Easy Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
These easy homemade soft pretzel bites are AMAZING and so fast to make! Get ready for mall-style pretzels in no time.
If there’s one recipe you should drop everything and make right now, it is these soft and chewy, buttery and amazing, quick and easy homemade soft pretzel bites.
Seriously, they are so delicious, they defy description.
And the fact that you can make them at home in a little over an hour and end up with something even better than the mall (yes, really) is pretty much life changing.
We make these little pretzel bites all the time. But beware, they go fast! In our house, you better get yourself to the kitchen right when they come out of the oven or else you risk missing out completely. And no one will feel all that sorry for you.
Homemade pretzel bites = so fast
The reason this pretzel bites recipe has been on repeat for the several years is because not only are they amazingly delicious, they are so fast!
The dough is ultra-simple to make and thanks to the relatively quick rising times, they don’t take all day (not even close) to make.
When I decided to update this post with new pictures and new excitement, I enlisted the help of Cade, my 3rd son who loves to cook and bake. He is the pretzel bite making master, and he’s here to show us how easy it is to make these delightful carb-loaded snacks.
Hi, Cade! Nice to have you here. (Now is not the time to tell all these nice people that your mom forced you into this during spring break.)
How to make pretzel bite dough
This bread dough is mixed a little differently than some of the other bread recipes on my site.
To start, all the dry ingredients go into the mixer first.
- flour
- salt
- teensy bit of sugar
- yeast
Instant yeast vs active dry yeast
I always use instant yeast, but you can sub in active dry yeast.
Use the same amount of active dry yeast and proof it in about 1/4 cup water and a pinch of sugar. When it’s bubbly and foamy add it to the mixer with the water (decrease the water by 1/4 cup).
Mix the dough until it forms a ball that isn’t sticking to the middle and/or sides of the bowl. If it’s still really tacky to the touch, add additional flour, a few tablespoons at a time until it’s not so sticky.
Alternately, if it seems kind of stiff and tough (or has dry floury spots), drizzle in another tablespoon or so of hot water.
The dough should be really easy to handle. Soft and stretchy. But not too sticky.
A different rising method
This pretzel dough goes right into a lightly greased or floured gallon-size ziploc bag.
The bag gets sealed and the dough rises in the warm, slightly humid environment.
If you feel more comfortable with the ol’ greased bowl rising method, don’t worry, that works, too.
As long as your kitchen isn’t completely frigid, the dough will puff up and rise pretty quickly. About 20-30 minutes and it should be ready to go.
Take the dough out of the bag, press it into a thick rectangle of sorts and cut the dough into four strips.
They don’t have to be even. These easy homemade soft pretzel bites are rustic and imperfect, and that’s why we love them!
Cut each of the strips into six or eight little chubby pieces.
Ditch the boiling water
To make this recipe even easier, we’re going to ditch the classic boiling water bath that pretzels often get before baking.
Instead, mix a little bit of baking soda with super hot water and dunk each of those pieces of dough in the baking soda/water solution before transferring to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Don’t forget to grease the parchment paper!
Sprinkle the wet pieces of dough with coarse, kosher salt and pop those babies in the oven for 7-8 minutes.
Cinnamon and sugar option
For a cinnamon and sugar option, leave off the salt. When the pretzels come out of the oven, butter them as directed and then roll the hot pretzel bites in cinnamon and sugar. Whoa yum.
Don’t be afraid of the heat
This recipe calls for preheating the oven to 500 degrees F. I recognize that may cause some of you a bit of anxiety. It’s ok. I get it!
But that high temperature is what gives these pretzel bites their perfect golden color AND it crisps up the outside of the pretzels while leaving the insides soft and chewy.
Just do it! I’ll be here virtually holding your hand.
The ultimate key to the deliciousness
The minute the pretzel bites exit the oven, have the melted butter ready.
And then liberally brush on melted butter until you think you should stop – and then brush on some more.
The butter + the piping hot pretzel bites is the key to the ethereal deliciousness of these homemade soft pretzel bites. Please, please, please leave no pretzel unbuttered.
Dipping options for pretzel bites
We love eating these hot and buttery pretzel bites straight off the baking sheet. No wasting time. No dipping.
BUT, they are also amazing dipped in everything from mustard to ranch to cheese sauce. (See the above note for a cinnamon and sugar version.)
For a quick, homemade cheese sauce, we use this recipe. It’s simple and easy and works great with yellow or white cheddar cheese.
When you want the other-worldly yumminess of homemade soft pretzels but don’t want to stress about long skinny ropes of dough and intricate pretzel shapes, pretzel bites are the only way to go!
I love recipes like this that provide a ton of rock star status with very few, very easy to find ingredients.
All I know is, I better never be left alone with a batch of hot, buttery pretzel bites. I’m not super proud of how I already know that would end. But I also know I would enjoy every single moment (and bite).
FAQs for Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
You can lightly warm them again to get that same texture right back if you’ve lost some of the straight-out-of-the-oven yumminess.
We toss them in a ziploc bag or covered container, then we usually we warm them up for a few seconds in the microwave.
If you don’t have parchment paper you should be fine with just a greased pan. I just use parchment for easy cleanup.
