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The 25 Most Popular Recipes of 2018.
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Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Soft Pretzels, simply the best. Homemade soft pretzel dough, stuffed with a cheesy spinach and artichoke dip, and shaped into a pretzel. Baked until the pretzel is golden and the dip inside has melted and turned ooey, gooey, and all kinds of perfect. These pretzels are such a hit. Try serving them up as a fun appetizer for your next party.
Stopping in today to share a great New Year’s Ever appetizer with you guys. This is actually a recipe that I originally shared years and years ago. But it’s one I still love to make so I thought I’d bring it back from the archives and show it some love. I’ve updated it just a bit, to make it easier, and taken a fresh set of photos. I certainly wasn’t complaining about making these again. They’re truly one of my favorite recipes I’ve created. These pretzels are beyond good, and they’ll make the best New Years Eve appetizer. I certainly wasn’t complaining about making these again!
If you can make pizza dough, you can make these. They’re easier than you might think. And while they do take a little time to prepare, they’re actually pretty fun to make. Trust me, the results are worth all the effort.
The dough is a classic pretzel dough and very quick to make. While the dough rises you can make the spinach and artichoke dip, which is a simple mix of cheese, garlic, herbs, spinach, and marinated artichokes. Totally optional, but I like to add a good pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to give the dip a nice hit of spicy flavor.
When the dough is ready, just divide it into 8 equal balls and roll them out into rectangles. Fill the middle with some of the spinach and artichoke dip and roll them up into a long rope, sealing the dough at the seams.
Don’t worry if there are a few holes, or if your pretzels don’t look like the perfect pretzels. I promise, no matter what they look like, they’re going to taste good. They’ll look good in their own way, because they’re pretty no matter what.
Once you have the pretzels shaped, it’s time to boil and bake. Each pretzel is dropped into a little boiling water. Boiling the pretzels in water before baking gives the pretzels their signature chewy crust and their unique “pretzel” flavor. You’ll only be boiling the pretzels for a few seconds, then remove them from the water, brush with an egg wash, and generously sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake and DONE. You’ll have a salty soft pretzel that comes out with cheesy spinach and artichoke dip bursting from the seams.
Delicious.
Some notes…
These are going to be giant, so handle them carefully when dropping them into the water and taking them out. You do not want to tear the pretzel before it’s baked. But there will most likely be holes and they are going to ooze a little. It’s not a bad thing, it’s a good thing. Sometimes the imperfections just work, so go with it.
These are best warm right out of the oven when the dip is hot and melty. If you’d like to prepare them ahead of time, just make and assemble the pretzels, fill with dip, shape them, and place them on a baking sheet. At this point, you should keep the un-baked pretzels in the fridge. When ready to serve, just boil and bake as directed.
I’m looking forward to making these as a New Year’s Eve appetizer. It’s tradition that we do Mexican on New Years, so I’ll be serving up some tacos and margaritas as well. Can’t wait!
What are your New Year’s Plans?
If you make these soft pretzels, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Soft Pretzels.
Servings: 8 Giant Pretzels
Calories Per Serving: 518 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Soft Beer Pretzels
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup wheat beer, at room temperature
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cups baking soda (for boiling the pretzels)
- 1 egg, beaten
- Coarse sea salt
Spinach and Artichoke Dip Filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry of excess water
- 1 (6.7 ounce) jar marinated artichokes, chopped
Instructions
- 1. Combine the water, brown sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.2. Add the beer, melted butter, salt, and flour to the mixture and mix on low-speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands. Coat a large bowl with oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size. This will take about 1 hour.3. Meanwhile, make the dip. In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, garlic, and a pinch of crushed red pepper and salt. Stir in the spinach and artichokes. 4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.5. Divide the pretzel dough into 8 equal balls and roll each out into a rectangle (about 11x3 inches). Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons spinach and artichoke dip along the length of each piece. Starting with the opposite side, roll the dough up into a log, enclosing the toppings inside. Pinch the seams together and then very gently roll the dough with your hands to form an even cylinder and fully enclose the filling (see above photos).6. To shape into pretzels, take the right side and cross over to the left. Cross right to left again and flip up. Slowly add the baking soda to the boiling water. Boil the pretzels in the water, 2 at a time for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with the warmed water using a spoon. Remove with a large flat slotted spatula or a spider. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper placing 4 pretzels on each. Brush the tops with the beaten egg wash and season liberally with sea salt. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown.7. Remove pretzels from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy! If needed, the pretzels can be reheated in a 350 degrees F. for 15 minutes.
