This Peach Pretzel Salad provides a delightful twist on that classic fruit and jello pretzel salad that usually does the rounds during Summer. Fresh, sweet, and tangy peaches sit suspended in peach gelatin, contrasting beautifully with the velvet sweet cream cheese filling and salty butter pretzel crust.
Serve your sweet and salty peach pretzel salad as is or with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream. It’s perfect as a midweek delicious dessert or for hosting special occasions. I like to serve this light dessert with some of our favorite grilled recipes like my marinated, grilled tri-tip, tomahawk steak bbq recipe, or some tasty grilled shrimp skewers. Peach jello pretzel salad can also double as a side dish at your next potluck.
Of course, if peaches don’t do it for you, simply use another fruit of your choice – this dessert is incredibly easy to modify with simple ingredient swaps and is one of my favorite sweet salad treats next to this Pistachio Pineapple Watergate Salad! For an ultra fresh twist on fruit salad, try this watermelon cake. And if you can’t get enough of the sweet and salty combo, try our Ritz cracker dessert treats.
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Fun Fact
What IS Peach Pretzel Salad?
Contrary to its name, this 1960’s summer dish is actually a dessert! A Peach or Mandarin Orange Pretzel salad will take you back in time to the summer of 69, with its retro looks and juicy taste, so much so you can almost hear The Beatles’ biggest hit playing in the background.
But what’s in this ‘salad’/dessert? First, you get the salty-sweet pretzel crust which pairs amazingly with the thick layer of sweetened cream cheese that sits below the jello – after all…everyone’s a sucker for sweet and salty dishes!
Next comes that vibrant jello topping which is where you’ll find those sweet and tangy peaches. As you can imagine, combining all these flavors and textures in one dessert is nothing short of mouth-watering!
🥨 Ingredients:
- crushed pretzels 🥨 – chop them up in the food processor or toss in a Ziploc bag and roll over them with a rolling pin until they’re in small pieces
- melted butter – this binds the pretzels and sugar into the most delicious crust
- granulated sugar – this sweetens the pretzel base for the perfect combination of sweet and salty
- cream cheese – for our cheesecake layer, soften to room temperature
- Cool Whip – this makes it so simple, but you can do a 1:1 swap with real whipped cream, if you like
- vanilla extract – to flavor the cream cheese layer
- fresh peaches – you can also use frozen peaches (thaw and drain) or even canned peaches (drain the juices), but fresh fruit during peak peach season will be the best.
- peach Jell-O mix or peach gelatin
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream. Place fresh peach slices or a whole pretzel on top of the whipped cream for a decorative touch.You could also sprinkle some crushed pretzel over a swirl of whipped cream. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a heartier dessert.
Substitutions and Variations
- If you don’t have any fresh peaches available, you can always use canned peaches instead.
- Having such a basic crust and creamy middle layer allows you to experiment with all kinds of fruit! The sky’s the limit, so experiment away! We love our versions with mandarin oranges and this peach version.
- Many people love to use strawberries, pineapples, blackberries, blueberries, limes, lemons, apples, or pomegranates (to name a few). In fact, almost any fruit will work in this dessert.
🔪 Instructions:
Prep: Heat oven to 350°F.
Step 1: Crush the pretzels by pulsing in a food processor or placing in a Ziploc bag and crushing with a mallet or rolling pin.
Step 2: Combine crushed pretzels with ¾ cup sugar and melted butter.
Step 3: Then, press the pretzel mixture into a greased 9×13 baking dish. Bake the pretzel crust and allow it to cool.
Step 4: Use a hand mixer to beat together cream cheese, remaining sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl.
PRO TIP: Use an offset spatula or a silicone spatula to really press the creamy center down against the crunchy pretzels and seal every crack or bubble around the sides of the pan. The cream cheese makes a waterproof layer between the salty pretzel crust and the liquid gelatin topping. No one wants a soggy peach pretzel jello salad!
Step 5: Fold in the Cool Whip and gently combine.
Step 6: Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust.
Step 7: SEAL the cream cheese all the way to the edges. Then chill while the jello layer is prepared.
Step 8: In a large bowl, prepare the peach jello as you would with any jello. Dissolve the gelatin in boiling water, then stir in ice water.
