These soft pretzel knots are exactly like regular homemade soft pretzels, but shaped and tied like garlic knots. There’s more compacted surface area, which means there’s more room for toppings such as cinnamon sugar, garlic parmesan, or jalapeño cheddar. The dough requires just 6 ingredients and there’s hardly any rise time, so this is a wonderful recipe for yeast beginners. Have fun shaping the knots (they don’t need to be perfect!) and enjoy warm, flavorful homemade pretzels within an hour.
Warm pretzels! Toppings! Dips! All the good stuff in life is right here today!
Soft Pretzel Knots Details
- Flavor: If you enjoy soft pretzels, you’ll love today’s soft pretzel knots. They’re completely homemade, so unlike store-bought frozen soft pretzels, each has that soft, warm, and fresh-from-the-oven taste and texture. You can keep the pretzels traditional with a sprinkling of coarse salt or try various toppings. There’s a detailed list of options below.
- Texture: The difference between pretzel-shaped (or knot-shaped) bread and soft pretzels/soft pretzel knots is an alkaline bath. This is when shaped soft pretzel dough takes a dip in boiling water and baking soda, a surprisingly easy step that provides the iconic chewy pretzel texture and adds a deeper, richer color to the baked pretzels. The boiling water also locks in the shape so they don’t over-puff in the oven. (Without the baking soda bath, you lose texture, that deep brown color, and flavor. So, basically, you will have bread instead of a pretzel.) We do this key step when making regular soft pretzels, pretzel rolls, and soft pretzel bites, too.
- Ease: My recipe for soft pretzels has become one of the most reader-loved recipes on this website because the pretzels are relatively quick, extremely easy, and deliver great taste. Same story with these pretzel knots! Though the recipe requires yeast, I always say that this pretzel dough is a terrific starting point for yeast beginners because there’s very little rise time. Shaping takes a little practice, but the knots do NOT need to be perfect. No matter the shape, they’ll still taste like pretzels. Still, if you’re a perfectionist, this recipe yields 14-15 knots so you have opportunity to get the shape right.
Soft Pretzels with a Slightly Different Shape
The goal for today’s soft pretzel knots recipe was to make a soft pretzel with more compacted surface area for toppings and for holding onto dips and sauces. I never stray from the original soft pretzel dough, so that’s what you’ll use as the base for these pretzel knots. You need just 6 basic ingredients to get started including warm water, yeast, a little sugar to feed the yeast, melted butter, salt, and all-purpose flour. (If you have it, the same amount of bread flour works too!)
The dough doesn’t require extended rise time and the baking soda bath is pretty quick, so besides the baking step, the longest stretch of time this recipe requires is shaping.
- Divide the dough into 14-15 pieces, which is about 1/4 cup (about 2 ounces) of dough each. Roll each into 14-inch ropes. Tie the ropes into a knot like you do when making garlic knots, then tuck the ends underneath. The ends are quite long so rather than tucking the ends straight underneath, I curve them around the pretzel before tucking under. You can see me do that in the video below.
Here are photos so you can visualize the process:
Whisk the warm water, yeast, and sugar together. Cover and let the mixture sit for a few minutes until foamy on top. Waiting for it to foam isn’t totally necessary, but it helps us see that the yeast is ready and active. The right photo below shows the dough before kneading.
Knead the dough, using my How to Knead Dough video tutorial as needed. Cut the kneaded dough into 14-15 sections, roll into ropes, and then shape into knots. The video tutorial located in the recipe shows these steps as well.
The following photo shows the knots after the baking soda bath. At this point, they are ready to bake.
Topping Options
Immediately after the baking soda bath while the pretzel knots are still wet, sprinkle with coarse salt. Or if you’d like a different topping, skip the coarse salt and try:
- Cinnamon Sugar: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt. Once done and still warm out of the oven, brush with melted butter then dip into a mix of cinnamon and granulated sugar.
- Garlic Parmesan: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt. Once done and still warm out of the oven, brush with melted butter then dip into a mix of grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and Italian Seasoning. Italian Seasoning is a store-bought item, but you can make your own homemade Italian seasoning. You need 1 and 1/2 teaspoons.
- Jalapeño Cheddar: When the pretzels are still wet from the baking soda bath, sprinkle with coarse salt as if you were making plain salted pretzels. Just like when you make regular jalapeño cheddar pretzels, arrange 2-3 thin slices of jalapeño on top and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with cheddar cheese, then return the oven to finish baking.
Detailed instructions for these toppings are available in the recipe notes below. I bet you could have fun with even more toppings such as everything bagels seasoning instead of coarse salt. Heavily sprinkle on the pretzels while they’re still wet from the baking soda bath before baking.
Great for Dipping & Soaking Up Sauce
The knot shape yields a doughier pretzel than the traditional soft pretzel shape, so they require longer in the oven. And because they have more interior, pretzel knots are perfect for dipping and soaking up sauce. Serve with:
- Tomato Sauce (great with the garlic parmesan pretzels)
- Bacon Spinach Dip (tasty with the salted pretzels)
- Spicy Nacho Cheese Sauce (pictured above and delicious with the jalapeño cheddar or salted pretzels)
- Pepperoni Pizza Dip (wonderful with the garlic parmesan or salted pretzels)
- Stone Ground Mustard (always great with salted pretzels)
- Homemade Pesto (try with the garlic parmesan or salted pretzels)
- Maryland-Style Crab Dip (love this with salted pretzels)
I always serve cinnamon sugar pretzels plain, but you could try vanilla icing if you wanted to serve them with a dip. Lots of options here, so have fun!
