Name: Everything Bagel Pretzel Bites
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 336 grams all-purpose flour; 146 grams warm water; 30 grams chopped onion; 28 grams unsalted butter ((melted)); 8 grams sugar; 3 grams instant yeast ((1 teaspoon)); 3 grams diamond crystal kosher salt ((1 teaspoon, use half as much of any other brand if measuring by volume)); 1 large egg ((for egg wash)); ½ cup everything bagel seasoning blend ((for finishing)); ⅛ cup pretzel salt ((optional, if your everything seasoning doesn't have salt in it)); 8 cups water; ½ cup baking soda

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Easy everything pretzel bites are the perfect bite-sized baking project. This basic pretzel dough has onions in it for maximum everything bagel flavor.

The best part? No fancy shaping required! Just roll out the onion flavored pretzel dough, cut it into snack sized pieces, and get ready make the everything bagel pretzel bites of your dreams.

everything bagel pretzel bites on parchment paper and on a plate. one is dipped in a small bowl of mustard.

Whether you're serving these as a snack or an appetizer, they go great with my raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip!

About Everything Bagel Pretzel Bites

I am so excited about these everything pretzel bites! They combine two of my favorite foods — homemade bagels and pretzels.

This recipe uses my soft sourdough beer pretzel recipe as a base, though I've swapped out the sourdough starter and beer for regular flour and water.

I've also added onions to the dough to really emphasize the everything bagel flavor throughout the dough.

Because the onions add a bit of water to the dough, I reduced the amount of water the recipe calls for. Depending on how watery your onions are, you may need to add a bit more flour to the dough while mixing!

I tested this pretzel dough in a bunch of different shapes so I could give you all of the best tips and tricks for how to get the dough and pretzel crust just right. Make sure you read through the post so you don't miss anything!

This is definitely not a traditional pretzel recipe — it's just my take on it with a fun everything bagel topping I really like!

Ingredient Notes

Here are all of the ingredients you'll need to make everything bagel pretzel bites! Nothing too fancy or special, you should be able to get all of this at your local grocery store. See recipe card at the end of the post for quantities.

all of the ingredients for everything bagel pretzel bites

All Purpose Flour - Regular all purpose flour is fine here. I use King Arthur Baking Company flour, and their all purpose flour has a slightly higher protein content than other flours which means chewier pretzels.
Minced Onion - I recommend using a mini food processor or other type of food chopper to mince the onion if you can. The food processor doesn't just chop the onion, it also mashes the pieces, making them softer than if you were to just mince with a knife.
Instant Yeast - Instant yeast is also sometimes called "rapid rise" or "bread machine" yeast. You can also use active dry yeast, but the dough may take slightly longer to rise. See recipe card notes for adjusting quantity for active dry yeast.
Sugar - Plain white granulated sugar is just fine here, though you can also use brown sugar for a little bit more of a molasses-y flavor.
Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which is half as salty as other brands. If measuring by weight (which you should be!), it doesn't matter what brand of salt you use. But if you're measuring by volume and using a different brand of salt, even a different brand of kosher salt, cut the amount of salt in half.
Melted Butter - Melt the butter first so it has a little bit of time to cool before you add it to the dough. I recommend unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter, just reduce the amount of salt slightly.
Water - Warm or lukewarm water. You don't want it to be hot, just slightly warm is ideal.
Everything Bagel Blend - You can make homemade everything bagel seasoning or use your favorite store-bought everything bagel blend! I like King Arthur Baking's Everything Bagel Topping, but Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Seasoning will also work, as will Spicewalla's Everything Bagel Seasoning. Pay attention to the salt content of your everything blend — if you have a salt free blend, you may want to add pretzel salt to your everything bagel pretzel bites as well.
Baking Soda - Boiling pretzels in a solution of baking soda and water is what gives them that classic pretzel taste. Make sure your baking soda is fresh, and that you have plenty of it before you begin boiling!
Egg - To get a gorgeous brown pretzel crust and to help the everything bagel topping stick to your pretzel bites, you'll need an egg wash.

How to Make Bite Sized Everything Bagel Pretzels

Making this everything bagel pretzel bites dough is very simple and straightforward. Combine all of the dough ingredients — flour, salt, onion, yeast, sugar, and water — in the bowl of a stand mixer.

mixed dough will gather on the dough hook and clear the sides of the bowl but looks messy, torn, and rough

Use a dough hook to mix the dough until it collects in a messy ball in the bowl. If your dough is sticking to the walls or bottom of the bowl, dust in more flour and continue mixing until it pulls clean from the bowl.

after kneading the dough looks soft and smooth in a ball on the dough hook

Increase the mixer speed to just below medium and knead the pretzel dough for 3-5 minutes until smooth and elastic. It should feel soft but slightly firm, and not sticky or pillowy. If it feels too soft, knead in some additional flour.

Pretzel dough is a relatively low hydration dough. Dough hydration is the percentage of liquid (usually water) in the dough compared to the total amount of flour in the dough.

In this pretzel dough, the onions contribute to the water content. Since not all onions have the same amount of water in them, you may need to make some adjustments to get the dough to the right consistency.

If your pretzel dough is too wet, soft, or sticky, your pretzels will not hold their shape when you boil them. You're looking for a dough that is smooth, supple, and has some elasticity to it. It should feel a like a slightly stretchy play-doh.

Here are two ways you can make sure you get the dough just right:

If the dough seems very, very soft, slightly sticky, or pillowy after you finish kneading, dust in another tablespoon or two of flour and knead a little bit longer.
Instead of adding more flour at the end of kneading, you could hold back about ¼ cup of water at the start of mixing, and add it slowly (1 tablespoon at a time) only if it seems like the dough isn't coming together during mixing or smoothing out during kneading.

a ball of dough in a plastic container before rising

Shape the pretzel dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased container to rise for 45-60 mins.

a ball of dough that has risen in a plastic container

The dough should just about double in size. The best way to check if its ready is to press a finger into it.

