Have you ever heard of pretzel salad before? If not, it might sound completely confounding…but that’s probably just because it’s a very retro recipe that was popular in the 1960s and that isn’t really a salad at all. That’s right, although it’s most commonly referred to one, this dish is a dessert that doesn’t look anything like a salad – although it does have pretzels in it, so at least that part of the name makes sense. So what’s in this dessert? A deliciously buttery and cinnamon-y pretzel crust, topped with a thick layer of sweetened cream cheese, and, finally, a jello layer speckled with your choice of fruit.

Not only does this dish look amazing – hello, gem-like, fruit jello layer – but it’s also insanely yummy. The pretzel crust still has the perfect touch of saltiness, but the cinnamon adds an unexpected flavor that balances everything out. Add to that a smooth, sweetened cream cheese layer, and the refreshing fruit top layer. We used peach jello with canned peaches (although feel free to use fresh peaches when they’re in season!) and LOVED the final product. Everything balances each other out perfectly and we’re left with a dessert that checks all of our boxes: crunchy, sweet and salty, creamy, fruity…it’s got all we could want!