Strawberry Congealed Salad

5 from 1 vote

This tangy, sweet, salty and creamy dessert is always a family favorite! A dessert with a funny name but a surprisingly WONDERFUL taste. Reminds you of strawberry cheesecake.

Prep Time30

Cook Time10

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: congealed salad, strawberry congealed salad

Servings: servings

Calories: 254kcal

Author: Wendi Spraker

Cost: $14

Equipment

9x13 pan
oven
Rolling pin
Two medium bowls
whisk
spatula
Off set spatula
measuring cup
Mixer

Ingredients

2 Cups Crushed Pretzels about ½ a standard sized bag
¾ Cup Butter melted
3 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
8 oz cream cheese - room temperature
1 Cup granulated white sugar
8 oz cool whip room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 Cups boiling water
2 3 oz packages of strawberry jello - 6 oz total
1 lb fresh strawberry slices

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
Crush the pretzels in a gallon size resealable bag with a rolling pin until the pretzels are a fine powder.
Melt butter and mix in a medium sized bowl with sugar and then add the crushed pretzels. Mix well. Spread into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and pack down.
Bake the pretzel crust at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
While the crust is baking, using a mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, cool whip, vanilla, almond and salt.
Once the pretzel crust has cooled (about 10 mins), spread the cream cheese mixture onto the pretzel crust. Seal as well as you can to the corners and sides so that a barrier will be created between the jello mix and the pretzel crust. Set the entire dish into the refrigerator while you finish the rest of the instructions.
While the pretzel crust is cooling, mix the boiling water in a medium bolw with the 2 3 oz packages of strawberry jello. Mix with a whisk until the jello dissolves in the water. Set this mixture into the refrigerator for at least 5 minutes.
Slice the strawberries and add those to the jello mixture. Pour this mixture onto the cream cheese mix and spread evenly. Place back into the refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours.

Video

Notes

Cut the strawberries no more than ¼ inch thick.
Make sure the strawberries are all about the same thickness.
Crush the pretzels as small as you can make them.
Use a rolling pin or a soup can turned on its side to smash the pretzels.
It is OK to substitute butter substitutes for the melted butter.
You will want the cream cheese and the cool whip to be room temperature.
If you want to substitute REAL whipped cream for this recipe, then add 1 heaping tablespoon of sour cream to the whipped cream to help stabilize the whipped cream. Do understand that the pretzel salad will not last as long as the cool whip version.
Spread the cream cheese mixture as well as you can into the corners and onto the sides to create a barrier against the jello. An offset spatula works well for this job.
Make sure to allow the jello the resting time in the fridge so that it can cool off and won’t melt the cream cheese mix when you spread it on top.
Keep the finished dish in the refrigerator and covered.
Terrific dish for a potluck!

PRO TIP: Make the day before you plan to serve and this allows all the flavors to marry and meld!

Nutrition