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This is the easiest recipe for air fryer soft pretzels you will ever find. You will want to make these pretzels all of the time after you try them in the air fryer.
I have been making these pretzels for years, so I had to make them in my air fryer. It was so easy and the pretzels were perfectly golden in no time at all.
Table of Contents
WHY I LOVE THIS RECIPE
I love this recipe because it’s so much faster and easier to make without having to boil or bake the pretzels. They remind me of trips to the mall when we had to get a soft pretzel with cheese. The warm bread dipped into melted cheddar cheese is one of my favorite snacks.
The biggest reason I like this recipe, is the ingredients are all common things I keep on hand. Because of this, I can make air fryer soft pretzels any time I have a craving for them.
These pretzels really are the easiest to make. Even though there is yeast in the recipe, there are no long drawn out tricks or tips to follow!
Craving bread? Try these easy air fryer rolls, air fryer bread, or these air fryer pretzel dogs.
INGREDIENTS
Besides an air fryer, to make these soft pretzels, you will need:
- all purpose flour
- sugar
- salt
- dry yeast
- water
- unsalted butter
Before cooking them in the air fryer, you will need to prepare an egg wash. This will help the pretzels turn a beautiful golden color as they cool. To make the egg wash, you will need:
- egg
- water
DIRECTIONS
STEP 1
To prepare your air fryer basket, lightly coat the basket with olive oil, or use air fryer parchment paper liner, then set basket aside.
STEP 2
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
STEP 3
Pour in the warm water and the melted butter, and stir together with a fork until the dough begins to thicken and looks flaky.
STEP 4
Remove the dough from the bowl, and on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until it becomes smooth. Form the dough into a ball shape.
STEP 5
Cut the ball of dough into 8 pieces and then roll each dough ball into ropes, about 12-14 inches in length, then twist each rope into a pretzel shape. Make a u-shape, then cross ends at the top. Twist the ends and then pull down onto the bottom of the pretzel.
STEP 6
Place the pretzels in the air fryer basket, in a single layer. Leave enough room to they can puff up a bit.
STEP 7
In a small bowl, whisk the egg with a spoonful of water, brush the top of each pretzel with the egg wash. Sprinkle coarse salt on top if desired.
STEP 8
Air fry at 320 degrees Fahrenheit for 12-15 minutes, until the dough is cooked and the tops are golden brown
RECIPE TIPS
When rolling out the dough, try to make the ropes the same size and thickness so your pretzels will cook evenly.
If you want to make a super pretzel, divide the dough into four pieces instead of eight.
Don’t over mix the dough. It can make the pretzels a bit chewy and dense.
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VARIATIONS
I like to use this pretzel dough to make these traditional pretzel, but also appetizers like pretzel bites, or pretzel breadsticks. To change up the flavors, here are a few other ideas:
Cinnamon sugar pretzels: Brush melted butter on top of the pretzels when done, and then dip in a cinnamon sugar mixture. I also have this simple air fryer pretzel bite recipe for when I want to skip making the dough.
Pizza Pretzels: I turn these pretzels into pizza pretzels by topping them with shredded cheese and pepperonis during the last few minutes of air frying.
Cheese Pretzels: Sprinkle shredded cheese on top or into the dough before air frying. It doesn’t matter what type of cheese.
Toppings: Instead of coarse salt, sprinkle sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or everything bagel seasoning on top of the pretzels.
Frozen Pretzels: If you don’t have time to make these from scratch, you can find brands like these Auntie Anne frozen pretzels. We show you how to cook frozen soft pretzels in this air fryer frozen pretzels post.
STORING
Store leftover pretzels in an airtight container. They can last for up to a week in the fridge, but are best when freshly made.
For a warm soft pretzel, microwave it for 15 seconds, or place it back in the air fryer for a minute or two.
FAQ’s ABOUT AIR FRYER SOFT PRETZELS
We love traditional cheddar cheese sauce, but you can add sprinkles of mozzarella cheese and pepperoni to the pretzels before cooking, and then dip them in pizza sauce. Other sauce suggestions are, mustard, honey mustard, or ranch.
I sprinkle course salt after I’ve done the egg wash. If you need more, you can brush a light coat of water, or even melted butter on top of the pretzel, and then sprinkle on top.
I love making these soft pretzels in my air fryer! They are a perfect snack when I want pretzel with cheese.
MORE AIR FRYER RECIPES
Appetizers
Air Fryer Jalapeño Poppers
Chicken
Air Fryer Chicken Wings
Appetizers
Air Fryer Pizza Rolls
Appetizers
Air Fryer BBQ Little Smokies
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Air Fryer Soft Pretzels
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, Plus 1/4 cup for rolling the dough
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tsps salt
- 1 packet dry yeast, 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp water
Instructions
- To prepare your air fryer basket, lightly coat the basket with olive oil, or use air fryer parchment paper liner, set basket aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
- Pour in the warm water and the melted butter, and stir together with a fork until the dough begins to thicken and looks flaky.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, and on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until it becomes smooth. Form the dough into a ball shape.
- Cut the ball of dough into 8 pieces and then roll into ropes.
- Twist each rope into a pretzel shape and place into the air fryer basket.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg with a spoonful of water, brush the top of each pretzel with the egg wash.
- Air fry at 320 degrees F for 12-15 minutes, until the dough is cooked and the tops are golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were very plain but once I covered them in salt sugar baking soda and butter they were really good I used gluten free all purpose flour by the way
I just made them and maybe I cooked them too long. They are very soft. I did it for 14 minutes. Maybe next time I will try 12 minutes instead. Otherwise they came out alright, just a bit harder than expected.
The final product was okay. I tried cooking the pretzels at 320 for 15 minutes. They weren’t done. I added five more minutes. They still weren’t done. So I finished them up at 375 for five more minutes. They were perfectly done, though they weren’t perfect. I can attribute that to my air fryer.
I ran into one big problem. I pretty sure I used exact measurements for the ingredients, but the dough never got “flaky” as in the illustration, so I kept adding bits of flour until the dough was manageable–it was quite gooey.
Is it because I used bread flour instead of all-purpose? Also I used just a packet of rapid rise yeast, it was slightly less than a tbsp. of yeast. Was the type of yeast the reason, or the amount?
I’ve never baked anything from scratch requiring yeast. It was my first try at that. I’m wondering what went wrong. Any suggestions?