Cheesy Soft Pretzels

These Cheesy Soft Pretzels are stuffed with melty cheese for the ultimate gameday snack. These warm, golden brown pretzels are absolutely irresistible!

This Cheesy Soft Pretzels post is sponsored by Cabot Creamery, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!

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As we head into fall, it’s time to embrace all of our favorite cozy things. Grab that hoodie from the closet. Get the firepit ready – and make sure to have s’mores ingredients on hand. Turn that football game on tv. Invite friends over and serve up fun gameday food. And that brings us to these Cheesy Soft Pretzels. Whether you’re hosting a tailgating party or celebrating Oktoberfest, these pretzels are a guaranteed winner!

Imagine a chewy, warm soft pretzel. It’s golden brown and slightly crispy on the outside. It’s soft and fluffy on the inside. It’s brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with salt. There is a reason this classic appetizer is a favorite stadium food. This recipe takes that favorite…and makes it better!

Cheesy Soft Pretzels

Imagine that same soft pretzel…but stuffed with delicious melty cheese. Your team might not win the game, but you will definitely win the appetizer table with these pretzels! I’ve had this idea for a while, but I decided to wait until fall to give it a try. Fall is arriving here in the North Carolina mountains, and that means it’s time for fall baking. Let’s take a look at this recipe.

We’ve been making homemade soft pretzels for years. They are surprisingly easy to make, and they’re always a crowd favorite. But this time, we’re taking our game to the next level. We’re adding shredded cheese inside the pretzels. The taste is incredible.

When it comes to cheese, I opted for Cabot’s Pepper Jack Cheese. We love Cabot cheese around our house – the flavor is unmatched! Whether it’s for cooking or just snacking, there are always several bars of Cabot cheese in our fridge. Cabot’s Pepper Jack is award-winning – it earned a 1st place medal at the most recent World Championship Cheese Contest! And now that championship cheese is going inside of soft pretzels.

Ingredients

• All-purpose Flour. Remember to use the scoop-and-level method to measure your flour. Scoop the flour and shake it into your measuring cup. Then use a straight edge (like the back of a table knife) to level the top of the measuring cup.
• Instant Dry Yeast. Yes, this is a yeasted dough…but don’t let that scare you!
• Salt. Salt not only adds flavor, but it also plays an important role in the development of gluten in the dough.
• Sugar. Sugar helps activate the yeast which in turn helps the dough rise.

• Cabot Pepper Jack Cheese. Cabot’s Pepper Jack is a tasty cheese that melts extremely well. It has a mild spicy kick to it. If you want to avoid the heat, just use Cabot’s Monterey Jack Cheese instead. It’s the milder, more reserved cousin to Pepper Jack, but it still brings the ultimate meltability!
• Baking Soda. One of the keys to making soft pretzels is boiling the pretzels for 30 seconds in a baking soda bath. This step pre-cooks the exterior of the pretzel which then leads to the chewy texture that we associate with soft pretzels. Since the pretzels only get boiled for 30 seconds, the insides stay light and fluffy.
• Pretzel Salt. Last but not least is pretzel salt. Pretzel salt is not the same as regular salt. It’s not the same as kosher salt, either. Pretzel salt is a coarse-grained salt that is designed not to dissolve during baking.

Making these Cheesy Soft Pretzels is not difficult at all. If you’ve ever made breadsticks at home, then the process will be familiar. The most important part is making sure you seal the edges of the dough together once you stuff the dough with cheese. If you don’t seal up the soft pretzel dough, the cheese will try to escape while it’s in the oven. We don’t want runaway cheese!

How to Store Leftovers

Leftover pretzels should be allowed to cool fully before being stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, either microwave or pop ’em back in the oven for a few minutes. (I personally prefer the oven as it gives the exterior a better texture.) While these pretzels can be frozen, I recommend making them fresh instead. Invite a couple friends over, and leftovers won’t be a problem at all!

If you’re looking for a show-stopping gameday appetizer, then grab some Cabot Pepper Jack cheese and put these Cheesy Soft Pretzels on the menu. They’re the perfect snack to serve on a cool fall day. I hope you enjoy these pretzels as much as we do here – Cheers!

Did you make this Cheesy Soft Pretzels recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me (@Spicedblog) and Cabot (@CabotCreamery) on Instagram – we’d love to see your version!

Cheesy Soft Pretzels

These Cheesy Soft Pretzels are stuffed with melty cheese for the ultimate gameday snack. These warm, golden brown pretzels are absolutely irresistible!

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours

Servings: 8 large pretzels

Calories: 424kcal

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Ingredients

For the Pretzels

• ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2¼ tsp instant dry yeast i.e. 1 (¼ -oz.) packet
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1½ cups warm water
• 8 oz. Cabot Pepper Jack Cheese shredded, can substitute Cabot Monterey Jack Cheese

For the Baking Soda Bath

• 10 cups water
• ½ cup baking soda

For the Topping

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
• pretzel salt
• {optional} marinara sauce for dipping

Instructions

For the Pretzels

• Using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add melted butter, flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and warm water.
• Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes. (Note: Dough will be very soft.)
• Transfer dough into an oiled bowl, cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, or until it approximately doubles in size.
• Working on a lightly-floured work surface, divide dough into 8 equal pieces.
• Roll/stretch each piece of dough into an 18” long rope.
• Working with one piece of dough at a time, flatten dough slightly and then sprinkle shredded cheese down center. Fold edges over cheese and re-roll into a rope. Repeat process with remaining pieces of dough and remaining shredded cheese. (Note: Make sure the seams and edges are well sealed to prevent cheese from escaping while these pretzels bake.)
• Twist each rope into a pretzel (see picture in post as a guide).
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray generously with nonstick cooking spray. Set pans aside.

For the Baking Soda Bath

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Using a large saucepan or stockpot, add water and baking soda. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Once boiling, add 1-2 shaped pretzels at a time and boil for 30 seconds.
• Remove pretzels and place on prepared baking sheets. (Tip: A slotted spoon works great here!)
• Sprinkle tops of pretzels with pretzel salt.

For the Topping

• Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until tops of pretzels are a golden-brown color.
• Remove pretzels from oven and brush tops with melted butter.
• Let pretzels cool slightly on a wire rack.
• {Optional} Serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Looking for more cheesy gameday snacks? Check out these other favorites, too: