Jell-O(R).

Editor's Note:

Kiwi, along with fresh pineapple, papaya, figs, and guava, contain an enzyme that prevents gelatin from setting. Quickly blanch and chill the fruit before using.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:
423 calories; protein 4.5g; carbohydrates 52g; fat 23.3g; cholesterol 51mg; sodium 461.1mg. Full Nutrition
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Reviews (4)

Read More Reviews

Most helpful positive review

Gremolata
Rating: 4 stars
05/14/2015
I really enjoyed this! It was a lot of work though. I used a springform pan so I cut the amounts slightly. I ground pretzels in the food processor (about 1 3/4 c. total). I used 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp brown sugar and only 6 Tbsp butter (but probably could've used a full half cup). While the crust baked I rinsed out the food processor and used it to blend the cream cheese and sugar then lemon juice and vanilla. Transferred to a bowl and stirred in the lemon zest. I'm not a fan of Cool-Whip so I whipped 6 oz of heavy cream and folded it into the cream cheese. Delicious! It was just the right sweetness (even with unsweetened whipped cream) with a great lemon flavor. I only used 3/4 c cream because I wanted to be sure the filling was firm enough to slice. While the filling chilled I BLANCHED THE KIWI. The gelatin won't set otherwise. I peeled and sliced the kiwi placed slices in a strainer and lowered it into boiling water. Blanched it for about 45 seconds transferred the strainer to an ice water bath and then set kiwi slices aside with the mango. For the gelatin I used the ice water bath from blanching the kiwi to chill the gelatin mixture until it was ready to pour on the fruit. My verdict? I thought the lemon Jell-O detracted from the rest of the dessert. Next time I'd play with using fruit juice (mango or passionfruit) and use 1 pack unsweetened gelatin. Just enough to make a shiny fruity glaze not so much for a floating gelatin layer. But I will try this again! Read More
Helpful
(7)
5 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 2
  • 4 star values: 3
  • 3 star values: 0
  • 2 star values: 0
  • 1 star values: 0
Reviews:
Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest
Gremolata
Rating: 4 stars
05/14/2015
I really enjoyed this! It was a lot of work though. I used a springform pan so I cut the amounts slightly. I ground pretzels in the food processor (about 1 3/4 c. total). I used 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp brown sugar and only 6 Tbsp butter (but probably could've used a full half cup). While the crust baked I rinsed out the food processor and used it to blend the cream cheese and sugar then lemon juice and vanilla. Transferred to a bowl and stirred in the lemon zest. I'm not a fan of Cool-Whip so I whipped 6 oz of heavy cream and folded it into the cream cheese. Delicious! It was just the right sweetness (even with unsweetened whipped cream) with a great lemon flavor. I only used 3/4 c cream because I wanted to be sure the filling was firm enough to slice. While the filling chilled I BLANCHED THE KIWI. The gelatin won't set otherwise. I peeled and sliced the kiwi placed slices in a strainer and lowered it into boiling water. Blanched it for about 45 seconds transferred the strainer to an ice water bath and then set kiwi slices aside with the mango. For the gelatin I used the ice water bath from blanching the kiwi to chill the gelatin mixture until it was ready to pour on the fruit. My verdict? I thought the lemon Jell-O detracted from the rest of the dessert. Next time I'd play with using fruit juice (mango or passionfruit) and use 1 pack unsweetened gelatin. Just enough to make a shiny fruity glaze not so much for a floating gelatin layer. But I will try this again! Read More
Helpful
(7)
ericksonpad
Rating: 4 stars
08/18/2017
Really good! I followed the recipe exactly but I would make a few adjustments. First of all 3/4 cup butter is waaaay too much! I would cut down to about 1/4 cup; do 1/2 water & 1/2 lemon juice in the Jell-o; omit kiwi and add more mango (Kiwi reacts funny in Jell-o and it was a little runny); and I think it would be good even with a pineapple Jell-o and maybe some coconut in the crust even! Read More
Helpful
(3)
nightfall
Rating: 4 stars
10/07/2016
Weirdly good. It was a lot of work for a novelty salad but everyone enjoyed it I had no leftovers and several folks asked for the recipe. Maybe it just seemed like a lot of work after all. The flavors were nice and balanced; I'll make this one again. Thank you for submitting the recipe. Read More
Helpful
(3)
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Tam68
Rating: 5 stars
12/13/2018
Still one of my favorite recipes to make. In high demand in my household regardless of the season. I still can t get the kiwi right but that s me not the recipe Read More
Helpful
(2)
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