Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
Homemade pretzel bites are soft, tender, and chewy with a classic pretzel flavor, making them amazingly delicious and perfect paired with dijon, whole grain mustard, or vegan queso dip!
Sometimes a craving will come over us and we just must oblige. And that was the case with these homemade soft pretzel bites that just happen to be vegan too!
I was craving pretzels and wanted to make them bite-size, and they turned out to be pretty wonderful. The crust is somewhat firm, and the center is nice and soft, with a good chew and wonderful pretzel flavor.
The trick to making these delicious pretzels is the baking soda bath. In my trials, it made all the difference. Although you can skip this step, it will give you that golden color and classic pretzel flavor.
These pretzel bites are quick, easy, and fun to make. It’s a great project to do with kids and everyone will love sitting around eating these soft and chewy bite-size pretzels!
So let’s get baking – the batch you’ll see here is very rustic and carefree!
Ingredients You’ll Need
In this recipe, a simple dough is made, cut into pieces, and given a baking soda bath, creating flavorful pretzel bites that are perfect for snacking or gathering around.
Here is everything you’ll need, plus ideas for substituting ingredients:
- flour – use spelt, all-purpose, or combine these with whole wheat
- yeast – both instant and active yeast will work
- sugar – pure cane, coconut or date sugar, maple syrup is ok too
- salt – pretzel salt or any coarse salt is fine (even flavored salt, such as garlic salt, is great too)
- baking soda – can not substitute but baking soda bath can be optional
- olive oil or vegan butter – use your favorite oil. If using butter, I recommend Miyoko’s
How To Make Soft Pretzel Bites
(Note – The full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post)
- Start yeast. In a large bowl, pour warm water and sugar, stir to mix, sprinkle with yeast, and let sit for 5 – 10 minutes. Yeast should become foamy (if using instant yeast, it may not become as foamy).
Alternatively, use the bowl of a food processor or stand-alone mixer, fitted with a dough attachment. Instead of using a spoon to mix, use a hand blender with a dough attachment.
- Make dough. Add half the flour to the yeast and mix. Add salt and remaining flour, and mix until combined.
- Knead dough. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes or so. Cover the dough and let rest for 10 minutes, up to 1 hour.
- Roll + slice dough. Knead the dough three to four times, and slice in half using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Roll and shape each half into a log, about 10 inches long. Cut 1-inch pieces.
- Baking soda bath. Fill a large, shallow pot with 2 inches of water and bring it to a boil. Add baking soda and place half of the bites in the water, and poach for 30 seconds. They will sink and rise. Once risen, they should be ready. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pretzel bites to the baking sheet. Continue until all pretzels are poached.
- Bake. Using a silicone brush, coat the pretzel bites with olive oil or vegan butter, and add a sprinkle of salt over top. Bake in preheated oven set to 425 degrees until golden brown, 12 – 16 minutes (oven may vary).
Top Tips
- Play around with the pretzel bite shapes. Cut the slices in half, making them even smaller. Or make four smaller rolls instead of two, using the same 1-inch cuts.
- If needed, skip the baking soda bath. The pretzel bites won’t brown as much or have the unique pretzel flavor, but they will still be delicious!
- Making the dough is pretty foolproof and forgiving. You can mix the dough with a spoon and your hands (as I’ve done here), or use a stand-alone, food processor or hand mixer with the dough attachment.
How To Store + Reheat
- Counter: Leftovers can be stored on the counter, covered, for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Pretzel bites are freezer-friendly and can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, place pretzel bites on a baking sheet and freeze for 3 hours or so, or until frozen (this will help them not stick together). Once frozen, place them in freezer-safe ziplock bags or containers.
- Reheat: Warm in the oven set at 350 degrees from frozen for about 15 minutes or so. Alternatively, microwave using 30-second intervals, checking between each, until warmed through.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve with creamy vegan queso.
- Pair with your favorite mustard – regular, dijon, or whole grain.
More Easy Snack Recipes!
If you try this pretzel bites recipe or have a question, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintHOMEMADE SOFT PRETZEL BITES
Homemade pretzel bites are soft and tender with the classic flavor pretzels get when given a baking soda bath. They are delicious and pair well with dijon or whole grain mustard!
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Makes 20 Pretzel Bites 1x
- Category: Bread, Snack, Appetizer
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup lukewarm water (100°F – 110°F)
- 1 tablespoon pure cane sugar
- 1 packet instant or active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
- 3 3/4 – 4 cups flour (all-purpose, spelt, whole wheat or combo)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- olive oil or vegan butter (melted), for brushing
- pretzel salt or any course salt as topping
Instructions
Start yeast: In a large bowl, pour warm water and sugar, stir to mix, sprinkle with yeast and let sit for 5 – 10 minutes, yeast should become foamy. Alternatively, use the bowl of a food processor or stand-alone mixer fitted with a dough attachment. Also, instead of using a spoon to mix, use a hand blender with a dough attachment.
