Back with another easy recipe using the amazing gluten-free three-ingredient dough! These buttery, gluten-free soft pretzel bites are so quick to make and taste just like a soft pretzel from the mall! This easy recipe is ready in about 30 minutes!
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In the before times, a marathon shopping day at the mall usually meant a pit stop for warm pretzels from Auntie Anne's. While I haven't been to a mall in ages and can't eat those pretzels anymore, these gluten-free soft pretzel bites will bring you right back to your snacking days in the center of the mall!
This recipe is yet another riff off of my previous recipes using gluten-free three-ingredient dough. Remember those easy gluten-free bagels and gluten-free flatbread? Well, with just a small tweak to that three-ingredient dough, you can make a wonderful soft pretzel that's also about as easy as it gets to make!
Ingredients
To make these pretzel bites, you'll need ingredients for the gluten-free dough, plus a few extra pantry items that will turn the dough into pretzel bites!
For the three-ingredient dough you'll need:
- Gluten-free flour blend: Use a 1:1 replacement gluten-free flour. I've tested this recipe and the measurements used with King Arthur Measure for Measure and Namaste Perfect Flour Blend.
- Baking powder: I use Clabber Girl, it is gluten-free.
- Plain Greek yogurt: Full fat or non-fat both work for this recipe. Regular yogurt also works but you may need more flour to get a dough with workable consistency.
For making the pretzels you'll need:
- Baking soda
- Butter
- Coarse salt or sea salt or Cinnamon-sugar
Make Three-ingredient Dough
The first step is making the three-ingredient dough. Mix the gluten-free flour and baking powder with greek yogurt.
Keep mashing the mixture with a spoon until you have a shaggy dough. Then, knead the dough a bit to form a smooth ball.
Tips for this Step
- At first, the dough may seem too dry, but try to knead it a bit to see if it comes together. For me, the ratio of ingredients has worked every time and forms a nice dough after kneading for a minute or two.
- If your dough remains too dry, knead in a tablespoon of yogurt and see if that helps bring the dough together.
- If your dough is extremely wet or sticky (a little sticky is ok), knead in a tablespoon of flour at a time until you get a dough that isn't so sticky.
- The longer you fiddle with the dough, the harder it gets to work with because the baking powder and yogurt start to activate.
Turn Dough into Pretzel Bites
Now it's time to turn the dough into pretzels! To do this, scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and form it into an oval nugget shape.
Meanwhile, bring baking soda and water to a boil just to dissolve the baking soda and remove from heat. Then dip each piece of dough into the baking soda wash. Place the bites on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake the pretzel bites until they are a deep golden brown.
Once they have baked, dip the bites in melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Or for a variation, you can sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar instead of salt!
That's it! Once they've been sufficiently buttered and salted, you can let the pretzels cool a bit but serve them while they are still warm. That is when they are truly the best!
Tips
- Dip quickly in the baking soda wash: You don't need or want them to soak in the baking soda water. If they soak up too much of the wash, they will get a horrible taste.
- These are best eaten fresh. Leftovers will keep for a day or two at room temp and can be reheated in the microwave, but for the best taste and flavor plan to eat or serve them soon after they have baked.
Now it's your turn to make some pretzels! Tell me in the comments what your go-to pretzel is, salted or cinnamon-sugar? Also, tell me what you plan to dunk them in! Maybe some whipped cream cheese? Or homemade gluten-free ranch dip?
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Recipe
Easy Gluten-free Pretzel Bites
Ingredients
Three-Ingredient Dough
- 1 cup gluten-free flour blend, , 1:1 flour like Namaste Perfect Flour blend or King Arthur Measure for Measure
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅔ cup greek yogurt
Baking Soda Wash
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
Pretzel Topping
- 3 tablespoons butter, , melted
- Coarse sea salt, , or cinnamon-sugar
- Cream cheese, cheese sauce, or other favorite pretzel dipping sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour and baking powder.
- Combine flour mixture with greek yogurt into a shaggy dough.
- Pour the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper.
- Knead the dough together until it forms a smooth ball.
- In a small saucepan, dissolve baking soda in water over medium heat. Remove from heat and form pretzels.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough at a time and form it into oval nugget shapes.
- Quickly dip each bite into the baking soda water and then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 425°F for 15-17 minutes or until deep golden brown.
- While still warm, toss the pretzel bites in melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sea salt or cinnamon-sugar.
- Serve while still warm with your favorite pretzel dipping sauces.
