• 37 ideas
  • Checked October 2026

What to Eat with Soft Pretzels

Sweet and brown mustard, warm cheese sauce, obatzda, cinnamon sugar and a white sausage on the side.

What to Eat with Soft Pretzels

Show all 37
  1. Cinnamon sugarLeave off the salt, brush the warm pretzel with butter and roll it in the sugar.
  2. Sweet Bavarian mustardThe partner of white sausage. Spoon it beside the pretzel, not over it.
  3. Coarse saltThe classic. Brush some off if there is too much.
  4. Warm cheese sauceKeep it warm so it stays loose enough to dip into.
  5. WeisswurstBring the white sausages to the table in their hot water, a pretzel for each person.

Next step Draw another snackDraw something sweet for after

All 37 ideas

Mustards and savory dips 14

  • Buffalo chicken dip Hot from the oven, with pretzel pieces in place of chips.
  • Crab dip Warm and creamy. Tear the pretzel into chunks that can carry a scoop.
  • Dill pickle dip Cold and tangy next to a warm, salty pretzel.
  • Honey mustard Sweet enough to soften the salt. Serve it in a small pot.
  • Horseradish mustard Sharp, so start with a small dab.
  • Liptauer (paprika curd cheese spread) Spread it on a split pretzel as you would butter.
  • Obatzda (Bavarian cheese spread) Spread it thick on a torn piece and add a few rings of onion.
  • Pepper jelly and cream cheese Pour the jelly over a block of cream cheese and scoop up both at once.
  • Spicy brown mustard A line along the top, or a small pot for dipping.
  • Spundekäs (paprika cream cheese spread) A soft mound in the middle of the plate, with pretzels round it.
  • Sweet Bavarian mustard The partner of white sausage. Spoon it beside the pretzel, not over it.
  • Warm cheese sauce Keep it warm so it stays loose enough to dip into.
  • Warm pizza sauce Dip into it, or spoon it over with a little cheese.
  • Yellow mustard Mild, so it suits children and a heavily salted pretzel.

Sweet dips and coatings 6

  • Caramel sauce Leave the salt on for this one.
  • Chocolate sauce Warm it a little so it coats a torn piece.
  • Cinnamon sugar Leave off the salt, brush the warm pretzel with butter and roll it in the sugar.
  • Raspberry sauce Tart fruit beside a buttery, sugared pretzel.
  • Sweet cream cheese dip Cream cheese whipped with a little sugar and vanilla.
  • Vanilla icing A small pot for dipping pieces of a cinnamon sugar pretzel.

Toppings 8

  • Bacon bits Scatter them over melted cheese so they stick.
  • Butter Split the pretzel across and butter the cut sides.
  • Caraway seeds A little goes a long way, and it suits mustard and sausage.
  • Coarse salt The classic. Brush some off if there is too much.
  • Everything seasoning Seeds, onion and garlic at once. Skip the extra salt.
  • Garlic and parmesan Brush with garlic butter and shower with cheese while the pretzel is hot.
  • Poppy seeds Press them on in place of salt. Sesame seeds work the same way.
  • Pumpkin or sunflower seeds A crunchy crust for a pretzel eaten plain or buttered.

Sausages, cold meats and a soup 6

  • Bratwurst A grilled sausage, a pretzel and mustard make a full plate.
  • Goulash soup Tear the pretzel and dunk it as you would bread.
  • Sauerkraut A warm spoonful beside the sausage.
  • Sausage salad Sausage in a tart vinegar and onion dressing, with a pretzel to mop the plate.
  • Sliced cold meats and cheese Lay them in a split pretzel as a sandwich.
  • Weisswurst Bring the white sausages to the table in their hot water, a pretzel for each person.

Drinks 3

  • Apple spritzer Apple juice topped up with sparkling water, served cold.
  • Lemonade Sharp enough to cut through cheese sauce and salt.
  • Root beer Cold and sweet with a salty pretzel.

How it works

What to eat with soft pretzels? Mustard first, then something made of cheese. These 37 ideas run from sweet Bavarian mustard and obatzda to cinnamon sugar and caramel, with toppings, sausages and three cold drinks.

Read the full guide

In Bavaria and in Philadelphia

In Bavaria a pretzel comes beside a main dish such as Weisswurst, a white sausage served with sweet mustard. Bakeries in southern Germany slice pretzels across and butter them, or fill them with cold meats or cheese. Obatzda, a Bavarian cheese spread, is usually eaten on bread or pretzels. In Philadelphia the soft pretzel is often served with brown mustard.

What to eat soft pretzels with: salt on or salt off

What to eat with a soft pretzel depends on the salt. Salted, it wants mustard, a cheese dip or a sausage. Brushed with butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar, it becomes a dessert. Soft pretzels are at their best soon after baking, so set out the dips first.

  • One mustard, one cheese dip and one sweet dip are enough for a party.

Questions and answers

What do you eat soft pretzels with besides mustard?

Something made of cheese: warm cheese sauce, obatzda, Spundekäs or Liptauer. Or a party dip: buffalo chicken dip, crab dip, dill pickle dip or warm pizza sauce.

What do you eat with soft pretzels that is sweet?

Vanilla icing, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, raspberry sauce or cream cheese whipped with sugar. Caramel is the one that works with the salt still on.

What can you eat with soft pretzels for dinner?

Treat the pretzel as the bread of the meal: bratwurst or Weisswurst with sauerkraut, a sausage salad, or a bowl of goulash soup to dunk it in.

What toppings go on soft pretzels?

Coarse salt is the most common. Seeds (sesame, poppy, caraway, pumpkin or sunflower), melted cheese and bacon bits are popular too. Everything seasoning and garlic with parmesan are on this list as well.

What do you drink with soft pretzels?

Without alcohol: an apple spritzer, root beer or lemonade, all served cold.

More tools

Show 7 more

Browse Food