Stuffed with melted, gooey Gouda and spicy chorizo, these soft, pillowy pretzel bombs are topped with melted butter and a sprinkling of salt to make the most irresistible party snack. Serve these pretzel bombs on their own or with a side of bourbon honey-mustard sauce. Either way, these Gouda and chorizo pretzel bombs will be your new party favorite.
If you've never made your own pretzel dough, creating stuffed pretzel bombs may sound intimidating, but I'm here to tell you this recipe is easier than you'd think. Unlike some finicky breads, pretzel dough is forgiving and easy to handle. With a little mixing and kneading, you can make your very own pretzel dough from just a handful of ingredients.
That said, this recipe does take some time to prepare. Our pretzel dough needs time to rise, and we fill each individual pretzel bomb with shredded Gouda and diced chorizo. So put on some Netflix, pour yourself a beer, and take the time to enjoy the process. Isn't that the fun in cooking anyway?
Besides, when you hear your guests gush over these savory bites and revere you as the world's ultimate kitchen master, you'll be glad you took the time to craft each little cheesy pretzel bomb. Worth it.
Ingredients
Let's get organized and chat ingredients. Here's everything we need to make these stuffed pretzel bombs.
- Gouda
- Dried chorizo
- Beer
- Water
- Sugar
- Salt
- Active dry yeast
- Flour
- Melted butter
- Oil
- Baking soda
For the beer, I recommend using something with a malt-forward profile. The malt gives the beer a sweet, bread-like flavor that's perfect for the pretzel dough. An amber ale is a good call here.
However, if you don't want to use beer, you can simply substitute additional water.
How to Make Pretzel Dough
For these Gouda and chorizo pretzel bombs, I used my soft beer pretzel dough recipe, which gives us the most delicious pretzels. To start, we warm together some beer and water, sprinkle yeast on top and let the mixture sit until it foams. Once it's foamy, we add it to a mixing bowl with a touch of sugar and salt.
Now we add our flour and melted butter to the mixing bowl and kneed until the dough is smooth and elastic. We cover it up and let the dough double in size for about an hour. And just like that, our pretzel dough is ready to become pretzel bombs. Easy, huh?
How to Stuff Pretzel Bombs
To make our stuffed pretzel bombs, we divide our pretzel dough into 20 small balls. I recommend taking care of this step all at once rather than grabbing some dough, filling and then grabbing the next dough ball. Otherwise, you could get stuck with too many or too few pretzel bombs in relation to our filling.
We now flatten each dough ball into a disk and top with our Gouda and chorizo.
To seal, we fold the dough like a present and then roll in the palms of our hands to tightly seal the seams.
From here, we drop our pretzel bombs into a mixture of boiling water and baking soda, which is why it's so important we have a nice seal. However, we don't want to skip this step because it gives the pretzel bomb that brown crust.
After a quick boil, we're ready to bake our pretzel bites, brush them with butter for good measure and sprinkle with pretzel or coarse kosher salt. Now we dunk our little Gouda and chorizo pretzel bombs into our boozy bourbon honey-mustard sauce and enjoy every cheesy bite.
Perfect Pairing
If you plan on washing these Gouda and chorizo pretzel bombs down with a beer, that amber ale you used to make the pretzel dough is also great here. The malt is a perfect counter to the spicy chorizo while also complementing the Gouda's nutty notes.
Feeling a glass of wine instead? Go for a shiraz. With a shiraz, you get a full body that stands up well to our bold Gouda, and it's always a lovely match with spicy chorizo.
If your next gathering could use soft, cheesy, snackable little bites, I hope you try these Gouda and chorizo pretzel bombs.
Cheers!
Looking for More Crowd-Pleasing Appetizers?
- Crab cake sliders with basil-avocado aioli
- Shrimp and avocado grilled naan pizza
- Curried feta-lamb meatballs in spiced tomato sauce
- Beer mussels in chorizo-tomato sauce
If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.
📖 Recipe
Gouda and Chorizo Pretzel Bombs With Bourbon Honey-Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
Gouda and Chorizo Pretzel Bombs
- 1 cup beer preferably an amber ale
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 package active dry yeast equivalent of 2 ¼ teaspoons
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup melted salted butter divided
- Oil
- 1 cup shredded Gouda
- 4 ounces dried chorizo diced
- 10 cups water
- ⅔ cup baking soda
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
- Pretzel or coarse kosher salt
Bourbon Honey-Mustard Sauce
- ½ cup ½ cup Dijon or whole grain mustard
- ½ cup honey
- 2-4 tablespoons bourbon
Instructions
Gouda and Chorizo Pretzel Bombs
- Mix the beer and ½ cup water together and heat to 100-110 degrees or the temperature listed on the yeast package. In a mixing bowl, pour in the warm beer and water mixture with sugar and salt. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit until it turns foamy, about five to 10 minutes.
