Pillowy soft with a chewy crust, pretzel bites are the perfect party snack for dipping and dunking.
They’re easy to make with a homemade dough is cut into bite-sized pieces, and baked into glistening salted mini pretzles.
Our Favorite Homemade Pretzel Bites
- Preservative-free homemade pretzels give you a snack you can feel good about feeding to your family.
- This recipe can be easily doubled so you can store pretzel bites in the freezer for months. They’ll thaw in minutes for last minute entertaining or sudden snack attacks.
- This versatile and accommodating snack tastes terrific with any beer cheese dip, dressing, or sauce you pair it with.
Ingredients for Pretzel Bites
- Active Dry Yeast: This recipe uses 2 ½ teaspoons or 1 packet of active dry yeast (not quick or rapid rise yeast).
- Sugar: Mixed with warm water, this activates the yeast and helps it bloom.
- Salt & Butter: Salt enhances flavor along with butter which also adds a bit of richness.
- Flour: All Purpose Flour is the base of this dough – you may not need the whole amount, add the flour a bit at a time until the dough isn’t sticky.
- Baking Soda: Boiling the pretzel bites in baking soda water is what creates a classic pretzel crust.
- Egg Yolk: Brushing the dough with egg yolk gives a lovely glossy golden finish.
- Kosher Salt: Use either kosher or coarse sea salt on top. If using table salt, it’s finder so you’ll need to use less.
Toppings for Mini Pretzel Bites
The classic topping for pretzels is salt sprinkled on top after brushing pretzels with an egg wash.
- Try sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, or poppy seeds for variety.
- Add a little bit of cinnamon sugar.
How to Make Pretzel Bites
Making soft pretzel bites recipe is easy, be sure to budget time for the dough to rise for about an hour. The rest is quick and easy!
- Mix the dough ingredients (as described in the recipe below) and let the dough rise until doubled.
- Roll dough into ropes, cut into 2-inch pieces, and boil in water-baking soda.
- Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with salt, and bake.
Serve warm with cheese dip.
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t skip the baking soda bath; it gives a deeper color and chewy crust.
- Soft pretzels are best served fresh but can be stored for a day or two in a paper bag or loosely covered container.
- Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- To restore their texture after freezing or storing, pop them in a preheated 350° oven until just warm.
Best Bite-Sized Snacks
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Pretzel Bites
Homemade pretzel bites are golden brown on the outside, but soft on the inside. They’re the perfect snack for a crowd!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Rising Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 48 pretzel bites
Dough
- 1 ½ cups warm water 110°-115°F
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast or 1 packet
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 3 ¾ to 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 beaten egg yolk for brushing
- kosher salt
Boiling Water
- 5 cups water
- ⅓ cup baking soda
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In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine water, sugar, salt, and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy.
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Add the melted butter and stir in 3 ½ cups of flour a bit at a time. Continue adding flour – up to 4 cups to create a dough that is slightly tacky but not sticky.
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Mix with a dough hook for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead by hand for about 10 minutes.
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Place the dough in a large greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place for 60 minutes or doubled in size.
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Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large pot, bring the water and baking soda to a rolling boil over medium high heat.
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Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a 24-inch rope. Cut each rope into 2-inch pieces.
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In small batches, drop the dough pieces into boiling water for about 10 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow water to drip away.
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Place the dough on the prepared pan. Brush each piece of dough with egg yolk and sprinkle with salt to taste.
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Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes 48 pretzel bites.
Store in a brown paper bag or loosely covered container at room temperature.
Calories: 46 | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 285mg | Potassium: 16mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 27IU | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American
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Dips for Pretzels
These homemade soft pretzel bites are perfect for dipping and dunking in sauces or even grainy mustard.
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About the author
Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!
See more posts by Holly
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