These tender keto pretzel bites are made with coconut flour fathead dough. Fun and easy keto snacks that you can bake in the oven or the air fryer!
The air fryer really is a great little kitchen appliance. It’s fun and easy to use, and crisps up foods deliciously. And it’s a whole lot less messy than deep frying.
Air fryers also cook most things in far less time than a conventional oven. I use mine at least once a week to cook dinner recipes like keto chicken wings, air fryer pork chops, and air fryer crab cakes.
But I decided it was time to shake things up a bit and do a little air fryer baking. First stop: Keto Pretzel Bites! I was blown away by how well these turned out. Puffy and soft, with a wonderful chewy pretzel texture.
Why you need to try this
I know what you’re thinking. Can you really cook fathead dough in the air fryer? Heck yeah! I had my trepidations too but it really works. Possibly better than in a regular oven.
These pretzel bites are based on my keto bagels recipe. It’s a great version of fathead dough that uses only coconut flour, so it’s completely nut free.
I was a little nervous to put the fathead dough in an air fryer. I thought that it might melt and spread too much. Thankfully, the dough held up well and puffed up beautifully, with a golden brown top. And they didn’t deflate as they cooled!
They are so fun and delicious. And if you follow my tips carefully, the dough is easy to make. We gobbled them down with some spicy brown mustard dipping sauce.
Reader Reviews
“I am amazed at how good these are!! I’m not a huge fan of using coconut flour for savory baked keto items, but with the garlic powder and the coarse salt topping, the coconut flavor was barely noticeable. It was very hard to only eat one serving. 🙂” — Kate
“These are quick and easy, and super yummy! I like to sprinkle them with everything bagel seasoning and serve them with softened cream cheese.” — Pan
“Made these pretzel bites today, they were AMAZING!!!! Very very good! Thank you so much for the recipe! I’ll be making these a lot!” — Linda W
Ingredients you need
- Coconut flour: I do not recommend substituting another flour here. Coconut flour gives the best structure for these keto pretzels.
- Xanthan gum: A little xanthan gum helps hold the dough together better.
- Shredded mozzarella: You can buy pre-shredded or grate your own. It should work either way.
- Egg: Coconut flour recipes always rely on eggs for structure.
- Butter: Most fathead dough recipes use cream cheese, but butter makes it lighter and flakier. And more buttery!
- Mayonnaise: Be sure to read the labels on your favorite mayonnaise. Choose one that doesn’t add sugar or other sweeteners that increase the carb count.
- Spicy brown mustard: Mustard with pretzels is a classic combination. You can also use regular yellow mustard or dijon.
- Kitchen staples: Garlic powder, baking powder and coarse salt.
Step by step directions
1. Combine the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the coconut flour with the baking powder, garlic powder, and xanthan gum.
2. Melt the cheese: Place mozzarella in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high in 30-second increments until well melted and easy to stir.
3. Form the dough: Add the flour mixture to the heated mozzarella, then add the egg. Using a silicone spatula, work the flour and egg into the cheese, kneading the dough up against the side of the bowl.
4. Knead the dough: Dust a work surface with the remaining tablespoon of coconut flour. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead with your hands until cohesive. If the dough is still very sticky, dust lightly with more coconut flour until it no longer sticks to your hands.
5. Cut into portions: Divide the dough into 4 even portions and roll each portion out into an 8-inch log. Cut each log into 8 pieces.
6. Air fry: Spray the rack of an air fryer with avocado or coconut oil spray (or brush lightly with the oil of your choice). Place the pretzel bites on the rack with some space in between each one, then brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle with coarse or pretzel salt and press lightly to help it adhere to the dough. Air fry pretzel bites at 350F for 5 to 6 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
7. Prepare the dipping sauce: Stir the mayonnaise and mustard together in a small bowl until smooth. Serve with the pretzel bites.
Tips for Success
This recipe is really quite straightforward, but fathead dough can always be a bit tricky. Here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Prep your dry ingredients before melting the cheese. This way, you can add them all at once, together with the egg, and start kneading the dough right away.
- Don’t worry about the egg getting “cooked” by the hot melted cheese. Just make sure you add the dry ingredients first, then the egg, then start mixing and kneading right away.
- Depending on your coconut flour, your dough may be a little sticky at first. This recipe uses a similar method to many conventional wheat doughs, where you work more flour in as you knead the dough, until it’s no longer sticky.
- Make sure the bites aren’t touching each other in the air fryer basket, as they do expand a bit. If you need to work in batches, that’s fine because these only take about 5 minutes to air fry.
- Spray your air fryer basket so the pretzel bites don’t stick. Also, brush the tops of the bites with melted butter and then sprinkle with coarse salt for a real pretzel experience.
- Keep your eye on them because every air fryer is a bit different and you don’t want them to burn!
Frequently Asked Questions
Fathead dough loses elasticity as it cools, so it doesn’t freeze well. But this recipe only makes 4 servings of keto pretzel bites. They stay fresh on the counter or in the fridge for several days.
Many fathead dough recipes call for almond flour. The trouble is that using only almond flour adds even more fat and moisture, and the dough become very soft. It often spreads too much. I don’t recommend it for this recipe.
This keto pretzel bite recipe has 5.9g of carbs and 3.2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 2.7g net carbs for one serving of pretzel bites.
More delicious keto snacks
Keto Pretzel Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
Pretzel Bites
- 5 tablespoons (35.5 g) coconut flour, divided
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 6 oz (170.1 g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- Coarse salt, for topping
Dipping Sauce
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the coconut flour with the baking powder, garlic powder, and xanthan gum.
- Place mozzarella in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high in 30-second increments until well melted and easy to stir.
