Strawberry Pretzel Salad

May 3, 2022June 9, 2022 Tracy Knutsen

It’s strawberry season again! I can’t even begin to describe how happy that makes me. In Georgia, we can usually begin picking strawberries in late April/early May. Places north of here likely don’t see these fresh beauties until later in may or even June..they call them “June bearing berries” for a reason, right? Just the thought of walking through a field of strawberries that all beg me to pick them makes me giddy.

Check out these beauties at my favorite farm – Southern Belle Farm in McDonough, GA. We go here every year for strawberries, blackberries, fresh corn, even our Christmas trees and now, peaches! If you live close by, check them out.

Hubby waiting patiently for me to decide which row to start on.

Shhh…I had to eat this one right off the vine. Don’t tell the farm!

Gorgeous, sweet, bountiful berries!

Home with the treasure!

While I do the “happy dance” over my beautiful berries, oddly enough, at the same time it also creates strawberry anxiety. I begin to worry that this small window of time won’t be enough for me to go down to the farm to pick all the strawberries I need to get me through till next spring. I fret that once I do make it home with gallons of strawberries, that I won’t be able to get them all into jars of jam, pies, salads, smoothies, or just the freezer before they deteriorate from their pristine condition.

Deep breath. I can do this. I have a few favorite recipes for fresh strawberries that I can make over the next couple of weeks. One of the best is this delicious Strawberry Pretzel Salad. Yes, it sounds odd, but you won’t believe how fabulous and easy it is!

Gather a few simple ingredients.

Crust first. This is a mixture of crushed pretzels – and size or shape works fine – crushed pecans, butter and sugar.

While the crust is cooling, I mix up cream cheese, more sugar and whipped topping to spread over the top. This is the center layer. It’s important to spread this all the way to the edges to seal off the crust layer. This will protect is from getting soggy when you pour the strawberry and jello mixture on later. Pop this in the fridge to cool.

The strawberry layer can be made with fresh or frozen berries. When I use fresh, I usually let them macerate in a little sugar for a couple of hours, then crush them with my hands. You can also slice or chop them – whatever you like.

Prepare the jello mixture and add the strawberries and pineapple. Pour over the cream cheese mixture and refrigerate until it sets up.

Serve it up with some whipped topping or just by itself. Yummy!

I made Balsamic Strawberry Jam last year – it was amazing on these Two Ingredient Biscuits! So this time, I’ll keep it simple with some Old-Fashioned Strawberry Jam this weekend, then I think I’ll try a new recipe for Strawberry Chocolate Sauce.

In the meantime, I gotta go get another bowl of berries to eat. They’re calling my name…

Find out where to pick strawberries in your area right here and then get to pickin’!

Please share your favorite recipes for fresh strawberries – I need all the help I can get.