Raspberry Pretzel Jello Salad is a crowd favorite and a crunchy and creamy dessert that delivers layers of salty-sweet deliciousness. It consists of a sweet and salty pretzel crust base layer, a cream cheese layer in the middle, and is topped with fresh sweet-tart raspberries set in a Jello mixture.
Raspberry Pretzel Salad is similar to the more popular Strawberry Pretzel Salad, but with a slightly more tart flavor.
Most recipes use Cool Whip in the cream cheese mixture, but I much prefer the taste and quality of using homemade stabilized whipped cream.
Why I love this recipe
- It's versatile! While I love this recipe when it's made with strawberries or raspberries, it can work with other types of fresh fruit as well.
- This layered dessert is the best summertime dessert recipe and is perfect for potlucks.
Ingredients needed
The pretzel crust is made of crushed pretzels, butter, and sugar.
For the sweet cream cheese filling, you will need room temperature cream cheese, sugar, and stabilized whipped cream. To make the stabilized whipped cream, you will need heavy whipping cream, unflavored gelatin, and powdered sugar. It tastes just like whipped cream but holds its shape.
To make the raspberry jello layer, you will need raspberry Jello mix, boiling water, and fresh raspberries.
How to make Raspberry Jello Pretzel Salad
Make the pretzel layer
Crush the pretzels by pulsing in a food processor or with a rolling pin and a large resealable plastic bag. Preheat the oven and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Stir together the crushed pretzels, melted butter, and granulated sugar. Mix well and press the pretzel mixture into the bottom of the pan.
Bake the crust about 8-10 minutes, until set. Set it aside to cool. This is the first layer of the dessert.
Make creamy middle layer
While the sweet and salty crushed pretzel crust is cooling, make the next layer. In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream together the cream cheese and white sugar. Fold in the stabilized whipped cream.
Spread the mixture onto the fully cooled crust. To avoid a soggy crust, just be sure the creamy layer reaches all edges of the pan. Set in the dessert in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
Make the raspberry layer
While the cream layer is chilling in the refrigerator, dissolve the raspberry Jello in boiling water. Allow it to cool until the mixture is about the consistency of egg whites. Stir in the fresh raspberries and spread over the cream cheese layer.
Refrigerate until set. This will usually take 2-4 hours.
Storage
Raspberry pretzel dessert needs to be refrigerated. Either store pieces in an airtight container or lay plastic wrap directly on top of the jello layer to create a nice seal. The raspberries will release liquid over time, so it's best if eaten sooner rather than later.
Best dessert recipes for summer
There's nothing better than a homemade dessert featuring the best summer produce. Here are some of my favorites:
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Raspberry Pretzel Dessert (without Cool Whip)
Ingredients
Pretzel crust:
- 2 ½ cups pretzels (crushed or broken into small pieces)
- ¾ cup butter (unsalted, melted)
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
Middle cream layer:
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 cups stabilized whipped cream (see note below)
Top raspberry layer:
- 6 ounces raspberry Jello (2 (3 ounce) packages)
- 2 cups boiling water
- 3 cups fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease or parchment line a 9x13 baking dish.
Make the pretzel crust layer:
- Stir together crushed pretzels, melted butter and 3 tablespoons granulated sugar. Mix well and press mixture into bottom of prepared 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Bake 8-10 minutes, until set. Set aside to cool.
Make creamy middle layer:
- While the pretzel crust is cooling, make the cream layer filling. In a large mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and white sugar. Fold in the stabilized whipped cream.
- Spread mixture onto fully cooled crust. To avoid a soggy crust, just be sure the creamy layer reaches all edges of the pan. Set in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
Make the raspberry layer:
- While the cream layer is chilling in the refrigerator, dissolve the raspberry Jello in boiling water. Allow cooling until the mixture is about the consistency of egg whites.
- Stir in fresh raspberries and spread over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until set.
Notes
- Just use 1 ½ cups heavy cream and whip it until firm peaks form. You can omit the gelatin if the pretzel salad will be eaten right away. If not, I highly recommend the stabilized whipped cream so that it will retain its shape and volume better.
- Use Cool Whip instead of the stabilized whipped cream. This option is easy, however, these are the ingredients in Cool Whip: Water, hydrogenated vegetable oil (including coconut and palm oils), high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, skimmed milk, light cream, less than 2% sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), natural and artificial flavor, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, and beta carotene.
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