See Your Soft Pretzel Knots!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintSoft Pretzel Knots
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 14-15 knots
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft pretzel knots are exactly like regular homemade soft pretzels, but shaped and tied like garlic knots. There’s more compact surface area, which means there’s more room for toppings such as cinnamon sugar, garlic parmesan, or jalapeño cheddar. Review recipe notes and watch the video tutorial before starting.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (lukewarm around 100°F (38°C))
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 3 and 3/4 – 4 cups (469-500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- toppings: coarse salt/coarse sea salt or toppings described in notes
Baking Soda Bath
- 1/2 cup (120g) baking soda
- 9 cups (2.13L) water
Instructions
- Make the dough: Whisk warm water, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle or dough hook attachment. (If you do not have a stand mixer, just use a regular large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.) Cover yeast mixture and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until foamy on top. Add salt, melted butter, and 3 cups (375g) of flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if needed, then add 3/4 cup (95g) of flour. Beat on low speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If dough is extremely sticky after 1 minute of mixing, add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and continue to beat for 1 more minute. (You can see in the video that I add the remaining flour.)
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if using the paddle) and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10-30 minutes. (Meanwhile, I like to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 5.)
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Silicone baking mats are highly recommended over parchment paper. If using parchment paper, lightly spray with nonstick spray or grease with butter. Set aside.
- Shape: With a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper, cut dough into 14-15 pieces, which is about 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of dough each. Sprinkle work surface very lightly with flour. (Tip: The heavier you flour the work surface, the harder it is to roll the dough. A little stickiness actually helps. You only need *a very light* dusting of flour.) Roll each piece of dough into a 14-inch rope. Tie the ropes into a knot, then tuck the ends underneath. The ends are quite long so rather than tucking the ends straight underneath, I curve them around the pretzel before tucking under. You can see that in the video below.
- Baking Soda Bath: Mix water and baking soda together in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Place 2-3 pretzels into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds, flipping halfway through. (Any longer than 30 seconds and your pretzels could take on a metallic taste.) The knot shape makes the dough heavy, so if the pretzel knots are sinking, use a spatula to get them off the bottom of the pot. Using a slotted spatula or spoon, lift the pretzel knots out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel knots onto prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt while each are still wet or leave plain if using other toppings detailed in the notes below (you still need to salt them if doing the jalapeño cheddar pretzels). Repeat baking soda bath with remaining pretzel knots. If needed, you can cover and refrigerate the boiled/unbaked pretzels for up to 24 hours before baking.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes or until golden brown. I usually bake mine for the full 24 minutes to obtain a very deep color as pictured.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm.
- Cover and store leftover pretzels at room temperature for up to 3 days. They lose a little softness over time. To reheat, microwave for a few seconds or bake at 350°F (177°C) for 5 minutes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled pretzel knots freeze well up to 2-3 months. To reheat, bake frozen knots at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through or microwave frozen knots until warm. The prepared pretzel dough can be refrigerated for up to one day or frozen in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Thaw frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight. Refrigerated dough can be shaped into knots while still cold, but allow some extra time, about 1 hour, for the pretzels to puff up before the baking soda bath and baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Glass Mixing Bowl | Rubber Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Sharp Knife, Pizza Cutter, or Bench Scraper | Large Pot, such as a Dutch Oven | Metal Slotted Spatula
- Flour: If you have it, the same amount of bread flour works instead of all-purpose flour. Do not use whole wheat flour.
- Cinnamon Sugar: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt in step 6. As the pretzel knots bake, melt 4 Tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter. Set aside. Combine 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Set aside. Once the pretzels are done and still warm out of the oven, brush each with melted butter then generously dip into cinnamon sugar. Pretzels are best served that day because due to the melted butter topping, they become soggy after a few hours.
- Garlic Parmesan: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt in step 6. As the pretzel knots bake, melt 4 Tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter. Set aside. Combine 3/4 cup (about 68g) grated parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade Italian Seasoning. Set aside. Once the pretzels are done and still warm out of the oven, brush each with melted butter then generously dip into parmesan garlic mixture. Pretzels are best served that day because due to the melted butter topping, they become soggy after a few hours.
- Jalapeño Cheddar: When the pretzels are still wet from the baking soda bath, sprinkle with coarse salt as if you were making plain salted pretzels. Place 2-3 very thin slices of jalapeño on top of each, pressing them down to adhere as best they can. Bake for 15 minutes in step 6. Remove from the oven, use 1 cup (125g) shredded cheddar cheese and sprinkle each partially baked knot evenly with cheese, then return the knots to the oven to finish baking for the remaining time in step 6.
