How to Create a Soft Pretzel Charcuterie Board

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Get creative with your next charcuterie board by making a board of nothing but warm, delicious soft pretzels. A soft pretzel charcuterie board is fun to make and amazing to eat and can be served at a kid’s parties, sports events, as an appetizer, or for your next movie night. This soft pretzel tray is best served warm with homemade soft pretzels, but you can also keep it easy and cook up some store bought frozen pretzels. The magic of this soft pretzel board is the dipping sauces. We used the best soft pretzel dips to add some sweet and savory options to our charcuterie board.

Below you can find complete directions on how to make your own sweet and savory soft pretzels, recipes for 3 different pretzel dipping sauces, and instructions on how to assemble the perfect soft pretzel charcuterie board.

Looking for more charcuterie board ideas? Check out our favorite charcuterie board ideas.

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What is a Soft Pretzel Charcuterie Board

A soft pretzel charcuterie board is a creative twist on the classic charcuterie board, combining the warm, doughy goodness of soft pretzels with an array of savory and complementary dipping options. The star of the show is undoubtedly the soft pretzels, baked to perfection with their signature chewy exterior and fluffy interior combined with delicious dips.

If you are looking for a more classic charcuterie board, instead of just pretzels and dips, you can add cured meats, such as prosciutto, salami, and pepperoni, along with an array of cheeses, including sharp cheddar, creamy brie, and tangy blue cheese, otherwise just serve the soft pretzel with the charcuterie board dip. . With its combination of salty and savory components, a soft pretzel charcuterie board is a crowd-pleasing option that is perfect for any gathering or occasion.

When to Serve a Soft Pretzel Board?

A soft pretzel charcuterie board can be served on many occasions. Warm doughy pretzels and accompanying toppings make it a fantastic choice for casual gatherings, such as game nights, movie nights, or backyard barbecues. A pretzel charcuterie board is also a hit at parties and social events, where guests can enjoy their own bites and different flavor combinations. You can also serve a pretzel board a soft pretzel board for brunch spreads or even as a late-night snack at a wedding.

We’ve also made a soft pretzel charcuterie board and served it alongside soup for a delicious dinner. The pretzel tray and dipping sauces became the centerpiece of our soup night.

See our bread and soup charcuterie board.

What are the Best Dips for a Soft Pretzel Charcuterie Board?

When it comes to a soft pretzel charcuterie board, the right dips make the perfect board. The combination of warm, fluffy pretzels with creamy and flavorful dips is truly a match made in culinary heaven. For a classic option, a tangy and smooth mustard dip is a must-have. Its sharpness perfectly complements the soft pretzels and adds a delightful kick to each bite. If you’re craving something cheesy, a warm cheese dip is an absolute winner. Its velvety texture and bold flavor make it an irresistible pairing with the soft pretzels. For those with a sweet tooth, a sugar cream cheese dip is a delightful choice. Its sweet and creamy profile adds a touch of indulgence to the charcuterie board.

We used two different flavored pretzel recipes (salty and sweet).

For the soft pretzel charcuterie board in the photos, we used 3 dips to add variety and flavor to the board.

• Mustard
• Cheese Dip
• Sweet Cream Cheese Dip

You can see the recipe for each dip below. The criteria for the dips on this soft pretzel charcuterie board are delicious dips that are easy and quick to make. Each of these dips can be made in 10 minutes or less.

Mustard Dip

This is the easiest dip since we just used straight up mustard. You can choose your favorite mustard. For our board we used a whole grain mustard, but honey Dijon also makes a great choice. You can see a few of our favorite mustards here.

If you’re looking for make everything yourself, check out this recipe on how to make your own mustard.

Cheese Dip

There are many recipes online for cheese dips or beer and cheese dips. We found this one creamy and easy, but you can easily substitute in your favorite cheese dip. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for ingredient amounts.

Ingredients:

• Milk – use whole milk or if you want a creamier recipe, you can use half and half
• Butter
• Flour – this is used to thicken the cheese dip
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese – choose a high quality cheese that is not pre-grated (this has an anti-clumping agent in it that makes your dip lumpy). Grate your cheddar cheese.

In a small saucepan, heat your milk and melt your butter. Don’t let your mixture boil.

