EASY Homemade Pretzel Bites Recipe - I Heart Naptime (2024)

Easy homemade pretzel bites are soft, buttery and irresistible. This easy pretzel recipe makes the perfect appetizer or snack for game days and parties!

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Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe

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. They are definitely worth giving a try!

These homemade pretzel bites are the perfect game day appetizer!Their bite sized shape is perfect for dipping in pretzel cheese dip plus you won’t believe how easy they are to make.

Recipe Ingredients

I bet you have almost all of these ingredients on hand, so you can make this delicious pretzel bites recipe right now.

Find the fullprintable recipewith 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:
• 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.

How To Make Pretzel Bites

Just follow the steps below to get started making homemade pretzels that are ready in under an hour!

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Brush with egg wash. Brush the dough lightly with the whisked egg and sprinkle salt on top for flavor.
6. 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! We serve them with cheese dipping sauce but they also taste great with the dips below:

• 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.
• Don’t skip the baking soda and egg wash! This is what gives them that wonderful chewy (but soft!), pretzel-like texture.
• 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.
• Once the pretzel bites are baked and out of the oven, brush some melted butter on top. It adds the perfect touch!
• The best way to keep pretzels soft is keep them in a paper bag, as it lets moisture escape. If you don’t plan on eating them all right away, though, freezing is best.

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