Homemade Pretzels and Cheese Sauce

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Warm, soft, chewy, and with that perfect kick of salt, every bite of these homemade pretzels feels like heaven. The only thing better is when you dip it in a scrumptious cheese sauce made from scratch.

Pretzels in dippng sauce

This homemade soft pretzel recipe, made from canned biscuits, beats out store-bought soft pretzels by a mile in my opinion. They’re the perfect chewy yet soft pretzels with that much-needed kick of salt. Every bite truly feels like pretzel heaven. Me and Katy try to reserve them for special occasions when the whole family is here because we can hardly be left alone with them! These are not just a “good substitute” for a soft pretzel in a pinch. After you taste these, you’ll find yourself reaching to make these over anything you could buy. They are that good!

Fortunately, they’re pretty easy to make. Besides the canned biscuits mentioned, the only other ingredients you need to make homemade biscuit pretzels are baking soda, butter, and coarse salt. Then you’ve got the homemade cheese sauce, which is SO good, folks. It’s a creamy and cheesy combination of sharp cheddar cheese, milk, flour, butter, and salt and pepper. One bite and you’ll be going back for more… and more.

Ingredients for homemade pretzels and cheese sauce.

Recipe Ingredients

Homemade Pretzels

  • Can of Pillsbury Grands Southern Homestyle biscuits
  • Baking soda
  • Butter
  • Coarse salt

Homemade Cheese Sauce

  • Freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese (from a block)
  • Milk
  • Flour
  • Butter
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Homemade Pretzels

Forming pretzels from canned biscuit dough.

Now we get to use those kindergarten play-doh skills. Roll each biscuit into a rope, about 12-15 inches long. Then, fold the rope into a pretzel shape, as shown, pinching the overlapping pieces together. 

Place them on baking sheet and freeze.

Place these on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours. You don’t need to cover it, just put it in the freezer like this.

Now, if you don’t want to make these right away, after that 1 to 2-hour freezing time, remove them from the parchment paper, place them in a zipper seal freezer bag, and return them to the freezer until you want to make your pretzels. 

Boil water and baking soda in saucepan.

Bring to a boil about 3 to 4 cups of water in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the baking soda. It will foam up and then go clear again and that is how you know you’re ready.

Popping the pretzels in this baking soda bath before baking is going to help them brown fully without having to cook for very long, which allows the inside texture to be nice and chewy. 

Prepping pretzels for baking

Drop the pretzels, one at a time, into boiling water and let boil for just one minute, no longer. Remove with tongs and put back onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle pretzels with coarse sea salt. 

pretzels ready for the oven

Bake these at 450 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Batch of homemade biscuit pretzels.

Oh my, look at those beauties! 

How To Make Cheese Sauce from Scratch

Making the cheese sauce.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Stir in flour and cook for about a minute, stirring the entire time. Whisk in milk, salt, and pepper, and stir constantly until thickened (about 3-5 minutes or so).

Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted. If it’s too thick for your liking, you can stir in more milk to thin it a bit. 

Biscuit pretzels and cheese sauce.

Serve pretzels warm with homemade cheese sauce. 

Dipping homemade pretzel in cheese sauce.

Oh goodness, gracious! 

Biscuit Pretzels broken in half

All the soft chewy warmth of a pretzel made easy! Yum! 

Biscuit Pretzels

Enjoy this fun and easy treat! 

Storage

  • Store leftover pretzels, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 3 days. To reheat, I recommend popping them in the air fryer for a few minutes.
  • You can freeze either unbaked or baked pretzels for up to 3 months. Thaw before following the directions from the baking soda bath if unbaked or reheat as above if already baked.
  • As for the cheese sauce, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat either in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Recipe Notes

