Baked Soft Pretzel Bites

If there’s one appetizer/finger food we absolutely have to order whenever we go out to dinner, it’s soft pretzel sticks/bites. Our son is completely obsessed with soft pretzels of all shapes and sizes.

And you know what, who could blame him? Soft pretzels are insanely delicious, with that soft and pillowy interior and irresistible crackly crust on the exterior.

There’s a reason a certain pretzel shop in the mall is so popular!

I’ve had baked soft pretzel sticks on the website here for about 6 years, and I figured it was high time I shared a pretzel bites version.

Perfect for dipping and completely pop-able, they’re the ultimate finger food!

How to make baked soft pretzel bites?

This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.

1. Proof yeast. This step is necessary if using active dry yeast as indicated, but if you use instant yeast, you don’t need to wait for the yeast to proof.
2. Combine and knead dough. Using a stand mixer is definitely the easiest way, but not absolutely necessary.
3. Rise. Let the dough rise, covered, for about one hour.
4. Divide the dough. The easiest way to do this is to cut it, like a pizza, into 8 sections.
5. Roll and cut. Roll each section into a long rope, then slice the ropes into bite-sized pieces.
6. Boil. Boiling the pretzel dough in baking soda and water is really important for the texture and color.

1. Egg wash. Brushing the pretzel bites with an egg wash helps them brown nicely.
2. Bake.
3. Brush with garlic butter. This is optional, but oh so delicious.

Variations of this recipe

• No topping – if you’d like a great base soft pretzel bite recipe, just omit the garlic butter topping option.
• Different toppings – alternately, if you’d like even more topping options, to the butter, stir in some Cajun seasoning, ranch seasoning, Italian seasoning, everything bagel seasoning etc.
• Dipping ideas – typically we dip these into beer cheese, but a regular cheese sauce, grainy mustard, honey mustard, etc are all great options.
• Salt – any coarse salt will work. Coarse kosher salt, sea salt, bagel salt, etc.

Making soft pretzel bites ahead of time

We find soft pretzel bites are best served fresh, and even a bit warm from the oven.

However, they can be made entirely ahead of time, and reheated using the reheating tips below in the “storage” section.

Storage

Leftover pretzel bites should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or up to a week in the refrigerator.

To reheat and retain crispness, bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 4-5 minutes, or until hot and crispy.

The dough itself can be made and kept in the refrigerator (in an airtight container) for 24 hours. You can roll the dough and cut into bites while cold, but let the bites puff up and come to room temperature for a bit before proceeding with the recipe.

Freezing

Pretzel bites can also be frozen for longer storage!

To freeze the dough:

• Complete making the dough, including rolling and cutting into bites if desired.
• Freeze for up to 3 months.
• Thaw dough overnight in the refrigerator, then let the dough come to room temperature and puff up a bit before proceeding with the recipe.

To freeze the baked pretzel bites:

• Let baked bites cool completely.
• Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper, then add pretzel bites and freeze the whole thing for an hour.
• Transfer flash frozen pretzel bites to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
• Bake frozen bites in a preheated 300°F oven for 12-15 minutes, until heated through and crisp.