Raspberry Honey Mustard Pretzel Dip

This raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip has everything. Sweetness from raspberry honey, tartness from fresh raspberries, and a sharp tangy bite from two different types of mustard to round it out.

Raspberry honey mustard pretzel dips have a bit of a cult following for a reason — they're entirely familiar and completely unique all at once. And that sweet-tart-tangy flavor combo pairs so well with a deeply burnished, salted, dark brown pretzel crust.

Thank you so much to Local Hive™️ Honey for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own. And thank YOU so much for supporting the businesses who support The Practical Kitchen!

This raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip is perfect in the summer when raspberry season is at its peak. And while it's one of my absolute favorite pretzel dips, there are so many different ways to use it; it's honestly great all year round.

Try serving it at your next big game day viewing party or summer picnic and prepare for the compliments to come pouring in. At least one person will ask for the recipe, I guarantee.

True story: I snuck some of my test batches into a night of bar trivia so I could get feedback from my friends, and when I went to put it away, several of them asked if they could keep the leftovers. That's how good it is.

If you're feeling ambitious, I recommend making my sourdough beer pretzels to go for dipping. The sourness from the sourdough and dark beer in the dough play so nicely with the bright, fresh raspberry honey and mustard flavors.

Ingredient Notes

You only need five ingredients to make this raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip. When making a recipe this simple, I usually try to buy high quality ingredients so I get the best flavors out of them. See recipe card for quantities.

• High Quality Honey - I used Local Hive™️ Honey’s Harvest Reserve: Washington Raspberry Varietal which is a limited edition 100% raw, unfiltered honey varietal. It has a very light and bright fruity honey flavor; tart and slightly citrusy with notes of vanilla and cinnamon. You can totally use any honey you like, but if you have one with a fruity, raspberry flavor that works best!
• Fresh Raspberries - Yes, frozen raspberries are fine; just let them defrost in the fridge overnight before chopping.
• Brown Mustard - Choose your favorite brown mustard (one without horseradish). According to Serious Eats, brown mustard has a higher concentration of mustard seeds, which gives it that sharp, extra pungent and sharp deli-mustard flavor. In this recipe, the sweet honey and tart berries help take the edge off of it, which is why you want to start with a pretty intense mustard!
• Whole Grain Mustard - I used an old-style whole grain mustard with lots of visible whole mustard seeds in it. The glass jar kind of fancy mustard. It adds a lot of great crunch and mustard flavor without competing with the brown mustard too much.
• Apple Cider Vinegar - This helps thicken the raspberry and honey mixture. Distilled white vinegar or lemon juice will also work here.

Instructions

To make this raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip, start by finely chopping the fresh raspberries.

Raspberries break down very easily, but you still want to give them a pretty thorough chopping so you don't end up with sneaky big raspberry chunks in your dip!

Then combine the chopped up raspberries, the honey, and the vinegar in a small pot over medium heat. A one-quart pot or even a small butter warmer is the perfect size here.

The honey will be very sticky at first, but don't panic. Once it warms up it'll start moving around the pot smoothly. Stir the raspberries and honey together.

This is a very small batch recipe and honey is sugar which retains and conducts heat very well, so don't wander away. It heats up quickly, and you don't want it to burn.

Keep stirring until it starts to bubble and fizz around the edges.

Adjust the heat as needed to keep it at this low boil, bubbling and fizzing stage for 20-30 seconds. No more, no less.

This step thickens the raspberry mixture and brings out the best flavors from both the raspberries and the honey so they can hold their own against the sharp mustards.

Your honey mustard pretzel dip will have a looser, more watery consistency. A lot of other raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip recipes I've tried don't have any cooking step. I find they end up with a kind of soupy texture which just isn't what I wanted in a pretzel dip!

Remove the raspberry mixture from the heat immediately. Stir in both mustards until cohesive and no streaks remain.

You may want to use a whisk for this step, but a spatula should be just fine.

That's it! Your raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip is ready to serve.

Pour the dip into a decorative dipping bowl, or honestly, you could serve it right out of the pot. No shame in that game.

I think it's best served warm or at room temperature, but its fine right out of the fridge too.

Serving Suggestions

This raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip can be used for so much more than just dipping pretzels! The sweet and tangy fruity flavors pair really well with other hearty and salty foods.

How else do you like serving this raspberry honey mustard sauce? Let me know in the comments!

Storage Notes

If not using immediately, transfer the raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip to an airtight container and store in the fridge until ready to use.

The consistency is best at room temperature, so you may want to take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving.

Honey has natural antibacterial and preservative properties, which means this dip will stay good in the fridge for up to a month if not more!

(To avoid introducing contaminants, always pour the dip into a separate bowl rather than dipping directly out of the container you're storing it in.)

Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

• Cooking the raspberries with honey and vinegar (an acid) activates the pectin in the raspberries and allows the mixture to thicken slightly while also concentrating the bright raspberry flavor. If you cook it for longer than 30 seconds you'll end up with a chunky raspberry jam — you don't want that! Keep an eye on the timer.
• Adjust to taste! This is 100% the kind of recipe you can adjust to fit your own preferences. If you like a sweeter raspberry honey mustard, add more honey! If you like it tangier, add more mustard!
• The smaller the pot the better for cooking the honey and raspberries. I use a 1 quart sauce pot. A small butter warmer also works. If you don't have a very small pot, use a small skillet instead.
• The recipe below is a fairly small batch recipe. It makes about 1 cup of raspberry honey mustard pretzel dipping sauce. Use the 2X and 3X buttons above the ingredients list if you want more than that!
• Don't have fresh raspberries? Sub in ½ tablespoon raspberry jam and skip the cooking step. It won't be as bright and fresh because jam raspberries have been cooked down a lot more than the fresh raspberries are. Look for a low-sugar raspberry jam, as the honey is quite sweet and if you combine a sweet jam + honey you will have a very sweet raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip!

📖 Recipe