This is a super easy appetizer or game day snack that uses store bought pizza dough, vegan cheese and a savory mixture of nutritional yeast, garlic and parsley with vegan butter to create irresistible nuggets that you’ll have a hard time putting down!
You can certainly make your own homemade pretzel dough but we used Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough. It’s great because it’s already a flat sheet of dough so you just need to cut it into squares. You’re going to also bathe the nuggets in a baking soda mixture which gives them that traditional signature pretzel flavor so this dough actually worked great. You’ll also need a hard block style cheese. We used Good Planet wedges that we chopped into small pieces. Another hard block style will work just as well. Shreds could work but might ooze out when baked (which may not be a bad thing!).
I made a dry blend of nooch (vegan slang for nutritional yeast), garlic powder (more than you think!) and dried parsley. You could certainly use a dried Italian blend of oregano, basil etc. if you want more spice.
I baked this in a cast iron skillet which I heated up first and melted vegan butter into so everything got super crispy at the bottom. You could use a monkey bread pan or even a round or square baking pan or dish. These are great served with a marinara sauce or even ranch would be amazing. Hope these score points with your family!
Easy Vegan Cheese Stuffed Pretzel Bites
6
servings20
minutes20
minutesAn easy and super tasty pretzel snack stuffed with vegan cheese and buttery cheezy goodness!
Ingredients
1 can refrigerated pizza dough or equivalent (see notes)
3 oz cubed vegan block cheese
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegan butter (1 stick)
- Water Bath
1/3 cup baking soda
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil then lower to a simmer. Open and unroll the pizza dough from the can and cut into about 2” wide strips then cut each strip into approximately 2×2 squares (or as even as you can get them).
- Place a small cube of cheese inside each piece of dough then fold it in half and pinch the edges closed.
- Add the baking soda to the simmering water (it will foam up like a science experiment so add it gradually!) then drop the dough pieces into the water and cook until they float for about 1-2 minutes. Drain out of the water using a slotted spoon and dry on paper towels.
- Preheat your oven to 425°. Mix the nooch, garlic powder, parsley and salt together in a small bowl. If using a cast iron skillet, heat it in the oven for about 5 minutes then add the vegan butter to melt. If using another baking pan then melt the butter in a microwave or on the stove.
- Place the melted butter in a bowl, add a few tablespoons of the dry mix to the butter then the pretzel dough nuggets. Stir gently with a large spoon to coat. Sprinkle with more of the mix until well coated. Tumble into the pan then bake for 15-20 minutes until browned and cooked through. If it gets too brown cover lightly with foil until finished cooking.
- Remove from the oven and add a bit more melted butter and sprinkle with any remaining dry mixture. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce. I would suggest marinara or ranch.
Notes
- You can use any dough you’d like. Canned pizza dough is great because it’s already rolled and ready to cut. Pillsbury uses vegetable derived mono and diglycerides so they’re vegan friendly.
- A firm block-style vegan cheese works best for this so it doesn’t melt too much like shreds might.
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