Smoked Ranch Pretzels

Fire up the smoker! These Smoked Ranch Pretzels are a unique and delicious snack. They go great with friends and cold beers!

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Fire up the smoker!  These Smoked Ranch Pretzels are a unique and delicious snack.  They go great with friends and cold beers!

“They taste kinda like meat and kinda like ranch pretzels. They’re weird. And I want another one.” That pretty much sums up this recipe for Smoked Ranch Pretzels. My wife came home and found the bowl of these pretzels sitting on the kitchen counter. One bite led to another…and another. These pretzels are indeed strange, but they’re oddly addicting!

The idea for this recipe came last winter when I was making a batch of ranch pretzels for a cocktail party. We love those seasoned pretzels, and we make a batch or two every holiday season. Those pretzels bake in a low temperature oven for about an hour or so. The result is a deliciously seasoned pretzel – they go great with cold beers and friends!

Fire up the smoker! These Smoked Ranch Pretzels are a unique and delicious snack. They go great with friends and cold beers!

As I was making that recipe, I got to thinking. Since the pretzels bake at a low temperature, they are well-suited for the smoker. Once the summer rolled around, I had to try this idea out!

Smoked Ranch Pretzels

To make these Smoked Ranch Pretzels, you’re going to need a smoker or grill. The key here is indirect heat. If you put these pretzels over direct heat, they’re going to burn almost immediately. (Check out the recipe notes below for how to create indirect heat in a gas or charcoal grill.)

Fire up the smoker! These Smoked Ranch Pretzels are a unique and delicious snack. They go great with friends and cold beers!

For this batch, I used chunks of mesquite wood. Mesquite is one of the stronger flavors when it comes to smoking woods, and I thought I wanted a big punch of smoked flavor. Well, that smoked flavor was certainly there…perhaps too much. Next time I make a batch of these pretzels, I plan on using a lighter flavored wood – fruit woods like apple or cherry would be the best options.

I love pulling out the smoker for all sorts of fun recipes – and these Smoked Ranch Pretzels definitely land in that category. The smoky flavor is unique and unexpected…but at the same time it’s also rather tasty. Like their oven-baked cousins, these smoked pretzels also go well with cold beers and friends!

Fire up the smoker! These Smoked Ranch Pretzels are a unique and delicious snack. They go great with friends and cold beers!

How to Store Leftover Smoked Pretzels

I found that one 16-oz. bag of pretzels fits quite well in a deep aluminum foil pan. Depending on the size of your grill or smoker, you could certainly make a double batch of these pretzels using two foil pans. Leftovers should be stored in an air tight container at room temperature. They’ll last 5-6 days. I would not recommend freezing the leftovers.

If you’re looking for a fun excuse to fire up the smoker, then put this recipe on the list. These pretzels make for a great backyard snack on a warm summer day! These would also make a great game day appetizer. Happy smoking!

Fire up the smoker! These Smoked Ranch Pretzels are a unique and delicious snack. They go great with friends and cold beers!

Did you make a batch of these Smoked Ranch Pretzels? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Fire up the smoker! These Smoked Ranch Pretzels are a unique and delicious snack. They go great with friends and cold beers!

Smoked Ranch Pretzels

Fire up the smoker! These Smoked Ranch Pretzels are a unique and delicious snack. They go great with friends and cold beers!
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 172kcal

Ingredients

  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ oz. ranch dressing mix (dry) Ranch seasoning mix usually comes in 1-oz. packets. Just use ½ of a packet for this recipe.
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 16 oz. thin pretzels

Instructions

  • Preheat smoker to 225°F with indirect heat. (See note.)
  • Add several chunks of hardwood – I recommend a lighter flavored wood like apple or pecan.
  • Place pretzels in a large aluminum pan. (Tip: I used a deep, disposable aluminum pan – it worked great!)
  • Using a small mixing bowl, add the vegetable oil, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder and cayenne pepper; stir until well combined.
  • Pour oil mixture evenly over pretzels. Using a spatula, gently toss pretzels several times until well-coated.
  • Place pan in smoker for 60 minutes, using a spatula to flip pretzels every 20 minutes.
  • Allow pretzels to cool before storing in an airtight container.

Notes

Indirect cooking on a grill is the opposite of cooking over direct flame. Most ceramic grill/smokers have inserts for indirect grilling. If you have a gas grill, you can set it up for indirect grilling by turning the two outside burners on medium or medium-low. Then just leave the middle burner(s) off. This method is called “M-O-M,” or medium-off-medium. You will smoke the pretzels over the middle (off) portion of the grill. For charcoal grills, simply pile equal amounts of charcoal on either side of the grill but leave the center portion without any charcoal. You will smoke the pretzels over the middle (no charcoal) portion of the grill.
Fire up the smoker! These Smoked Ranch Pretzels are a unique and delicious snack. They go great with friends and cold beers!

Looking for more fun smoker recipes? Check out some of these other favorites, too:

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12 Comments

  1. Cant wait to make this soon for me cant wait to try this in my air fryer at home as i dont have smoker at home i never had smoked ranch pretzels before perfect for my after office snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work

    1. I haven’t tried this recipe in an air fryer, Ramya, but I say give it a try! You won’t end up with the smoked flavor from the grill, but the pretzels themselves will still be mighty tasty. Cheers!

  2. Howdy David, you have inspired me with this recipe. I’m firing up my Bradley on Saturday to smoke up some wild boar a friend gifted me so I’ll give this a try at the same time.
    My only issue is the pretzel. We don’t see the shape you use in your images, but instead only have the stick ones. Do you think they would work?

    1. Oh! Smoked wild boar!? Now you’ve gotten my interest. Wild boars have become a real problem down in Texas, and my uncle kills them whenever he can. (He has a piece of land where he goes deer hunting, and the boars have been wreaking havoc on the land there.) If only I was closer, I could get a boar from him. I digress…

      I do think the stick version would work here – I can’t see why that would actually change anything. I’m guessing you might have a hard time finding dry ranch dressing mix though? Just be careful and don’t leave the pretzels on the smoker too long…they’ll end up tasting like smoked wild boar. Haha.

      1. 5 stars
        Well, the wild boar turned out great, but the stick pretzels were not so great. I think they are too thin, as they became very dry but tasty. I’ve now found a store (Lidl) nearby that’s supposed to sell german pretzels, so I’m game to give it another try. Oh, and dry ranch dressing is readily available here.

        1. Oh no! That makes me sad to hear about the dried out pretzels. I wonder what caused that? Maybe just the fact that they are smaller than the traditional twists? I wonder if the pretzel : vegetable oil ratio is a bit off since the pretzels are a different size? Either way, I’ll trade you some smoked pretzels for some smoked wild boar!! 🙂

  3. Those are some interesting pretzels. I could put ranch on just about anything, and a pretzel would be toward the top of the list. I can only imagine what that’d be like if you added a smokiness to it. Very cool.

    1. This was indeed a fun recipe to make, Jeff. Will I make it again? Probably. But not every year. There are just too many good football snacks out there. The smoky ranchy (not raunchy) flavor of these pretzels was pretty tasty though!

    1. This was indeed a fun (and different!) snack, Michelle. The smoky flavor was odd at first bite, but then I found myself reaching for another pretzel…and then another…and then…you get the point. 🙂

    1. Interesting! I didn’t realize ranch isn’t as popular down in Australia. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of powdered aioli mix – so this might be hard to replicate. 🙂

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