What is the beer used for and what can I use as a substitute?
Hey Jenny,
I like to use a light beer, you can sub sparkling cider for the beer. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
IS there anything else I can use instead of beer?
Hi Shruti,
Sparkling cider would work well in place of beer. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi there! I really want to make these but I don’t have beer on hand. Can I sub the beer for something else?
Hi Dakota,
I would recommend using sparkling apple cider. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Delicious!!!!These we easy to make! They were a huge hit with the hubby and kiddos! Wish i could post my picture!
Me too! Hopefully soon I will have that feature haha. Thank you so much Ria! xTieghan
divine!! Was a blast to make and tasted unreal! Softest dough I’ve ever felt and really had that nice pretzel finish at the end!
I am really glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for trying this! xTieghan
Hi! These look amazing, but I can’t find activated yeast anywhere. Is it possible to still make the dough or should I just look for pizza dough? Thanks!
Hi Morgan,
I would recommend using either active or instant yeast for this recipe! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this recipe vegan (olive oil instead of butter and egg wash) and it was amazing. It turned out great!
Hi Jodi! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Those are perfect!
Thank you so much Audrey! xTieghan
These are amazing. We love them. The only problem I had was they stuck to the parchment paper, even though I sprayed the paper with Pam. The next time I make these, I plan on spraying the parchment right after I boil the pretzels. This time, I sprayed first and they stuck firmly to the paper. I had to peel the paper off of the back. Outside of this, they are wonderful. Do you have any suggestions for this?
Thanks so much for this delicious recipe.
Hi Tom! I am so glad these turned out so well for you! What kind of parchment paper are you using, if you don’t mind me asking? I would love to help! xTieghan
These look amazing. I’m planning to make for a party and wanted to know if I can make the night before?
Thank you
Hey Julia! Yes, you can make the night before. Just warm gently before serving. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Made these for a Superbowl Party and they were a big hit. As soon as they came out of the oven people were all over them. Mine weren’t as pretty as yours but they were delicious. Will make these again!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Thank you so much Liz! I am so glad these turned out so well for you! xTiegahan
These were delicious, a hit at the Super Bowl party. I thought this recipe was super simple. I made the filling in the blender- worked great and no chopping! The dough is easily one of the easiest doughs to handle I have ever made. Will definitely make these again. Thanks!!
Thank you Meghan! I am really glad these turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Made these for the Super Bowl and they are sooo good!! They take some time to assemble but are so worth it.
I am so glad these turned out so well for you Kristen! Thank you! xTieghan
Took to a party and they were all the rave. I did try to double the recipe but the dough turned out too crumbly to use. I knew that wasn’t right so opted to start again to make the original recipe two times which is what I would recommend if needing to make more than the original recipe. But absolutely delicious!
Hi! That is so amazing! Thank you for trying these! xTieghan
What a great recipe! The dough is very forgiving and, thanks to the photographs accompanying the recipe, they were easy to shape and stuff. I am not sure mine looked very pretzel like, but they did look like your photos. AND they were delicious! I do have two comments: #1 The prep time is not 30 minutes. The dough needs to be mixed together and then it needs to rise for 1 hour in order to double in size. I would say the entire recipe takes about 2 1/2 hours. #2 As the recipe stated, I brought the water to boil and then added the baking soda. WHOA! It completely foamed up and boiled over! What a mess! Round 2, i added the baking soda to the water and THEN i brought it a boil. A little bit better, but you have to watch that the pot doesn’t foam too much and boil over. I lowered the pretzel using a spider into the water one by one and that worked well. I will make it again!
Thank you Brigid!! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe so much! xTieghan
These were delicious!!!!!!! Made for family and everyone raved!
I’m curious if you have used this dough recipe for other things?
Excited to make again!!
Charlotte
Hey Charlotte,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! I haven’t, but you could! xTieghan