Pretzel Jello Recipe

This classic summer strawberry recipe works for a side dish or dessert that we often bring to summer potluck picnics. Pretzel jello brings back childhood memories of Michigan summers and is always fun to introduce this strange salty-sweet combination to my southern friends.

Pretzels and jello don’t normally mingle but they are perfectly matched in this recipe. When I say that I will bring pretzel jello to a potluck I usually get confused looks with doubts of tastiness, but I convert the doubters into believers as soon as they taste the deliciousness.

This recipe has 3 layers, but don’t let that intimidate you. It’s an easy strawberry recipe to throw together with the one trick of having the patience to add the layers according to the recipe. Specifically waiting for the pretzel crust layer to cool before you add the cream layer, and then waiting until the jello strawberry mixture to start to jell before layering it on the cream layer.

Without the attention to detail on timing, you will end up with a slurry of pretzels, cream, and strawberry jello. And although this will still probably taste ok, it’s tastier and prettier if the layers stay in their lane. For best results make pretzel jello the night before you intend to serve, or at least a couple of hours ahead, to let the flavors soak into one another for optimal taste.

How to Make Pretzel Jello

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grab a 9×13 pan and 2 cups of pretzels. The recipe calls for 2 cups or more. so feel free to add another cup if you wish for a little more of this salty layer.

I typically add the pretzels to a gallon Ziploc bag and break up the pretzels by hand and then crush them with the back of a wooden spoon. You do not want large chunks for this layer.

Next melt 3/4 cups of butter and pour over the broken up pretzels, then sprinkle 3 tablespoons of sugar over the buttered pretzels. Bake this in the oven for 8 mins, then let cool.

For the cream layer, beat 8 ounces of cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar. When this is well-combined stir in 8 ounces of cool whip into the cream cheese mixture, then spread over cooled pretzels. I typically set this dish in the refrigerator while I work with the strawberry jello recipe.

The final strawberry layer starts with bringing 2 cups of water to a boil and dissolving 1 large 6 oz box of strawberry Jello. When the jello is completely dissolved, stir in the 20 ounces of frozen berries into the Jell-o mixture. It’s important to use frozen berries in this step, let this set until it starts to thicken then pour over cream cheese mixture.

Lastly keep the pretzel jello refrigerated until the top layer of jello is completely set and you are ready to serve.

Pretzel Jello Printable Recipe

More Recipes you will love:

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie

Lemon Blueberry Bread

Grandma Shirley’s Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Starting a Backyard Strawberry Patch

To learn more about how we started our own backyard strawberry patch head to the Farm to Fork Strawberry Page. If you’re just getting started with gardening check out Gardening 101.