- If using a stand mixer, add the flour and ¼ cup melted butter to the beer and yeast mixture and use the paddle attachment on low speed to combine into a shaggy dough. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook. Turn the speed up one notch to speed two and knead until smooth and elastic. This should take about four minutes. If kneading by hand, stir in the flour and butter with the beer and yeast mixture in the mixing bowl until it becomes a dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, lightly oil it, place the dough back in the bowl and cover. Allow to sit in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough doubles in size.
- Heat the oven to 450 degrees and boil 10 cups water with baking soda.
- Meanwhile, mix together the shredded Gouda and diced chorizo. Divide the dough into 20 equal balls. Keep the dough balls covered in a mixing bowl with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out. Flatten one dough ball at a time into a disk, about 3 ½ to 4 inches in diameter. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the Gouda and chorizo mixture onto the flatten pretzel dough and fold edges like a present. Pinch the seams and roll in between your palms to make sure the dough ball is well-sealed. Repeat for all dough balls. Keep the filled dough balls in another mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap to also prevent them from drying out.
- Drop the sealed pretzel dough balls into the boiling water and baking soda for 30 seconds. Move to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Beat an egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush it over the boiled pretzel dough balls. Sprinkle with salt.
- Bake until the pretzels turn golden, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven and lightly brush with remaining 4 tablespoons of melted butter if desired. If the butter brushes off any salt, you can always add more if you'd like.
Bourbon Honey-Mustard Sauce
- Mix together the mustard and honey. Add a little bourbon at a time until it suits your taste. Some prefer a boozier dip while others prefer a more subtle bourbon profile.
- Dunk pretzel bombs into bourbon honey-mustard sauce and eat. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please note, this is dried chorizo, not fresh. Look for the kind that looks like a log of pepperoni or salami.
- If you don't want to use beer for the pretzels, you can simply substitute more water.
- Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Justin Carver says
Sorry to review before actually making these, but they look fantastic. I'm going to try adding sweet onion.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
No worries —- I hope you love them! They’re truly one of our party favorites.
Michelle Burnham says
I noticed you are in Denver, I live here too. Is this a high altitude recipe?
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Hi, Michelle! Always nice to run across fellow Denverites. Yep, this recipe works at our altitude as well as sea level.
Jo says
I'm loving everything about these pretzel bombs! That honey mustard sauce for dipping is a perfect. Mouthwatering dish.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Thanks so much!
Sharon says
These pretzel bombs have gone gourmet! These would be perfect for holiday get-togethers this year.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Definitely! They're always a hit with crowds.
Eden says
These were so easy to make and the flavor was awesome. Everyone loved them. Pinning to save and make again!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Yay! So, so glad to hear that!
Elaine says
That shot where you show what's inside these amazing bombs made me sooo hungry! Great choice of the stuffing and definitely the recipe I would love to have on hands for those days you want something special but just not sure what! 🙂
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Thanks so much!
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
I am o loving that melted, gooey Gouda and spicy chorizo on this recipe! Your Gouda and Chorizo Pretzel Bombs are mouthwatering and honestly...I am starting to drool! Thanks for sharing!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
You're so welcome!
Tammy says
Eek these look sooo good! I love the combination of gouda and chorizo...these are perfect for game day parties 😀
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
For sure!
Veronika says
OMG! This looks mouthwatering! I want a couple of these pretzel bombs right now! I think it will be a great treat for my guests this upcoming weekend!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Hope everyone loved them!
Danielle says
I can see serving these pretzel bombs with a few of my favorite sauces at a small party. I have't tried the with honey-mustard but I definitely should! Love how beautiful yours look - I've got to try your tips! 🙂
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Thank you! I hope you do serve them. I think you'll love the honey-mustard sauce!
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says
What a mouthwatering treat these pretzel bombs are! Gouda, and chorizo, plus the soft and golden brown pretzel crust, the guests will surely go crazy for them!
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
I'm sure they will!
Ben says
Those are extra fancy. I can't wait to try them. I mean what could be better than meat and cheese inside bread that's been glazed with bourbon and honey? Nothing. That's what.
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Right? Nothing but goodness in a pretzel!
Colleen | Bakes & Blunders says
This recipe is genius. I am definitely making these 😀
Amanda McGrory-Dixon says
Hope you love them!