If you absolutely can’t make them fresh (they are much better that way), I’d make the dough and refrigerate it, then take it out 2-3 hours before baking so that it is at room temperature.
Yes! I always double the yeast when I make a double batch.
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Easy Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 ¼ cups (320 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 cup warm water
Topping:
- ½ cup very hot water
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- Coarse, kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons (43 g) butter, melted
Instructions
- In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix. Add the water. Mix well, adding more flour, if needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. It should be soft but not overly sticky.
- Knead for 4-5 minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy. Grease the inside of a gallon-size ziploc-type bag with nonstick cooking spray and place the dough inside. Close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 20-30 minutes (or up to 60 minutes) until doubled in size. Alternately, the dough can rise in a lightly greased, covered bowl.
- Preheat oven to 500°F. The high heat ensures the pretzels will brown beautifully on the outside while staying soft and chewy on the inside. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly grease with cooking spray.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased or floured work surface, and cut the dough into four thick strips. Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces. It doesn’t have to be exact.
- Combine the very hot water and baking soda and whisk to combine well.
- Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this helps give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color). Let the excess liquid drip off before placing the pretzel bites a couple inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Sprinkle the pretzel bites with coarse, kosher salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
- Bake the pretzels for 7-8 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the pretzels from the oven, and immediately brush them with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from this recipe (originally from King Arthur Flour)
Mel, I just love your site! So much delicious food and so many gorgeous pictures. I made your pretzel bites, but used wheat flour + white flour, and they were amazing! Like, I can’t believe how good these things are. I want them every night for dinner. Thanks for the great recipe.
Melanie, I made these and also your delish Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas for the first time this week, A++++ on both of them! Thank you so much for your yummy recipes, I have yet to try one that wasn’t a complete home run!
I tried these little babies tonight, and they were great! I tried to make a cheese sauce which failed horribly, but my husband came to the rescue with the brilliant idea of topping them with mozzerela and broiling them until golden. I heated up some pizze sauce we had on hand and voila! … pizza pretzel bites. Brilliant.
i can’t tell you how many times i’ve made these! my husband loves them, but they’ve become our dad’s-gone-whaddya-wanna-eat meal. we stuff them with pepperoni and mozzarella and scarf ’em down. cinnamon and sugar is great too. i’ve had to start making a half batch so i don’t eat every single leftover before they’re cold enough to be considered leftovers. 😀
Made these last night and thought I would have some left to take to my neighbor. Boy was I wrong – my four little munchkins couldn’t get enough – I was lucky to save some for my husband. Thanks for another great recipe.
I will try them again and let you know:)
I made these tonight and mine didn’t look anything like yours. How did you get yours so brown and only on the tops? Thanks for the help.
Sarawit – did you bake them at 500 degrees? The first time I ever made these years ago, I was scared to bake them at such a high temp so I reduced my oven to 475 or 450, can’t remember, and they definitely didn’t brown up the same way. That’s the main reason they get deliciously brown – perhaps your oven bakes at a little bit lower temperature? I’m not sure!
I finally got around to making these babies last night. I went ahead and made a double batch because I knew they’d be awesome and they were! YUM! Thank you so much for this very easy and delicious recipe! I can’t wait to make them again. And I think I might try some with cinnamon and sugar next time just for fun.
Just had to say how fantastic these are. I’ve made them many times now always to rave reviews. (and no leftovers, EVER!!) I was breaking in my new kitchenaide mixer today and wanted to make some cinnamon buns, and thought this pretzel dough would be perfect for them…and they were to die for!!! So not only does it make divine pretzels, but it makes some pretty darn tasty cinnamon rolls too!
WOWOWOWOW. Just made them (cinn-sugar and garlic-herb). Amazing! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Oh my word. I just made these this afternoon – AMAZING! They are so simple and really, really, really delicious. More than half of them are already gone. 🙂 Next time I will be making a double batch! Thanks for the fantastic recipe. 🙂
Just made these today for my kids to dip in some cheese dip….delish! seriously, so so good! Ate most of them myself 🙂
Thanks for sharing this tasty recipe!
I also run a food blog and will be featuring your recipe this afternoon (Feb 25).
I have a question…..do have to let these rise in a plastic bag? or can I just let them rise in a greased bowl with a damp towl on top, like how I let all my other bread dough receipes rise?
Carlie – I think the completely sealed plastic bag helps the dough rise more quickly but I imagine you could definitely let it rise in a greased bowl and it should work just fine.
i made these last night. they were fantastic! my husband and little boys loved them. they took so much less time and work than my other soft pretzel recipe. thanks!
I made these, the cinnamon sugar variety, and took to my daughter’s cheer squad to munch on between games. They are heavenly! And pretty much I’m a hit with a bunch of teenage girls!
I made these a a couple weekends ago and they were AMAZING!! My dad was literally humming happy tunes the whole time he was eating them! Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
These have seriously made my day. I’m pregnant and crave yummy chewy bread all the time. I’m sure I will be making these again at least two more times this week and one of those times will probably be today. 🙂 Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made these today and had to stop and write you about how good they are! I need to double the recipe, because my family loves them and they are almost gone. I melted some gouda for dipping…OMGoodness! So gou-da!
