Enjoy this lightened-up version of classic Strawberry Pretzel Salad. This Weight Watchers-friendly version is only two points per slice! The bright and festive 4th of July version features red, white, and blue components, perfect for serving at July 4th parties and gatherings. You can decorate the top with whipped cream stars and assorted berries to make the presentation extra special. No more worrying about what dessert you’ll bring to the party!
This recipe has all the components of an old-fashioned strawberry pretzel salad that you know and love – the crushed pretzel crust, a velvety cream cheese filling, and a strawberry Jello topping with floating strawberry pieces. However, instead of a traditional cream cheese filling, this recipe utilizes sugar-free Jello cheesecake pudding mix with fat-free whipped topping and Greek yogurt. You won’t believe how similar it tastes to a traditional cream cheese filling! Also, the pretzel crust replaces butter with applesauce, and the strawberry topping uses sugar-free Jello instead of regular.
This is the best dessert for weight loss; it’s almost entirely fat-free! Make this the day before the 4th of July, and you’ll be completely set for the holiday. Or, skip the patriotic theme and make it anytime! You can always switch up the jello flavor on top or color the cheesecake filling differently to put your own unique twist on it. Either way, you’ll have so much fun making this dessert and even more fun eating it.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- It Serves a Crowd. You can cut this dessert into 18-20 slices. It’s the perfect light dessert to serve to guests, as everyone will love its simple yet fruity flavors.
- Doesn’t Require Much Oven Time. This recipe is nice because it doesn’t require your oven to be on for too long, so it won’t heat up your entire house during the heat of summer. On the other hand, it also saves oven room if you need to make other foods.
- It’s Classic and Nostalgic! If you grew up on strawberry pretzel salad, you’ll absolutely love this lightened-up version of it. It still has a classic pretzel crust with a creamy and light filling that balances the sweet strawberry Jello and berries on top. This classic dessert will win your heart over once again.
Recipe Overview
- Serving Size: 1 slice (61g)
- Number of Servings: 18
- Time to Cook: 10 minutes, plus 2-3 hours resting time
- WW Points Per Recipe: 2 points per serving, 30 for the entire recipe (click here to view the recipe in the Weight Watchers app. WW login required)
Ingredients in Strawberry Pretzel Salad
This recipe for strawberry pretzel salad has three different layers—the pretzel crust, the creamy filling, and the jello layer. Here are the ingredients you will need for each layer:
Crust
- 4 oz Pretzel sticks (I used Rold Gold brand because they’re low-point)
- ½ cup Unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 tbsp Monk fruit sweetener or granulated sugar
Creamy Layer
- 8 oz container fat-free whipped topping
- 2 ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 oz box Sugar-free cheesecake Jello instant pudding mix
- Blue food dye (optional)
Strawberry Jello Layer
- 0.6 oz box Sugar-free low-calorie strawberry Jello (family-size or two 0.3 oz boxes)
- 4 cup Water for the Jello
- 14 oz Frozen strawberries, whole or sliced (don’t thaw)
Instructions for Making this Strawberry Pretzel Salad Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. To make the crust, use a food processor or rolling pin to crush the pretzel sticks. Pour the pretzel crumbs into a bowl and add the sweetener and applesauce, mixing with your hands to form a dough. Add more applesauce if needed to bind the crumbs.
2. Press the pretzel crust into the bottom of a greased 9X13 baking dish. You can put parchment paper over top of it to help you spread the crust into an even layer. It will be thin, but it will fit perfectly.
3. Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
4. Once the crust cools, you can add the first layer on top of it. To make the blue layer, mix fat-free whipped topping, Greek yogurt, and 1 package of sugar-free cheesecake jello powder (do not mix with milk). If adding food dye, mix the blue dye as desired until thoroughly incorporated.
5. Spread the cheesecake filling evenly on top of the pretzel crust. Place in the refrigerator while you work on the strawberry Jello layer.
6. For the strawberry Jello, boil 2 cups of water and mix with the Jello powder, stirring to dissolve. Add 2 cups of cold water and stir. Pour the Jello mixture over the still-frozen strawberries.
