Super simple meatball stuffed pretzel bites that are sure to please a crowd! Double this for your next get together and serve with a side of marinara or cheese sauce. The meatballs inside are an added surprise!
For those of you that follow me on Facebook, you know that I made these for the big football game in February. I was a bit apprehensive since I am terrible at making pretzels. I can never get the baking soda mixture right so my pretzels turn out super pale.
I am pleased to say that this time, my pretzels were successful. They turned a beautiful golden brown after baking in the oven and actually tasted like real pretzels. I had a bit of help this time as I used store-bought pizza dough (gasp!) since I didn’t have much time to make my own pizza dough.
I baked these earlier in the day and reheated them right before game time. I was able to store them in the refrigerator and warmed them up (covered with a piece of aluminum foil) in a hot oven. We happily enjoyed dunking these in marinara sauce and thought they were a wonderful appetizer.
If you want to, you can use mini meatballs and divide the dough into smaller pieces for a higher quantity. Or, you can just double the recipe below to feed a crowd. I’m pretty sure these will be a hit at your next sports viewing or any other food gathering.
Meatball stuffed pretzel bites
Ingredients
- 1 pound pizza dough left out at room temperature for 15-20 minutes (I used a package of refrigerated pizza dough from the grocery store)
- 14 frozen meatballs thawed
- ¼ cup baking soda
- 5 cups water
- 1 egg beaten
- Coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 420 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
- Roll out the pizza dough into a rectangle and cut it into 14 equal parts (rectangle shape).
- Place a meatball in the center of the dough and pinch to close. Make sure all seams are secure. Patch up any holes as needed.
- Boil 5 cups of water. Add in the baking soda and return to a boil.
- Drop in 3 or 4 dough balls at a time into the baking soda mixture for about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove the dough balls and place it on your prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
- Brush the egg onto the dough and sprinkle the tops with coarse sea salt.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- These bites are best served hot right after you remove them from the oven. We like dipping ours into marinara sauce, but a melty cheese sauce would be just as good.
Notes