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!
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!
These pretzel bites are perfect for an after-school snack or even a game-day appetizer. You can make them in about 30 minutes, from start to finish! That's because these pretzels are yeast-free and don't require any rise time!
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!
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.
Barbara Porter
These pretzels look amazing!
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside
Thanks! They sure do taste good too!