These homemade soft pretzel bites have all the flavor of a soft pretzel, shaped into bite-sized pieces! With just a handful of ingredients and a short rising time, you can have warm, freshly baked pretzel bites that are ready for dipping.
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: These beginner-friendly homemade pretzel bites are great to serve salted, with your favorite dipping sauces, or coated in cinnamon sugar.
How long it takes: about 30 minutes of prep, 1 hour to rise, and 15 minutes to bake
Equipment you’ll need: a stand mixer with dough hook, large saucepan, baking sheet
Servings: makes 60 pretzel bites
Easy Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
These soft pretzel bites are a favorite party snack, and they’re SO easy to make! Enjoy soft and warm, fresh-from-the-oven pretzel bites with that iconic soft pretzel taste and texture, right in your kitchen. Sprinkle your pretzel bites with coarse salt, roll them in cinnamon sugar, or serve them as a party-ready appetizer with your favorite dipping sauces. Once you’ve made homemade soft pretzels, you’ll never return to storebought again!
Why You’ll Love This Pretzel Bites Recipe
- Soft-baked: These soft pretzel bites are boiled in an alkaline bath of baking soda and water and then baked until they’re deep golden on the outside and irresistibly warm and chewy on the inside. They’re similar to a soft pretzel, only bite-sized.
- Beginner-friendly: If you’re new to baking with yeast, this quick pretzel bites recipe is a wonderful place to start. The dough is easy to make with instant yeast (no proofing!) and requires very little rising time.
- Easier than regular pretzels: Cutting your pretzel dough into pieces is way easier than twisting!
- Versatile: Use this dough recipe to make pretzels, pretzel buns, pretzel knots, and sweet and savory pretzel bites.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The beauty of homemade soft pretzels is that you can make them with only a handful of basic pantry ingredients.
I’ll get you started with some notes on the important ingredients below. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full measurements and recipe instructions.
- Flour – All-purpose flour works perfectly.
- Yeast – Instant yeast (also called rapid rise or quick rise yeast) speeds up the dough-making process.
- Salt – Of course, salt adds flavor but it’s also necessary to control the yeast.
- Sugar – I use brown sugar, but granulated white sugar is a good substitute.
- Butter – Choose unsalted butter; it should be melted before you start.
- Baking Soda – You’ll need a ¼ cup for the baking soda wash.
- Pretzel Salt – What’s a pretzel without the bits of salt? Coarse salt, like pretzel salt or sea salt, adds the finishing touch.
How to Make Soft Pretzel Bites
Homemade pretzels are the perfect way to dip your toes into baking with yeast. Let’s dive into a quick overview of how to make soft and chewy pretzel bites.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Attach the dough hook. Mix the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Knead the dough. Next, add warm water (120°F-130°F) and melted butter to the dry ingredients. On a low setting, knead the dough about 8 minutes until it forms a smooth, springy ball.
- Rise. Place the dough into a well-oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a dry towel, and leave the dough to rise for 1 hour, or until it’s doubled in size.
- Divide the dough. Afterward, turn the dough onto a clean surface, and cut it into 6 even-sized pieces. Roll each section of dough into a long rope.
- Shape the pretzel bites. Cut each dough rope into 1½” to 2” pieces. Arrange the bites on a lined or oiled baking sheet.
- Make a baking soda bath. Now, you’ll boil the pretzel bites in a mixture of boiling water and baking soda. Work in batches, letting each batch soak in the baking soda bath for 30 seconds (not longer!) before lifting them out with a slotted spoon. Drain the bites before returning them to the baking sheet. Give the wet bites a sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Bake. Finally, bake the bites at 400ºF for 12 to 14 minutes until golden. Serve these soft pretzel bites while they’re still warm, with your choice of dipping sauce. See below for more serving ideas!
Make Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites
Bake the pretzel bites plain without salt and roll the baked pretzels in cinnamon sugar for a sweet variation.
- Make the cinnamon sugar coating. Combine ¼ to ½ cups of granulated sugar with 1 to 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
- Brush with melted butter. Melt 4 to 5 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and brush the outside of the baked bites.
- Roll. One at a time, roll each pretzel in cinnamon sugar.
Note that if you make cinnamon sugar pretzel bites, it’s best to eat them on the same day they’re made. The butter will soak in over time and the pretzels will become soggy.
