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Passing as a salad rather than a dessert in the Midwest, Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad is sweet, salty, made with Jell-O, and topped with cool whip. It’s a great make-ahead recipe that everyone will love!
I love introducing my California friends to crazy Midwest recipes like this Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad.
I have several people who taste-test my recipes, all California natives, and they always shake their heads in amazement at this unexpected, yet so delicious, combination of pretzels, cream cheese, and raspberry Jello.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Pretzels: To crush pretzels, place in a zipper-top plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or mallet. Or, place in a food processor and pulse until crushed.
- Whipped topping: One 8-ounce container of whipped topping contains about 3 cups. This recipe calls for 2 cups whipped topping. You can use the last cup for garnish, if desired. Whipped topping is a little more stable than fresh whipped cream (it sets better and lasts longer in the refrigerator).
How to make Pretzel Salad
- To make the pretzel crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, add crushed pretzels, butter, and sugar. Toss well to combine. Press into an un-greased 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
- To make the filling, in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in whipped topping until combined. Spread over pretzel crust and refrigerate until chilled (at least 30 minutes).
- In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in frozen raspberries and chill until partially set, about 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully pour or spoon over cream cheese filling.
- Chill until firm, about 4 to 6 hours. Garnish with additional whipped topping and pretzels if desired.
Jello Pretzel Salad tips
- Yield: This recipe will make 12 or 16 slices of salad depending on how you slice it.
- Make ahead: Raspberry Pretzel Salad is best when made at least 8 hours in advance so the layers have a chance to really set and chill.
How to store Pretzel Salad
Store leftovers covered for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Recipe FAQs
I made this Raspberry Pretzel Salad in a disposable aluminum pans (the “half-size” which is 12-3/4″ x 10-3/4″ x 2-9/16″). I baked the pretzel crust and assembled the dessert with any changes. However, when I was eating the salad, the layer of pretzels felt too thick. Because there was a smaller surface area in the pan, the pretzel layer was taller (packed higher). I prefer the salad in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan and the way the pretzels are more spread out in there.
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
More dessert than salad, Strawberry Pretzel Salad is sweet, salty, made with Jell-O, and topped with cool whip. If you’re still reading, it loves to be made ahead and is an absolute winner at potlucks…
View Recipe
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Raspberry Pretzel Salad
Ingredients
For the pretzel crust:
- 2 cups pretzels crushed (about 8 ounces, see note 1)
- 3/4 cup butter melted (1 ½ sticks)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the filling:
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups whipped topping thawed (from one 8-ounce container, see note 2)
- 2 (3 ounce) packages raspberry gelatin
- 2 cups boiling water
- 32 ounces frozen raspberries
- whipped topping for garnish, optional
- Pretzels uncrushed, for garnish, optional
Instructions
To make the pretzel crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, add crushed pretzels, butter, and sugar. Toss well to combine.
- Press into an un-greased 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
To make the filling:
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir in whipped topping until combined. Spread over pretzel crust and refrigerate until chilled (at least 30 minutes).
- In a large bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in frozen raspberries and chill until partially set, about 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully pour or spoon over cream cheese filling.
- Chill until firm, about 4 to 6 hours. Garnish with additional whipped topping and pretzels if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Pretzels: To crush pretzels, place in a zipper-top plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin or mallet. Or, place in a food processor and pulse until crushed.
- Whipped topping: One 8-ounce container of whipped topping contains about 3 cups. This recipe calls for 2 cups whipped topping. You can use the last cup for garnish, if desired. Whipped topping is a little more stable than fresh whipped cream (it sets better and lasts longer in the refrigerator).
- Yield: This recipe will make 12 or 16 slices of salad depending on how you slice it.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- Make ahead: Raspberry Pretzel Salad is best when made at least 8 hours in advance so the layers have a chance to really set and chill.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I put the berries into the jello too lateโฆ I think I should have done this right after finishing the jello on the stove. The jello was nearly set after only 5 minutes!! I put it atop my cream cheese layer anyway. Is there a point of no return w jello consistency in order to make it bind on top? Am I screwedโฆ will my jello now fall all over the place? I guess this isnโt the worst problem in the world. I like your method a lotโฆ keeping berries frozen and adding to warm jello a good idea!
Hi Cindy, how did it turn out? I imagine since the jello was starting to set, it should have stayed with the cream cheese layer. I hope your next one is amazing and less stressful. – Meggan
Understood this recipe was posted years ago, but looked good and worth a try.
Have the ingredient amounts been altered?
Liz asked if 1/4c or 1/2c sugar added to pretzels
I read in the ingredient list add 3TBSP to pretzels and no mention of amount of sugar to add in directions
2c crushed pretzels were swimming in 3/4 butter
32oz of raspberries overwhelmed 2c of jello
Hi T, yes. I’ve worked on updating this recipe since it was posted in 2017. I hope you love it in it’s current state. Please let me know if you have anymore questions! ๐ – Meggan
For those of us on keto…
I swapped out the pretzels for ground pecans but it didnโt get firm in the oven so scooped it out and poured the sugar free raspberry jello in the pan, used Swerve in place of sugar for all parts that called for sugar. Discovered the fresh raspberries were already eaten so swapped them out for strawberries. And put the cheesecake layer on top of jello w/strawberry slices after the jello was set. And the pecans became crumble as the top layer:
Raspberry-strawberried- jello–cheesecake-pecan-crumble!!
Thanks to my daughter in law who made it all and made it happen!
I just wanted to let you know that I served this at a meal for 70 people. It was a raving success! Thank you so much for helping with the recipe.
is it 1/4 or 1/2 cup of sugar in pretzel mixture? Above it says 1/2 but in the instructions it says 1/4.
Hi Liz! Sorry about this typo. It should be 1/2 cup of sugar. I adapted a recipe from my friend and ended up doubling the amount of pretzels she had in the base (I just felt like it needed more). And so I doubled the butter and the sugar, but apparently only in the ingredients and not in the recipe! Fixing it now. Should definitely be 1/2 cup. I just made this last week, it was a hit! Thank you!
That is great information! Thank you so.much for conducting a test kitchen for me!
Can this recipe be made the night before or will it make the pretzels soft?
Hi Kristi, in my experience the pretzels do not get soggy. The trick is to make sure they are totally covered by the cool whip/cream cheese mixture so no jello gets through. I’m going to make this again Tuesday just to make sure! Thanks for the question.
Hi Kristi! Tested this out. The pretzels will NOT get soggy in the fridge overnight. In fact, I left mine in the fridge for 3 days and the pretzels were still crunchy on the third day. The thing that makes the pretzels soggy, though, is when it sits out at room temperature. So when you pull it out to serve it, if it’s there 2-3 hours later, the pretzels will soften. But in the fridge, they are fine. I hope this helps! Thanks.
I made this with gluten feee pretzels (Glutino brand) and it came out perfect. ย A word of caution, if you are easily lead astray by sweet-tart, creamy smooth decadence, stay away from this addictive dessert.
A grand slam hit.ย
Not to be dramatic, but this dessert right here is one of my favorite parts of living in the midwest. I mean seriously, there’s just no beating it!
I adore your ‘crazy’ midwest recipes too.
One of the greatest things about ‘American food’ are those amazing regional specialities. I love watching shows like ‘Diners, Drive-ins and Dives’ for this reason.
This sounds incredible. I would sure enjoy going to a Midwest pot-luck!