Vegan Pretzel Bites for Fall Gatherings

Name: Homemade Vegan Pretzel Bites
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups warm water; 1 tablespoon organic cane sugar; 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1 package active dry yeast ); ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt; 2 tablespoons plant-based butter (melted); 3 ¾ to 4 cups unbleached bread flour (478 g) (or all-purpose flour); Extra virgin olive oil (for oiling the mixing bowl); Pretzel salt (sprinkle on dough before baking); 10 cups water; ¼ cup baking soda

↓ Jump to Recipe

These homemade Vegan Pretzel Bites are chewy and soft with a classic pretzel flavor. This recipe is perfect for feeding a crowd for game day festivities, parties, or snacks! Serve these pretzel bites up and watch them disappear! They are the perfect snack!

These bite-sized pretzels are amazingly delicious with garlic or vegan horseradish aioli, spicy mustard dip, or vegan queso.

white tray with vegan pretzel bites and horseradish aioli

I love this soft pretzel bites recipe any time of the year, particularly when entertaining. They are simple, tasty, and please a crowd!

Jump to:

Inspiration
Ingredients
Substitutions
How to Make Vegan Pretzel Bites
How To Serve
Expert Tips
Storage
Recipe FAQs
Related Vegan Recipes
Recipe
Comments

Inspiration

What led me to create this recipe? My husband and I visited Alsace, France, years ago. While we were there, we visited Basel, Switzerland. We walked by a vegan pretzel shop as we strolled by the markets. We each got a different type of pretzel, and after we finished them, we went back for another round!

I'd been dreaming about making a fresh pretzel recipe ever since. I had no idea how easy it was to make pretzels!

This recipe was inspired by Peter Reinhart's recipes for white breads (he has three variations) in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I skipped the egg and milk, substituted vegan butter, and adapted the recipe and method to suit my preferences.

These pretzel bites are like classic pretzels, only bite-sized with a nice salty bite! They are firm on the outside, soft on the inside, and have a good chew.

These were easy to make and DELICIOUS! I should have doubled the batch because they disappeared super fast. They were a huge hit for our game night.

- Jeanine

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to make these homemade soft pretzel bites:

Melted vegan butter - you can use extra-virgin oil if you prefer.
Fine sea salt to bring out the flavor
Pretzel salt or a pinch of coarse salt to sprinkle on the pretzel bites after the baking soda bath. I found mine online.
Bread flour - this is ideal if you have it because it provides that volume for a better bake and a nice chewy crumb; however, all-purpose flour is fine too (organic if possible). I often use King Arthur Flour Organic Bread Flour.
Organic cane sugar - The sugar feeds the yeast to help the dough rise.
Active dry yeast - You can also use instant yeast. Make sure your yeast is not past its expiry date.
Warm water - approximately 85°F to 90° F. It should feel warm to the touch, not hot. If you are not sure, flick some warm water on the inside of your wrist to check the temperature.
Baking soda bath - I don't have the ingredients shown in the picture. You will need at least a couple of quarts of water and baking soda. You will boil the dough briefly in this boiling water.

Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and recipe instructions.

Substitutions

Bread flour - You can use all-purpose flour instead. The result is a slightly softer pretzel that is super delicious. I haven't tried this recipe with 100% whole wheat. I would recommend doing a 1:1 mixture if you wish to try it out.
Vegan butter - You can use extra virgin olive oil or refined coconut oil instead.
Organic cane sugar - You can use brown sugar instead.
Pretzel salt - use coarse kosher salt instead.

How to Make Vegan Pretzel Bites

It's easy to make these little, delicious vegan pretzel bites. Here's how to do it:

Prepare the Yeast

bowl filled with yeast, water, and sugar

Bowl with liquid ingredients for pretzel dough bites on marble surface

Step 1: Pour warm water into a large bowl and stir in the sugar. Make sure your yeast is not past its expiry date. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes, and you will likely see small bubbles on the surface. If you are using instant yeast, you can skip waiting 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 2: Melt the vegan butter and let it cool for 5 minutes. Add it to the bowl with the yeast and water mixture, and add salt.

Note: When you measure the flour, stir it before spooning it in into your measuring cup. Then level it. Stir the bread flour in slowly. I use a dough whisk for this purpose. Mix until everything is combined.

Knead the Dough and Let Rise

You can use a KitchenAid mixer at the lowest speed with the dough hook to knead. I set a kitchen timer and prefer to knead by hand; I like to feel the dough and add flour as needed to keep it from being sticky. And it's meditative!

Bowl with pretzel dough and wooden dough mixer

pretzel dough ball resting on wooden board on marble backround

Step 3: Slowly stir in the bread flour until it is combined with the yeast mixture.

