If you’ve ever been to a Pittsburgh potluck, picnic, or family reunion, you’ve likely scooped up a slice of the sweet-and-salty wonder known as strawberry Jell-O pretzel salad. It’s always there, between the pan of haluski and kielbasa and the cookie table.
It may shock you to learn that this dessert-salad is not exactly regional. Up in good old Erie, I cooked up this dessert with my best friend and her mom back when Hammer pants were cool. A friend from Fort Wayne, Indiana made this with her parents when she was young, too.
Based on anecdotal evidence, and based on search results on Duck Duck Go, this wobbly strawberry “salad” has been a favorite in the South, Midwest, and Rust Belt for nearly sixty years. According to Southern Kitchen, this recipe originated in the Joys of Jell-O cookbook in the 1960s. However, after paging through the first and second editions, I was unable to find it. Maybe it was created in a Pittsburgh kitchen…
Unofficially, I’m claiming this dessert for Pittsburgh. It’s as much a part of our culinary identity as fries on salad or chipped ham. It’s so Pittsburgh that our friends at Ya Jagoff hosted a Strawberry Jell-O Pretzel Salad Stand-Off at The Block at Northway last spring, naming the dessert “Pittsburgh’s favorite.” The contest returns this year on May 10.
Last week, I reached out to my best friend to find the original recipe that we made while jamming out to 2 Legit. But, unfortunately, she didn’t have it. She did however lead me in the right direction, and I found a strikingly similar recipe in an old newspaper clipping from 1982. The recipe reads as follows:
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2 cups crushed pretzels
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¾ cup margarine, melted
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3 tablespoons sugar
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1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
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1 (9-ounce) container Cool Whip
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1 cup sugar
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1 (6-ounce) package strawberry Jell-O
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2 cups boiling water
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20 ounces unsweetened frozen strawberries
Mix crushed pretzels, margarine and sugar together and press in a 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool.
Combine cream cheese, Cool Whip and sugar. Mix well. Spread on cooled crust.
Mix jello with water, then add frozen berries. Stir until berries soften and Jell-O starts to thicken.
Gently pour or spread mixture on top of cream cheese layer.
Refrigerate.
This was the first time I made this dessert as an adult. And guess what? I screwed up my crust. After crushing my pretzels in the food processor, I dumped the whole cup of sugar in it instead of the 3 tablespoons. If you read Yinzer Yums weekly, you know that I generally cut the sugar in half when making desserts from the 1970s and 80s. This time, I turned my crust into an ultra-sugary hard pretzel candy. Seriously, I’m crying.
Obviously, I remade the crust. I used ¾ cup of melted butter instead of margarine since that’s my personal preference. Margarine can be an excellent choice for people with dairy allergies or sensitivity (just double-check the packaging), or you can also substitute ghee or vegetable shortening.
After baking my crust and then cooling it in the fridge, I whipped up my cream cheese and Cool Whip layer. It’s always a good idea to let your cream cheese set out for an hour or so to soften. Or you can remove it from the packaging and soften it the microwave for 30 seconds on 30% power. Mixing the sugar (which I cut in half), the cream cheese, and the Cool Whip took about one minute with my hand mixer.
While whipping up my cream layer, I put the kettle on to boil water. Once the kettle whistled, I mixed 2 cups of boiling water with a 6 oz. package of Jell-O powder in a bowl then added my frozen strawberries. My strawberries came in a 24 oz. package and I honestly should have used the whole thing rather than omitting the last 4 oz. Lesson learned for next time. Also, I should have used sliced strawberries rather than whole ones. Again, my bad.
Even with whole strawberries, this “salad” is to die for. Strawberry pretzel salad is retro, it’s ridiculous, and it’s irresistible for anyone who loves a crunchy, creamy blend of salty and sweet.
Check me out with the YaJagoff! crew making their favorite dessert on Jeet Jet?
Also, here’s a free printable PDF of the recipe:
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2025.