Tips for Success
Follow these easy tips for pretzel bites that turn out perfectly golden and chewy like the ones pictured, every time:
- No stand mixer? No worries. You can still bring this dough together by hand. You’ll need to knead the dough for a good 10 to 15 minutes after mixing the ingredients, to get it soft and pliable.
- Get the right consistency. The pretzel dough should be dry to the touch, and it should spring back when you press it gently with a finger.
- If your dough feels sticky, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated.
- Keep an eye on the dough while it rises. This pretzel dough usually rises in about an hour. It may take more or less time to double in size depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
- Don’t skip the baking soda bath. A quick soak in boiling water and baking soda is the key to that classic pretzel taste and soft, chewy texture.
Make This Pretzel Bites Recipe Your Own
Apart from classic salted pretzels, there are a few easy variations that you can try:
- Sweet. Roll the baked bites in cinnamon sugar (see above) or you can coat them with brown sugar.
- Garlic butter. Brush the tops of the boiled pretzel bites with homemade garlic butter before baking.
- Everything bagel. Sprinkle the boiled bites with homemade everything bagel seasoning.
- Classic soft pretzels. Shape the pretzels into the iconic knot shape with this homemade soft pretzels recipe.
What To Serve With Homemade Pretzel Bites
We love warm salted pretzels served with marinara sauce (or homemade pizza sauce), homemade honey mustard, or even fry sauce. Also,
Try this baked goat cheese dip or our spicy poblano queso dip for something tasty and different. Soft pretzel bites make an excellent football snack next to a batch of game day chili. Serve them at holidays and gatherings with more easy appetizers like coconut shrimp, spinach balls, and baked brie.
- To Store. Once your bites have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Freeze. Baked soft pretzel bites freeze well. Store them in a freezer-safe container and keep them frozen for up to 2 to 3 months. To reheat, bake the pretzels straight from frozen at 350°F for about 10 minutes, or until warmed through. You can also defrost the frozen bites in the microwave.
More Snacks and Appetizers
Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose white flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant (rapid rise or quick rise) yeast (1 packet)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups warm water (120°F-130°F)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup baking soda
- 8 cups water
- pretzel salt or sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Fit the dough hook to a stand mixer and put the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar into the mixing bowl. Whisk together by hand until fully combined.
- Pour the water and melted butter into the mixing bowl, then turn on the stand mixer to the lowest setting. Mix with the dough hook for 8 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- After 8 minutes, the dough will have formed a ball and should have come away from the sides of the mixing bowl. It will feel dry to the touch and when you press a finger into the dough it should spring back slowly. If the dough feels sticky when you touch it with a clean dry finger, add more flour a tablespoon at a time, with the mixer running until the flour is incorporated.
- Lightly oil a bowl and turn the dough out into it, flipping the dough so that it’s coated in the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean, dry towel. Set the bowl aside for 1 hour to allow the dough to rise.
- Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper OR lightly oil it.
- After 1 hour, the dough will have approximately doubled in size. It might double in size faster than an hour, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Punch the dough down and transfer it to a clean surface.
- Use a large knife or dough cutter to cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. If the dough seems too elastic, let it rest for 10 minutes. Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 24 inches long. Cut each rope into sections of about 1 ½ to 2 inches. When you have cut all the dough into pretzel bites, set them aside on the oiled baking sheets.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF and prepare the baking soda water bath.
- Fill a large saucepan with 8 cups water and bring it to a boil. When it’s boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer, then slowly add the baking soda. The baking soda will fizz and may bubble over if the pan has too much water in it.
- By now the pretzel bites will have puffed up slightly. Put 10 pretzel bites into the baking soda water bath. Let them soak for 30 seconds, then immediately remove them. (Note: Do not allow the pretzels to soak for longer than 30 seconds.) Use a slotted spoon to lift the pretzel bites out of the water and allow the water to drain off. Arrange the pretzel bites on the oiled baking sheet.
- While the pretzels are still wet, lightly sprinkle them with pretzel salt.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the pretzel bites are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve the pretzels with beer cheese sauce.
Notes
- Makes about 60 pretzel bites.
- If you’re making these pretzel bites by hand, knead the dough for 10-15 minutes on a lightly floured surface, until the dough is soft and pliable.
- Don’t skip the baking soda water bath. This is what gives these pretzel bites their authentic flavor and ensures that the texture stays chewy. Baking soda also contributes to their golden exterior.
- Watch the dough while it’s rising. It may double in size more quickly depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
- Storage: Store the cooled pretzel bites in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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