These Bavarian pretzels are stuffed with melty mozzarella cheese! They are soft on the inside, and perfectly golden and chewy on the outside. Dip them in honey mustard for an incredible afternoon snack.
These homemade soft pretzels are one of the best afternoon snacks I’ve ever made. They take some time since they are made with yeasted dough, but the actual process is easy and the payoff is 100% worth it. I made a batch of these when my teen was having a bunch of friends over and they devoured all 16 jumbo pretzels in one afternoon. These are the perfect thing to serve on lazy weekends or for movie nights!
Why You’ll Love this Bavarian Pretzels Recipe
What makes these pretzels so good?
- Crisp on the outside. They have golden, perfectly crisp outsides with the ideal amount of chewiness.
- Fluffy on the inside. When you break one of these open, the interior is soft and fluffy!
- Cheesy. Even better, each of these pretzels is stuffed with melty mozzarella cheese.
- Flavorful. Every bite is buttery, perfectly salty, and irresistible cheesy. So good!
- Easy. And guess what? This recipe is easy! The pretzels are made with a simple yeasted dough that is rolled out, stuffed with cheese, and shaped into pretzels before being boiled and baked.
Watch How to Make Soft Pretzels
If you have never made homemade pretzels before it helps to have visuals. So, I made a step-by-step video showing you how to make the best stuffed pretzels ever:
What Are Bavarian Pretzels?
Bavarian pretzels are soft, jumbo pretzels. They are fluffy on the inside, crisp on the outside, and have a slightly chewy, bread-like texture. In professional bakeries they are dipped in a lye solution before baking, but that can be a bit dangerous at home so instead I used a baking-soda solution. This is a much safer way to achieve the signature chewiness and classic pretzel flavor.
How to Make Soft Pretzels Stuffed with Cheese
Here is a quick overview of how to make homemade pretzels. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredients and the full recipe.
Make the pretzel dough:
- Proof the yeast. In a large bowl combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Let it stand for 10 minutes until the mixture begins to foam.
- Make the dough. Add the salt, melted butter and flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until a ball of dough forms. (You can also do this in a stand mixer (affiliate link) fitted with the paddle attachment.)
- Knead. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth ball of dough that springs back when pressed gently with your thumb, about 5-6 minutes.
- Rise. Grease a clean, large bowl with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the dough to the bowl, turning to coat it. Cover with a fuzz-free kitchen towel or plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
Assemble and cook the pretzels.
- Prep cooking liquid. Fill a large pot with water and add the baking soda. Bring to a boil while you assemble your pretzels.
- Preheat oven to 425F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, then set aside.
- Divide the dough. Gently punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half, then divide each of those pieces in half again. Continue dividing each piece in half until you have 16 pieces of dough.
- Prep the dough. Gently roll each piece of dough into a ball. Set aside and cover with a damp paper towel or fuzz-free kitchen towel. This will prevent the dough from drying out while you work.
- Roll out the dough. Use your hands to roll out each ball of dough into a 16-inch rope. Use a rolling pin to roll the rope twice vertically, then a few times side to side (width-wise) so that it is about 4 inches across.
- Fill and shape the pretzels. You will use one stick of string cheese per pretzel. Divide the string cheese into 3-4 pieces, then line the pieces up along the bottom edge of the dough, going down the dough lengthwise.
- Roll the rope up jelly-roll style. Roll lengthwise so that you have a long rolled rope that’s filled with cheese. Gently pinch along the seal to make sure it is closed. Shape into a pretzel shape by making a U shape, then crossing the ends of the rope over each other.
- Cover with a damp towel. As you finish each pretzel, set aside and cover with a wet piece of paper towel or fuzz-free kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out while you finish shaping the rest of the pretzels.
- Cook the pretzels in the boiling baking soda solution Using a slotted metal spoon, place each pretzel into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Only cook one pretzel at a time. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon, letting liquid drip back into the pot, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Add egg wash and salt. With a pastry brush, add the egg wash to each pretzel. Then get a small pinch of kosher salt and sprinkle it on top.
- Bake. Place the pretzels in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until they are golden brown.
- Cool. Let the pretzels cool for 5 minutes before digging in, they will be hot!
Tips for Success
- Don’t rush the rising time. The pretzel dough has a relatively short rising time of about 1 hour. Make sure you give it at least this amount of time to rise so that your pretzels are perfectly fluffy when they are baked.