  • You want to buy this cheese in a block and shred it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in cellulose, which prevents it from sticking together but also prevents it from being as smooth as it could be in a sauce. It will certainly work if you want to use what you have on hand, but shredded from a block is the ideal. 
  • Want to make a spicy nacho cheese sauce instead? Go ahead and add 2 tablespoons of hot sauce and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper when you stir in the other ingredients. You can add or subtract these ingredients depending on how much heat you like.
  • Instead of melted butter, you can brush each homemade soft pretzel with an egg wash consisting of one or two beaten eggs. I prefer the buttery flavor though (it’s how Auntie Annie’s does it).
  • Make soft pretzel bites by cutting the biscuit dough into small pieces rather than twisting it into pretzels.
  • Instead of cheese sauce, serve your pretzels with mustard, ketchup, or buffalo chicken dip.
  • To make cinnamon sugar pretzels, substitute the salt for a cinnamon sugar mixture (simply mix together cinnamon and either brown sugar or white sugar in a small bowl).
  • You can also enhance the cheese flavor (because there’s no such thing as too much cheese), and sprinkle some extra shredded cheese or parmesan cheese on top before baking.

You may also like these recipes:

Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Festive Snowman Pretzels

How To Make Homemade Doughnuts

Broccoli with Homemade Cheese Sauce

Pimiento Cheese Dip Good N Gooey

Biscuit Pretzels

Homemade Pretzels from Canned Biscuits

Warm, soft, chewy, and with a hint of salt, these homemade pretzels with a scrumptious cheese sauce made from scratch make the perfect snack.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pretzel
Servings: 4
Calories: 110kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 8 count can Pillsbury Grands Southern Homestyle Biscuits
  • 3-4 cups water
  • 3-4 tablespoons baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 tablespoon coarse salt

Instructions

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Roll each biscuit into a 12 to 15-inch rope. Twist into a pretzel shape, as demonstrated in photos. Arrange on the baking sheet and then place the uncovered baking sheet in the freezer for 1-2 hours.
    1 8 count can Pillsbury Grands Southern Homestyle Biscuits
  • Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in baking soda. Place pretzels, a few at a time, in the boiling water and boil for one minute. Remove and return to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with each remaining pretzel until all are done.
    3-4 cups water, 3-4 tablespoons baking soda
  • Brush pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle pretzels with kosher salt. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!
    2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 tablespoon coarse salt

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

Homemade pretzels with cheese sauce.

Homemade Cheese Sauce

With our homemade pretzels made from canned biscuits, this creamy cheese sauce is the perfect snack.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: sauce
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cheese, sauce
Servings: 4
Calories: 110kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese freshly shredded from a block
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Melt the butter in a small saucepot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about one minute. Slowly whisk in the milk, salt, and pepper, and cook until thickened, stirring often, for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese until smooth.
    1 cup whole milk, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper to taste, 1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • If the sauce is too thick, add a little extra milk. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

Do more things that make you forget to check your phone.
Biscuit Pretzels pin image.

This post was featured on Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck!

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45 Comments

  1. I really want to make these but have to ask if they can be re-heated or frozen as I live alone and eight pretzels would not work all at once for me.

  2. Love your photos from your little trip to the beach. Also these pretzels and cheese sauce looks amazing. Think I’m gonna have to make some soon.

  3. Looks yummy!! Since I like mustard on my soft pretzels, I do believe I will be adding some mustard to that nice cheese sauce!

  4. Love your recipes and the site. However I frequently find that they are missing information on the quantity of servings that the recipe will make. This makes quite the conundrum when trying to plan for families or parties/gatherings. Please in the future if you could add serving quantity that would be so awesome.

  5. Oh! You are a pretzel lovin’ girl after my own heart! Can’t wait to make these this weekend. Supposed to snow up here. And, great minds think alike, because the day after Christmas my husband and I left for a beach trip too! Came up very last minute. I fretted about taking down Christmas decorations, wouldn’t be home for garbage pickup, etc. Decided all that could wait. Very unlike me! And off we went. Took two days to drive from Illinois to Florida, but totally worth it. You look great by the way!! What’s your secret??? 🙂

  6. Those look so good! I love soft pretzels and the place that sold them here in the mall closed not too long ago, so I may still be able to get my “fix”! 🙂

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