If the indentation in the dough springs back and fills back in immediately and completely, let the dough rest a little while longer.

If the indentation in the dough fills in slowly and not all the way, your dough has risen perfectly. Move on to the next step!

Plop the pretzel dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and gently roll it into a rectangle about half an inch thick. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife to cut the dough into squares about 1x2 inches in size. These really don't have to be perfect!

pretzel dough rolled into a flat rectangle on a sheet pan and cut into a 6 by 8 grid of squares

TIP: Don't drag the knife or bench scraper in a slicing motion when you cut the dough. Move the blade in a straight up and down motion to get clean cuts without stretching the dough.

To get an even grid you can be finicky and use a ruler. Or you can eyeball it.

I usually eyeball my cuts by cutting the dough in half lengthwise, then dividing each half into thirds. Then I divide the dough in half in the other direction, divide each half in half, and divide each half in half again.

Boiling and Baking Pretzel Bites - Why Use Baking Soda

Like bagels, pretzels need to be boiled before you bake them. Unlike bagels, pretzels are boiled in an alkalized solution before baking. This is what gives them that slightly bitter, pretzel-y flavor.

Traditionally, pretzels are dipped in food grade lye. But we're not going to mess with that here. We're going to use baking soda.

pretzel bites submerged in a boiling baking soda water bath under a wire spider

Bring the baking soda bath to a high simmer/low boil. Work in batches to submerge and boil the pretzel bites for 45-50 seconds at a time.

a pretzel bite being dipped in a small bowl of everything bagel seasoning blend

Brush the boiled pretzel bites with egg wash, then dip the egg washed side in everything bagel seasoning blend.

You can just sprinkle the everything bagel seasoning blend on top of the pretzel bites — it's faster that way! But you'll get better everything bagel seasoning coverage if you dip them.

Other Everything Bagel Pretzel Shapes

You can use this dough to make a lot of other fun everything bagel pretzels in different shapes!

Instead of rolling the dough into a rectangle and cutting it into squares, you can also roll it into a 1 inch thick rope and cut it into 2" pretzel nuggets.

large baked everything bagel pretzel bites in a 4 by 6 grid

I tested this dough in a slightly larger pretzel bite shape — rather than being truly bite size, they're more of a two-bite situation. You boil them for the same amount of time, but they might need an extra few minutes in the oven for baking.

a classic pretzel twist shape topped with everything bagel seasoning

Same goes for the classic pretzel twist shape. You can pop over to my soft sourdough beer pretzel post for instructions on how to shape classic twisted everything bagel pretzels.

You could also do everything bagel pretzel knots, pretzel rolls, pretzel twists, etc. Just look up the different ways to shape. They should all boil for around the same time as the pretzel bites.

Bake time will vary by a few minutes depending on how thick your pretzel shapes are!

Equipment Notes

You don't need a lot of fancy equipment to make these everything bagel pretzel bites. But there are a few tools that will make it a lot easier! Here's what I used:

Saute Pan (3 Quarts) - A high-sided saute pan 3 quarts or bigger is perfect for making pretzels. It's shallow, which means the water will boil quickly. And it's wide enough that you can fit a lot of pretzel bites in at once.
Bench Scraper - A metal bench scraper with a sharp edge is the best way to cut these pretzel bites.
Wire Spider - The best way to get the everything bagel pretzel bites in and out of the hot water without splashing. The pretzel bites are quite delicate, and the wire spider will give them plenty of support so they don't tear!
Mini Dowel Rolling Pin - This is a fairly small batch dough, you don't need a huge rolling pin to roll it out. I used my trusty bamboo dumpling rolling pin.

Storage Tips

These soft everything bagel pretzels are best eaten same day or within a day or two of baking. They are very small and will quickly start to dry out or go stale.

If you would like to save some everything bagel pretzel bites for later, I recommend freezing them!

To Freeze: Arrange on a clean lined sheet pan. Once frozen, store in a large airtight bag in the freezer. Reheat from frozen in a 350F oven for 10-20 minutes, or until soft and warmed throughout.

Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

Get the water boiling before you begin rolling and cutting the dough. You don't want the pretzel dough hanging out too long once it's shaped. The dough will continue to rise while it rests and the pretzels will be airy and light, rather than having that dense, tight classic pretzel interior.
An egg wash can be a plain beaten egg, or you can add a splash of water (about 1 teaspoon) and a small pinch of salt to help break up the egg proteins. This makes it easier to whisk and to brush on to the pretzel dough.
Real garlic lovers can replace 5 grams of onion with a grated clove of garlic in the dough.
If you only have active dry yeast, use 4 grams instead of 3 grams. Or keep the measurement the same, but just know your dough might take slightly longer to rise.
You can absolutely use pre-chopped or frozen onions in this dough. If you're using frozen onions, make sure to let them defrost and fully come to room temperature before adding to the dough. Otherwise the cold temperature will slow your dough rising.

Why is this recipe in grams? I want to use cups!

All of my baking recipes are designed to use weight measurements. This is because weighing your ingredients is much more accurate! Using a kitchen scale will give you the right ratio of water, yeast, salt, and flour so that your pretzel dough doesn't turn into goo in the baking soda bath.

I tested and developed this recipe using weight measurements. If I were to convert it to cups, I would be using Google — just like you would. And I wouldn't be able to promise you'd get the same delicious results! Buying a kitchen scale is worth it — they are very inexpensive and will make you a much better baker. This is the scale I use, it comes in lots of fun colors too.

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