These homemade soft pretzels are easier to make than you think!

Soft, chewy, and salty, these delicious homemade soft pretzels are a dream come true!

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When I was in college, I worked at a shoe store in the mall. Because our breaks were pretty short, we didn’t always have time to walk all the way down to the food court to grab a bite.

But luckily for us, there was a pretzel shop not too far. I loved ordering a hot, soft pretzel with some dipping sauce–it was such a treat!

I don’t go to the mall very often these days, but I do occasionally get a hankering for a delicious soft pretzel, so I now make them myself at home!

And because I love to proof dough in the Instant Pot, I’ve started allowing my pretzel dough to rise in the Instant Pot. It saves quite a bit of time!

But don’t worry–if you don’t have an Instant Pot, I have instructions for you, too!

Why You’ll Love these Homemade Soft Pretzels

Let me count the ways that I love these pretzels!

First of all, they only require basic ingredients that you probably already have on hand. That’s a major win right there.

Secondly, they’re actually really easy to make. I know, I know…homemade soft pretzels sound a little intimidating, don’t they? That’s what I used to think, too.

Not anymore! These bad boys can be ready in no time, and I’m going to show you exactly how!

These make for a delicious snack or appetizer, a fabulous party food, and they pair well with several dips! Whether you prefer mustard, cheese sauce, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce…there are so many options!

More Delicious Homemade Bread Recipes:

• Homemade Dinner Rolls
• Instant Pot Naan Bread
• No-Knead Instant Pot Bread
• Easy French Bread
• Instant Pot Pizza Dough
• How to Make Frozen Dinner Rolls
• Instant Pot Crescent Rolls
• How to Proof Frozen Rolls in the Instant Pot

How to Make Homemade Soft Pretzels

It’s really easy to make these delicious soft pretzels at home!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp yeast
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 4 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 cups water
• 1 Tbsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp water
• coarse salt
• melted butter (optional)

How to Make It:

(Scroll down for full printable recipe, which is available below)

Make the dough. First, you’ll combine the warm water, brown sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and let it sit for a few minutes. This lets the yeast “wake up” and start metabolizing that sugar!

Next, you’ll add in some vegetable oil and salt, then gradually add in the flour while the dough hook does the work of mixing everything. Let it knead the dough for a few minutes.

The dough will eventually form a ball, pulling completely away from the sides of the bowl. The dough shouldn’t be sticky at this point.

Let the dough rise. Next, you’ll oil the insert pot of the Instant Pot and transfer the dough ball to the insert pot, turning it a few times to coat it with oil. Then close the lid and turn on the Yogurt setting.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, simply oil a bowl and put the dough ball in the bowl. Cover it with a towel and put it in a warm area of your kitchen.

Either way, let the dough rise until it’s doubled in size. In the Instant Pot, this takes about 30 minutes. In a regular bowl, it can take about an hour.

Shape the pretzels. Punch down the dough and divide it into 12 pieces. I use a pizza cutter for this.

Take one piece of dough and roll it out into a rope that’s about 20 inches long.

Shape the rope into a U shape, then twist the ends together. Twist again, then pull them down and press the ends into the bottom of the pretzel.

Repeat with each piece of dough.

Cook in Soda Water. Boil some water and add baking soda to it. You can do this in your Instant Pot (use the Saute HIGH function) or in a pot on the stove over high heat.

Carefully lower 2 pretzels into the boiling water and let them cook for 1 minute. Remove from the water and put on a greased baking sheet. Repeat until all pretzels have been cooked in the water bath.

Bake. Brush the tops of the pretzels with an egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 16 minutes, until they are golden brown.

If desired, you can brush some melted butter on top of the pretzels, but they are totally delicious without the butter, too!

Can You Freeze Homemade Soft Pretzels?

Yes, you can freeze these homemade soft pretzels!

In fact, if you aren’t going to be eating all of them pretty soon after baking, I think you should freeze any that are leftover.

When you’re ready to reheat them, pop them onto a baking sheet and reheat from frozen. Simply preheat the oven to 425F and put them in for about 5-10 minutes, or until they’re heated through.

Notes and Adaptations:

• These are delicious served with cheese sauce or mustard!
• I use this coarse salt, or you can buy pretzel salt.
• If your Instant Pot doesn’t have a Yogurt setting, simply follow the instructions for rising the dough on the counter.