7. Allow the strawberry mixture to rest for about 10 to 15 minutes or until it’s slightly thicker and cooled. Gently pour on top of the blue cheesecake filling.
8. Allow the Jello dessert to sit in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until it is completely firm. Decorate the top with Greek yogurt, fat-free whipped cream, or fat-free cool whip. Garnish with fresh berries of your choice. Serve chilled, and enjoy!
Variations and Substitutions
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad with Fresh Strawberries: although this recipe uses frozen strawberries, you can use fresh strawberries, too! Just use the same amount. You can roughly chop them or keep them whole (stems removed) if you want them to poke out more.
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad with Graham Cracker Crust: Instead of a pretzel crust, you can make a Graham cracker crust instead. It might take more or fewer ounces than the pretzels, but you can use the pretzel amount as a baseline.
- Use Different Jello Flavors: In the middle filling, you can also use plain sugar-free vanilla pudding mix or white chocolate Jello pudding mix. You can also use Berry blue Jello, but I’m not too sure if that comes in a sugar free version!
- Sweetener vs Sugar: Since the crust only requires 2 tablespoons of sweetener, you can use granulated sugar instead, and it doesn’t affect the amount of points.
- Butter vs Applesauce: You can use melted butter or a butter replacement instead of applesauce, but you will need to adjust the recipe in the Weight Watchers recipe builder depending on the exact product that you use.
Tips and Tricks for Making Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad
- Store leftover strawberry Jello pretzel salad in the same pan that you assembled it in. I suggest covering it with foil or plastic wrap so that no other foods from the fridge come in contact with it! This recipe will hold for three to four days. It does not freeze well because of the Greek yogurt!
- Do not put the strawberry Jello mixture on top of the cheesecake filling until it is partially cool. If it is hot, it will melt the cheesecake pudding, and you won’t get a nice layered look when you slice into it.
- Be careful not to over-bake the pretzel crust because it will begin to shrink, and then it won’t entirely cover the bottom of the pan.
Related Recipes
Weight Watchers Strawberry Pie
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Ingredients
Pretzel Crust
- 4 oz Pretzel sticks, (I used Rold Gold brand because they are low-point)
- ½ cup Unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 tbsp Monk fruit sweetener or granulated sugar
Creamy Cheesecake Layer
- 8 oz container Fat-free whipped topping
- 2 ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 oz box Sugar-free cheesecake jello instant pudding mix
- Blue food dye, optional
Strawberry Jello Layer
- 0.6 oz box Sugar-free low-calorie strawberry jello, family-size or two 0.3 oz boxes
- 4 cup Water for the Jello
- 14 oz Frozen strawberries, whole or sliced (don’t thaw)
- Fresh berries, greek yogurt, fat-free whipped cream for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. To make the crust, use a food processor or rolling pin to crush the pretzel sticks. Pour the pretzel crumbs into a bowl and add the sweetener and applesauce, mixing with your hands to form a dough. Add more applesauce if needed to bind the crumbs.
- Press the pretzel crust into the bottom of a greased 9X13 baking dish. You can put parchment paper over top of it to help you spread the crust into an even layer. It will be thin, but it will fit perfectly.
- Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
- Once the crust cools, you can add the first layer on top of it. To make the blue layer, mix fat-free whipped topping, Greek yogurt, and 1 package of sugar-free cheesecake jello powder (do not mix with milk). If adding food dye, mix the blue dye as desired until thoroughly incorporated.
- Spread the cheesecake filling evenly on top of the pretzel crust. Place in the refrigerator while you work on the strawberry Jello layer.
- For the strawberry Jello, boil 2 cups of water and mix with the Jello powder, stirring to dissolve. Add 2 cups of cold water and stir. Pour the Jello mixture over the still-frozen strawberries.
- Allow the strawberry mixture to rest for about 10 to 15 minutes or until it’s slightly thicker and slightly cooled. Gently pour on top of the blue cheesecake filling.
- Allow the Jello dessert to sit in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until it is completely firm. Decorate the top with Greek yogurt, fat-free whipped cream, or fat-free cool whip. Garnish with fresh berries of your choice. Serve chilled, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
