Strawberry Pretzel Bars
These Strawberry Pretzel Bars are always a sign of summer in our house and with Memorial Day next week, that means my family and I will be enjoying these delicious Strawberry Pretzel Bars at our family cookout this weekend. I always make two batches because one batch never last long.
I also love the combination of the sweet and salty and with the fresh strawberry jello, which makes these bars the perfect summer BBQ dessert.
JUST A FEW BAKING TIPS:
✔ To crush the pretzels, I like to place them into a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. You could also use a food processor too.
✔ After baking the pretzel crust for 10 minutes, I let it cool on the counter for about 5 minutes and then I place it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process while I make the cream cheese layer.
✔ If you want to switch it up, I sometimes add about 1 cup of fresh blueberries with the fresh sliced strawberries before mixing the fruit into the jello mixture. It makes for a perfect red, white, and blue dessert!
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE ON HOW TO MAKE THESE STRAWBERRY PRETZEL BARS:
Strawberry Pretzel Bars
Ingredients
PRETZEL CRUST:
- 2 cups finely crushed pretzels
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- â…” cup unsalted butter, melted, 11 Tablespoons
CREAM CHEESE LAYER:
- 2 packages cream cheese, softened, 16 ounces
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup Cool Whip topping, thawed
STRAWBERRY JELLO LAYER:
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 box strawberry jello, 6 oz.
- 1 ½ cups cold water
- 4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
MAKE CRUST:
- In a medium sized bowl, mix pretzel crumbs, sugar, and butter together to form crust.
- Press pretzel crust into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.
MAKE CREAM CHEESE LAYER:
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, mix cream cheese, sugar, and milk together until light and fluffy. Stir in Cool Whip.
- Spread cream cheese mixture over pretzel crust. Place in fridge until ready to use.
MAKE STRAWBERRY JELLO LAYER:
- In a medium sized bowl, stir boiling water into dry gelatin mix until completely dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until jello is thickened. Stir in sliced strawberries.
- Spoon strawberry jello over cream cheese layer. Place in fridge for 3 hours or until jello is firm. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Notes
- To crush the pretzels, I like to place them into a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. You could also use a food processor too.
- After baking the pretzel crust for 10 minutes, I let it cool on the counter for about 5 minutes and then I place it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process while I make the cream cheese layer.
- If you want to switch it up, I sometimes add about 1 cup of fresh blueberries with the fresh sliced strawberries before mixing the fruit  into the jello mixture. It makes for a perfect red, white, and blue dessert!
My kids love this so this is win for me! So easy to make and kid approved?!? 5 stars!
This is super easy!! My kids helped and we had so much fun making and eating these bars! Thanks for the recipe!
You don’t say how big a box of jello to use –  3 or 6 oz?
I used the 6 oz. box or you can buy two 3 oz. boxes!
Is it possible to make this a day ahead of time or do the pretzels get too mushy?
What I do & would suggest is to make the crust the night before and cover then add the top two layers in the morning and chill until the afternoon. This way the pretzel crust does not get soft.
It looks very tasty!
These are just fantastic. The jello is so attractive. And I love the pretzel crust. The combination of flavors is good too. Sweet and salty. Yum!Â
Heck yes. These would be perfect for Memorial Day or any summer picnic! Thank you for sharing. I love the idea of a pretzel crust.Â
These bars look fantastic! And I just love that pretzel crust.. the combination of sweet strawberries and salty pretzels I bet is delicious.