Easy homemade soft pretzel bites are buttery and irresistible. This easy pretzel recipe makes the perfect appetizer or snack for game days and parties!
Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
Making homemade pretzels or homemade bread may seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! Once you get the hang of making yeast bread recipes, you’ll be a pro in no time.
These easy pretzel bites are a great starting point for beginners because they don’t need to rise and are baked in under an hour. I love serving homemade soft pretzel bites as a game day appetizer dipped in pretzel cheese dip!
Table of Contents
Recipe Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with measurements below.
- Active yeast: You will want to be sure your yeast hasn’t expired and that it foams when mixed with warm water.
- Sugar: This is necessary to give the yeast something to eat and helps make the dough light and airy.
- Salt: I like to use Kosher, but any coarse sea salt will do the trick.
- All-purpose flour: This gives the pretzel bites recipe structure.
- Baking soda: This gets stirred into boiling water and gives the homemade soft pretzel bites their chewy texture.
- Egg: This is to make an egg wash to give a lovely brown color when baking.
- Melted butter: This is optional, but I love to brush butter on the tops after baking and before topping with salt.
Variations
Customizing homemade soft pretzel bites is easy, here are a few favorites to try:
- Cinnamon sugar pretzels: Bake the pretzels (without the salt) until they are golden brown. Roll them in melted butter and then roll the tops and sides in a cinnamon sugar mixture (1/2 cup sugar (granulated or brown sugar) + 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon).
- Other seasonings: Sprinkle pretzel bits with seasoning blends such as ranch seasoning, cajun seasoning or everything bagel seasoning.
- Cheese: Sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese before baking.
- Vegan: These are already vegan for the most part, just skip the egg wash and brush with dairy free butter.
How To Make Pretzel Bites
- Proof the yeast. Add warm water and yeast in a bowl and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes. Then stir in salt and sugar.
- Knead the dough. Add the flour in a separate large mixing bowl. Then pour yeast mixture on top and knead with a bread hook in an electric mixer (or by hand) for about 5 minutes. The dough should be soft and no longer sticking to the sides.
- Cut into pieces. Separate the dough into 6 sections and then roll each section into ropes. Each rope should be about 15-20 inches long and 1 inch thick. Using scissors, cut the ropes into 1 1/2 – 2 inch pieces. You should end up with about 25-30 pretzel pieces.
- Boil pretzels in baking soda bath. In a small pan, baking soda water to a boil. Place about 8 pieces of dough into the water for about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place the pieces onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. This step will create a brown crust and chewy center.
- Brush with egg wash. Brush the dough lightly with the whisked egg and sprinkle salt on top for flavor.
- Bake in oven. Bake at 425°F for 8-10 minutes, or until the pretzels are golden brown. You can turn the oven to broil for the last minute to brown the tops. Remove from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Brush tops with melted unsalted butter if desired.
Dips for Serving Pretzel Bites
These pretzel bites pair perfectly with so many delicious dips, you can even get fancy and serve them with fondue cheese!
- Homemade queso blanco
- Queso dip with chorizo
- Spinach artichoke dip
- Buffalo chicken dip
- Nacho cheese dip
- Bacon cheddar ranch dip
- Honey mustard sauce
Tips for Success
- The texture of the dough should be soft and no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl. If it’s still really sticky, add 1/4 cup flour at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- I’d recommend cutting an “x” on top of the dough pieces before baking. This gives the pretzel bites a direction to expand. Without that, they wouldn’t be uniform.
- Although the dough doesn’t need to rise, feel free to let it sit in the bowl for 15-20 minutes before cutting. This will create a fluffier texture and may increase their size a little.
Recipe FAQs
The baking soda wash helps to give them that chewy, pretzel-like texture.
I personally think these pretzel bites are best within the first 2 hours fresh out of the oven.
If you have leftovers, I would store them in the freezer vs. refrigerator. At room temperature, keep pretzels soft store them in a brown bag or covered container up to two days. They may turn a little soggy.
Place leftover pretzel bites in a freezer bag or airtight container and store in the freezer up to 2 months. Heat them back up in the microwave (20-30 seconds) or in the oven until warm.
