Name: Homemade Soft Pretzels
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: For the Dough; 2 ¼ teaspoon or One Packet of Yeast; 1 Tablespoon Sugar - You can use white sugar or brown sugar; 4 Tablespoon Butter (melted); 1 Cup Warm Water; 2 tsp Salt; 4-5 Cups Flour; For Cooking-; 10 Cups Water; ½ Cup Baking Soda; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon Cold Water; 1-2 Tablespoon Coarse Salt

Jump to Recipe -

Skip the mall and make your favorite treat at home! These homemade soft pretzels are made with simple ingredients and come together easily and quickly! Perfectly soft, chewy and ready for dipping!

Why we love this soft pretzel recipe-

This easy soft pretzel recipe is made with pantry staples, no fancy ingredients are needed to create your favorite mall pretzels at home! This is a super fun recipe to make with kids, the kneading, rolling and shaping of the dough is fun for little hands!

This is a great recipe to make for parties, after school snacks, or to enjoy on a weekend! You can make these pretzels ahead of time and freeze them to have on hand any time you want to enjoy fresh warm pretzels.

Variations & Serving Ideas

One of the best thing about these pretzels is the fact that with a few simple tweaks you can create different flavors.

Just simply swap out pretzel salt for any of the following-

Cinnamon Sugar- After baking brush your pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle on a mix of cinnamon and sugar to create delicious sweet cinnamon sugar pretzels.

Cheese- After your pretzels come out of the baking soda bath sprinkle them with shredded cheddar cheese or parmesan. You can even add some garlic for tasty flavor!

Everything Bagel Seasoning– The chewy texture of soft pretzels lends itself beautifully to adding your favorite bagel seasoning! Sprinkle on everything bagel seasoning instead of salt.

Serve with your favorite dips– We love to serve these homemade pretzels with traditional dips like honey mustard or cheese sauce. They are also amazing with my pepperoncini dip, or spinach artichoke dip! You can even serve them with chocolate sauce or dessert dips if you love the combination of sweet and salty!

A stack of soft pretzels on a white plate.

How to freeze & reheat these pretzels

To freeze- these pretzels are best served fresh but can be frozen to eat later. To do this make the pretzels according to the instructions but do not salt them before baking. Once they are finished baking allow them to cool then wrap them individually in a layer of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. When ready to eat sprinkle the pretzel lightly with water or brush the top of each pretzel with melted butter and sprinkle with salt. Wrap in a slightly damp paper towel and microwave for about 30-45 seconds (depending on your microwave)

Or place your pretzels on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 350 for

Here’s what you’ll need to make the best homemade soft pretzels

The ingredients for making soft pretzels on a white marble background. Flour, yeast, butter, egg, salt, sugar and baking soda

For the Dough

2 ¼ teaspoons or One Packet of Yeast

1 Tablespoon Sugar – You can use white sugar or brown sugar

4 Tablespoon Butter (melted)

1 Cup Warm Water

2 teaspoon Salt

4-5 Cups Flour

For Cooking-

10 Cups Water

½ Cup Baking Soda

1 egg

1 teaspoon cold water

1-2 Tablespoon Coarse Salt

Here’s how to make these pretzels

In the bowl of a stand mixer mix warm water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast across the top of the water mixture and leave for about 5 minutes until the yeast begins to foam.

A four picture collage showing the steps for making soft pretzel dough. The first is a metal mixing bowl with water and yeast. In the second melted butter has been added, in the third flour has been added, the fourth shows a soft dough in the bowl.

Add in melted butter, salt and half of the flour. Using the dough hook attachment mix on low speed until flour is incorporated (about 2-3 minutes) gradually add more flour until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and isn’t as sticky. The exact amount of flour you will need will vary depending on how much moisture is in your flour, the environment etc. I usually need about 4 ½ cups.

Next it is time knead the dough. You can let the mixer do the work by turning the speed up to high and allowing it to knead for about 5 minutes. Or you can turn your dough out onto a lightly floured clean work surface and knead by hand until the dough is smooth.

Then place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover loosely, place in a warm place and let rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.

A collage of four pictures showing soft pretzel dough. In the first a ball of dough is at the bottom of a metal mixing bowl. In the second the dough has doubled in size, in the third the dough has been placed on a floured work surface. In the fourth the dough has been divided into four balls.

After the dough has risen it is time to make the pretzels.

Preheat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Lightly dust your working surface with flour an turn out your dough. Separate the dough into 8 equal pieces.

Take one piece and roll it into a long rope shape about 22- 24 inches long.

To form the traditional pretzel shape-

Take the dough rope and shape it into a U shape.

With an end of the U in each hand crisscross them and flip the ends down toward the bottom of the U.

Now you’ll have a basic pretzel shape. Take the ends and crisscross them again to create the swirl in the middle.

Gently press the ends into place to secure the pretzel shape.

Repeat with the rest of the dough until all eight pieces of soft pretzel dough has been turned into pretzels.

A collage of four pictures showing how to make a soft pretzel. In the first a rope of dough is in a U shape, in the next the ends have been criss crossed to form the beginning of a pretzel shape. In the third the ends have been twisted to form a complete pretzel. The fourth shows a large pot full of water and baking soda.

To cook the pretzels-

Place the 10 cups of water and ½ cup baking soda in a large pot on the stove and bring it to a rolling boil.

Set your prepared baking sheet on the counter next to the stove.

Gently place a pretzel in the boiling water and cook for about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon or spatula gently lift the pretzel out of the water and place it on the baking sheet.

Repeat with the remainder of the pretzels. Placing them about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. You may need to use 2 baking sheets or work in batches.

Once your pretzels are all boiled it is time to bake them.

In a small bowl whisk together the egg and 1 tsp water until well mixed to create an egg wash.

Using a brush coat the pretzels evenly with a thin coat of the egg mixture. Sprinkle on coarse salt as desired.

Place the baking sheet in the oven for about 15 minutes or until pretzels are a lovely dark golden brown.

Let cool for a few minutes and serve while still warm.