Strawberry Pretzel Salad

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I am a fan of any salad that tastes like dessert. And this salad is just that! Not only is the red jello complimentary to a patriotic theme, but it’s cold and refreshing during a hot summer. Here’s the best salad ever; aka Strawberry Pretzel Salad!

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Because I know this recipe by heart and there’s plenty of recipes out there, I’m writing this with how I know it and prepare it. It can be an involved recipe that takes time, so I suggest preparing it at least one day in advance of serving it.

The Ingredients

2 cups of crushed pretzels
stick of butter
1 package of cream cheese
1 cup of white sugar
1 container of cool whip
2 packages of strawberry Jello
2 cups of boiling water
1 package of frozen strawberries

Patriotic Berries — I garnished with blackberries and mint for an extra special touch!

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The Instructions

First, prepare the pretzel crust. Chop the pretzels in a food processor. Melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the pretzels and butter and spread across a 9×13 pyrex casserole dish. Bake in the oven on 10 minutes on 400.

For the next layer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Then add in the cool whip container. Once the pretzels have cooled, spread it on top.

The top layer is the jello layer. Bring water to a boil and pour 2 cups of water over the jello powder and be sure it all dissolves. Add in the bag of frozen strawberries. Gently pour the jello mixture over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate at least 5 hours, preferably over night.

Helpful Tips

Because this recipe involves cold elements over hot elements, I like to make it in stages. I have found that it is easiest for me if I begin making this two days before. For example, I will make the pretzel crust two days before. Then one day before I will do the cool whip/cream cheese mixture followed by the jello mixture. And then it has a full 24 hours to set.

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I love making this because I love having the leftovers! The pretzel crust can get a little soggy on day two, but since going gluten free and using gluten free pretzels, I have found that it does not get as soggy. I prefer the Glutino Brand.

It can be hard to find frozen strawberries already chopped up, just FYI. And sometimes I will use two bags of frozen strawberries. This year, I may just use a frozen berry medley and see how that goes. Add a little blue to a patriotic theme.