- The baking soda step is important. It may be tempting to skip the baking soda water bath, but this step is what gives pretzels their classic chewy exterior. Boiling the pretzels is easier than you’d think, so if you’re feeling unsure be sure to watch my video earlier in the post.
- Get creative with the toppings. I added kosher salt to these pretzels but you can also add shredded parmesan cheese or even finely chopped herbs like thyme and rosemary. Experiment with flavors and find your favorite topping combination!
What to Serve with Bavarian Pretzels
One of the best parts about eating jumbo pretzels is dipping them into sauces. Here are some ideas:
- Mustard. Serve them with small bowls of honey mustard or yellow mustard.
- Cheese sauce. Make a simple cheese sauce or, if you have a fondue pot, serve these pretzels with cheese fondue.
- Aioli. I love eating pretzels with a creamy aioli sauce. Trader Joe’s has a aioli garlic mustard sauce that is delicious as a pretzel dip.
- Melted butter. You can also just melt some butter, perhaps adding a few of your favorite herbs for extra flavor. Dip each bite in the herb butter.
In addition to dipping, I also love serving jumbo pretzels with steaming bowls of soup for dinner. They go exceptionally well with this White Bean Soup and this Broccoli Cheddar Soup.
How to Store and Reheat
- Fridge. Because there is cheese inside, these pretzels need to be stored in the fridge. Let them cool completely, then transfer them to an airtight container and store them in your refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To reheat. You can eat these pretzels cold, but they are better warm. We usually warm them in the oven at 350F for about 5 minutes.
More Bready Snacks to Try
PrintMozzarella Stuffed Bavarian Pretzels
This easy Bavarian pretzels recipe makes golden, soft pretzels stuffed with mozzarella cheese! The flavor of these pretzels is out of this world.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Rising Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 pretzels
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 3 cups warm water (between 110–115 degrees F)
- 2 packages active dry yeast (1/2 ounce)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 7 – 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Cooking Liquid:
- 10 cups water
- 1/2 cup baking soda
Filling:
- 16 mozzarella string cheese sticks, or 2 balls of low moisture mozzarella cut very thinly to resemble strings of cheese.
Egg wash:
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
Toppings:
- Kosher salt
Instructions
Make the pretzel dough:
- Proof the yeast. In a large bowl combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Let it stand for 10 minutes until the mixture begins to foam.
- Make the dough. Add the salt, melted butter and flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until a ball of dough forms. (You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.)
- Knead. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth ball of dough that springs back when pressed gently with your thumb, about 5-6 minutes.
- Rise. Grease a clean, large bowl with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the dough to the bowl, turning to coat it. Cover with a fuzz-free kitchen towel or plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in volume.
Assemble and cook the pretzels.
- Prep cooking liquid. Fill a large pot with water and add the baking soda. Bring to a boil while you assemble your pretzels.
- Preheat oven to 425F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper, then set aside.
- Divide the dough. Gently punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half, then divide each of those pieces in half again. Continue dividing each piece in half until you have 16 pieces of dough.
- Prep the dough. Gently roll each piece of dough into a ball. Set aside and cover with a damp paper towel or fuzz-free kitchen towel. This will prevent the dough from drying out while you work.
- Roll out the dough. Use your hands to roll out each ball of dough into a 16 inch rope. Use a rolling pin to roll the rope twice vertically, then a few times side to side (width wise) so that it is about 4 inches across.
- Fill and shape the pretzels. You will use one stick of string cheese per pretzel. Divide the string cheese into 3-4 pieces, then line the pieces up along the bottom edge of the dough, going down the dough length wise.
- Roll the rope up jelly-roll style. You’ll have a long rolled rope that’s filled with cheese. Gently pinch along the seal to make sure to is closed. Shape into a pretzel shape by making a U shape, then crossing the ends of the rope over each other.
- Cover. As you finish each pretzel, set aside and cover with a wet piece of paper towel or fuzz-free kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out while you finish shaping the rest of the pretzels.
- Cook the pretzels in the boiling water. Using a slotted metal spoon, place each pretzel into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Only cook one pretzel at a time. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon, letting liquid drip back into the pot, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Add egg wash and salt. With a pastry brush, add the egg wash to each pretzel. Then get a small pinch of kosher salt and sprinkle it on top.
- Bake. Place the pretzels in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until they are golden brown.
- Cool. Let the pretzels cool for 5 minutes before digging in, they will be hot!
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