Vegan Soft Pretzel Bites
These vegan soft pretzel bites are soft and fluffy in the center with a perfectly baked outer crust. Topped with sea salt, these pretzel bites pair perfectly with vegan beer cheese dip!
Servings 4 Servings (of about 6 pretzel bites each)
Calories 300kcal
Equipment
- Large slotted spoon
- Silicone baking mat (or parchment paper)
- Paper towel (or kitchen towel)
Ingredients
Pretzel Dough
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup (or maple syrup)
- 1 tablespoon dry active yeast
- 1 tablespoon oil (neutral flavor like avocado oil)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour , plus more for kneading (about ¼ cup)
- 1 cup whole wheat flour , or more all-purpose flour
Baking Soda Water
- 8 cups water
- ¼ cup baking soda
Topping
- ½ tablespoon coarse salt
Beer Cheese Dip (to Serve)
- 1 cup onion
- 4 cups sweet potato
- 3 cups cauliflower
- ¾ cup cashews
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter (or coconut oil)
- 1 bottle beer
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ¾ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
Making Dough
- Place lukewarm water into a large bowl. Lukewarm water is around 100-110 °F (feels warm to the touch but doesn’t steam).1 cup lukewarm water
- Stir in agave syrup.1 tablespoon agave syrup
- Sprinkle active dry yeast over top of the water.1 tablespoon dry active yeast
- Allow yeast to activate for about 5 minutes, until foamy.
- Once the yeast foams, add oil, salt, all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour.1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour
- Stir until a ball of dough forms then turn out the dough onto a lightly flour surface.
- Knead dough until it feels smooth, about 3-5 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky but not clump to your hands. If needed, add in extra flour about 1 tablespoon at a time to achieve this texture.
- Return the ball of dough to your large mixing bowl and cover with a damp piece of paper towel (or kitchen towel).
- Let the dough rest and rise for 20 minutes.
Form Pretzel Bites and Boil in Baking Soda Bath
- While the dough rests and rises, prepare a baking soda bath to boil the pretzel bites in before they are baked.
- Measure water and baking soda into a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.8 cups water, ¼ cup baking soda
- Prep a baking tray by covering it with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Have your coarse salt for topping the pretzel bites.
- Once the dough rises, divide it into 6 even sections then divide these sections into 4 (creating 24 pretzel bites). Or just grab small pieces of dough and form pretzel bites as you go!
- Roll each pretzel bite in your hands, forming a ball.
- When the baking soda water is boiling, place a pretzel bite into a slotted spoon and carefully lower into the bath. Allow to boil for about 30 seconds then use the slotted spoon to remove the pretzel bite, allowing excess water to drip off, and transfer to your baking tray.
- Top pretzel bite with a small sprinkle of coarse salt while still wet.½ tablespoon coarse salt
- Repeat (working in batches) until all pretzel bites are boiled, transferred to baking tray and topped with salt.
Bake and Serve
- When you’ve boiled and salted all pretzel bites, bake them in an oven preheated to 425 °F for 12 minutes, until the outside is a dark brown color.
- When cooked, remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving!
Make Beer Cheese Dip (Optional)
- Dice onion, sweet potato and cauliflower. Place into a large skillet with cashews and vegan butter.1 cup onion, 4 cups sweet potato, 3 cups cauliflower, ¾ cup cashews, 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- Move the pan onto your stove over medium heat. Let the butter melt and the vegetables to begin to sizzle in the butter. Add the bottle of beer. Place a lid on the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.1 bottle beer
- Add vegetable broth to the pan and simmer with the lid off for another 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are fork tender (easy to poke a fork through).1 cup vegetable broth
- While the vegetables and cashews simmer, place the remaining flavoring ingredients into a blender.2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, ¾ cup nutritional yeast, 2 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Transfer the cooked vegetables to your blender and blend until smooth.
Notes
Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.
Nutrition analysis is calculated on pretzel bites only and does not include dips such as vegan beer and cheese dip.
Nutrition
Serving: 4Pretzel bites; ⅙ of recipe) | Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 1479mg | Potassium: 180mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 3mg