Air fryer pretzel dogs are tasty appetizers prepared with a simple homemade pretzel dough wrapped around your favorite brand of hot dogs!
Could there be a a more perfect mix of party foods than pretzels and hot dogs? I don’t think so! These air fryer pretzel dogs are great for parties or family gatherings! Kids love them and the adults will too, plus you can serve them with just about any kind of dipping sauce. They make excellent game day appetizers too if you’re watching the big game! We love dipping these in honey mustard.
These salted pretzel hot dogs are made with a quick and easy homemade pretzel dough that has all the traditional flavor and chewy interior that soft pretzels are known for. The dough is wrapped around the hot dogs and air fried until golden brown.
These are a bit like air fryer pigs in a blanket except we’re using homemade pretzel dough instead of canned crescent dough. It’s a little more work but definitely worth it! You’ll want to serve these pretzel dogs with some other great party food too like air fryer onion rings or maybe some air fryer mozzarella sticks!
Ingredient Notes:
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Pretzel Dough – To prepare the homemade pretzel dough you’ll start with some warm water. You’ll also need sugar, active dry yeast, all purpose flour, butter, and kosher salt. This is a standard yeast dough – nothing too complicated.
Hot Dogs – You can use any brand of hot dog that you like for these but I’d probably avoid jumbo or mini dogs unless you plan on adjusting the amount of pretzel dough being used. Beef hot dogs, pork hot dogs, or any variety or brand is fine! We like Hebrew National.
Pretzel Salt – You could use kosher salt or sea salt for this instead as it is pretty similar, but if you can find pretzel salt it’s usually in a size and shape that works better for pretzels. Everything But The Bagel seasoning is another good choice and if you’re watching your sodium intake a good substitute for all that salt would be sesame seeds!
Baking Soda Bath – The baking soda doesn’t go into the dough but is instead mixed with water for quickly boiling the pretzel dogs prior to air frying. The baking soda bath creates an alkaline solution that will improve the flavor, texture, and appearance of the pretzel dogs. That means more pretzel flavor, perfectly chewy pretzel dough, and a nice deep brown pretzel color!
Egg Wash – A simple mix of egg yolk and water will make an egg wash for brushing the pretzel dogs before air frying. It’ll hold the pretzel salt in place, and help give it more of a deep brown color. You could substitute melted butter for the egg wash if you don’t have any eggs or just prefer to use butter.
We love to serve these air fryer pretzel dogs at parties and gatherings or just as an appetizer, snack, or even just for dinner! They’re even better when you serve them with a dipping sauce. I’ve listed some great choices below for what you can serve with them for dipping!
How to Make Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs:
- Pretzel Dough – Combine water and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it sit for 5 minutes or until it begins to foam. You’ll know when it’s ready! Add the flour, butter, and salt and mix on low speed using a dough hook until the mixture is well combined. If you don’t have a stand mixer you can knead the dough by hand. When the ingredients are well combined increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl. You may need to add extra flour to help it pull from the sides of the bowl. Some days you’ll need quite a bit more flour than others – it depends on the humidity levels. Just add it in a few tablespoons at a time until the dough is pulling away from the bowl.
- Rise – When finished mixing remove the dough to a large bowl that is oiled and cover it with plastic. Let it sit in a warm place for approximately 50 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size! We usually put it in our oven with the light turned on. Perfectly warm spot for dough to rise.
- Shape – Cut the dough into 10 equal chunks and roll them each into a long snake.
- Wrap – Twist one pretzel rope around each of the hot dogs, leaving just a little bit of the hot dog sticking out at the ends. Press the dough together at the ends to hold it in place.
- Quick Boil – You can start preheating your air fryer now. While it warms up add each of the pretzel dogs, one at a time, to the boiling water for 30 seconds. Note: Don’t boil more than can fit in the basket of your air fryer at one time!
- Egg Wash – Remove the boiled pretzel dogs with a slotted spoon to a parchment lined baking sheet. Beat together the egg yolk and water to make an egg wash. Brush the tops of each pretzel dog with the egg wash and then sprinkle on the pretzel salt! The egg should help it stick in place.
- Air Fry – Spritz the air fryer basket with oil spray and arrange the pretzel dogs in one layer with enough space between each for a bit of air flow. The pretzel dogs will take about 6 to 7 minutes to air fry. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes on a cooling rack before serving! Repeat the boiling/air frying for the remaining pretzel dogs while the others are cooling.
Recipe Tips!
Don’t skip the baking soda bath! This is an important step that gives the dough that classic pretzel flavor and texture. Also be sure not to boil more pretzel dogs at once than you can fit into your air fryer basket. Wait to do the boiling just before air frying, and don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket. They’ll need a bit of room for proper air flow.
What to Serve With Pretzel Dogs:
You can’t serve these air fryer pretzel dogs without something to dip them in! And they taste good dipped in just about anything so you’ve got lots of options. Here are a few:
- Cheese Sauce
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Honey Mustard
- Chili Sauce
- Beer Cheese Sauce
- Ranch Dressing
- Marinara Sauce
- Softened Cream Cheese
- Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Brown Mustard Dip
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FAQ:
You can keep any leftover air fryer pretzel dogs stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days. They can be reheated in the microwave or the air fryer!
We prefer all beef hot dogs, but you can really use any hot dog that you like. This recipe was written for a standard sized hot dog and the dough makes enough to wrap 10. If you use jumbo hot dogs, you may not have quite enough dough for 10 pretzel dogs.
It’s the secret to perfect pretzel dough! The alkaline solution will give it that distinctive pretzel flavor with the crackly crispy exterior and chewy interior. It also helps add that golden brown pretzel color to the dough.
Sure! This recipe was designed for the air fryer but you could just as easily bake them. If you’re short on time and don’t have a large air fryer basket this might be a good option to prepare the rest and avoid air frying in batches. I’d bake them at 450 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes.
More Party Food Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water 110 to 115 degrees F
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Pretzel salt or kosher salt to taste
- 10 hot dogs
Instructions
- Combine the warm water and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.
- Add the flour, butter, and salt and mix on low speed using the dough hook until well combined. Increase to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 4 to 5 minutes. You may need to add an additional bit of flour to help the dough come together to clear the bowl. Add additional flour a spoonful at a time until the dough clears the edge of the bowl and then continue kneading.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a deep pot.
- In the meantime, separate the dough into 10 equal pieces. Use your hands to roll and stretch the pieces of dough into ropes, about 12 inches long.
- Wrap one piece of dough around each hot dog, leaving just a bit of the dog peeking out at the ends. Press the ends of the dough together to hold in place.
- Preheat the air fryer to 370 degrees for 5 minutes while you boil the pretzel dogs.
- Place the pretzel dogs, one at a time, into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Only boil as many pretzel dogs as will fit in your air fryer basket at one time.
- Remove them from the water using a slotted spoon. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt.
- Spritz the basket with oil spray and arrange the pretzel dogs in the basket, leaving space between each for air to flow.
- Air fry until dark brown in color, approximately 6-7 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
- Repeat the boiling and air frying process with the remaining pretzel dogs while the first batch is cooling.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
DeAnn says
Sounds great, but I have a quetion– Can I freeze the cooked pretzel dogs after cooking? Or even better, can they be frozen after being boiled? If yes, how would you recommend preparing them after freezing? Thanks!
Appreciate the work you do in providing a wide variety air fryer options
Karly Campbell says
Hi DeAnn! Haven’t tried freezing these myself, but I’d probably undercook them just a bit so they weren’t too browned, cool, and then freeze. Then thaw in the microwave for a minute or two or overnight in the fridge and finish in the air fryer at 350.