Ninja Foodi air fryer pretzel bites are fun after school or party snacks to make at home! Homemade from scratch honey wheat pretzel dough recipe served with our mustard pretzel dip is top choice for most.
Have you made homemade pretzel bites yet? They were fun and quick to make with my kids. Fluffy tastes of goodness softer than our Reeses pretzel bites and on the savory side of things, both delish!. One of our favorite easy air fryer recipes now.
Air Fryer Pretzel Bites with Active Dry Yeast
I craved these air fryer snacks while I was pregnant. Didn’t have a hot air machine way back then but wish I did. My favorite place to get them is Auntie Annes in the mall, but we live in the middle of nowhere and there isn’t one. So I created them…
These are not only my favorite low fat snacks but my girls are now addicted to them. Right out of the oven in a cup they take them on the go all the time. And the sauces that are great for dipping are endless.
Tips: My Favorite models are the Cosori or making Ninja Foodi recipes with the lid that is attached.
It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. This is how to preheat air fryer first before adding your food so it becomes as crispy as possible. For best results, here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Are you obsessed with creating lots of easy air fryer recipes too?? Ever since I got mine I’ve used it almost daily and I cannot believe it took me this long to buy one!! (okay my husband bought it, he gets a bit of credit there). I actually have bought several over the years because I always want to test out to make sure the timing isn’t any different.
Ninja Foodi Pretzel Bites
I am here to say that it doesn’t matter what you have, or buy. My Foodi is great as a multi function pot but does have a smaller circular air fryer basket. The only difference with this machine is you use the lid that is attached. My Cosori is square so it typically fits more at a time which is great for more people or larger crowds.
Ingredient Notes
Our homemade pretzel dough is quite easy. There is only a 10 minute rest time necessary and no rising required. I will share our no yeast pretzel bites recipe below too. 😉
- Active dry yeast is used to allow them to rise. You will want to activate it with a warm liquid so it begins to bubble a little, letting you know it is ready.
- All purpose flour is the base for the dry ingredients needed. I do have flour substitutions here if you need a different one.
- Warm water will make your yeast bloom so it rises to super fluffy inside
- Brown sugar is added to “feed your yeast” as you need some sugar and I prefer this for a deeper flavor than white.
- Coarse salt or everything bagel seasoning for outside is what I prefer if I have it.
- Melted butter coats the outside when done so the salt will stick, a dairy free alternative would be fine.
- Baking soda will keep it crispy on the outside.
You can serve these with our yellow mustard or you can make them sweet with cinnamon and sugar on the top instead of salt. One more idea…don’t cut them into pieces. Rather roll them into snakes and wrap around a few wieners to make air fryer pretzel dogs instead. All the possibilities are OH MY goodness excellent.
Can you air fry frozen pretzels?
You can. There are 2 ways. You can microwave as directed and then crisp for 1 minute in your air fryer. Or put in and bake at 300 degrees F for 3 minutes. Don’t these just look amazing?? My kids and I just love them and never last long in our house.
Can you make pretzel bites with canned biscuits?
You could but the texture will not be the same. You will get a fluffier result vs. chewy dough with yeast. Just cut into 4ths, roll into balls, dip into melted butter and then sea salt so it sticks. Spray basket once it is preheated to 380 F and lay in one layer for about 4-6 minutes until lightly browned.
We have used a version of our bread in a bag dough and made honey wheat homemade pretzel bites in the air fryer that way as well. There’s another “cheater” way of making pretzels with a package of refrigerated crescent rolls too. Here’s how you make those.
Air fryer Pretzel Bites with Crescent Rolls
This is what you’ll need to make the SECOND version of our crescent roll air fryer pretzels. Note that they won’t have that same great chewy texture but a great fast snack kids love still.
- Air fryer – we have the Ninja Foodi air fryer and pressure cooker
- Container of crescent rolls or you could use this gluten free pretzel dough mix . Others have used pizza dough too.
Non stick spray is needed for just about everything cooked in this basket. I like olive oil spray specifically, some salt for the outside and melted butter will coat the outsides to add flavor.