I loved that these are more like a little bun as when I tried to make traditional pretzel shapes in the past they just ended up looking like a bun anyways. Tasted great! We made half sea salt and half cinnamon sugar.
These came together so quickly! So fun to have a yeast recipe that didn’t require an extensive rise time. They were fun to make and delicious.
So much easier to make than I thought! Fun to make and really great flavor! Cross soft pretzels off the baking bucket list!
I am looking forward to making these soon. Went with the Whoopie Pies this month; they were delish!
Made with my students and they tried the salted w/cheese sauce, cinnamon sugar (so yummy), and garlic parmesan (they loved it but I didn’t get to try that flavor). Easy to follow and make with a great flavor. Since these can be frozen also, we’re putting this on our make again list.
I found this recipe very easy to make with the bonus of having all the ingredients in my pantry. I made my pretzels in the traditional shape and served them with cream cheese. My whole family loved the pretzels and have already requested another batch!
Sally for the jalapeño cheddar and Parmesan cheese pretzels. Do they have to be refrigerated after baking on the left over ones? Or can you leave them in a container on the counter?
Hi May! If the cheese is baked so that it is dried (it should be!) it will be fine at room temperature for a couple days. But always do what you’re comfortable with!
I really loved making and eating these Soft pretzel knots!
It was surprisingly easy and fun to make, and absolutely delicious, with nice crust and soft inside.
I made 3 kinds, plain with sea salt, garlic Parmesan, and sugar cinnamon, all turned beautiful and yummy.
I highly recommend this recipe!
Fantastic recipe! Really tastes like pretzels. My batch had a crunchy brown exterior and beautifully soft interior. I didn’t try any topping and I even forgot to salt them, but everyone loved them as is! They were even better with Sally’s Roasted Garlic & Bacon Spinach Dip.
I made these Soft Pretzel Knots today. This was my first attempt at making pretzels, and they turned great. Very easy to make.
This recipe turned out amazing! I was a little apprehensive about the baking soda bath step but they came out fabulous, and we can’t stop eating them. I made 9 salt and 6 cinnamon sugar – next time I’ll try the other variations as well! My fiance doesn’t like pretzels AT ALL (not the soft or hard kind) and he’s eaten 3 already. A big hit all around!
Super easy and quick. I made some salted, some cinnamon, did a garlic/cheese, but my favorite were made with sun dried tomatoes the topped with mozzarella. My neighbors love me! Will definitely add this to my favorites list. Thanks Sally.
Hi Pat, your sun dried tomato and mozzarella pretzel knots sound incredible! Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
This Was my first time making pretzels and This recipe was so easy to follow. They were soft and chewy and perfect with nacho cheese. A big hit with my family. I will definitely be making these again.
Easy to follow recipe with very tasty results!
So yummy!! I love how crispy they are, but soft on the inside!
These went together in a snap! I was a little concerned because the original dough was a bit lumpy-er and didn’t quite rise like I like them to. Quickly evened out during the rolling phase! The finished bake was deliciously weighty and chewy. So yummy.
This is my second attempt at pretzels, but it was much more successful than my first! The tip about only using the smallest amount of flour to roll out the dough ropes was a huge help. They came out perfectly, with a crispy outer crust and soft, chewy inside. I’m sure these will pair wonderfully with Sally’s beer cheese dip!
Who knew I could make pretzels and learn something new all in one day?! I found the recipe easy to follow and the timing almost perfect. (It took me a while to get the hang of the rolling and tying part, so the oven and baking soda bath had to wait.) I brought my little ones in to watch the baking soda bath, count, and sprinkle with salt. I may include them in rolling next time. They loved the results 24 minutes later, as well as the neighbors I shared them with. Big hit! Will definitely be making these again!
Amazing recipe! Tried it with a few of the dips you recommended!
AMAZING RECIPE!! Everyone loved it at my house!!! Easy instructions, also made some of the dips which were delicious!
I made these pretzel knots with my 5 year old niece. It was an easy recipe for her to help me with and she had fun rolling and shaping the dough. They tasted great and had a good texture. The inside was soft and chewy. We made half the pretzels with just salt and the other half with cheddar on top.
Don’t let the baking soda bath intimidate you! This recipe just flies from start to finish, and I wouldn’t hesitate to serve them as rolls at a fancy family dinner. They had a perfect chew on the outside and were super soft on the inside.
This recipe was so easy to follow. And the end result was perfect! The texture was so good and soft! They did not last long in our house.
So easy my grandkids will help when I make them again. As fast as these are going, it will be soon.
This was a fun one to make and turned out delicious. The family all enjoyed them. They didn’t look quite as pretty as yours, but the dark pretzel color came through and still looked great.
This recipe was so easy and fun to make! Everyone should try it!
I’ve made pretzels before, but this recipe knocks it out of the park! They are so soft on the inside and the perfect texture. And they don’t take forever to make!
These were pretty good. I have another recipe I use all the time , so it was a little different.
I just made plain this time.. However there were some very yummy options. 🙂
These were so good! They came together so fast and the whole family loved them! I made them with salt and served with pumpkin Alfredo pasta, but I’ll make them again with other toppings for sure!
This recipe is easy and quick to make…. Looking forward to making them again with some different toppings.