These Crack Pretzels are so delicious and highly addictive! They are coated in melted butter and ranch seasoning, then oven baked to perfection. This recipe is ideal to bring to a party or for a Christmas appetizer and it's so easy to make.
Let me just say that I'm not even a pretzel person, yet here I sit typing this post and chowing these down. They are salty, buttery, and ranch flavored. What's better than that?
I'm planning to make these again in a few weeks for our Annual Christmas Eve party we have every year. These are great for busy Holidays because they're made with very little prep work.
For more quick holiday recipes, try this Chocolate Covered Pecans Recipe, Goat Cheese Crostini and Spinach and Artichoke Dip with no Mayonnaise.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- It's so easy to make with simple ingredients
- This recipe is a great appetizer when you're on a budget..it costs about $6-7 to make
- It makes two medium sized bowls of pretzels
- They are so yummy with buttery ranch flavor
If you are looking for more Holiday Appetizer Ideas, try my Bacon Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls, Baked Brie with Fig Jam, Christmas Muddy Buddies & Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board.
The Ingredients:
Tiny Twists Original Pretzels- These Rold Gold Tiny Twist Pretzels hold the butter and seasoning perfectly & they're nice and salty, which I love.
Salted Butter-Melted down and poured into the pretzel bag. Once shaken, it creates a savory coating over the pretzels for the seasoning to stick.
Hot Sauce-Added to the butter for a hint of heat.
Ranch Dressing Mix Powder-The star of the show in this recipe for it's salty blend of flavors.
Garlic Powder and Paprika-For additional flavor.
Substitutions and Variations:
Want more heat? Add in ½ teaspoon of chili powder or for a real kick, ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper into the seasoning mix.
Any pretzels close to this size should work well for this recipe. I wouldn't suggest any of the really large varieties, like rods.
How to Make Crack Pretzels:
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Here are the Step by Step Instructions for Ranch Crack Pretzels.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside. Melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat or in the microwave, just until melted. Add in the hot sauce and set aside to cool.
Step 2: Into a small bowl, whisk together the ranch dressing mix, paprika and garlic powder.
Step 3: Open the bag of pretzels and roll down the sides. Place the side of the bag against something so that it stays upright.
Step 4: Once the butter is cooled down to warm not hot, pour the butter into the pretzel bag.
Seal the container by rolling up the top and shake vigorously for a minute to coat the butter on all the pretzels. Note: If preferred, you can also use a gallon size ziplock and seal the top.
Add half the seasoning and close the bag and shake for a minute, then the rest of the seasoning and shake.
Step 5: Pour the pretzels out onto the cookie sheet and if you need to you can toss with your hands to incorporate. Bake for 25 minutes tossing with tongs half way through.
Step 6: Allow them to cool for a few minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Make sure to shake the bag really well for a full distribution of butter and seasoning.
- Cover the cookie sheet with tin foil for super easy clean up.
- Once you get the pretzels out on the cookie sheet, you can sprinkle on a little more ranch powder, if any are missing some.
For more bite sized snacks, check out my Turkey Roll Ups, Cream cheese stuffed peppers, or Cowboy Caviar with tortilla chips.
Recipe FAQs:
Store in a sealed container and eat within 3 to 4 days for maximum freshness.
I have seen a lot of people use canola oil in similar recipes, but I have not tested it. I love the taste of butter paired with the ranch, so I personally wouldn't use oil.
Not at all, but this recipe has a nice boost of flavor from the hot sauce and paprika. If you don't like any heat, just leave out the hot sauce and make sure you are using plain paprika, not smoked or hot.
Yes and I suggest it! Something about the flavors sitting overnight is even better. Plus, it saves time the day of the party.
Storage:
Allow them to cool completely, then store in a sealed container on the counter or in the pantry for up to 4 days.
More Holiday Recipes You Will Love:
If you tried this Crack Pretzel Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Crack Pretzels
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 ounces of pretzels 1x
Description
These Crack Pretzels are so delicious and highly addictive! They are coated in melted butter and ranch seasoning, then oven baked to perfection. This recipe is ideal to bring to a party or for a Christmas appetizer and it's so easy to make!
Ingredients
- (1) 16 ounce bag of tiny twist pretzels or mini pretzels
- 1 stick salted butter
- ½ teaspoon of hot sauce (I like cholula, but you can use any brand)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons of dry ranch dressing mix (same as 1 packet of ranch dressing mix)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan on low heat or in the microwave, just until melted. Add in the hot sauce and set aside to cool.
- Into a small bowl, whisk together the ranch dressing mix powder, paprika and garlic powder.
- Open the bag of pretzels and roll down the sides. Place the side of the bag against something so that it stays upright.
- Once the butter is cooled down to warm, pour the butter into the pretzel bag.
- Seal the container by rolling up the top and shake vigorously for a minute to coat the butter on all the pretzels.
- Add half the seasoning and close the bag and shake for a minute, then the rest of the seasoning and shake.
- Pour the pretzels out onto the cookie sheet and if you need to you can toss with hands to incorporate.
- Bake for 25 minutes tossing with tongs half way through.
- Allow them to cool and enjoy!
Notes
Do NOT use hot or smoked paprika. Use plain paprika or sweet Paprika is fine too.
If you want to use a gallon sized ziplock bag to shake the pretzels you can use that instead. Air seems to stay in the pretzels bag more, which I think helps to move the pretzels around and get them coated with seasoning and butter.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: appetizer
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: american
Keywords: crack pretzels, ranch pretzels, flavored pretzels, christmas crack pretzels
Holly
These are so addicting! Loved them;)
★★★★★
Tara Smithson
Thank you and totally agree! So addicting!