Soft Pretzel Bites (Easy Homemade Recipe) + Video
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This soft pretzel bites recipe comes out tender and chewy with the most subtle sweetness. Make some easy pretzel snacks right at home in just 30 minutes! If you want to make homemade pretzel bites, try this recipe! I love making these homemade soft pretzel bites for game day, parties, and more!
I love using simple ingredients to make these homemade soft pretzels. They’re even tasty and soft the next day!
The homemade dough makes the perfect party food or an easy appetizer. You can even make a sweet version by creating these cinnamon sugar pretzel bites.
If you love pretzels, you can make and change this homemade pretzel dough recipe time and time again.
Just keep the dough ingredients on hand for the next time that you want to make homemade pretzels.
Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe
Soft and tender pretzel bread topped with coarse salt is always delicious, and perfectly poppable bites make it the perfect snack for any occasion.
Plus, this quick and easy pretzel bites recipe can be made with or without a mixer, so whip up a batch today!
For extra flavor, try making these soft pretzel bites with beer instead of milk or use the same dough to make pretzel dogs.
Add this smoked queso and let’s get the party started!
You can even turn them into gooey pretzel bombs stuffed with jalapenos and cheese!
How To Make Easy Pretzel Bites
This soft pretzel bites recipe comes together quite easily, especially if you have a stand mixer to do the work for you.
Please note that this easy pretzel bites recipe requires the dough hook attachment, so it cannot be made with a hand mixer instead.
- Make the dough. First, bloom the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Once it’s nice and foamy, mix in the flour and salt until it forms a ball.
- Cut into pieces. Turn out the dough onto the counter and shape it back into a ball.
Cut that into four even pieces, then roll each quarter into a long strand. Slice each strand into 16 pieces, about 1-inch long each. - Do a baking soda bath. This is what gives soft pretzels that golden brown color and chewy exterior, so don’t skip this step!
- Bake until browned. Transfer the bites to a lined baking sheet, leaving space so none are touching.
Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with salt, then bake.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- When is the dough ready? It should be tacky, not sticky. This means it will pull away from the sides of the mixer as it forms into a ball.
You can also test it by pressing your finger lightly into the dough. If your finger pulls away clean, then it’s ready to cut! - Create uniform pieces. While any knife can be used to cut the dough into bites, I find that a bench scraper makes quick and easy work of the whole process.
Plus, the edges come out smooth and clean. - Storage and reheating. These are best hot out of the oven, but they should stay fresh for a day or two in the refrigerator.
Or, you can freeze them for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe FAQ
These are delicious in something as simple as mustard or pair it with a warm bowl of cheddar dip. You could even serve this with my delicious Beer Cheese Fondue!
Some people don’t like cheese sauce, but just want to add a bit of pretzel salt on top.
Sure! I would recommend making the dough itself in batches, but you could cut it into pieces all at once and bake the pieces together using two baking sheets.
No problem! You can make the dough by hand instead. Add milk, yeast, and honey to a large bowl. Once the yeast blooms, add the salt and flour and mix everything with a spoon.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky. Then, proceed with the remaining instructions.
I’m all about a bit of melted butter and salt. Coarse sea salt is great, but you can go the sweet route with brown sugar as well. You can also add everything bagel seasoning or skip the topping altogether and then just pair it with a dipping sauce.
There are so many different toppings that you can add to the top of the pretzels. I love buttery pretzel bites as one of my picks!
Save these baked pretzels for later by letting them cool to room temperature and then store them in an airtight container. For the best results, you can reheat them in the microwave to bring back a bit of softness if they get a bit tough.
You can also wrap or cover them with a clean damp towel to help bring back a bit of moisture for the best results.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Appetizer Recipes
Soft Pretzel Bites (Easy Homemade Recipe) + Video
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1¼ cups warm milk, 110°-120°F
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup baking soda
- 1 large egg
- course salt, or pretzel salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
- Pour milk into the bowl of a stand mixer (see cooks note if you do not have a stand mixer), sprinkle yeast over top, add honey and stir. Allow yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes. Once it is nice and foamy, it is ready.
- Fill an 8 quart pot with water and bring to a boil over medium high heat. In a small bowl beat egg and 2 tablespoons water with a fork. Set aside. Wash a section of counter top for rolling out dough. Do not flour it or it will be harder to roll out the dough.
- Add flour and salt to mixer. Knead for about 3 minutes until the dough comes together in one ball. Add more flour a tablespoon at a time as needed, if bread is too sticky to come together. Dough should be tacky when you pull it out of the mixer, not sticky.
- Place dough on counter top and form dough into a ball. We are going to cut this ball into 64 (somewhat) even pieces. First quarter the ball of dough. Roll each quarter into an 18-22” strand. Cut that into 4 equal pieces. Then cut each piece into 4 equal pieces. I used a bench scraper but a butter knife will work fine. When you are done you will have 64 pieces.
