These pretzel dogs are easy to make for the perfect tasty snack or lunch – hot dogs wrapped in buttery, soft pretzel dough and sprinkled with coarse salt!
Who loves soft pretzels? They just might be one of my favourite snacks ever. Yes, I love my carbs.
It’s actually probably a good thing that we don’t have Auntie Anne’s pretzel shops here in Canada because I would probably have to get one every time I passed. They’re so good.
Fortunately (unfortunately?) I can make them at home. And the homemade ones are pretty similar.
Soft, chewy, salty, buttery pretzels. Doesn’t get much better then that as far as snacks go.
Unless you wrap that pretzel dough around a hot dog and call it dinner. That might be better.
I had some very happy kids when they found out they got to have pretzel dogs for dinner. Don’t worry, I made them eat some salad with it. It wasn’t just junk food for dinner.
Totally worth it. These pretzel dogs were fantastic. And that’s coming from someone that doesn’t even love hot dogs.
Soft pretzels though – I love those. So I am definitely on board with these pretzel dogs!
How do you get salt to stick to pretzels?
After wrapping the pretzel dough around the hot dogs, you boil them for 30 seconds in a baking soda solution. This gives them the “pretzel” taste that commercial pretzels get from lye.
When you take them out of the boiling water, you place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle them with salt immediately. The salt will stick to the dough since it’s damp, and bakes into the pretzel in the oven.
Are pretzels made with milk?
There’s no milk in soft pretzels, but there is some butter in this recipe. If you need them to be dairy free, you could use hard margarine as a substitute for the butter.
What salt do you use for pretzels?
Any coarse salt is fine. I typically use kosher salt, just because I always have it on hand. But sea salt, bagel salt, or any other coarse salt will work.
How to make Pretzel Dogs:
- Any hot dogs will work for these so use the kind you like. The only difference is how many you will get from the recipe depending on the size of your hot dogs. I’ve found it makes about 10 pretzel dogs when you use regular sized hot dogs, and about 6 if you use the extra long or Costco sized hot dogs.
- If you don’t love working with yeast dough, this recipe is a great one to start with. Soft pretzel dough is very easy to make, and very easy to work with. I always mix this dough in my stand mixer because it’s fast and easy, but you can knead it by hand as well if you don’t have one. You will just need to knead it for about double the time if doing so by hand.
- Use spray oil to coat your working surface and your hands before shaping the dough to prevent it from sticking.
- These pretzel dogs can be reheated in the oven at 350F for about 10 minutes. Cover them with aluminum foil if you don’t want them to brown any more.
Here are some more great snacks for you:
- Greek 7 Layer Dip
- Crispy Oven Baked Wings
- Easy Focaccia with Strawberries and Feta
- Taco Pizza Rolls
- Baked Broccoli Cheese Dip
Pretzel Dogs
These pretzel dogs are easy to make for the perfect tasty snack or lunch - hot dogs wrapped in buttery, soft pretzel dough and sprinkled with coarse salt! Just don't forget the ketchup and mustard.
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Instant Yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Very Warm Water
For the Hot Dogs:
- 10 Hot Dogs, (or 6 extra-long ones)
- 10 cups Water, (for boiling)
- 2/3 cup Baking Soda
- 2 tablespoons Butter, melted
- Kosher Salt, or Coarse Salt (for topping)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, or in a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, salt, 1 tablespoon of melted butter, brown sugar and 1 cup of very warm water.
- Once the ingredients are combined, knead for 5-6 minutes by machine, or 10-12 by hand.
- The dough should clear the sides and bottom of the bowl and be very soft and smooth, but not overly sticky. If it’s too sticky add a bit more flour, a tablespoon at a time, if it’s really dry and not tacky at all, add a little more water a tablespoon at a time.
- Move the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and let rest for 30-60 minutes, the bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap, until it has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine 10 cups of water with 2/3 cup of baking soda in a large pot, and bring it to a boil.
- Meanwhile, punch down the dough, and divide it into 10 equal pieces. Let the pieces rest for 5 minutes, uncovered.
- Roll each piece out into a long rope, about 3x the length of the hot dogs.
- Wrap each piece around a hot dog, leaving the ends of the hot dog uncovered.
- Tuck in the ends of the dough and pinch the seam to seal it and keep it from unraveling.
- Boil the wrapped hot dogs, two at a time, for 30 seconds. Place the boiled pretzel dogs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Brush the pretzel dogs with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse or kosher salt.
- Bake them for 12-13 minutes, until they are a deep golden brown.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1 pretzel dogAmount Per Serving: Calories: 304Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 4717mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 9g
Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.
I’ve also shared this Pretzel Dogs Recipe over on Food Fanatic.
Anna
Tuesday 12th of July 2022
I just made 2 batches of this tonite and this weekend I am going to make them to keep in the freezer for snacks for my kids and grandkids when they come over. My husband at 3 of them and son. I used Johnson brats and was able to get 8 dogs out of them. I am a bread maker and this was a very easy dough to make and I am going to use it to make pretzels and pretzel buns too. Thank you for posting.
Sunny
Monday 3rd of August 2020
Can you pre make the dough and store it for the next day?
Stacey
Tuesday 4th of August 2020
Yes you can. Just put it in a tightly covered, oiled bowl, immediately after kneading it and place it in the fridge overnight. Pull it out the next day and let it sit at room temperature for about 2 hours so it warms up before uncovering it and shaping the pretzel dogs.
Sarah
Friday 19th of June 2020
Ever freeze or reheat these?
Stacey
Monday 22nd of June 2020
I have frozen them, they freeze well in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 3 months. To reheat just put them in the oven at 350F for about 10 minutes. If they're frozen you will probably want to defrost them before reheating, or wrap them in foil to reheat in the oven from frozen as it will take a little longer to reheat them from frozen, probably 20-30 minutes.
Lisa
Tuesday 16th of June 2020
These are in my oven now. Thanks for the great recipe. It's like going to Auntie Anne's, but even better because it is at home! :)
Susan
Friday 16th of August 2019
Sounds easy. Gonna have to try.