Step 4: Knead the dough on a clean surface, such as a wooden board or a marble countertop, for 5 to 8 minutes. If you're not sure how to knead the dough, take a look at this instructional video.

If the dough is too sticky to handle, add more flour, one or two tablespoons at a time. Fold, press, and turn the dough, adding more flour as needed.

Pretzel dough ball in large bowl on marble background

pretzel dough ball after proofing in large bowl on marble background

Step 5: After kneading for up to eight minutes, shape your dough into a ball with your hands. It should be smooth at this point. Place the round dough ball into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a slightly damp kitchen towel.

Step 6: Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1.5 hours, until it has doubled. While the dough rises, preheat the oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

While you're waiting, it's a good time to make this vegan horseradish aioli to serve with the pretzel bites!

Prepare the Baking Soda Bath

The baking soda bath is what gives pretzels their characteristic color and flavor. Traditionally, lye has been used to dip pretzels, but I prefer baking soda because I feel it is safer for home use.

Step 7: Make the baking soda bath once your dough has doubled in size, like in the photo above. Heat a large pot with over two quarts of water. Once it's boiling, slowly add the baking soda and reduce the heat to a gentle rolling boil.

Shape the Dough and Boil

Do not flour your surface, or the dough will slide around, making it hard to roll out. A bit of moisture on the surface is okay, as you can see on my cutting board.

Wooden board with 5 pretzel dough balls and one ball rolled into rope length

wooden board with 5 pretzel dough balls and dough cut into eleven bite sized pieces

Step 8: With a bench scraper or a sharp knife (on a cutting board, not on marble or granite, or you'll dull your knife), cut the dough ball in half, then cut each half into three pieces. You will get six pieces of dough in total. Take a small ball of dough and roll it into a long rope, approximately the length of your cutting board.

Step 9: Cut the rope into 2-inch pieces. If your rope of dough is 16 inches long, like mine, you will get approximately 8 pieces or more, depending on how big you cut the pieces.

Step 10: Place the cut pieces of dough from one rope into the boiling baking soda bath on the range. Boil for approximately 30 seconds. I recommend setting a timer for this.

Assemble & Bake These Vegan Pretzel Bites

Metal tray with parchment paper with boiled pretzel bites before baking

metal tray with parchment paper with baked vegan pretzel bites

Step 11: After thirty seconds, scoop out the puffy dough pieces with a frying ladle or a slotted spoon and line them up on your prepared baking sheet, being careful not to crowd them. Repeat with another length of dough until your baking sheet is full. For example, I can usually fit three cut lengths of dough (half the total amount) on a large-rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with pretzel salt.

Step 12: Bake for 15 minutes. You want the tops of the pretzel bites to be golden brown. While the first batch is baking, prepare the remaining dough, usually half.

Tip: Sprinkle the dough pieces with pretzel salt before they go into the oven.

How To Serve

Let the pretzel bites cool for at least 5 to 10 minutes before enjoying them with your favorite mustard, vegan queso, vegan beer cheese, vegan horseradish aioli, or roasted beet hummus with horseradish.

This recipe makes approximately 75 bites and approximately 12 servings. However, if you serve other food, you may get more servings from this recipe. That said, these pretzel bites will disappear fast. And if you lose your modicum of self-control, I won't judge!

Expert Tips

Before baking, briefly boil the dough in hot baking soda water, as instructed in the recipe, for chewy pretzels with a golden brown exterior.

Enjoy these vegan pretzel bites fresh out of the oven!

Storage

These pretzel bites freeze well. And you can take out what you need and quickly bake them in the oven or the toaster oven. They come out just as good as freshly baked! Freeze any leftover bites in a single layer in a freezer-safe ziplock bag.
Reheat frozen bites (no need to thaw) at 350°F for approximately 15 minutes on a rimmed baking sheet; do not crowd them.
I don't recommend storing them at room temperature or in the fridge because their texture changes; it's best to freeze any leftover pretzel bites.

vegan soft and chewy pretzel bites with creamy horseradish aioli

Recipe FAQs

Can I make these ahead of time?

You can refrigerate the dough overnight and make it the next day. Cover the dough on the counter for about 30 minutes before making your pretzel bites.

Do I have to knead the dough by hand?

You can use a KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook attachment instead of kneading by hand. Knead for 5 to 8 minutes at the lowest speed, adding the flour slowly until you get a smooth, elastic dough. However, if you are a beginner with dough, I highly recommend kneading by hand to get accustomed to its look and feel.

If you try this recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

Inspiration

Ingredients

Substitutions