A crowd-pleasing appetizer that's fun to make and can be served salty or sweet!
These homemade soft pretzel bites are a tasty bite of comfort. Make them with a cinnamon sugar topping for comfort or a salted, crunchy shell with your favorite dipping sauce, these pretzel bites are a fun treat for any party!
★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
With only a handful of ingredients, these pretzel bites make for a fun, homemade treat. They have a soft and chewy texture you associate with a classic pretzel but without the effort of shaping the dough into fancy knots.
These bites pop right into your mouth so you don't have to take your eyes off the game to enjoy this tasty appetizer.
These pretzel bites are versatile!
Make these homemade pretzel bites with a new topping or dipping sauce each time for something different. These bites are great salty alongside a cheese dip or toss them in cinnamon sugar for a sweet treat.
Double the batch and offer both a sweet treat and a savory bite on the table for your gathering.
These little pretzel bites made for football Sundays, tailgates, or for the kids to bake just for fun.
You'll also love:
Taste and texture: Pretzels are an indulgence no matter how you make them, and these bites are no exception. They’re soft, chewy, warm, and give you that melt-in-your-mouth comfort.
Easier: Though there is a resting time, pretzel bites are much easier to make than traditional pretzels as you can avoid any complex shaping.
Versatile: These bites can be dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with a cream cheese dipping sauce or sprinkled with salt and dipped into a spicy mustard depending on what you prefer that day.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
Here's a look at everything you'll need to make these pretzel bites, served with cheese or tossed in cinnamon sugar.
For the pretzels:
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour works best here and if you can sift it to ensure there are no clumps, that’s even better.
- Warm water: The water needs to be warm but not hot so that the pretzels rise properly.
- Sugar: You only need a hint of sugar to maximize the taste and any you have on hand will work.
- Instant dry yeast: Using instant yeast is what saves a bit of time for this recipe. Make sure it is a fresh packet as they do expire, and old yeast won’t rise properly.
- Salt: Gives a pop of flavor to the soft, inside dough.
- Baking soda: This is used to boil the pretzel bites and not in the bites themselves. Boiling them in baking soda gives them their chewy crust.
- Egg: You’ll be brushing the whisked egg over the pretzels to give them their classic shine.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is best as you’ll be brushing it over the bites before you season them.
Then, depending on if you are going sweet or savory or both, you'll need some toppings and dips!
For savory pretzel bites: you'll season with pretzel salt which is just large grain salt.
For sweet pretzel bites: you'll toss in cinnamon sugar which you can buy pre-mixed or mix yourself using ¼ cup of sugar to 1 tablespoon of powdered cinnamon.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
These pretzel bites are simple to make, just follow the steps.
- Mix the dough.
- Let rise.
- Divide then roll out dough.
- Cut into bites.
- Boil bites.
- Bake bites.
- Brush with butter.
- Add toppings.
- Serve with preferred dipping sauce.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
What dips can I serve with these pretzel bites?
The salted pretzels pair well with cheese dips or mustard. You can also sprinkle them with shredded cheese while they are still hot so it melts on top.
The cinnamon sugar pretzels are amazing with a sweet cream cheese dip.
How to Make the Cream Cheese Dip
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
Mix everything together until smooth. Be sure to serve immediately or chill until you're ready to use.
If you don't love cream cheese, try serving with Cool Whip.
How do I season the pretzel bites?
If you’re using salt, simple sprinkle it over top of the bites after brushing them with butter. If you want cinnamon sugar bites, toss the bites in batches in a bowl with the cinnamon sugar mixture so that they’re coated on all sides. You could also sprinkle them with parmesan cheese for a fun twist too.
- You can make a pizza version by sprinkling with Parmesan cheese and mini pepperoni or cut up pepperoni pieces before baking.
What do I serve with pretzel bites?
Cinnamon sugar bites can be served with the cream cheese dipping sauce. Simply whisk it all together until smooth. Salted bites are best served with spicy mustard or a nacho cheese sauce. If giving them a cheesy flavor, serve them with pizza sauce to dip into.
How do I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored once cooled in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days; however, they taste best the day they’re made. To reserve them, first, heat them in the oven on very low until slightly warmed.
Can I use this dough to make regular pretzels?
Yes! Instead of cutting the dough into strips for the bites you can shape it into regular pretzels instead.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover pretzel bites can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Refrigerating the pretzels will lengthen the time you can store them up to a total of 5 days.
Cheese and cream cheese dip can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
★ More Recipes You'll Love ★
Want some more dipping ideas?
Check out all my dip recipes, some would pair well with these pretzel bites.
Soft Pretzel Bites
Ingredients
Pretzels
- 1 cup warm water
- .25 oz instant dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 8 cups water for boiling
- 3 cups flour
- ¼ cup baking soda
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
Toppings (Choose salt or cinnamon sugar)
- coarse salt to taste
- ½ cup cinnamon sugar
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Instructions
- Activate yeast. In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water, yeast, salt, and sugar with a whisk.
- Make dough. Add in flour slowly using a wooden spoon. When you can no longer easily stir to combine, switch to an electric mixer with a bread hook. Mix the dough until combined and a ball of dough is formed
- Let rise. Move ball of dough to a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap (best to grease with spray butter to prevent sticking) and set aside in a warm spot to rise. Let rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
- Divide and cut dough. Divide dough into 6 balls and roll each ball into a ropes about an inch wide and 8" to 10" long.Cut ropes into 1" pieces and move to a parchment paper-lined tray.
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.
- Boil dough. In large pot over high heat combine the 8 cups of water and baking soda and bring to a boil, reduce to a bubbling simmer.Add pretzel bites about 10 at a time to not overcrowd the pot. Boil for just 30 seconds.Using a slotted spoon or spider strainer remove the bites from the water and place back on the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Egg wash dough bites. In a small bowl whisk egg with a splash of water. Brush egg wash over the dough using a pastry brush. Flip to coat both sides.
- Bake. Bake for 13-15 minutes until light golden brown.
- Brush with butter. Melt butter in a bowl and brush over each pretzel bite.
Add Toppings.
- Salted pretzel bites: sprinkle with the coarse kosher or coarse sea salt and serve with cheese sauce.
- Cinnamon sugar bites: place bites in a shallow dish with cinnamon sugar and toss until coated and serve with cream cheese sauce.
Notes
- If you don't have a dough hook, you can use a wood spoon and some elbow grease. If using a spoon, knead the dough until slightly sticky and formed into a ball.
- Cream cheese dipping sauce: Mix together 4oz cream cheese, 4 tablespoon powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoon milk until smooth.
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