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a square piece of orange jello pretzel salad on a plate, with bites taken. A pretzel is on top as garnish.
5 from 4 votes

Orange Pretzel Salad

Orange Pretzel Salad is tangy, sweet, salty, and creamy all at the same time, making it the perfect dessert for any occasion.
Author Diana
Servings 16 servings
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chilling Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces Orange gelatine powder
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 2 ½ cups small twist pretzels
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 8 ounces whipped topping thawed, see note 1
  • 10 ounces canned mandarin oranges drained

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
  • Combine the orange gelatine with hot water and stir to fully dissolve Set aside until it comes to room temp.
  • Melt butter in a small saucepan, and crush the pretzels into small pieces. Add ¼ cup of sugar to the melted butter, and mix in the crushed pretzels. Remove from heat and press evenly into to a 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven. Allow the pretzel layer to cool completely.
  • In a bowl, combine cream cheese with sugar and beat with a mixer until fluffy. Then gently fold in the whipped topping.
  • Spread the cream cheese mixture over cooled pretzel layer, making sure to spread all the way to the edges of the pan to seal in the pretzels.
  • Stir the mandarin oranges into the cooled Jello mixture. Very carefully pour or spoon the jello over the cream cheese layer. You don't want to disturb the creamy layer very much at all, so go slowly.
  • Chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours or until set.

Notes

  1. Fresh homemade whipped cream can be used in place of whipped topping in this recipe. Whip 1 cup of heavy cream to stiff peaks. Add ½ cup of powdered sugar to the cream, or ½ cup of extra sugar to the cream cheese to replace the sugar that is in the whipped topping. If you do use fresh whipped cream, it's best to eat this dessert right away. The cream can make the pretzels soggy, while whipped topping will not.
  2. You can use any flavor of Jello that you want in this recipe. Try strawberry, raspberry, or lemon. You can leave the mandarin oranges in, leave them out, or replace them with another fresh or canned fruit instead.
  3. When pouring on the Jello and oranges, you want to be sure not to mess up the layers below. Pour the mix over the back of a large spoon to slow it down, or instead of pouring, you can spoon on the fruit and Jello instead!
  4. Store leftover orange pretzel salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
  5. Leave pretzel salad in the refrigerator until just before you serve it. Leaving Jello out for too long may cause it to melt.

Nutrition

Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 131mg | Potassium: 113mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 449IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 0.4mg