These easy homemade buttery soft pretzels are so simple to make at home. They're chewy, fluffy and better than any food chain! Whip up a batch of my easy and delicious beer cheese dip to dip them in for a yummy treat!
I have a slight obsession with soft pretzels. Where ever I am, if they are being offered, there's a good chance I'm getting one.. or three. Call it a guilty pleasure but now that I can make the best homemade soft pretzels at home that are even better than any chain, my life is practically made! You guys are going to love these.
Want to make more homemade dough? Try this EASY pizza dough recipe or a recipe without yeast, my homemade pie dough.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- They have an incredible slightly chewy exterior, while the inside is super soft and fluffy.
- The flavor is out of this world! I mean, they are bathed in butter as soon as they come out of the oven....
- No more standing in long lines and spending a crazy amount of money on one pretzel when you can spend that amount or less and make an entire batch!
- Homemade soft pretzels are easier to make than you think! Just like soft and fluffy homemade cinnamon rolls.
Ingredients For Homemade Soft Pretzels
- Active dry yeast: It helps the dough to rise and makes the soft pretzels puff up as they bake. Want to make a sweet yeasted treat that also uses active dry yeast? Try my strawberry cinnamon rolls or mixed berry sweet rolls.
- Water: Make sure your water is warm (not boiling), about 105°-115°F to best activate the yeast. You will also use boiling water for the baking soda bath later in the recipe.
- Baking soda: Used for the baking soda "bath" which is the most important steps in making homemade soft pretzels. This gives the pretzels their iconic golden, chewy outer exterior. It's the ingredient that basically makes a pretzel, taste like a pretzel! And not a buttery, salted bread stick.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter in the dough and salted butter brushed on top of the pretzels just after baking. To simplify, you can just use unsalted since they are getting sprinkled with salt anyway. I like mine salty!
- Fine and coarse sea salt: Fine is used in the dough - you can also just use regular table or kosher salt - and coarse sea salt is sprinkled on top of the pretzels before baking.
- All-Purpose Flour: Measuring the flour correctly is crucial. Too much flour and your dough will be dry and crumbly creating tough pretzels. Too little, and it will be wet, sticky and unworkable.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions.
Substitutions & Variations
To use any of these variations, you will omit the coarse salt sprinkled on top after baking. Use your imagination! There are so, so many more variations you can come up with!
Cinnamon sugar: After baking, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Everything but the bagel seasoning: Brush with melted butter after baking and sprinkle with seasoning.
Cheese: Before baking and while pretzels are still wet from baking soda bath, sprinkle with your desired flavor of cheese. Parmesan, asiago would both be absolutely delicious!
Garlic & herb: Brush with melted butter after baking and sprinkle with garlic salt and italian seasoning.
How to Make Quick and Easy Soft Pretzels
- Mix and knead the dough: Combine yeast with warm water and sugar. Once mixture becomes "frothy" your yeast is ready. Stir in salt and melted butter. Add flour 1 cup at a time until dough is no longer sticky. You may need more or less than the recipe calls for. If you press your finger into the dough and it bounces back, it's ready to knead! Knead dough for 5 more minutes until smooth and pliable.
- Let the dough rest: Shape dough into a large ball and place in a lightly-oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let it rest for 15 minutes. This is not to be confused with rising, it does not need to be doubled in size, the dough is just "resting."
- Preheat oven: To 475°F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Prepare the baking soda bath: Combine the water and baking soda in a large pot and bring mixture to a boil. Take off heat and allow it to come down to a lukewarm temperature.
- Shape the pretzels: Flatten rested dough slightly with the palm of your hand into a circle. Cut dough into 8 sections (like a pizza). Roll each triangle into a long ¾ inch rope, about 19-20 inches long. Shape dough into pretzel shape and place in baking soda bath for 2 minutes. Carefully pick pretzel up either by hand or spatula and transfer to prepared baking sheets.
- Add salt: Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt while still wet. Repeat these steps until all 8 pretzels are prepared and on the baking sheets.
- Bake: You want to bake the pretzels until golden brown, about 8-9 minutes.
- Brush with butter: Straight from the oven, brush the pretzels with melted butter. I like to use salted but you may use unsalted.
- Best served warm: Enjoy them fresh and hot out of the oven! These pair perfectly with my easy beer cheese dip!
Recipe FAQ
Once cooled completely, wrap them up individually and tight in plastic wrap for up to two days. To reheat, pop them in the microwave for about a minute or so. Good as new!
I recommend preparing the dough only one day in advance. Prep the dough the day before following the recipe through to step 3 and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. When you are ready to make the soft pretzels, continue on with the recipe starting with shaping the dough then the baking soda bath, etc.
Once baked and cooled completely, wrap each pretzel individually in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Be sure to cover them completely! For extra protection and to ensure freshness, place them in a large ziplock bag before freezing.
Yes! Place raw dough into an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Yes, yes, yesssss. When you get to the shaping step of the recipe, when you roll the dough into long ropes, just cut them into 4 inch pieces instead of shaping into a pretzel shape to make homemade soft pretzel sticks. Cut them into 1 inch pieces for bites. Continue with the recipe as written. I also have this included in my recipe notes at the bottom of the recipe.
