Easy Soft Pretzels

Name: Easy Soft Pretzels
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 1 ¼ cups warm water (110°F); 1 packet instant yeast ( or 2 ¼ teaspoons); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 tablespoon honey; 1 teaspoon salt; 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt (optional); Water; ½ cup baking soda; ¼ cup yellow mustard; 3 tablespoons honey; 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt; 1 tablespoon hot sauce (or 1 tablespoon vinegar + ¼ teaspoon cayenne)

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These Easy Soft Pretzels may look hard to make, but they’re super easy to make! I love how soft and chewy they are. Of course, I also had to make my own homemade tangy mustard sauce for to dip the soft pretzels in. It has Greek yogurt in it for creaminess, honey for sweetness, and hot sauce for just a little spice! Basically, it’s the perfect complement to the pillowy pretzels.

Easy soft pretzel recipe on a large platter with flaky salt and a small dish of sweet mustard sauce.

Recipe At a Glance
Ingredients to Make Soft Pretzels
Popular Substitutions & Additions
How to Make Soft Pretzels
Tips for Making the Best Homemade Pretzels
Frequently Asked Questions
More Homemade Bread Recipes:
Easy Soft Pretzels Recipe

These easy soft pretzels start by making a yeast dough! If you’ve never worked with yeast before, it’s sensitive to temperature. That’s why I call for warm but not hot (or cold!) water. Hot water kills yeast, which means the homemade pretzels won’t rise. The other keys to pretzel success are shaping them for that proper pretzel shape and boiling them in baking soda water before baking! This baking soda bath gives these big pretzels their distinctive flavor, color, and chewiness.

Recipe At a Glance

Cuisine Inspiration: American
Primary Cooking Method: Oven
Dietary Info: Vegetarian
Key Flavor: Chewy, soft, tangy, mustardy
Skill Level: Easy

Why This Is So Good

Satisfying to make: Even though this recipe is easy, rolling, shaping, boiling, and making your own pretzels is so satisfying.
A kid-friendly project: My kids love helping rolling and shaping the pretzels! Leave boiling and baking the pretzels to the adults, of course.
Make-ahead: You can make these pretzels a day or two ahead and reheat them. They can also be frozen and then warmed up!

Ingredients to Make Soft Pretzels

Ingredients for recipe in individual bowls: flour, yeast, olive oil, honey, salt, sea salt, baking soda, plus ingredients for mustard sauce including yellow mustard, honey, greek yogurt, and hot sauce.

Yeast: This is what will help the pretzels rise, making them soft and fluffy!
Olive oil: Adds flavor and moisture to the pretzel dough.
Honey: A little sweetness balances the rest of the flavors in the dough! Sugar also helps activate the yeast. (You’ll also use honey in the dipping sauce.)
Salt: You’ll use salt in the dough and top the pretzels with coarse sea salt.
Flour: This gives the pretzels structure!
Water and baking soda: You’ll need this to boil the pretzels, which gives them their chewy crust.
Yellow mustard: If you like, you could use another mustard like Dijon or brown mustard.
Greek yogurt: I love the tanginess this adds, but you could leave it out of the sauce.
Hot sauce: Just a little spice balances the sauce’s sweetness!

Popular Substitutions & Additions

Make the pretzels gluten-free. You can use a gluten-free flour blend in place of the flour, though I haven’t tried it before!
Make cinnamon-sugar pretzels. Brush the soft baked pretzels with melted butter, then toss them in a cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Use a different dipping sauce. You could dip the pretzels in a cheese sauce, feta dip, or even spinach artichoke dip!
Add whole-grain flour. Swap out a portion of the all-purpose flour for whole-wheat or rye flour.

How to Make Soft Pretzels

While they do require some shaping, these pretzels actually take just about an hour to make!

How to Make Pretzel Dough

Water, yeast, honey, oil and salt in the bowl of a stand mixe. — **Step 1:** Combine warm water, yeast, oil, honey, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisking until well combined.

Yeast mixture after mixed with some flour added. — **Step 2:** Attach the dough hook, turn the mixer on medium-low, and gradually add one cup of flour at a time.

After forming a thick, cohesive ball after pressing into it to show a soft indention. — **Step 3:** Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and knead until the dough is a thick, cohesive ball and bounces back when touched.

After kneading dough into a smooth ball. — **Step 4:** After kneading, shape the dough into a ball, return it to the bowl, and cover it with a kitchen towel.

Dough after rising. — **Step 5:** Allow it to rise.

Dough on a lightly floured surface divided into 12 pieces. — **Step 6:** Transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces.

Shape, Boil, and Bake Soft Preztel Dough

Rolling dough into a rope. — **Step 1:** Roll each piece into a long rope by gently stretching and slapping it on the work surface until it reaches the desired length.

One rope after creating a circle — **Step 2:** Form each rope into a pretzel shape by creating a circle.

After crossing ends over each other. — **Step 3:** Cross the two ends over each other.

After twisting dough ends. — **Step 4:** Twist them once.

After bring the twisted ends forward in a pretzel shape. — **Step 5:** Bring the ends back toward you to form a pretzel shape.

Dipping pretzel into boiling baking soda water. — **Step 6:** Boil the pretzels in the baking soda water.

Pretzels on a parchment lined baking sheet sprinkled with coarse salt before baking. — **Step 7:** Carefully transfer the pretzels to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle coarse salt over each pretzel.

Soft pretzels after baking. — **Step 8:** Bake until the pretzels are golden brown.

Tips for Making the Best Homemade Pretzels

Check your yeast’s expiration date. Yeast that’s too old could prevent the pretzels from rising.
Use a thermometer. I recommend taking the temperature of the water before adding the yeast. As I mentioned above, yeast is very sensitive to temperature! Ensuring the water is at the right temperature will make for successful pretzels.
Boil the pretzels in the baking soda water for no more than 30 seconds. Any longer and the pretzels will cook too much and be overly chewy.
Use a parchment-lined baking sheet. This will make sure the pretzels don’t stick to the pan and make them easy to remove after baking.

Easy soft pretzels on a sheet pan with a mustard dipping sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you store soft pretzels?

Kept in an airtight container or zipperlock bag, these soft pretzels will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Can you freeze soft pretzels?

Yes! You can freeze the baked pretzels in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then transfer them to a zipperlock freezer bag. They will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. To reheat them, bake the pretzels in a 350°F oven until warmed through.

How do I know my yeast is active?

If your yeast is active, the pretzel dough will rise slightly after it’s rested. The pretzels will also puff up when they’re boiled and baked.

Dipping a soft pretzel with flaky salt into a small dish of mustard sauce.

I made these recently when my husband had friends over to watch a football game, and everyone was blown away, so I made my own soft pretzels! Their crust is slightly chewy, their insides tender, and they have the perfect amount of salt. Do you have to make the mustard sauce? No, but I think the pretzels are extra delicious with it.

More Homemade Bread Recipes:

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Easy Soft Pretzels

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