Once you unroll the dough just roll it like snakes and twist into a pretzel shape. Spray basket, lay inside and preheat machine to 330 degrees F and air fry for about 5 minutes until they’re browned on top. Brush on melted butter and sprinkle on salt or cinnamon and sugar.
Want to make larger homemade soft pretzels? We have a recipe for that traditional dough too.
Air Fryer Pretzel Bites Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 2 bowls
Ingredients
Homemade Pretzel Dough Recipe
- 1 pkg. active dry yeast, 2 1/4 tsp
- 3 cup all purpose flour
- 1.5 cup water, must be warm
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp coarse salt, to top, or use everything bagel seasoning
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
How to Boil Pretzel Dough
- 4 cup water, boiling
- 1/3 cup baking soda
Instructions
- Homemade pretzel bites in air fryer – Start by combining the water and yeast in a small bowl, allowing the yeast to dissolve. Add brown sugar and salt, whisk until well combined.
- In a bowl slowly add flour to yeast mixture 1 cup at a time. Use a stand mixer preferably with a dough hook for this. Add more flour, 1/4 c at a time until dough is no longer sticky. Once this is achieved allow dough to sit in the bowl for 10 minutes.
- Lightly flour a cutting board and cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into "snakes" and slice each one into "bites". Make sure all pieces are the same size.
- In a pot bring your 4 c water and baking soda to a boil. Then put 10 pieces at a time into the water and remove after 20 seconds with a slotted spoon.
- Put these pieces on a lined baking sheet with parchment paper on top. Once they're all done sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Preheat air fryer to 390 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Spray air fryer basket with non stick cooking spray and place some in with space in between so they can rise. Cook for 5 minutes or until they're as brown as you'd like. Take out and brush melted butter on the top before serving.
- Air fryer pretzel bites with crescent rolls – Use 1 can and unroll on a cutting board. Rip off one at the perforation and roll into a snake. Fold ends in and down making two loops at the top so it looks like a pretzel. Preheat machine to 330 degrees F for about 5 minutes and then lay inside sprayed basket. Air fry for 5 minutes or until they're browned on top. Serve with any dipping sauces like mustard or cheese.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
You will want to preheat your machine for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F. If you want to add salt sprinkle water on the top and dip so it sticks. Then air fry for 4-6 minutes or until middle is soft. Serve warm with mustard for best results.
Air fryer cinnamon rolls sticky buns are incredible These air fryer breakfast stuffed peppers are low carb, keto friendly and a yummy breakfast too.
I have to let you know I’ve been making this recipe for years now and the pretzel bites are such a hit at any event we host. Thank you for this fantastic recipe and leveling up my bread making.
so glad
The idea of 3 ingredient pretzel bites intrigued me. However after spending 15-20 minutes on the site trying to find that recipe I gave up. Sorry but there is just too much unnecessary “other stuff” that had me scrolling forever so that I didn’t even know I had found the “recipe” until I was so frustrated that I said forget it.
1/3 c of baking soda in the water seemed like a lot. I tasted the baking soda in the pretzels. Could I reduce it? Other than that, awesome!
If you prefer to use less that would be fine
The recipe is great for these bite sized pretzels. Your post however tries to cover too many things at one time. I nearly gave up scrolling to get to the recipe. Just some feedback, not a joy killer.
Did anyone else have trouble with their pot of water and baking soda bubbling over?
just turn it down so it’s a slow rolling boil
These were yummy and fun to make. I decided not to take out the stand mixer and just mixed the dough in a bowl with a Danish dough whisk until I could turn it out on a surface and knead it just a bit adding more flour until it was no longer sticky. They were easy and fun to make. They tasted so good when I took them out of the air fryer that I didn’t bother with brushing them with melted butter (I figured why add extra calories when they already tasted great?). I also turned them over and cooked them on the other side for two more minutes because the bottoms looked white. This recipe is a keeper!! Thanks so much Justine!!
Yay glad it was fun and yummy
Hi! So excited to make these, just got an air fryer! I was wondering if i could 1/2 the recipe?
For sure
NEVER spray your air fryer!!!!!! Doing so will ruin. The non-stock surface spray your food I stead
What a great way to use my air fryer! I can’t get over how good these are.
So yummy
Such a yummy idea! Love these!