Make dough: Add 2 cups flour to yeast, mix until combined. Add salt and rest of flour, mix until combined, about 60 – 90 seconds. If using a processor or mixer, beat on medium-low until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 1 1/2 minutes. If dough is too dry, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time and if the dough is too wet, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time (this may all depend on weather conditions). Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead for about 3 minutes or until somewhat smooth.
Let dough rest: Sprinkle the top of the dough with a little flour and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rest for about 10 minutes, up to 1 hour.
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Grease baking sheet with olive oil, or line with parchment or silicone mat and lightly grease (this ensures your pretzels don’t stick), set aside.
Roll dough: Knead the dough three to four times, and slice in half using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Roll and shape each half into a log, about 10 inches long. Cut 1-inch pieces.
Baking soda bath: Fill a large pot (at least 4 quarts) with 2 inches of water (about 8 – 10 cups). Bring to a boil. Add baking soda, it will foam up, so be gentle when adding. Reduce to medium; place half of the bites in the water and poach for 30 seconds. They will sink and rise. Once risen, they should be ready. Use a slotted spoon to transfer pretzel bites to baking sheet. Continue until all pretzels are poached.
Bake: Using a silicone brush, coat the pretzel bites with olive oil or vegan butter, and add a sprinkle of salt over top. Bake until golden brown, 12 – 16 minutes (oven may vary).
Makes about 18 – 20 pretzel bites
Pretzels are best when eaten right away or on the same day.
Serve plain or with your favorite accompaniment. I used dijon and whole-grain mustard.
Store: You can keep leftover pretzels at room temperature, lightly covered, for up to 3 days. They may soften after storing.
Notes
Flour – Feel free to change up using a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flour.
Play around with the pretzel bite shapes. Cut the slices in half, making them even smaller. Or make 4 smaller rolls, instead of 2, using the same 1-inch cuts.
Opt to skip the baking soda bath if needed. The pretzel bites won’t brown as much or have the unique pretzel flavor, but they will still be delicious!
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By one packet instant yeast do you mean just one sachet? That’s would be a lot less than 2.5 teaspoons. Thanks
Yes, it’s just one packet out of the bunch. Each packet contains 2.5 tsp of yeast. It doesn’t seem like there is that much in there, but I measured myself in case someone uses bottled yeast instead of packets. I hope you get a chance to make the pretzel bites!
Great recipe! Easy to follow and actually healthy, I made mine with part all purpose part white whole wheat and ended up rolling my bites into balls and got a TON of them. I did half with salt and half plain so I can toast them and dunk them in cinnamon sugar. To the person who says a yeast packet is way less than 2.5 teaspoons that’s incorrect, it even says on the back that amount (well mine was 2.25 but it worked perfectly fine either way). Anyways… thank you for sharing :) I’m about to try them now! I just made a quick caramel dipping sauce in the microwave. I started with 20 g coconut cream and 14 g agave, cooked it for like a minute and a half then added 10 more grams of coconut cream and 10 grams of vegan butter plus some vanilla and sea salt and it was super good if anyone wants to try it!
Awesome recipe . They’re a hit !!!
better than Wawa 🤩 (northeasters will know haha)
Do you think these would turn out okay if I refrigerated the dough overnight and baked the following day?
Yes, you refrigerate the dough overnight and make the next day, just use it within a week. I would let the dough rest on the counter, covered, for about 15 to 30 minutes before making your pretzel bites. Enjoy!
I just made these. They came out a little bigger than a “bite” but that’s because I have this love-hate relationship when it comes to making my own dough:-) But they really taste good. My husband and daughter love them. Thanks for the recipe.
Regina
Hii, can I use only whole wheat flour instead mixing with all purpose flour?
Yes, you can all whole wheat flour. Your pretzels will be slightly darker because of the wheat flour, but they will still be delicious!
Would it be possible to make these oil-free? Maybe substituting with unsweetened Applesauce?
You can skip the oil if you prefer, it’s just used to brush over top once the pretzel bites are done. Enjoy!
I made these for New Years Eve. My two kids helped and they didn’t last long at all. My kids have already asked when we’re making them again. Thanks for the great recipe!
That’s a fun project! Glad they were a hit. Thanks so much for sharing, Sarah!
These are fantastic! I love that they freeze well and you can just take out what you need and quickly heat in the toaster oven…they come out as good as, or even better than, fresh baked!
I used instant yeast which eliminated the proofing step. Came out AMAZING!! Next time I will double or even triple the recipe.
Made these today, not sure whether I did something wrong but they were huge! They must have been about twice the height of the ones in the picture, very tasty though.
As a tweak, I baked half with salt on as per the recipe, and when they came out of the oven, rolled the other half in cinnamon sugar meaning I had 10 savoury and 10 sweet bites.