Blueberry Pretzel Salad is a mouthwatering combination of a creamy filling, crunchy sugared pretzels, and sweet blueberries. Everyone will want the recipe!
Summer is the best time of the year for fresh fruit and berries are the star! This blueberry pretzel salad is the perfect thing to bring to a summer party but it is so good that you’ll want to continue to make it year round.
For this pretzel salad recipe, I added blueberry pie filling to give it some gorgeous color but I’ve also included instruction for how to make it with just fresh blueberries.
How To Make Blueberry Pretzel Salad
One of the things that makes this salad so fabulous is the sugared pretzels! Roughly chop or break enough pretzels to make 1 1/2 cups. Add brown sugar and melted butter and stir until combined.
Spread the mixture out in a large rimmed baking sheet.
Bake at 400˚F for about 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the sugared pretzels to cool. Break the pretzels into small pieces and set aside.
Put the softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat until smooth.
Put the cream cheese mixture into a large bowl and fold in the cool whip until combined. Set the mixture aside.
How To Fold In Ingredients
What does it mean to fold in an ingredient? To fold in ingredients is to combine heavy and light ingredients without flattening air out of the lighter ingredients. Always add (or fold) the lighter ingredients into the heavier ones.
How do you fold in ingredients? The way that you fold the ingredients is to use a large rubber or silicone spatula to gently scoop the mixture from the bottom of the bowl and turn it out onto the top of the mixture in a folding motion until combined.
For this recipe I wanted to make the mixture a beautiful blue color, so instead of using only fresh fruit as I did in my Tropical Fruit Pretzel Salad, I added blueberry pie filling.
How To Use ONLY Fresh Blueberries
If you prefer to use all blueberries (and skip the blueberry pie filling) you can do that as well. To do so, add 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to the cream cheese mixture for a total of 1/2 cup. Then, use three cups of fresh blueberries for the fruit.
Can blueberry pretzel salad be made ahead of time?
If you want to make blueberry pretzel salad ahead of time, it is best to wait and mix it up closer to serving time. The problem with mixing everything together too far in advance is that the salad can get watery and the pretzels can get soggy.
To prepare it in advance, bake the sugared pretzels, allow them to cool and store them in an airtight container. Make the cream cheese and the cool whip mixture and store it in a container in the fridge. Mix up the blueberry pie filling and fresh blueberries and store them in another container in the fridge.
When there are only a couple of hours until serving time, fold everything together in a large bowl. Store in the fridge if not serving immediately.
To garnish the blueberry pretzel salad in the bowl, set aside a few fresh blueberries and some of the sugared pretzels and sprinkle them on top after mixing everything together.
The garnish helps everyone see what is in the salad since it is hard to tell when everything is coated in the creamy white mixture.
More Pretzel Salad Recipes We Love
- Strawberry Pecan Pretzel Salad
- Cranberry Pecan Pretzel Salad
- Caramel Apple Pretzel Salad
- Very Berry Pretzel Salad
Blueberry Pretzel Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pretzels
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups cool whip (or whipped cream)
- 21 oz blueberry pie filling
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Mix together chopped pretzels, brown sugar, and melted butter. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400˚F for 6-8 minutes. Allow the pretzels to cool and then break them into small pieces. Set aside.
- Beat together softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Fold in the cool whip. Set aside.
- Combine the blueberry pie filling and blueberries.
- Add the blueberry mixture and sugared pretzels to the bowl with the cream cheese mixture. Fold to combine. Serve within a few hours. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Janae says
I have made this multiple times and it’s always a hit!
I am wondering if you could use apple pie filling for fall?
Tonia Larson says
Hello Janae,
That sounds amazing! I think I would cut up the apples in the apple pie filling to make it easier to eat but it should work either way. Great idea!
~Tonia
Jeni says
I’ve made the several times now and it’s always a hit! Sweet and delicious! I love the crunch the pretzels give it.
virginia westlake says
I wondered what kind of pretzels you used. The second time I made this I used Tiny Twists and it seemed like too much sugar . I thought maybe larger pretzels would be better. Everyone loves this salad/dessert.
Madonna Garrett says
I’m planning on making this tonight for a gathering tomorrow. I won’t mix the ingredients together until tomorrow. Does the pretzel mixture need to be refrigerated overnight or can I leave it out ?
Tonia Larson says
Hi Madonna,
You can leave the pretzel mixture out overnight. Have a happy fourth!
-Tonia
Katie says
Can you use frozen blueberries?
Tonia Larson says
Hi Katie,
The problem with frozen fruit is that as it thaws, there is typically a lot of juice that gets released, and it could make the salad watery. So there are a couple of ways you could go about it. One is that you could thaw the frozen blueberries and drain the excess juice before adding them to the salad. Two is that you could use frozen blueberries to make blueberry pie filling which is thickened https://www.thegunnysack.com/blueberry-pie-filling/.
~Tonia
Lisa says
What are the best kind of pretzels to use? Sticks or thins or some other shape? Thank you!
Tonia says
Hi Lisa,
I used pretzel twists but I’m sure the sticks would work as well.
~Tonia
Dawn says
So Good!
Dawn says
This is delightful!
Jill says
Can I make this in advance?
Gayle says
Made this for Thanksgiving today and was told to bring it to all future family gatherings.
Rhonda says
Ok now you have done it!! Yummmmmm! This is fabulous!
Rhonda says
Ok now you have done it!! Yummmmmm! This is fabulous!