Pour a small amount of the milk/butter mixture into a small bowl and whisk in the flour until there are no lumps. Add a bit more of the milk/butter mixture and whisk again. Combine the flour mixture back into the rest of the milk/butter – whisk to get rid of any lumps. Heat the mixture on low and it will begin to thicken.

Add the cheese to the mixture and stir until the mixture thickens and the cheese melts. Salt and pepper your cheese dip to taste and serve warm.

Sweet Cream Cheese Dip

This is a very easy dip and is the perfect dip for the sweet pretzels on this charcuterie board. The dip should be slightly sweet and creamy. Another fun alternative to this recipe is to add cinnamon. See the recipe card below for ingredient amounts.

Ingredients:

• Cream Cheese
• Confectioner Sugar
• Vanilla
• Cream

Combine all ingredients and mix together. The longer you mix the lighter and creamier the dip becomes. You adjust the amount of cream to make this dip the perfect consistency.

The Soft Pretzels

For this soft pretzel charcuterie board, you can either buy soft pretzels (you can often find them frozen in the cold section of the grocery store) or make your own. For this board we made our own pretzels in different sizes using two different recipes for a sweet and a salty soft pretzel. These paired well with the different dips and made a delicious board. You can find the two recipes for the soft pretzels described below and complete details in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

One last note about making your own soft pretzels. If you are planning to make your own pretzels, you can make a double batch of one of the dough recipes below and add the different toppings to create sweet and savory pretzels – you don’t need to make both dough recipes.

Sweet Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water 
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp packed light-brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour , plus more for dusting
• 3-5 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup baking soda

Topping:

• 1/2 cup butter , melted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Add the yeast to the warm water and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in a mixing bowl and let the yeast sit for 5-10 minutes.

Add the rest of the sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil and salt and mix using a whisk attachment. Add the flour slowly and mix. Your dough will become soft and slightly sticky. Place the dough in a buttered bowl and cover with plastic and place in a warm place. Allow to rest for an hour until the dough is double in size.

Punch dough down and divide into 6 even parts. Roll each part into a long and thin rope about 24 inches long. Cut each rope into bite sized pieces. In the meantime, heat the water and baking soda in a pot. Place a few dough bites into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds and place pretzel bites on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 425.

Once the pretzel bites come out of the over, let them rest for 1-2 minutes dip them in melted butter and cover with the sugar and cinnamon. You can shake some of the cinnamon sugar onto each bite or roll them directly in the sugar. If possible serve warm or reheat right before serving.

Salty Soft Pretzels

This recipe is for a more classic soft pretzel. You can make 8 soft pretzels with the recipe below or make smaller bite sized pretzels or pretzel sticks.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups water, warm
• 1 tablespoon salt (I use slightly less than this)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 4 ½ cups flour
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 2 eggs, beaten
• coarse salt

Directions

Mix together water, salt, sugar and yeast and let rest for 5 minutes. (yeast will start to foam).

Add flour and 2 tablespoons of oil, and mix in a stand mixer until a dough forms. Remove dough, and cover lightly in the remaining oil, cover in plastic wrap, and place bowl in a warm place to rise for one hour

Preheat oven to 450. Add baking soda to a pot of water and bring toa boil.

Cut dough into 8 pieces (if you are making pretzels, or fewer if you are making pretzel bites). Roll them into long thin ropes and twist them into pretzel shapes.

Boil each pretzel for 30 seconds (this is what gives soft pretzels the nice chewy texture. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment, brush with and egg wash and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes. You pretzels should be golden.

How to Assemble Your Soft Pretzel Charcuterie Board

It’s very easy to assemble your soft pretzel charcuterie board. Start by placing your soft pretzel dips on a large charcuterie board – these bowls will form the base of the your board design. If you are serving both sweet and salty soft pretzels, please the pretzels on the board in groups near the appropriate dips. Continue piling the pretzels on top of each other to cover as much of the board as possible. This gives your board a full, colorful and beautiful design.

For the board pictured in these photos, we baked one of the sweet soft pretzels above and 2 of the salty soft pretzel recipes. This is enough for 8-15 people (or my 3 kids who ate all of it in a few hours!!)

Recipe for a Soft Pretzel Charcuterie Board

All the recipes are described above or you can use the recipe card below.