My banana pudding pretzel dessert is the ultimate treat for dessert or parties. A salty, sweet pretzel crust is topped with a rich, creamy banana pudding layer for a sweet, salty treat everyone loves.
Dessert recipes don’t get much better than this rich, delicious banana pudding pretzel dessert. Creamy, crunchy, sweet, and salty, this dessert has it all, and it’s perfect for any occasion.
From a brunch with crescent roll breakfast to a tasty dessert after a hearty dinner like this shredded beef poblano enchilada casserole or a potluck treat, there’s really never a wrong time for this one!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Basic Ingredients: All you need are a few simple ingredients found in any kitchen or grocery store.
- So Easy: It takes less than 10 minutes to bake the crust, and the rest of the recipe comes together just as quickly and easily.
- Rich and Creamy: The banana pudding topping is thick, rich, creamy, and explodes with banana flavor.
- Complex Flavor: The combination of a salty pretzel crust and a sweet banana pudding topping creates a dish rich in flavor.
- Customizable: You can easily tweak this recipe to make it your own.
- Versatile: This is a great dessert or party treat.
Key Ingredients
You can find a full list of the ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Pretzels: Coarse pretzels, sugar, and a little butter create a sweet and salty crust for the dessert.
- Cream Cheese: Cream cheese creates a rich, creamy base for the pudding layer and adds a touch of tang.
- French Vanilla Pudding: French vanilla pudding adds sweetness and richness.
- Cool Whip: Cool Whip adds a lightness to the topping and more sweetness.
- Bananas: Sliced bananas add fresh, sweet banana flavor to the topping.
Variations
- Strawberry: Use strawberry pudding and fresh strawberries to make a strawberry pudding pretzel salad.
- Mixed Berry Pretzel Salad: Use the base pudding recipe without the bananas, then top with blueberry pie filling and fresh berries to make a lemon pretzel dessert.
- Pudding: Use banana pudding in the topping for even more banana flavor.
How to Make Banana Pudding Pretzel Dessert
Step 1: Mix the crust ingredients. Then, press them into a prepared 9×13 baking dish, reserving a bit, and bake at 375°F until golden and set. Cool.
Step 2: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Then, add the remaining ingredients and beat until fluffy.
Step 3: Spoon the mixture over the cooled pretzel crust and top with the remaining pretzel mixture.
Step 4: Chill for at least 4 hours. Top with sliced bananas and homemade whipped cream, if desired, before serving.
Expert Tips
- A food processor is the easiest way to crush your pretzels.
- Your pretzels should be coarsely ground. You want them to be in small pieces but not powdery.
- Fully soften your cream cheese for the lightest, fluffiest filling texture.
- 4 hours is the minimum chill time for this dessert, but overnight is better.
Banana Pudding Pretzel Dessert FAQs
Yes, it is. It’s a variation of pretzel salad using a rich, banana cream cheese layer.
A pretzel salad is a dessert made with a sweet, salty pretzel crust and a topping of rich, creamy pudding and sometimes a Jello-based layer.
Refrigerate this dish for up to 4 days in an airtight container. For longer storage, wrap slices in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month.
More Delicious Banana Dessert Recipes You’ll Enjoy
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Banana Pudding Pretzel Dessert
Ingredients
Banana Pudding Mixture
- 12 ounce cream cheese
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounce cool whip topping
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 large bananas, peeled, sliced
- 3.4 ounce instant French vanilla pudding or banana pudding
Pretzel Crust
- 2 ½ cups coarsely crushed pretzels
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° and lightly spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with a non-stick cooking spray.
Pretzel Crust
- Using a food processor, or large baggie, add pretzels and crush into small pieces.
- In a medium bowl, add coarsely crushed pretzel, brown sugar, flour and vanilla. Stir.
- Melt butter and add to the pretzel mixture. Stir to combine.
- Spread mixture into prepared baking dish. Press into an even layer, reserving ½ cup of pretzel mixture to use for the topping.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
Banana Pudding Mixture
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Add heavy cream, cool whip topping, instant pudding, powdered sugar, and bananas to the cream cheese, and beat until light and fluffy.
- Spoon banana pudding mixture over cooled pretzel crust and spread in an even layer.
- Sprinkle the remaining pretzel crust mixture over the banana pudding.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4+ hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, add sliced bananas on top, and homemade whipped cream, if desired.
OMG, I need this in my life! This tickles my southern sweet tooth.
This is super tasty. It’s like a sweet and salty version of my Granny’s banana pudding.
I made this for dessert and it was a big hit. Sweet, creamy, and crunchy all at once!
I love banana but the pretzel is a fabulous addition. Such an unexpected combo but soo delicious!
I put together this banana pudding pretzel dessert and the crunch was amazing.
This Banana Pudding Pretzel Dessert is my new favorite dessert! The flavors were really wow!
This banana pudding, pretzel dessert was fabulous! It was easy to prepare. I love the flavors inside of my kids. Can’t wait to make it again, Yum!
This pie recipe looks absolutely delicious and easy to follow. The ingredients are well balanced, and the texture seems perfectly creamy and flavorful.