Jalapeno Popper Pretzel Bombs + Video
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Jalapeno Popper Pretzel Bombs are the ULTIMATE game day food! This easy snack recipe makes scrumptious, ooey-gooey jalapeno cream cheese stuffed soft pretzels. Fantastic for tailgating, too!
Jalapeno Popper Pretzel Bombs
These soft, cream cheese pretzel poppers are stuffed with loads of ooey gooey cheese, crispy bacon and spicy jalapenos.
This scrumptious snack is like nothing you have ever eaten before. I think they taste like jalapeno poppers buried inside of soft, warm pretzel bread. TOTAL comfort food!
On game day, girls night, or a laid back night with the family, this is the party appetizer that everyone will devour!
RECIPE VIDEO
Watch the video below to see how easy it is to make these stuffed bread appetizers!
Tips and Tricks
- To warm the beer, pour it into a glass microwave-safe measuring cup, Microwave on high power for 15 seconds at a time, or until it reaches 110-115 degrees F.
- You can substitute milk or water for the beer.
- SHORTCUT: You can use 36 frozen dinner rolls (I use Rhodes) in place of making the dough from scratch.
Kitchen Tools You Will Need:
- Stand Mixer– If you have a stand mixer, it will be much easier for you to make the bread dough. If you don’t have a stand mixer, it’s okay. Here are instructions for making bread without a stand mixer.
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How to Make Soft Pretzel Bombs Without a Stand Mixer
You can mix the bread dough by hand if you do not have a stand mixer. It isn’t difficult to do, just more time consuming.
- Add warm beer (or water), yeast and sugar to a large bowl. When the yeast blooms, you will notice little bubbles forming on the top.
- When the yeast blooms, stir in the salt and the flour, and use a spoon to stir them with a wooden spoon to combine.
- Turn the pretzel bread dough out onto floured counter top and knead for 3-5 minutes, or until the dough is no longer sticky. Then, proceed with the instructions as shown in the recipe card below.
Enjoy!
With love from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Other Stuffed Bread Appetizers
Jalapeno Popper Pretzel Bombs + Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 12 ounces warm beer, 110°-120°F, I use Blue Moon (See Notes)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 packet
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 12 ounces bacon, cooked and chopped into bite size pieces
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces shredded Mexican cheese blend, or cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces pickled jalapeños
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt , plus more for pretzel tops
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.Sprinkle clean counter top with ¼ cup flour. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Whisk egg in a small bowl and set aside.
- Warm the beer (See Notes), then add to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. *See notes if you do not have a stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast over top of beer, add sugar and stir to combine. Allow yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes. *When yeast has bloomed, the mixture should smell yeasty and look like the 'head' of a beer poured too quickly.
- While you wait, add cheeses, bacon and jalapeños to a medium-size mixing bowl, then stir to combine. *May need to use a wooden spoon to get it well mixed.
- Add flour and salt to stand mixer bowl. Knead on medium-low speed for 3- 5 minutes, until the dough comes together in one ball. If bread is too sticky to come together, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time as needed,. *Dough should be tacky when you pull it out of the mixer, but not sticky.
- Place dough on floured counter top and knead in flour for a minute or two, until dough is no longer tacky.Form dough into a ball. The ball will be cut into 36 somewhat even pieces. First, cut the ball of dough into fourths. *I use a bench scraper, but a butter knife works too. Roll each piece into a fat log shape, then cut each log into 3 even pieces. Roll each of those pieces into a log shape and cut those into 3 pieces each. When you are done, you should have 36 pieces.
- Fill 4-cup glass measuring cup with 2 cups of hot water; add baking soda and stir to combine. Place baking sheet, baking soda water and cheese mixture on the counter that you are working on.
