My brother, Geoff T, loves cooking for Thanksgiving and is really good at it. Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that is difficult to change up the recipes since almost everyone has something that they love and look forward to each year. A few years ago, Geoff suggested changing some things only to receive push back from various family members. But he still manages to sneak in a few new things to try each year.

I also love cooking and baking for Thanksgiving and await my assignments from Geoff each November. Last year just a few days prior, Geoff added a secret challenge to my list – stuffing made with soft pretzels. My sister-in-law, Annie T, loves soft pretzels and Geoff thought it would be fun to add this stuffing to the mix. 

We were a group of 15 last Thanksgiving and my nephew, Owen S, had volunteered to make a double batch of Uncle Geoff’s Sausage Stuffing (a family favorite), but you can always have extra stuffing, right? I accepted the challenge and began doing research on how best to make soft pretzel stuffing.

How much does Annie love pretzels? A few years ago, Ed found a small pretzel painting (in photo) at the Art Gallery at Devon at the Devon Horse Show and knew he had to get it for Annie. Not only was it a soft pretzel, but it was a Wawa soft pretzel which is Annie’s absolute favorite. For those not familiar with Wawa, it’s a very good convenience store chain with a cult following based in the Philadelphia suburbs that has expanded to all of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Florida, Alabama, and North Carolina. It’s fitting that they make great soft pretzels as Philadelphia is the home of the soft pretzel.

When Ed and I went looking for soft pretzels we couldn’t find any despite visiting three different Wawas so we used equally good soft pretzels from Philly Pretzel Factory which can be found in 19 states. I recommend starting with fresh pretzels, removing much of the salt (you do not want your stuffing to be too salty), breaking or cutting up the pretzels into bit sized pieces and then either leaving them out overnight to dry out or drying them out in the oven at a low temperature for about an hour. Drying out the pretzels (or any bread used in stuffing) ensures that the stuffing isn’t mushy. Note that this recipe uses large soft pretzels – not pretzel rolls (like what you’d use for sandwiches).

I made a fairly traditional stuffing made with onions, celery and a bunch of fresh herbs. But I added ingredients that we associate with pretzels – beer, cheese, mustard and honey (think ‘honey mustard’). This stuffing was really good and was a close second to Geoff’s Sausage Stuffing which is still the best.

Another great thing about this stuffing – you can prepare it up to the baking step a day in advance and put it in the oven an hour or so before you’re going to eat. It was just the right consistency – pretzels were crusty and the remainder of the stuffing was moist. It wasn’t mushy at all.

I shared my soft pretzel stuffing story with my colleague, Melissa S, the week after Thanksgiving. She was assigned stuffing for 30 people for a Friendsgiving the following weekend and decided to make it. It was a huge hit and there were no leftovers. That’s a great endorsement.

Soft Pretzel Stuffing

 

Soft Pretzel Stuffing
5.0 from 1 reviews
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Recipe type: Side
Author:
Serves: 8 to 10
Ingredients
  • 1-1/2 pounds soft pretzels (~ 6 large or ~ 10 cups) (see Notes)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more to butter baking dish
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 celery stalks, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
  • 2 cups shredded white medium cheddar
  • ½ cup beer (lager or IPA)
  • 4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup chicken stock (you may need a bit more)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Scrape most of the salt off of the pretzels (if you don’t it will be too salty). Cut the pretzels into bite-sized cubes. Spread out the pretzel cubes on a large baking sheet and bake, flipping cubes halfway through, until the bread dries out, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool, about 20 minutes. Alternatively, you can cut the cubes the day prior and leave to dry out at room temperature overnight.
  2. Adjust the oven to 350°F. Butter a 8-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 2-1/2-inch (or similarly sized such as a 9 x 13-inch) baking dish.
  3. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat.
  4. Add onion and celery and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season lightly with Kosher salt and pepper.
  5. Add garlic, rosemary, sage and thyme and cook stirring frequently, about 1 to 2 minutes. (Onion mixture can be made a day in advance. Cool and refrigerate.)
  6. In a large bowl, mix pretzel cubes, onion mixture and cheddar cheese.
  7. Whisk beer, mustard, honey, eggs and 1 cup chicken stock in a small bowl.
  8. Using a rubber spatula, stir beer mixture into pretzel cube mixture.
  9. Season lightly with Kosher salt and pepper.
  10. Transfer the stuffing mixture to the prepared pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake immediately or refrigerate for up to a day. (Remove from the refrigerator an hour before baking.)
  11. Bake for 30 minutes, covered. Remove aluminum foil and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes until pretzels are crusty and the stuffing is set. Serve immediately.
Notes
* This recipe uses large soft pretzels – not pretzel rolls (like what you’d use for sandwiches). If you can, please procure your pretzels from Wawa or Philly Pretzel Factory.
* Be sure to scrape off most of the salt on the pretzels as it will be too salty otherwise. You will still want to add a bit of Kosher salt during the cooking process.
* If the stuffing looks dry while cooking, add ½ cup chicken stock at a time to moisten.
* I prepared the stuffing a day in advance and baked it an hour prior to serving. It was just the right consistency – pretzels were crusty and the remainder of the stuffing was moist. It wasn’t mushy at all.
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