I made these over the weekend and they are super delicious! I made up a cream cheese/mustard sauce for dipping- YUM! Very easy to make and a great snack for the super bowl.
I have made these twice in the past week. Something about these bites just makes them easier to make (and eat) than the full-size pretzels. I love trying your recipes and directing others to your fabulous site. Thank you!
Just found your website from foodgawker and couldn’t turn down pretzel bites!! They were a huge hit at our Superbowl party!! They were fabulous, especially with the cheese dip! Thank you so much– I’ll be keeping your site tabbed in the future 🙂
Wow! WOW!! Almost everything I try and make FAILS the first few times. Especiallly when it involves dough. These are simply failproof and delicious, not to mention easy! Thanks! I cannot wait to try more of your recipes!
We made these for Super Bowl, and they were a hit. They disappeared so fast. I had to cook them at 5-6 min, because the first batch came out pretty dark.
My husband put honey on his and the kids wanted Sugar-cinnamon on theirs. I had mustard on mine.
Thanks for such a great recipe, what am I saying, all of your recipes are fantastic.
I’m a bad cook and even a worse baker but these turned out absolutely delicious! I had to make them twice because everybody loved them. I sprinkled some them with cinnamon and brown sugar, goes amazing with tea or milk.
These were divine. I did a triple batch for our super bowl party and it was way too many. But honestly, how can you have too many of these little bites of heaven?
I made these today. They were really easy and they came out really good. Ididn’t have a pastry brush for the butter, but I found a plastic fork worked just as good. Thank you for the recipe.
I made these for my Superbowl party (along with the chorizo and cheeze dip) and they were a HUGE hit! Thank you thank you!
These are soooooo good ………..and addicting! I’ve made them 4 times this week already!
Wow! I made these for the superbowl today and I can’t wait to dip them in our marinara sauce. They were super easy to make and so delicious that I threw some in a bag and just delivered them to my neighbor so they could enjoy, too! Mel – you have some wonderful recipes here.
I doubled the dough and put it in the breadmaker to knead and rise. That made a bit of a mess and then my 7 year old was “helping”, I’m thinking these will never be worth it. Oh my was I wrong!!! So good, I am taking them to a party so hoping they will warm up OK in the oven. Yummy!!!
I just made 1/2 batch to try them out. They are amazing! I have made soft pretzels before, but these are by far the best! I’m going to make them for a Super Bowl party with a cheese dip. Thanks for the recipe!
My husband just made these and they were so good! We were expecting to take them to a Super Bowl party tomorrow, but we may have to make an extra batch. I don’t think they will last that long…
Oh. These are good. Very good. And so quick too. For the kids, I warmed some honey and stirred in peanut butter as a dipping sauce. I also made a panful with cinnamon and sugar on top. I couldn’t stop eating them!
Made these today…loved them! Thanks!
OH, and… On the last dozen I tested out cinnamon, ground mustard, onion powder, garlic powder and Italian herbs. Garlic & herb were the best.
Made these as an after school snack for my daughter. She’s a picky eater. She’s almost a non-eater. (She has a g-tube). She gobbled these up!! Next time I’ll stuff them with ham and cheese, or bacon… or maybe blanched broccoli and cheese. MMmmmm! These are awesome.
I made these yesterday and they were SO GOOD. Thank you for a great recipe!
Kensi – if using active dry yeast, increase the yeast to 1 tablespoon. Proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar (let it bubble and foam – maybe about 5 minutes) before adding it to the flour and salt.
I just found your blog – very fun and these look great! I almost wish we were snowed in so I could make them. Hopefully this weekend.
Mel, I used your recipe to make pretzel dogs for dinner tonight. The kids (and my husband and I) LOVED them. Thanks for the great recipe!
Mel, it was my sons 8th birthday today and he wanted to make these for his dessert, we will have a party next week. Well, they were a huge hit, we dipped them in cinn and sugar, oh my word they were scrumptious. Thanks so much for another GREAT recipe.
Oh my, these are delicious! I made them for my husband who loves soft pretzels, but of course I had to sample 1, ok 7, for myself. So good. I’m thinking about doing some with cinnamon and sugar on the next batch. YUM!
I made these yesterday and they turned out great! It was a nice, straight-forward recipe (always a plus for me – especially when it’s for bread!) The kids loved them and it helped warm up the house. (It was in the 40’s in AZ. I know most of country is dealing with worse, but that is waaaay colder than we are used to!!)
Thanks Mel!!
Mel, these look SO yummy! You have so many new recipes that I really want to try! How much yeast should I use if I am using active-dry?
it must be so delicious with homemade jam 🙂
Yum! This was just the right recipe for us tonight!
These were wonderful! My husband was off at scouts for the night, so me and the kids made these for dinner. We loved them! I did half with salt and cheese, the other with cinnamon and sugar. Thanks again 🙂
Mmmmm. Lots of melted cheddar cheese, please!
I may have made these again today, and I may have coated them in cinnamon sugar. I can’t remember though, the snow has frozen my brain.