This vegan strawberry pretzel salad isn't a salad at all — it's a delicious dessert! It starts with a crunchy, salty pretzel crust that's covered in a sweet, creamy filling and topped with a fresh strawberry layer.
I still have a lot to learn about regional American cuisine, despite the fact that I constantly develop recipes. Case in point: last holiday season, I asked my Facebook page which classic holiday dessert they wanted veganized. I got so many responses for treats I was familiar with, like vegan tiramisu and vegan shortbread cookies, as well as ones that were new to me, like vegan pfeffernüsse (they were delicious!). But one repeated request left me scratching my head — vegan strawberry pretzel salad.
Jump to:
So many questions! Why put pretzels in a salad? Don't they get soggy? And didn't I specifically ask for dessert requests?
As it turns out, strawberry pretzel salad is a dessert. I learned that in parts of the Midwest, a dish served cold might be referred to as a salad, even if it's very much not a salad. This one is a layered treat. It has a pretzel crust — salty, crunchy, sweet... nice start. The traditional version is made with a filling of cream cheese and Cool Whip, but we're using a sweet cashew and coconut cream filling instead. It all gets topped off with strawberries embedded in Jell-O, which we'll be replacing with vegan Jell-O.
And while the holidays are still a long way off as I'm posting this, vegan strawberry pretzel salad is also an excellent summer treat! The cool creamy filling, juicy strawberry topping, and crunchy pretzel crust are delicious any time of year, but the combination is basically heaven on a hot summer day.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Pretzels. You can use standard thin pretzels, mini pretzels, or pretzel sticks. Just stay away from thicker varieties like nuggets and rods.
- Vegan butter. Most stores will carry this in the refrigerator case, near the regular butter.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Raw cashews. These will make up much of the creamy base for the filling. Make sure they're raw (not roasted), and be prepared to soak them in water to soften them up.
- Coconut cream. Not to be confused with similarly named products, like cream of coconut (why do they do this?). Coconut cream is sold in cans, usually near the canned coconut milk.
- Non-dairy milk. You can use any unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk that you'd normally drink. Read my guide to dairy-free milk if you need help choosing.
- Coconut oil. Coconut oil solidifies at a higher temperature than other oils, so it helps our filling to set. This means no substitutions. Using refined coconut oil will avoid any coconut flavor in your filling.
- Lemon juice.
- Vanilla extract.
- Salt.
- Fruit juice. For maximum strawberry flavor, use a juice that contains some strawberry. I used a strawberry-kiwi blend. Strawberry lemonade is another good option. If you go with another variety, you'll probably want it to be red, although you can add color. You can also add strawberry extract if it doesn't have any strawberry flavor.
- Fresh strawberries.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Steps 1 & 2: Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease the inside of your 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
Step 3: Mix the crust. Stir crushed pretzels, melted vegan butter, and sugar together in a large bowl.
Steps 4 & 5: Press and bake. Press the pretzel mixture into the bottom of your baking pan and pop it into the oven for about 10 minutes.
Step 6: Cool. Let the crust cool completely on a cooling rack. You can make the filling in the meantime.
Step 7: Make the filling. Place everything in a blender or food processor — soaked raw cashews, coconut cream, non-dairy milk, sugar, coconut oil, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt. Blend it up until it's nice and smooth.
Steps 8 & 9: Pour and Chill. Pour the filling over the crust, smooth it out, and cover the pan. Stick it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, until it's completely set.
Steps 10 & 11: Make the vegan gelatin. Whisk the agar into half of your juice in a saucepan. Heat it up and let it simmer for 2 minutes. This activates the agar. When it's done, whisk in the rest of the juice then let it cool until it's just lukewarm.
Step 12: Add the strawberries. Once the mixture is lukewarm you can add your sliced berries. The liquid will probably start to set from the berries cooling it down, so stir it up and move on to the next step right away.
Steps 13 & 14: Top and chill. Spread the strawberry mixture over the filling. Make sure to spread it out evenly. Cover the pan, then chill it until the top layer is set. It should only take about an hour.
Tip: Topping not gelling? It's super important that the liquid simmers for a full 2 minutes in step 10. This activates the agar, and the topping might not gel if you take a shortcut.
Step 15: Serve. It's strawberry pretzel salad time! You're about to discover that this stuff is seriously better than the name would indicate. I topped mine with some non-dairy whipped topping, but it's totally not necessary. Slice and dig in.
How to Store
Vegan strawberry pretzel salad is best stored in the original baking dish, covered tightly in plastic. It'll keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Since it's best served chilled, this is a great make-ahead dessert!
Variations
- Gluten-free version. This entire recipe can be made gluten-free if you use gluten-free pretzels.
- Berry swap. You can use almost any type of berry here — raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. For that matter, try a completely different fruit. Mango pretzel salad, anyone?
- Topping variations. Traditional strawberry pretzel salad is made with strawberry Jell-O, but you can make your topping with any kind of fruit juice. Make it a strawberry-grape pretzel salad, why don't ya?
- Cinnamon crust. Add a little cinnamon to the crust — just a teaspoon or so, a la Auntie Anne's!
More Cool Vegan Desserts
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2 cups crushed pretzels (about 6 ounces — Note 1)
- ¾ cup vegan butter, melted
- ¼ cup organic granulated sugar
For the Filling
- 1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14 ounce/397 gram) can coconut cream, solid portion only (discard any liquid in the can)
- ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ⅔ cup organic granulated sugar
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Topping
- 2 cups fruit juice, divided (Note 2)
- 1 ½ teaspoons agar agar powder
- 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease the inside of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
- To make the crust, add the pretzels, melted butter, and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Stir until well-combined.
- Transfer the mixture to the baking pan, then press it evenly into the bottom.
- Bake the crust for 10 to 12 minutes, until it darkens just slightly.
- Place the crust on a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
- To make the filling, place all ingredients into a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the inside of the pitcher or bowl as needed.
- Pour the filling over the pretzel crust and use a spatula to smooth out the top.
- Cover the baking dish and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, until the filling is completely set.
- You can make the topping once the filling is set (don't make it too soon or it will start to set). Whisk 1 cup of the juice and agar together in a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. Bring the juice to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for a full 2 minutes, whisking frequently.
- Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the remaining cup of juice. Let the mixture cool until it's just lukewarm. Check on it frequently to make sure it hasn't started to set. If you notice it setting, move on to the next step right away.
- Once the juice has cooled to lukewarm, pour it into a large bowl and stir in the strawberries. Work quickly from this point, as the berries will cool down the juice and can start the setting process, particularly if they've been in the fridge.
- Pour the topping over the filling, gently smoothing it out and repositioning the berries as needed.
- Cover the dish and chill until the topping is set, at least one hour.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- The easiest way to crush your pretzels is to place them in a large bag and crush them with a rolling pin. They don't need to be broken down to just crumbs — keep some larger bits.
- Preferably use a fruit juice with some strawberry in it. I used a strawberry-kiwi blend and it worked well. Fruit punch will work, but you may want to add some strawberry extract. You can also add a few drops of red food coloring if the color is slightly off (although I would stick with juices in the pink or red range). You may also want to add some sugar to taste if your juice isn't very sweet.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Comments
No Comments