Want more easy appetizer recipes? Try Greek dip, lil smokies, or Mexican 5 layer dip.
More Game Day Appetizers
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Pretzel Bites Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 1 packet active yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt , plus extra for topping
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup baking soda (for boiling water)
- 1 large egg , whisked
- Melted butter , for brushing, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit 3 to 5 minutes. Add salt and stir.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add flour and yeast mixture. Knead 5 minutes. (You can also do this by hand, if preferred).
- Separate dough into 6 sections. Roll each section into ropes, about 15-inches long and 1-inch thick. Cut with scissors into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces. This should make about 60 to 75 pretzel pieces. Optional: cut a “t” or “x” on the top of the pretzel with scissors.
- In a small pot, bring about 8 cups water + 1/3 cup baking soda to a boil over medium heat. Once water is boiling, place about 8 pieces of dough into the water for about 30 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon and place pretzel bites onto baking sheet. Brush dough lightly with beaten egg and sprinkle salt on top.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. You can turn the oven to broil for the last minute to brown the tops, if desired. Remove pretzel bites to a cooling rack and brush tops with melted butter, if desired.
- Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Appetizers, Bread, Kid-Friendly, Mini appetizers, Reader Favorites, Super Bowl, Yeast Bread
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Immediately after I made these, they were delicious —-good taste and texture. I stored them for a couple of hours in a plastic bag to take to a friend’s, and when I took them out of the bag to serve them, they were as tough as shoe leather. Such a disappointment! How should one store them ?
Hi Ann! These pretzel bites are best stored just on a plate. I usually try and eat them within a few hours though. :) I’ve noticed when you put pretzels in a bag, it absorbs the moisture…so that is probably why they turned tough! Sorry they didn’t last for your friends!
Made these over the weekend and they were delicious!! Thanks for another yummy recipe.
Oh my! So good! Just pinned! :)
I made these this weekend, my first attemp at pretzels. While they didn’t look at perfect as the ones in the photo, they were fantastic – my husband couldn’t stop eating them! Served with home-made cheese queso, they were a hit. Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad you liked them! Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment! :)
Yum! Now if I could somehow fill them with peanut butter… ;-)
YUM! If you end up doing it, please come back and let us all know how it went! :)
These look great. Going to make them tonight.
I hope you enjoyed these Allan! :)
These were horrible…way too much baking soda or something! YUK
I’m sorry these didn’t turn out for you! You might have left the pretzel bites in the soda wash too long. You could always skip this step, it just gives it the pretzel texture!
These were delicious, I just finished in the kitchen and my family is super happy :)
I’m glad your family liked them Heather! Thanks for stopping by again to leave a comment! Hope you have a great weekend! :)
I also crave those “mall pretzels”! There’s something about those that brings back a lot of memories from high school when I spent a lot of time at the mall. These look delicious–thanks for sharing the recipe!
Yum! Do you have a recipe for a good cheese sauce? The one you have pictured looks amazing.
Hi Quincy! I actually don’t have a favorite cheese sauce…I have been trying out a few and I haven’t been able to get it just right. This one I actually got from the store! :)
Yum, these look so good! Is it possible to freeze half of the dough after it rises? I feel like it would be too dangerous to make all of these! ;)
Hi Chelsie! I’m not sure it would freeze well, but you could freeze them after they are cooked. They might not taste quite as fresh, but they would still be yummy! :)
I baked them and then threw the about 10 that were not eaten in a freezer quart bag. I took some out 2 days later and they heated up in about 20-25 seconds in the microwave – they tasted pretty good. There are still some in the freezer so I will see how they do after being in their longer.
Glad to know they froze pretty well for you! I think they are best served warm and fresh. :)
Yum yum yum! I love pretzels and these look amazing. Pinning!
So yummy!! Thx for the recipe. The kids will love these. :)
These look so good! I always get pretzel bites when we go to the mall! Yum!
xoxo
Those look so delicious!
These look so good. These would be amazing in my husbands lunch!
We are going to make these tonight for FHE! Thanks! Pinned it!
Yuuuuuuuuum!