- Working with one at a time, roll each dough piece into a ball and then flatten it into a circle. Add 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture in the center. *I use a tablespoon scooper. Carefully pull sides of dough up and over the cheese to create a package; Pinch the edges closed. Roll the dough into a ball. Be careful to make sure you can not see the cheese through the dough. Tap fingers in flour, pinch any tears closed, and roll again. Set aside and repeat until you have 3 stuffed dough balls. Transfer 3 stuffed dough balls to hot water mixture and allow them to sit while you prepare the next 3. Prepare the next 3 dough balls. Remove dough balls from water with a slotted spoon and place on prepared baking sheet. Place 3 newly prepared balls into the water and prepare 3 more. Repeat until all dough balls are on the cookie sheet.
- Arrange all pretzel balls on parchment so that none are touching. Brush egg wash onto each one and sprinkle with coarse kosher or sea salt.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the tops are browned.
- The melted cheese may escape some of your pretzel bombs. That is a beautiful thing! Scoop all that cheesy goodness up onto the plate.Serve and enjoy!
Video
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published January 2014. Updated and republished June 2022.
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I made these tonight with Water as I did not have beer, but they came out great! They were a lot of work and took me a lot of time, but in the end it was totally worth it. My kitchen looked like a wreck when I was done though.
I made these tonight with Water as I did not have beer. They came out great! It was very time consuming and my kitchen looked like a war zone afterwards but these came out perfect and taste great!
Use the frozen dinner roll dough balls instead of making the dough. Just let them thaw.
Dumb question maybe, but what is the water / baking soda bath for ? Just curious 😉
My waistline says damn you.
My taste buds say Thank You, Thank You!
I made these yesterday. Super tasty. I'm using mozzarella cheese next time, for some reason mine didn't want to goo.
Then I think my yeast expired as well. Getting these things into a ball was impossible. So I made little sausage rolls and pinched the ends. Voila! Problem solved.
I made these in the fall for an appetizer contest at work and won First Place and People's Choice! I also just made them for a girls' weekend and froze them for a week. I just took them out of the oven just before they were brown enough, flash froze them, and stored them in a freezer bag. Reheated them when we were ready and everyone loved them. The last few were eaten with breakfast – a great compliment to scrambled eggs. Thank you!
Can you use Almond Flour for low carb?
These were amazing! Your step by step directions were super thorough and they came out SO good.
Question: how did you keep the water/baking soda bath hot?
WOw, thank you for asking this because I didn't notice before starting to make these. Usually when you make pretzels, you place the dough in boiling/baking soda solution for 30-40 seconds. It is not mentioned here, so I don't know if it is necessary. I'll probably do it just be safe, so thank you!
can these be made the day before and baked the next day?
These were a HUGE hit with my husband who is addicted to anything with spice and jalapeños!!! He said this recipe is a definite keeper!!!
Can you make the dough in a bread maker machine?
What is actual amount of flour for these? The recipe says 1/4 cup, which is definitely not enough.
Hi Janae,
The 1/4 cup of flour listed at the top is for the countertop, if you read further in the ingredients you will find it calls for 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour. Hope this helps.
TSRI Team Member,
Holli
I’ve messed around with different cheeses to use with this, and definitely feel like yellow cheese’s are the way to go when it comes to Jalapeno. My friend loves Jalapeno poppers, so I surprised her with homemade ones!
They are delicious! Any suggestions on a good pinching method to keep the gooey goodness from spilling out?
If you use the ready made dough, that means the flavor will not have the delicious flavor of Pretzel bread? Does it make a difference? Does the ready made dough taste just as good? Can it be pillsbury dough? I don’t know much about dough? I just want it to taste Delicious 🤤, soft, & gooey cheese. I have a hand Mixer, is that okay??
These are absolutely delicious ! It took me twice to get all the steps right because there are a LOT of steps, but the second time I made them they came out perfect! I told my husband I need to make these a few times to get the hang of it and he was very OK with that idea!
Hi Cindy!
We’re so glad you and your husband enjoyed!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
These are so good! Making again tomorrow for Super Bowl and will add some pulled pork in half of them. Definitely worth making
Hi Cary!
We’re so glad you enjoyed!!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn