Strawberry "Salad" Soufflé

If you're not from the Iron City (a.k.a. Pittsburgh) you probably haven't heard of this kind of strawberry salad, also called strawberry pretzel salad. There are no greens or veggies -- just a very rich summery dessert!

As for the name, I think the use of the word "salad" probably comes from the dessert's origin. It may have started out as a fruit salad suspended in Jello and evolved. It's made with sinful layers of sugary Jello and strawberries, layered on top of thick cream cheese whipped with heavy cream, on top of buttered, crumbled pretzels. The combo might sound odd, but the mix of textures and sweet and savory tastes is divine. And like most recipes that I grew up eating in Pittsburgh -- ambrosia salad, potato chip cookies and chocolate chickpea cookies -- the original version of strawberry salad has all the things we shouldn't eat, yet crave.

My mission is to recreate this dish so it's a bit more fit, but still pretty enough for entertaining guests. I've turned the chilled dessert into a fluffy soufflé and in the process lowered the fat content considerably, added a tart raspberry-strawberry sauce in place of the Jello and used whole-grain pretzels for the base.


Get the Skinny Chef's Strawberry Salad Soufflé recipe.

Nutritional Stats Per Serving (1 ¼ cup):
268 calories, 7 g protein, 32 g carbohydrates, 13 g fat (5 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 363 mg sodium.