Air Fryer Soft Pretzels
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Turn your next party or family get-together into an unforgettable success with these Air Fryer Soft Pretzels! We have the surefire recipe to make them delicious, so all you need is a sprinkle of imagination. Now put on that chef’s hat and start flipping those pretzels – it’s time for some culinary magic in the air fryer!
Soft pretzels are the perfect snack or appetizer for any gathering.
They can be air-fried quickly and easily, providing a warm and delicious treat in minutes.
Plus, adding your own selective pretzel salt creates a unique flavor profile.
Soft pretzels can be served as-is, or with a selection of dips like honey-mustard or cheese sauce to make it extra special.
Whether you’ve got friends over for game night or hosting a small get-together – soft pretzels are sure to delight,
Key to Success #1 – Use a Stand Mixer, if you can
I have a Kitchenaid stand mixer and it works great to mix up this pretzel dough.
This pretzel dough is really soft and easy to work with. I knead it with my Kitchenaid for about 5 minutes and it’s ready to rise.
I actually let my dough rise in the bowl of my stand mixer too.
Try preheating your oven to 250 degrees then turn the oven off and place your bowl of dough inside.
The dough will rise much quicker.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can still make these pretzels!
You can knead the dough by hand and they will still be perfect.
Key to Success #2 – Make the Pretzel Twists
Forming the pretzel twists is much easier than you may think.
You start by rolling each portion of dough into a rope-like shape. From there, it’s just a simple three-step process.
1) Lay the dough rope on the counter in an upside-down U shape
2) Grab the loose ends and twist them around each other two times
3) Grab the two loose ends and bring them up to the top of your pretzel and press them firmly.
It’s really that simple. They turn out great every time.
Key to Success #3 – Give The Pretzels a Hot Soda Bath
Pretzels are traditionally put into a lye bath, but we’re going to go the easier – and safer – way and use baking soda.
The baking soda bath will make the outside firm and smooth while the inside is still tender.
You’ll need a large pot or roasting pan for your soda bath – big enough to comfortably hold 10 cups of water.
Add your baking soda then bring the mixture to a boil.
One or two at a time, dip the pretzels into the boiling water for 30 seconds.
Use a large slotted spoon to remove them from the water and place them on the baking sheet to rest.
Key to Success #4 – Don’t Crowd The Air Fryer
I have a Cozyna XL 5.8 Qt Air Fryer and I can easily fit 3 soft pretzels into my Air Fryer basket at one time.
Any more than that and the hot air wouldn’t be able to circulate around the pretzels easily.
Don’t forget to check out the 5 best non-toxic air fryers that don’t cause cancer.
Since we’re trying to brown the Air Fryer Soft Pretzels, they need plenty of room to cook.
In my Air Fryer, 12 total minutes of cook time was perfect, but you can add another 2-3 minutes if you like your pretzels a deeper brown.
Air Fryer Soft Pretzels are great served with mustard or cheese sauce, My favorite cheese sauce for Air Fryer Soft Pretzels is Cheez Whiz but you can also use Velveeta + a little milk in a pinch.
What’s your favorite dip for pretzels?
Please don’t be intimidated by these Air Fryer Soft Pretzels. They really turn out great and are not as tricky as they might seem.
Save this Air Fryer Soft Pretzels recipe to your favorite Air Fryer board or your Snack Recipes board.
Air Fryer Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water, 110 to 115 degrees F
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 pkg active dry yeast
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 oz melted butter
- 10 cups water
- ⅔ cup baking soda
- 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 Tbsp water
- pretzel salt
Directions
- Combine water, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Sprinkle yeast on top and allow to sit 5 minutes.
- Add flour and butter. Mix on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of bowl, approximately 5 minutes.
- Place dough in well-greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and sit in warm place for 50-60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Preheat Air Fryer at 400 degrees F.
- In large stock pot or roasting pan, combine 10 cups of water and the baking soda and bring to a boil.
- Place pretzel dough onto an oiled work surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into an 18-inch rope. Twist into pretzel shape (see notes in blog post).
- One-by-one, place each pretzel into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove from water and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Place 3-4 pretzels directly into Air Fryer basket and cook 6 minutes at 400 degrees F. Turn soft pretzels over and cook another 6 minutes until dark golden brown.
Equipment
Nutrition Facts
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I did try this recipe and it’s a keeper. The only change I made was the cooking time. My first batch baked a 6 minutes and I didn’t flip them. The next batch I baked 5-1/2 m
minutes and flipped them for 1 more minute and they were perfect !
These came out amazing, thank you. I didn’t preheat my air fryer, and the pretzels were perfectly done in 7 minutes. I can’t believe how good they are. They even look perfect.
These were outstanding!!! I only had to cook them for 6-mins at 400 in my air fryer for them to be done…never had the chance to flip them but they didn’t need it! Will definitely make these again…super easy with all the kneading being done right in the Kitchen Aid mixer! Thank you hav already passed this recipe on!:-)
That’s awesome! What did you dip your pretzels in? I’m a cheese dip fan myself.
@Jennifer,
So good we ate plain the first time—they didn’t last long enough for me to get a dip together! Next few times honey mustard dip and a cheese dip too…so yum! Do you have any tips for making ahead or the freezing already made the way to go…want to have a pretzel board for Xmas party this weekend😊
They were awesome!!!! Really satisfied the way they came out and tasted
Just made this pretzel recipe. Super tasty, but had to make some adjustments in the cooking. Obviously we all know air fryers are different. I ended up with very dark brown pretzels whem I cooked at 400 for 6 and 6. After three tries of trying different times and temps, what worked for me was 330 degrees for 5 and 4. They’re still dark but don’t look burnt. I’ll definitely try this recipe again!
Thanks for sharing!
Yes, the air fryer times and temps are hard because the air fryer models all cook differently. Thanks for sharing your experience. We love these pretzels.
How do you store the extra pretzels? Do you freeze them so they don’t become soggy?
You can store extra pretzels in the refrigerator for 2-3 days then reheat in the microwave for about 45-60 seconds. Or you can freeze and reheat. I freeze them flat in a zip-top freezer bag and it’s worked great.
I think you recipes look great and this pretzel recipe I will be trying. I do have one problem with coming here and this is that your blog shows up as “Not Secure” so I probably won’t be back sorry.