Sweet, buttery pretzel crumbles are the heart of this Vintage Pineapple Pretzel Salad. Combined with a fail-proof combination of Cool Whip, crushed pineapple and cream cheese, you’ll be serving this classic side dish up at all your family gatherings.

Vintage Pineapple Pretzel Salad:

Do you know what I love most about my Grandma’s generation? They considered a salad to be any combination of Cool Whip, Cream Cheese, marshmallows, Jello Mix, or instant pudding. No kale or quinoa in their salads, and that makes me happy.

It makes me smile to flip through my old cook books (including my Waynesburg Christian Church Collection where I found this recipe) and see so many options for Ambrosia, Pink Lady Salad, Cherry Fluff and Watergate Salad. Maybe I belong in that generation because I love every single one of those salads including this pineapple pretzel salad in a bowl.

Pineapple Pretzel Salad with Cool Whip

This salad is really simple to throw together. The trick is to make sure your cream cheese is completely softened. This has been a struggle for me in life. I always end up with lumpy cream cheese, but not anymore. I’ve finally figured out a fail proof method to ensure smooth, creamy, spreadable, mixable cream cheese.

Heat a small amount of water in a saucepan on the lowest temperature setting.
Put the cream cheese in the foil packet (cardboard removed) in the water as it warms.
After a few minutes, remove from water and dry off the foil packet with a towel.

This easy process ensures a lump-free vintage pineapple pretzel salad!

How to Make Pineapple Pretzel Fluff:

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix together crushed pretzels, softened butter and sugar. Spread into a 8 x 8 inch baking dish.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bubbly. Set aside to cool. Crumble.
Blend softened cream cheese, drained crushed pineapple, and sugar until smooth. Fold in Cool Whip.
Just before serving, fold in crumbled pretzel mixture.

For the full instructions for Vintage Pineapple Pretzel Salad in a bowl, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Notes About Pineapple Pretzel Fluff:

Be sure to soften your cream cheese to prevent lumps in this pretzel salad in a bowl.
Place the foil wrapped cream cheese (cardboard box removed) in a small saucepan of water. Cover, and heat the pan over the lowest heat setting for a few minutes just until the cream cheese warms and softens. This is a great tip to have perfectly softened cream cheese.
Substitute margarine for butter if desired.
We use mini twist pretzels but you could use regular twist or pretzel sticks – whatever you have on hand!
Either 2-8 ounce cartons or 1-12 ounce carton of Cool Whip can be used. It won’t change the consistency of this pineapple pretzel salad recipe too much.
For a more diet friendly pineapple pretzel fluff, use Fat Free Cool Whip and Fat Free Cream Cheese.
To ensure a crunchy salad, add the crumbled pretzel mixture right before serving.
Check out our Amazon storefront for lists of our pantry essentials (including crushed pineapple) and our favorite kitchen essentials.

Our Favorite Party Dishes

Salads like this one are the perfect party dish. Make it ahead, refrigerate, and out the door you go.

Here are some more of our favorite party-friendly dishes:

Bacon Cheddar Pea Salad

Asian Ramen Salad from The Country Cook

Glazed Cherry Bars

Taco Dip (Aunt Peggy’s All Time Most Popular Recipe)

Pineapple Pecan Cheese Ball

BLT Dip

Black Bean Caviar

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