- Carefully, add baking soda to boiling water. USE CAUTION: IT WILL BUBBLE UP. Place dough bites into boiling water about 10 at a time. Remove with a slotted spoon after 30 seconds. Place on parchment paper to cool and repeat until all bites have been boiled.
- Arrange all pretzel bites on parchment so they are not touching. Brush egg wash onto each one and sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes until the tops are browned.
- Enjoy!
Video
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published March 2014, updated and republished March 2024
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These look really good and I just know my family would love these. Thanks for sharing!!
Hello- When it says "Allow yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes. Once it is nice and foamy, it is ready" do you stir for 5-10 minutes or let is rest in the hand mixer?
Let it rest! Basically the yeast will foam up and then you know it's ready 🙂
I will definitely try these. Look so tasty! By the way…the salt is coarse ……not course. The
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It looks so yummy! I'm going to try making it tonight! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Is there a possible substitute for the egg to avoid food allergies?
I just made them and they are soooo gooood!
I did too!!! Made half with cinnamon and sugar/ half with Kosher salt. Both are wonderful!! Will definitely make again!
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On the Cooks note: it says water. Its milk, right?
I so wish I had a stand mixer!
Yes milk. I changed it. Enjoy! Let us know how it goes.
Does the dough need to rest and/or rise before cutting?
You can let it rise for an hour to get a lighter and fluffier pretzel. We short cutted it and did not give it rise time.
Donna- I was impatient so didn't wait an hour and they were awesome!!! Our new weekend favorite!
I made this for lunch today as part of my Spring Cleaning New Recipe Challenge. This recipe will save me a lot of screams in Walmart (our Walmart has an Auntie Anne's inside and my son always wants a "prentz-ul" there). My husband commented that it was so much better than the pretzel place.
So happy y'all enjoyed them Susan!
Pardon my ignorance, but can you please explain what the boiling in water with baking soda step does — is this the step that puffs up the dough? I'm very intrigued!
It gives it that pretzel flavor. It does also fluff up the dough a little too.
Enjoy!
Which cheese sauce did you serve them with? My husband stuffed his full of cream cheese, and my son dipped his in cream cheese, but I want an "orange" cheese sauce like the one in the picture. (P.S. They are on the lunch menu again this weekend. I mentioned halving the recipe, and my husband gave me a "oh, no, she didn't" look. Thanks again for such a great recipe.
I am so happy you loved them Susan! I served them with our favorite cheese sauce – http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2012/06/smoky-beer-cheddar-cheese-sauce.html but you can tone it down and cook up 4 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons flour, 2 cups milk and 8 ounces of mild cheddar shredded cheese (add your favorite spices) and it come out delish! Enjoy.
Can I use my bread maker to mix it up
Absolutely. Enjoy. Let us know how it goes.
I just made these .. am having some as I type. The recipe was perfect and delicious. So YUM!
I am so happy you loved them. They are a family favorite!
I made these for an afterschool snack the first week of school and my son told me they were "The Best Snack Ever!!" Instead of salt I dipped the finished bites in butter and coated with cinnamon sugar. Today I tried them with just salt and they are just as delicious! Thank you for posting this. 🙂
Can you wait between the boiling and baking phase? So they'd be ready to bake but warm when you serve them?
I have not tried that yet with this recipe. Give it a try and let us know how it goes. Enjoy!
What kind of milk do you use? Skim, whole, etc?
2% or whole is great. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
Can these be frozen and if so, at what point? Before boiling? After boiling? After baking? Thanks.
can you make these a day ahead or will they get to hard. would love to serveat a party coming up but would have to make the the day before.
Wow, I have tried so many pretzel recipes and they have all been terrible. Not sure how or why I was up to the challenge to try one more time, and I was so pleasantly surprised that your recipe is fantastic! I can't believe I actually know how to make yummy pretzels! To anyone doubting try.
FYI, went off Pinterest and hit link and was advised not to visit your website. I did anyways but not sure why…
Yum thanks for sharing this recipe! The second tray worth is in the oven right now, and I'm going to serve them with a cheddar beer fondue.
Cheers!
Thank you for the recipe! I just made these last night. I've never made my own pretzels before but have been wanting to for a while. They turned out amazing!!! Will definitely be making these over and over again. They were much easier to make than I thought.
This is really a wonderful post.
Ahhhmazing! These are absolutely delicious!! Thank you for the recipe!
Can these, as well as your stuffed variations, be made the day before and reheated for a party? Thanks, trying these tomorrow.
I've made these many times. They are fun to make for dinner if you have a little extra time. Most often, we make 16 pieces and have them as rolls, and they usually don't make it to the next day. My 11-year-old daughter has perfected the art of making them, which I love!