When you place the shaped pretzels into the baking soda bath, this causes the dough to puff slightly. This is what will help to create the chewy exterior that we associate with soft pretzels. Baking soda is an alkaline which will cause a browning reaction in the oven, creating perfectly browned pretzels. The baking soda bath also gives the soft pretzels their distinct flavor. Don't skip this step!
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📋 Recipe
Homemade Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
Pretzel dough
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast 1 standard packet
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbs unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour + up to ¾ cup more if needed
Baking Soda Bath
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbs baking soda
Topping
- 1 tbs coarse salt for sprinkling on top
- 6 tbs salted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475°F and line a large baking sheet or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine yeast with warm water and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with hook attachment. Once mixture becomes "frothy" your yeast is ready. Stir in salt and 1 tbs of melted butter.
- Add flour 1 cup at a time and knead on lowest setting until a dough forms and is no longer very sticky. You may need more or less depending on temperature differences. If you press your finger into the dough and it bounces back, it's ready to knead. Knead dough for 5 minutes or until smooth and pliable.
- Form dough into a ball by hand. Lightly grease the bowl used previously and place the dough back in to rest for 15 minutes. Cover with a damp towel.
- In a medium sized pot, boil 2 cups of water with 2 tbs of baking soda. Once the baking soda is mostly dissolved, take mixture off heat and pour into a shallow dish.
- After 15 minutes, take dough out of the bowl and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Cut dough into 8 sections (like a pizza). Roll each triangle into a long rope, about 19-20 inches long. Shape dough into pretzel shape and place in baking soda bath for 2 minutes. If the whole pretzel isn't covered by the water, spoon it on top of the areas is doesn't reach. Once the 2 minutes is up, carefully pick pretzel up either by your hand or with the help of a fork or spatula and place on prepared baking sheet. You may have to re-shape slightly.
- Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt while still wet. Repeat these steps until all 8 pretzels are prepared and on the baking sheets.
- Bake pretzels for 8-9 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately from the oven, brush (heavily) with 6 tbs of melted butter.
- These homemade soft pretzels are best served hot and fresh out of the oven but will keep for about 2 days stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Pop them in the microwave and they're good as new!
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepared dough can be made one day in advance. Shape the pretzels and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before popping them into the oven. Prepared dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the refrigerator.
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked and cooled pretzels for up to 3 months. To reheat, bake (frozen) at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until center is warmed through. You can also microwave for a few minutes until heated through.
- Pretzel Bites: When rolling dough into a long rope in step 4, instead of shaping pieces into a large pretzel, cut the dough into 1-2 inch pieces. Follow the rest of the recipe instructions.
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tamara says
Your ingredients list measurements differ in the instructions…
You say I need 2tbs of baking soda, but in the directions you say to add 6tbs.
You say I need 1tbs butter but then tell me to melt 1 in the beginning then to melt 6tbs butter
Jessica says
Good morning Tamara, for this recipe you need 2 tbs of baking soda for the baking soda bath. As for the butter, yes, there is 1 tbs of melted butter in the dough and then you will melt 6 tbs of butter at the end to brush onto the pretzels so butter is used twice in this recipe.
E says
These were so unbelievably good! They were gone in minutes and Im making more today!
Sharon says
these were quick, easy and delicious. Will absolutely make them again. I did use instant yeast .
Sarah says
Made these today and they lasted about 15 minutes! Will definitely make again 🙂
LSB says
We’ve tried so many recipes, and this is hands down the best soft pretzel recipe. It is delicious. We have been making it for a while now. Thank you!
Susan M Baker says
These pretzels were absolutely delicious.
My family loves them.
Very easy to make
I made the classic pretzel shape the first time and the second time I made big bite size. Will keep this recipe!
Kaitlyn says
Just made these and they came out great! Have you made these before without butter? I’m going to try a batch with plant based butter to see how they come out (friend’s allergic) —fingers crossed!
Jessica says
I have not, I hope they came out delicious for you!
Mike says
Great tasting very soft pretzel. It is also a very quick recipe start to finish.
The only negative is in the directions. It said to prepare the baking sheet by putting parchment on it. I was helping my granddaughter make them and I tried to teach her to follow the recipe. But every pretzel stuck to the parchment. In getting them off everyone of them had the back tore off. The directions should have said the spray the parchment.
Jessica says
Interesting. Parhcment is not supposed to stick like that.
Alicia Pinto says
Hey do I need to let the dough rise like a usual bread dough?
Mary says
I have made many soft pretzels but this recipe is by far the best if you like a soft chewy pretzel.
I used to get these at out Main Exchange in Texas and they were the best, but very hard to find a recipe like that until yours. Most that I had tried were the really chewy crunchy kind, which I didn’t like. Thank you for your explanation about what to expect and that is the reason I tried the recipe. This is a true keeper if you like the soft center and just the right amount of chewy on the outside.