Notes
- At first, the dough may seem too dry, but try to knead it a bit to see if it comes together. For me, the ratio of ingredients has worked every time and forms a nice dough after kneading for a minute or two.
- If your dough remains too dry, knead in a tablespoon of yogurt and see if that helps bring the dough together.
- If your dough is extremely wet or sticky (a little sticky is ok), knead in a tablespoon of flour at a time until you get a dough that isn't so sticky.
- Dip quickly in baking soda wash. If you leave bites in the wash too long they will soak up too much and have a terrible flavor.
- These are best fresh! Plan to serve soon after they have baked. Leftovers will keep for a couple of days in the fridge and can be reheated in the microwave.
Nutrition
* Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should be used as an estimate only. See the nutrition policy for more information.
Alexa says
So sorry, but I can’t agree that these are great. I followed the recipe exactly, and found them to be too doughy, with very little flavor.
C.S. says
Incredible!! These turned out so well and were a hit even with non gluten free people in my household. I did spray with olive oil spray before putting in the oven and I used lactose free Greek yogurt. It turned out amazing!! Will be a new staple in our family/
Katie Olesen says
This is wonderful to hear! Glad you're enjoying the recipe!
Kate says
These were delicious! My 14 year old daughter whose celiac is crushed there are no gluten free pretzel options at the malls. The smell is torture for her as she walks by the kiosks. She was so delighted and ate the whole batch. They were simple to make and equally delicious! I will make them again and again to see her smile! Well done!
Eve says
These are amazing! My husband and I made these and were so shocked at how great they are! They have such a good flavor and you can't even tell they are gluten free. We made a cheese dipping sauce by combining cheddar and mozzarella on the stovetop. I am so impressed with this gluten free recipe! Thanks for sharing it!
Tessa says
Mine all stuck to the parchment paper…any suggestions??
Katie Olesen says
Hi Tessa! Personally, I've never had this issue with pretzels sticking to parchment paper. However, to address your concern, I will add a note to grease the parchment paper for future bakers. Please ensure that you are using parchment paper and not wax paper or freezer paper. Additionally, using good quality parchment paper is crucial as lower quality or thin parchment paper may not provide the same non-stick properties. The last thing to check is if the dough was extremely wet or sticky or if the pretzels were over baked, then sticking could potentially become an issue. I hope these suggestions help in preventing any sticking issues in the future!
Tessa says
Thank you! There was a lot of water on the paper because I went from the baking soda water to the parchment. Should I have dried them with a paper towel before putting them on the parchment?
Katie Olesen says
Ok, that makes sense then. Maybe just let them drain a bit better. I use a slotted spoon when I make them.
Suzy Winkler says
Could this work with a plant based yogurt? ie cashew or coconut?
Same question for the flat bread / naan recipe!
Thank you!
Suzy says
Update: I tried the flatbread recipe using 'dairy free' Kitehill-plain unsweetened almond milk yogurt and it worked very well!
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside says
Great to hear! Thanks for sharing! (Sorry I missed your previous question!)
Kathie Childers says
Ohmigosh, these pretzels were amazing! They browned up beautifully for me. The only thing I did differently was I par-boiled the bites for about 30 seconds on each side before putting in the oven. Definitely going to have to double the batch or triple LOL because these were inhaled immediately.
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside says
That's great to hear, Kathie! Glad you enjoyed them!
margot leslie says
these were delicious but how do I get them to brown like your photo?
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside says
The baking soda wash is what helps with that. Everything I do to make them brown is noted in the recipe. Maybe they weren't baked quite long enough or maybe it was a difference in the flour? These were tested with Namaste and King Arthur.
Stacy Jenkins says
They were ok. Texture was a little thick, I'll try making them smaller next time. I will also be sure to turn these more in the oven for more even browning. Cinnamon sugar makes everything taste better. I had no problem with though ratio for dough and geek yogurt. I used King Arthur 1:1 flour.
Katie says
What is the serving size for this recipe? Thanks!
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside says
The info listed is for 1 pretzel bite. I've updated the recipe card. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. If you need very precise info, I still recommend double-checking with your own calculator. The nutritional information is for reference only, as I'm not a dietician. Thanks!
Heather says
Hi! Can you use goat milk yogurt???
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside says
Hi, I have not tested this but I do think it should work as long as the yogurt is thick like greek yogurt.
Barbara Porter says
These pretzels look amazing!
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside says
Thanks! They sure do taste good too!