Lightened-Up Strawberry Pretzel Salad - Recipe Diaries (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Jenna · This post may contain affiliate links · 7 Comments

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Strawberry pretzel salad is a layered dessert made up of crushed up pretzels for the crust, cool whip, and cream cheese for the middle layer, and it gets topped up with jello strawberries. You don't have to wait until a special event or Holiday to make it. Just make it now cause it is delicious!

Lightened-Up Strawberry Pretzel Salad - Recipe Diaries (1)

This recipe can be tough to get right on the first try because of all the different layers involved. Here are some tips that have helped me to make this recipe. I’ll let you all in on a little secret. It took me a couple times to get this right.

If you like more easy dessert recipes try No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies, No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, or Chewy No Bake Granola Bars.

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  • Tips for Strawberry Pretzel Salad
  • Ingredients:
  • How to make Strawberry Pretzel Salad
  • Recipe FAQS
  • Other Recipes to Try
  • Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Tips for Strawberry Pretzel Salad

  • The jello layer with the strawberries takes the longest to make because it needs to set. Make that portion first.
  • Let the jello layer completely cool before pouring it over the cream cheese and cool whip layer. If it is warm the jello will start seeping through.
  • Spread the 2nd layer (cream cheese and cool whip) completely over the pretzels to help the jello.
  • There is a lot of different kind of jello flavors out there. Change it up to your favorite. Raspberries or mandarin oranges would be good.

Ingredients:

  • Crushed Pretzels - sub crushed graham crackers or Wafer cookies
  • Melted butter - sub lightened up butter or margarine
  • Cream Cheese - Let the cream cheese sit out for a while on your countertop to become room temperature.
  • Frozen whipped topping - Use Heavy Whipping instead of Cool Whip but that will be more WW points.
  • White sugar - Can use sugar substitutes if you wish. Look up the conversations for your favorite online.FYI - I don't like them cause they upset my stomach.
  • Strawberry Gelatin - sugar-free jello can be used
  • Boiling Water - has to be boiling to dissolve the jello
  • Strawberries - fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries
  • See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

How to make Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar; mix well and press mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until set. Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and ¼ cup sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture onto cooled crust.

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in still frozen strawberries and allow to set briefly. When the mixture is about the consistency of egg whites, pour and spread over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set.

Recipe FAQS

What is pretzel salad made of?

Pretzel salad is a classic dessert that combines the sweet and salty flavors. It is typically made with a pretzel crust, a creamy layer of sweetened whipped cream and cream cheese, and a layer of strawberry or raspberry jello on top.

Can you make strawberry pretzel salad the night before?

Yes, you can definitely make strawberry pretzel salad the night before. In fact, it's recommended to make it ahead of time to allow the flavors to meld together and to give the dessert enough time to set properly. After assembling the crust with the pretzels and melted butter, you can let it cool to room temperature before adding the filling. Once the creamy filling is added, you can refrigerate the dessert overnight to allow it to set up properly. Finally, you can add the sliced strawberries on top just before serving to ensure they stay fresh and juicy. Enjoy your delicious strawberry pretzel salad!

Other Recipes to Try

Starbucks Salted Caramel Cold Brew Copy Cat

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

96 Calorie Mini Mint Cheesecake Bars

Blueberry Cheesecake

If you tried this Strawberry Pretzel Salad orany other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries

Lightened-Up Strawberry Pretzel Salad - Recipe Diaries (2)

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Strawberry Pretzel Salad

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  • Author: Jenna
  • Total Time: 28min
  • Yield: 9 1x
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Description

Strawberry pretzel salad is a layered dessert made up of crushed up pretzels for the crust, cool whip, and cream cheese for the middle layer, and it gets topped up with jello strawberries.

Ingredients

Scale

  • 1 cup crushed pretzels
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 8oz package fat-free cream cheese, softened
  • 1 8oz container fat-free whipped topping, thawed
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • 1 3oz package strawberry gelatin (can use sugar-free)
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 10 package frozen strawberries or fresh strawberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
  2. Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter, and 2 tablespoon sugar; mix well and press mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking dish.
  3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until set. Set aside to cool.
  4. In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and ¼ cup sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spread mixture onto cooled crust.
  5. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in still frozen strawberries and allow to. If the jello isn't cooled enough the liquid will seep through the other layers. Refrigerate until set.
  6. Divide into 9 equal portions

Notes

See the ingredients section above the recipe for ideas to make this WW-friendly. If using fat-free Cool Whip and cream cheese, sugar-free jello, and light margarine the points will be 7 per serving.

myWW points blue 7 ; green 7; purple 7 (WW recipe builder)

  • Prep Time: 20min
  • Cook Time: 8-10min
  • Category: Medium
  • Method: No-Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: ½ cup
  • Calories: 247
  • Sugar: 27g
  • Fat: 10g
  • Saturated Fat: 7g
  • Carbohydrates: 36g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 3g

More Soups and Salads

  • Weight Watchers Chicken Salad with Grapes
  • Creamy White Chicken Chili
  • Ree Drummond Perfect Potato Soup
  • Cranberry Fluff Salad

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jenna says

    Orange jello and canned mandarins would be good. So would raspberries.

  2. Julie says

    Looks delicious!! Unfortunately I’m allergic to strawberries. Have you ever used another fruit besides strawberries?

  3. Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen says

    Looks so delicious! I love a strawberry pretzel salad 🙂

  4. jgisvold says

    No, you don't need to drain the canned pineapple.

  5. Christy Bllings says

    Can you tell me if you drained the canned pineapple?

  6. jgisvold says

    It's 8 servings.

  7. Sonny says

    I was just wondering what a serving size would be. It looks delish!

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Lightened-Up Strawberry Pretzel Salad - Recipe Diaries (2024)
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