Step 9: Peel and cut up the peaches, then immediately stir diced peaches into the gelatin mixture. Set in the fridge to chill for just 20-30 minutes. You want the jello to thicken enough to suspend the peaches, but still settle into a smooth layer.
Step 10: Once the jello begins to thicken, pour it over the cream cheese layer and chill the “salad” until the peach jello layer is firm, about 4 hours.
Tips For Making Peach Pretzel Salad
- When spreading the cream cheese layer, make sure to cover everything and really seal it along the edges. If the gelatin touches the pretzel crust, it will become soggy. The jello will also drain down into the bottom instead of staying suspended above the cream cheese layer.
- To maintain the color of the fruit, add them into the gelatin immediately after the peaches have been diced.
- If you can’t find pretzels, consider using Ritz crackers instead. A Graham cracker crust could even work although then you won’t get that contrasting sweet and salty taste.
- Make sure to cool the gelatin fruit mixture just until it starts to thicken. This will allow you to pour the mixture into the pan with ease, creating a smooth top layer. You’ll be able to tell when the mixture is starting to thicken and ready to transfer to the casserole dish by the fruit staying suspended more evenly in the gelatin.
Recipe FAQs
It’s best to keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Or better yet, share the dessert with friends and family until there’s not a single piece of this sweet treat left.
In case you do have leftovers, you’ll be happy to know that this peach pretzel salad will last up to 2-3 days in the fridge. If you’d like to be extra prepared for your guests, you can always make this dessert the day or night before, and it will still be amazing!
No. Unfortunately, freezing this dessert will ruin it.
Jello on its own doesn’t freeze well, and freezing jello that’s on top of cream? I shudder to think of the state of those leftovers, mainly because when you defrost jello, chemical bonds are destroyed, and the jello will become runny.
Goodbye gem-like jelly and hello gross sludge.
This peach pretzel salad is a great dessert to enjoy as is but if you’re in the mood for a more indulgent treat then consider serving it alongside some freshly whipped cream or creamy vanilla ice cream!
More Fruity Desserts
If you tried this Peach Pretzel Salad or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Peach Pretzel Salad
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups pretzels crushed
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar divided
- ¾ cup butter melted
- 12 ounces cream cheese
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 ounces Cool Whip
- 6 ounce package peach gelatin
- 2 cups water boiling
- 2 cups ice water
- 4 cups peeled and diced fresh peaches about 4-5 large peaches
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 pan.
- In a medium bowl, combine crushed pretzels, ¾ cup sugar, and the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the 9×13 pan. (You can crush pretzels by putting them in a ziploc bag and using a rolling pin, wooden spoon, or your hands to crush them.)
- Bake the pretzel base for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, the remaining ¾ cup of sugar, and the vanilla until well combined. Fold in the Cool Whip until the mixture is evenly combined.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the cooled pretzel crust. When adding the cream cheese mixture to the pan, make sure that it goes all the way to the edges. This creates a barrier to prevent the jello from seeping down into the pretzel base and making it soggy.
- In a medium bowl, dissolve the jello in two cups of boiling water. Once it is completely dissolved, add two cups of ice water and stir. Stir in the diced peaches. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until the jello is just starting to thicken but has not yet set.
- Carefully pour the peaches and jello over the cream cheese layer. Cover and refrigerate for two hours or until the jello is set. Slice into squares to serve.
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Notes
-
- When spreading the cream cheese layer, make sure to cover everything and really seal it along the edges. If the gelatin touches the pretzel crust, it will become soggy. The jello will also drain down into the bottom instead of staying suspended above the cream cheese layer.
- To maintain the color of the fruit, add them into the gelatin immediately after the peaches have been diced.
- If you can’t find pretzels, consider using Ritz crackers instead. A Graham cracker crust could even work although then you won’t get that contrasting sweet and salty taste.
- Make sure to cool the gelatin fruit mixture just until it starts to thicken. This will allow you to pour the mixture into the pan with ease, creating a smooth top layer. You’ll be able to tell when the mixture is starting to thicken and ready to transfer to the casserole dish by the fruit staying suspended more evenly in the gelatin.
Nutrition
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