Go Back
Cranberry Pretzel Salad

Cranberry Pretzel Salad

A festive layered dessert with crunchy pretzel crust, creamy center, and tart cranberry jello topping, perfect for holiday celebrations.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Chill Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 18 minutes
Servings: 16
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 280
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Pretzel Crust:
  • 2½ cups pretzels, crushed
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ¾ cup butter, melted
For the Cream Layer:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 8 ounces whipped topping, thawed
For the Jello Layer:
  • 6 ounces instant raspberry gelatin (or two 3-ounce boxes cranberry gelatin)
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 cup cold water
  • 14 ounces whole berry cranberry sauce

Equipment

  • 9x13-inch Baking Dish
  • Hand mixer
  • Mixing bowls
  • Spatula

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease your dish. Mix crushed pretzels with brown sugar and melted butter really well.
  2. Press the pretzel mix into the dish bottom firmly. Bake 8 minutes until it smells good and looks lightly toasted all over.
  3. Take it out of the oven. Let the crust cool down all the way before you add more layers on top.
  4. Make raspberry jello with boiling water. Stir in cold water and cranberry sauce. Let it cool to room temperature before using.
  5. Beat cream cheese and sugar with your mixer. Mix until smooth and creamy with no lumps left at all anywhere.
  6. Fold whipped topping into cream cheese gently. Keep folding until no white streaks show up in the cream filling.
  7. Spread cream over the cooled crust. Go to the edges! This stops jello from leaking through when it's chilling out.
  8. Pour cooled jello over the cream layer slowly. Spread cranberries around to make it pretty. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.
  9. Add whipped topping and fresh cranberries on top if you want. Slice it up and serve it cold to your happy guests!

Notes

  • Make this 1-2 days early for the best taste. It gives all the layers time to set up perfectly.
  • Use room temperature cream cheese. It mixes smoothly and easily with no lumps to mess things up.
  • Seal the cream layer to the edges all around. This keeps jello from mixing with the bottom pretzel layer.
  • Let jello cool down before pouring. Hot jello melts the cream cheese layer and ruins everything below it.
  • Store covered in the fridge up to 3 days. The pretzel crust gets softer the longer you keep it.