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Overhead view of soft, golden-brown pretzel bites on a cream-colored plate, topped with pretzel salt and everything bagel seasoning, with one bite dipped into a bowl of warm cheese sauce in the center.
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Pretzel Bites (3 Ways!)

My homemade Pretzel Bites are everything you love about soft pretzels, but in a fun, bite-sized form that’s great for dipping. They bake up soft on the inside with a golden, chewy exterior and can be finished three delicious ways, making them perfect for parties, game day, or anytime you’re craving warm pretzels at home.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Rise Time 1 hour
Servings 60 bites
Author Tawnie Graham of Kroll's Korner

Equipment

Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

  • 1 ½ cups water warmed to 110°F
  • 2 Tbsp. honey or light brown sugar
  • 2 ¼ tsp. instant yeast or active dry yeast 2 ¼ tsp. = 1 packet or ¼ oz or 7 g
  • 4 - 4 ¾ cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled; start with ~4 cups (500g) and add more as needed
  • 2 ¼ tsp. kosher salt or 1 tsp. table salt
  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 Tbsp. whole milk
  • vegetable oil for greasing bowl

Baking Soda Bath

  • 9 cups water
  • 1/2 cup baking soda

For Everything Bagel Pretzel Bites and Salt Pretzel Bites:

  • 1 egg beaten; for egg wash
  • pretzel salt
  • Everything but the Bagel seasoning
  • 2-4 Tbsp. melted butter for brushing after baking

For Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites:

  • 4 Tbsp. melted butter
  • 6 Tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • pinch salt
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Bloom the yeast: In a stand mixer bowl, add the warm water and honey or brown sugar and whisk to combine. Sprinkle the yeast on top, give it a gentle stir and let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Start Timer
    1 ½ cups water, 2 Tbsp. honey or light brown sugar, 2 ¼ tsp. instant yeast or active dry yeast
    Overhead step-by-step collage showing warm water and sugar in a mixing bowl, yeast sprinkled on top, and yeast blooming until foamy for pretzel dough.
  • Make the dough: Add the flour (starting with 4 cups), salt on top of the flour, followed by the melted butter and milk. Mix with a dough hook on medium speed for ~5 minutes. Start Timer You’re looking for a dough that is soft, slightly tacky, and passes the window pane test.
    Window pane test: Pinch off a small piece of dough, about the size of a golf ball. Hold it gently between your thumbs and fingers. Slowly stretch it outward. Keep rotating the dough, letting it stretch thinner and thinner. You’re looking for thin, almost see-through dough that doesn’t rip. If it does, knead a few minutes longer and add more flour if too sticky.
    Pro tip: Knead the dough on the counter for the last minute (or so) of the kneading process. Sometimes mixing bowls miss small dry patches or streaks of flour along the sides, which means parts of the dough never fully hydrate or develop gluten. By turning the dough out onto the counter and giving it a quick hand-knead, you ensure every bit of dough is smooth, cohesive, and perfectly kneaded and help to strengthen the gluten further.
    4 - 4 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, 2 ¼ tsp. kosher salt, 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 1 Tbsp. whole milk
    Overhead collage showing flour added to the yeast mixture and mixed until a soft pretzel dough forms in a white mixing bowl.
  • Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with vegetable oil. Place dough ball in prepared bowl, cover with a clean towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until the ball has doubled in size, usually 60-90 minutes. I like to use the proof setting on my oven! Start Timer
    vegetable oil
    Side-by-side overhead image of pretzel dough before and after rising, showing dough doubled in size in a greased bowl.
  • Preheat and prep: Preheat the oven to 425°F and make sure the rack is positioned in the center. Line a few baking sheets with silicone baking mats. (You can use parchment paper, but I’ve found the bites tend to stick on it, so silpat/silicone baking mats really are the MVP here)
  • Shape pretzel bites: Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper, divide into 4 portions. Shape each portion into ~20-22 inch logs. I like to lift each piece up when shaping and let gravity assist, being as gentle as possible with the dough. Use the bench scraper again to cut the bites into ~ 1 ½ inch bites.
    Overhead view of pretzel dough divided into four portions, rolled into a log, and cut into bite-size pieces using a bench scraper.
  • Prepare baking soda bath: Bring 9 cups of water to a boil. Slowly and carefully add in the baking soda. It will fizzle/foam and bubble when you add it in so be sure to only add in a little add a time. Reduce to a gentle simmer (you don’t need a full on rolling boil)
    9 cups water, 1/2 cup baking soda
    Overhead view of baking soda being added to simmering water in a large pot to prepare a baking soda bath for pretzel bites.
  • Boil the bites: Carefully place ~10 bites at a time in the baking soda bath for just about 20-25 seconds, give them a gentle stir to make sure they’re getting coated well and aren’t sticking to one another. Using a spider strainer or slotted spoon, lift the bites out and place on the silicone-lined baking sheets. Repeat with remaining bites.
    Pro tip: Anything over the 30-second mark can risk the pretzel bites tasting bitter, metallic, or soapy. You can aim for 15 seconds for more classic pretzel chew, the 20 second mark has a deeper color and is slightly chewier.
    Note: After the baking soda bath, the bites should hold their shape, look smooth, not collapse or wrinkle, and look slightly puffed. If they look very saggy or deflated, it could mean the rise time wasn’t long enough or dough wasn’t kneaded enough. They should hold their shape at this point.
    Overhead collage showing pretzel dough bites boiling briefly in a baking soda bath and being removed with a slotted spoon.
  • Egg wash & salt or everything bagel seasoning: Decide how many bites you want with salt and/or everything but the bagel seasoning. Once out of the baking soda bath, brush those bites immediately with egg wash. Sprinkle generously with pretzel salt and/or everything but the bagel seasoning. (The cinnamon/sugar bites get baked plain, so no egg wash is necessary for those.)
    1 egg, pretzel salt, Everything but the Bagel seasoning
    Overhead view of pretzel bites brushed with egg wash and topped with pretzel salt and everything bagel seasoning on a silicone-lined baking sheet.
  • Bake: Bake for 12-15 minutes until deep golden brown. I also like to rotate the tray halfway so ensure even baking. Once out of the oven, brush with melted butter to give them a gorgeous shine! Start Timer
    2-4 Tbsp. melted butter
  • For the cinnamon sugar bites: Combine the cinnamon, sugar, and pinch of salt in a bowl. Once the bites are out of the oven, dip a bite in melted butter and then toss in the cinnamon/sugar/salt mixture. Set bake on a baking sheet and repeat. Use more melted butter or cinnamon/sugar as needed for how many bites you have. ENJOYYY!
    4 Tbsp. melted butter, 6 Tbsp. granulated sugar, 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon, pinch salt

Notes

  • Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
  • Skip refrigerating any leftovers, as it can dry out the pretzel bites.
  • Freeze baked pretzel bites in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months.
  • Check out this section for additional pretzel bites flavor variations!
  • Check out this section for some fun dip suggestions for your pretzel bites!