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Written ByDorothy Kern
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These are the easiest Air Fryer Pretzel Bites made with premade pizza dough! These pretzel bites have that classic pretzel flavor and texture and cook in the air fryer for a great appetizer or snack with your favorite dipping sauces.
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Easy Air Fryer Pretzel Bites
If you thought homemade pretzel bites were too hard to make, you are going to love this easy air fryer recipe. They’re made with shortcut pizza dough, but you’d never know it – they have the best chewy texture and golden crust, just like classic soft pretzels.
If you make pretzels the old-fashioned way, you will spend a few hours making a yeast dough and waiting for it to rise. Super fun when you have time, but who has time? Not me, so these semi-homemade pretzel bites are my go-to.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Instead of making dough, we’re using Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough. It works well because pizza dough has that chew like pretzel dough once it’s cooked.
We’re not skipping the main thing that makes a pretzel a pretzel: boiling the bites in a baking soda and water mixture. This step is critical in achieving that shiny, tight crust and distinctive flavor.
Finally, instead of baking them, we’re air frying them, which takes less than 10 minutes. So easy.
4 Ingredient Recipe
- Original Pillsbury Pizza Crust – you only need one can
- Baking soda: This is how pretzels get that golden exterior and chewy texture.
- Egg wash – just lightly beat an egg with water in a small bowl. This helps them get a nice golden brown.
How to Make Pretzel Bites in an Air Fryer
- Cut Bites: Take the pizza dough out of the package. It should be rolled into a log, which is what you want. Don’t unroll it!
- Cut the log into eight pieces. Slice each of those in half, so you have eight equal-sized pieces. Once you have eight pieces, cut each one into four parts, so you have 32 pieces of dough. Roll each piece into a ball.
- Pour the water into a saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil. Once it’s at a strong boil, take it off the heat and add the baking soda and stir so it dissolves.
- Baking Soda Bath: Drop each ball into the water for 20 to 30 seconds, take it out, and place it on a sheet pan or plate. Do this with all of the dough balls. I dunk four at a time and use a slotted spoon to scoop them out of the water.
- Brush the dough balls with egg wash and sprinkle them with salt.
- Cook the pretzel bites in the air fryer at 350°F for six to seven minutes or until they are golden brown. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to cook them in batches.
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
Expert Tips
- When you roll the dough into balls, the dough may want to come apart. Don’t worry, and just try to form into a ball as best you can. You can lightly squeeze the dough but don’t squish it. Otherwise, you won’t have the ball shape once they’re cooked.
- They have a very strong pretzel taste from the baking soda. If you want to tone it down, you can reduce baking soda in the water.
- If your kitchen is hot, you might want to keep the dough balls in the refrigerator while you’re cooking them in batches. That way, they will hold their shape and not soften too much.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer. The balls need to be in a single layer with space between each. This will ensure they cook evenly. You can keep cooked pretzel bites on a sheet pan in a warm oven while you cook the rest.
Which Air Fryer I recommend
I have 2 air fryers I love:
- Cuisinart Compact Air Fryer is a great model that looks like a toaster oven. I like the size of the basket and it cooks most things, except it can’t fit a whole chicken.
- Corsori Air Fryer: This is the big boy of air fryers and can fit a whole chicken – I just started using this one and like it (it’s a more traditional looking air fryer.
Dipping Sauce Ideas
These pretzel bites just beg for a sauce on the side – they are totally dunkable! Here are some sauces we love:
- Any kind of mustard – we love honey mustard and spicy types of mustards.
- Nacho cheese sauce
- Marinara sauce or Pizza Sauce
- Ranch dip or dressing
- Hot dips like spinach dip or other creamy cream cheese dips
- For a sweet and salty twist, try a sweet dip like chocolate sauce or caramel dip, or peanut butter chocolate dip.
Once you try these easy pizza dough pretzel bites, they might end up on your list of favorite snacks! They are so much easier than traditional ones but taste just as great. You’ll see when you try them – they’re so good.
Air Fryer Pretzel Bites Recipe
5 from 19 votes
If you thought homemade pretzel bites were too hard to make, you are going to love these Air Fryer Pretzel Bites – delicious and simple!
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes minutes
Total Time 16 minutes minutes
Yield 32 pieces
Serving Size 1 serving
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Ingredients
- 1 can Pillsbury pizza crust (original)
- ½ cup (120g) baking soda
- 4 cups water
- 1 recipe egg wash
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
Instructions
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Pour 4 cups of water into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
While the water comes to a boil, open your pizza crust but do not unroll it. Cut into 8 slices, about 1 inch thick. Cut each slice into quarters (for 32 total pieces). Roll each one individually into a ball. The shape might not be perfect ball, but it will work, trust me.
Once the water is at a rolling boil (boiling in the center, not just around the edges), turn the heat to warm and stir in baking soda.
Working in batches of 4-6 balls, dunk balls into the water for 20 to 30 seconds.
Place balls onto prepared cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with kosher salt.
Working in batches, place the balls in the air fryer basket (my Cosori holds about 9-11 per batch). The balls might look like they're falling apart but they'll glue together as thy cook.
It is important not to overcrowd your air fryer otherwise the bites won’t cook evenly.
Cook at 350°F for approximately 5 to 7 minutes or until nice and golden. The later batches might take less time since the fryer is already hot.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- When you are rolling the dough into balls, roll as best as you can. If they try to separate, tightened your roll but don’t “squish them”. Once in the air fryer they will be nice and in a ball shape.
- Be sure to give them the baking soda bath in batches so the water temperature doesn’t drop too much.
- I have a Cosori 5.8 Qt air fryer, if yours is bigger or smaller you can do more or less per batch.
- Be sure and check the later batches at 5 minutes – they’ll cook faster. The first few sets cooked at 6 minutes for me.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 32kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 823mg | Potassium: 2mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern
Did you try this recipe? Click the stars to rate the recipe below
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These are the easiest Air Fryer Pretzel Bites made with premade pizza dough. They have the best chewy texture and golden crust, just like classic soft pretzels.
Last Updated on February 16, 2023
Dorothy Kern
Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.
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4 Comments
Fantastic!! Thank you for such a Delicious and Well Written recipe.
Quick & Easy and Delicious ~ who could ask for more?ReplyQuestion . When and are you putting the baking soda in the boiling water? It is not clear.
I have an air fryer toaster oven. Will it workReplyOnce the water boils you add the baking soda.
ReplyI have an air fryer with three shelves,will it work using all three?
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