- Add the flour mixture to the heated mozzarella, then add the egg. Using a silicone spatula, work the flour and egg into the cheese, kneading the dough up against the side of the bowl.
- Dust a work surface with the remaining tablespoon of coconut flour. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and knead with your hands until cohesive. If the dough is still very sticky, dust lightly with more coconut flour until it no longer sticks to your hands.
- Divide the dough into 4 even portions and roll each portion out into an 8-inch log. Cut each log into 8 pieces.
- Spray the rack of an air fryer with avocado or coconut oil spray (or brush lightly with the oil of your choice). Place the pretzel bites on the rack with some space in between each one, then brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle with coarse or pretzel salt and press lightly to help it adhere to the dough.
- Air fry pretzel bites at 350ºF for 5 to 6 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
- For the dipping sauce, stir the mayonnaise and mustard together in a small bowl until smooth. Serve with the pretzel bites.
Notes
Oven instructions
Set a baking rack over a baking sheet and spray the rack with nonstick cooking spray. If you have a convection oven, use that setting on 350ºF. If your oven does not have convection, set the temperature to 375ºF. Watch your pretzel bites carefully when baking, and rotate your pan at the halfway mark to ensure even browning. Depending on your oven, the pretzel bites may take anywhere from 7-12 minute to bake.Nutrition
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I have not made this yet! Do you roll the dough into a log and cut off 1 inch bites? I missed that part in the instructions.
This is what it says in the recipe: Divide the dough into 4 even portions and roll each portion out into an 8-inch log. Cut each log into 8 pieces.
Oh yummy! I will be making these.
Hey Carolyn! Love your cookbooks and this blog! I am not fond of the smell of coconut in baked goods. Was wondering about adding garlic powder to this.. how much would you suggest?
1/2 to 1 tsp.
Omg. I just made these and they are delicious. Has anyone tried to make pretzel buns with this recipe?
These are quick and easy, and super yummy! I like to sprinkle them with everything bagel seasoning and serve them with softened cream cheese.
Great Idea!!! ????
Would sunflower flour ir a mixture of seed flours work?
No I am sorry. Seed flours are not a good replacement for coconut flour.
Pretzels are a favorite item with my adult girls. I cannot wait to try this non-inflammatory version!
How many grams of sugar per serving?
No idea but I am sure you can use an online calculator.
Could you do these or have you tried with a sugar and cinnamon coating ie: donut holes??
Hello, these look delicious and i cannot wait to try them out. i wanted to know if it is 5.87 g carbs for all of the bites or for just a few? thank you
Nutritional info is always listed per serving. A serving is 8 pieces.
is the xanthum gum completely necessary for this recipe to work properly? i stopped by the grocery store and it was very expensive so i did not purchase it. thank you!
You can certainly try without.
Hey Laurie, it might be expensive, but you use very little xanthan gum in any recipe, so it lasts a long time…hope that helps you in your decision making!!
Made these pretzel bites today, they were AMAZING!!!! Very very good! Thank you so much for the recipe! I’ll be making these a lot!
Do you have any suggestions on dealing with dry dough? I made these today and really liked the flavor, but my dough was very dry and that made it difficult to roll into logs and cut into pieces. We are very warm and dry today and are at a high altitude to boot, so maybe that was part of the problem?
Yes, it’s likely you identified the issue but it could also be the brand of coconut flour (they differ very much in absorbency) so you may need less of it. No matter what the issue is, I think that would help. Try a tbsp less to start.
Thank you! I will give that a try on my next attempt — which will fairly soon since my family polished them off quickly!
I don’t have an air fryer or convection oven. How would I make these in my plain old oven?
Please read the section about baking in the oven.
This recipe looks incredible! I have one substitution question though. I have a lot of grated Parmesan that will go bad in a day or two as there isn’t any preservatives in it and I was wondering if I could possibly sub that for the mozzarella? It definitely won’t be a 1 to 1 thing but perhaps I could add liquids to make up the difference? Thanks for your time!
Sorry, John… parmesan just won’t give it the stretchiness of mozzarella dough.
is it possible to freeze these?
A lot of your recipes are great but too much for one person to keep fresh
Regards
Diana
I do not think these would freeze well but this only has 4 servings and they stay fresh on the counter or in the fridge for several days.
Thanks Carolyn, we can’t wait to try these! We just got our first convection oven so I’m thrilled to see you experimenting with that as well as the air fryer!
I know you probably hate these “substitution questions”, but….if a person hates the taste of coconut, could they use almond flour? Thanks!
No, sorry. When I do fathead dough with almond flour, it spreads too much, becomes thin and flat. You can try, but I do not guarantee the results. And you would need 3x the amount.
I think I would love an air fryer but hesitate to get one. There are so many choices out there and reviews are all over the place. Can you suggest a good one. Just me and hubby. Don’t want a small but not a huge one.
I have this one: https://amzn.to/2XBnT5I Bigger and more expensive but also multi-purpose.
Thank you Carolyn for all your recipes!! I have tried a lot of them and all of them exceeded expectations 🙂
Question regarding the nutritional values for this recipes; are they for 1 serving (I would assume 8 bites?) or for all 4 serving?
We’ve figured out where the discrepancy was and I’ve got new nutritional information in the post!
Phewwwww! Yours makes it more realistic and encouraging to try ???? Hehehe
Thank u for ur reply!! ☺️
We’ve figured out where the discrepancy was and I’ve got new nutritional information in the post!
Thank you Carolyn!
I love all ur recipes by the way ???? they help me easily stick to keto ????
I don’t own an Air Fryer yet, any particular one that you would recommend?
I have this one: https://amzn.to/2XBnT5I Bigger and more expensive but also multi-purpose.