Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods come together in under 5 minutes with only 3 ingredients. At just $0.19 per serving, this easy treat is an affordable way to satisfy a salty and sweet craving.
I love making these when I need a quick treat that everyone can customize. The kids can dip the pretzel rods and add their favorite toppings, which makes this a fun recipe to make together for parties, school events, or an afternoon snack.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
- Quick and Easy. These pretzel rods take just minutes to prepare, making them a great choice when you need a treat without a lot of work.
- Only 3 Ingredients. You only need pretzel rods, chocolate, and your favorite toppings to make this simple dessert.
- Sweet and Salty. The crunchy pretzels paired with smooth, sweet chocolate create a combination everyone enjoys.
- Easy to Customize. Add sprinkles, chopped nuts, crushed cookies, or other favorite toppings to make each pretzel rod your own.
- Great for Any Occasion. Serve them as an afternoon snack, party treat, dessert table addition, or homemade gift.
- Budget-Friendly. At just $0.19 per serving, these are an inexpensive way to make a fun homemade treat.
After making homemade treats for more than 14 years, I’ve learned that simple recipes are often the ones I reach for most. These pretzel rods are easy to prepare ahead of time, and you can change the toppings to match any occasion or let everyone create their own combination.
We also love Red White and Blue Chocolate Pretzels and Easter Chocolate Covered Pretzels.
Ingredients
- White Chocolate Chips. Ghirardelli is a good brand to use.
- Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips. Semi sweet helps to cut down on the sweetness. You can also use almond bark.
Get the entire ingredient list at the bottom of the page.
How to Make Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods
Step 1. Melt the white chocolate chips and semi-sweet chocolate chips in a tall glass or microwave-safe bowl. Stir in between each interval with a long handled spoon.
Step 2. Dip ½ of the pretzel rods into the melted white chocolate one at a time. Remove excess chocolate.
Step 3. Then dip the other ½ of the pretzel rods in the semi-sweet chocolate and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
Step 4. Use a fork to drizzle the opposite chocolate onto each rod for decoration. Allow them to cool completely and then serve.
Expert Tips
- Make sure the quality chocolate or melted wafers are completely melted before dipping the pretzels rods.
- If the melted candy or chocolate is not smooth, add about ½ tsp of vegetable oil to it to make it more smooth as it will coat the pretzels better.
- Make sure that you do not overheat the chocolate or candy melts as this will make it difficult to spread so watch it closely while melting. You definitely want to make sure to do 30 second intervals. Feel free to also use a double boiler.
- Use the melted chocolate or candy melts immediately. It will harden back so be ready to dip the pretzels once it has been melted.
- Cover your cookie sheet in foil to allow the pretzels to dry. You can also use wax paper or parchment paper as well.
- Allow a few minutes of drying before drizzling with the opposite chocolate to make sure that they do not mix together on the pretzels.
- Make sure that the pretzels are completely dried before moving for storage.
- Melting chocolate. You can also melt chocolate in the crock pot instead of the microwave. Fill the crock pot with hot water. Then place mason jars in the water and put the chocolate inside the jars.
- Keep pretzels dry. Any moisture, even condensation from a cold pretzel bag, can make melted chocolate seize into a grainy, clumpy mess. Make sure pretzels are fully at room temperature, and your bowl is completely dry before you start melting.
Two Things That Can Go Wrong (and Why)
- Seizing. If your chocolate turns grainy and clumpy while melting, that’s called seizing. It happens when even a small amount of water gets into the chocolate.
- Bloom. If your chocolate later develops a chalky white film, that’s bloom which is caused by cocoa butter separating after the chocolate cools too quickly or gets too warm again. Neither one means the chocolate is unsafe to eat, but keeping your tools bone-dry and storing the finished pretzels at room temperature avoids both.
Variations
- Try making 4th of July Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods. These are so festive with the red,white and blue.
- Peeps Chocolate Pretzel Rods are adorable and so fun for Easter!
- Use candy melts and make these for any occasion. They are the perfect party favors for Birthday, sports themed and more.
- Use pink or blue colored candy melts and make these for a baby shower.
- Top the pretzel rods with sprinkles. This is so fun for Valentine’s Dday, Halloween, Christmas and more.
- Crushed candy or cookies are so decadent on the pretzel rods. Some delicious ideas include: oreo cookies, butter finger and heath bar.
- Drizzle with caramel and milk chocolate chips. You can also use dark chocolate.
- Coconut. Sprinkle shredded coconut on top of the pretzels.
- Valentine Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods. These are so much fun for Valentine’s Day, and you can also add red and pink M&M candies.
- Nuts. Chopped walnuts or pecans taste great on pretzel rods.
- Peanut Butter. Melt peanut butter chips and use as a coating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pretzel Rods are the perfect dessert to make ahead of time. You can make them as early as 2 weeks in advance. Make sure to store in an airtight container.
If stored properly in an airtight container, they will last up to 2 weeks. Which makes them perfect for gift giving.
Keep the pretzels in an airtight container at room temperature so that they will stay fresh longer. No one wants stale pretzels and this will ensure they stay nice and crispy.
Chocolate that’s chilled and then brought back to room temperature can develop a chalky white film called “bloom” — it’s caused by cocoa butter separating out as the chocolate cools too quickly, not spoilage. It’s still safe to eat, but it won’t look as glossy, so room temperature storage is the better choice here.
They are perfect for gifting in cellophane bags and pretty ribbon.
More Chocolate Covered Desserts
If you make these Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods, I’d love to hear how they turned out! Leave a review and give the recipe a 5-star rating below. Your feedback helps other readers and makes it easier for them to find recipes they’ll love.
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods
Ingredients
- 24 Pretzel Rods
- 6 ounces white chocolate chips
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
See how we calculate recipe costs.
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet or tray with parchment paper, wax paper, aluminum foil, or place a wire rack over a baking sheet.
- Place 6 ounces white chocolate chips and 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips into two separate tall microwave-safe glasses or bowls.
- Microwave each chocolate in 30-second intervals, stirring well after each interval, until completely melted and smooth.
- Dip 12 pretzel rods halfway into the melted white chocolate, allowing any excess chocolate to drip off. Place the coated pretzels on the prepared baking sheet.
- Dip the remaining 12 pretzel rods halfway into the melted semi-sweet chocolate and place them on the baking sheet.
- Using a fork, drizzle the white chocolate over the semi-sweet chocolate-coated pretzels and drizzle the semi-sweet chocolate over the white chocolate-coated pretzels.
- Let the chocolate harden at room temperature for about 1 hour, or refrigerate the pretzel rods for about 30 minutes until the chocolate is completely set.
- Serve immediately or store the chocolate-covered pretzel rods in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Very good and very easy to make
Made these as gift for a friend as a pick me up. So easy, yet special to make as you can play with the chocolate.
How long in advance can you make them?
You can make them up to 1 week in advance of serving them. After a week, I think they loose their freshness.
If making them a few days in advance & packaging 2-4 in clear food wrap bags, is it recommended to refrigerate? Or is it okay to leave at room temp?
They are ok to leave at room temperature. However, if it’s humid in your area, than I would recommend storing them in the refrigerator so that the chocolate doesn’t melt.
I make these every year for my daughter’s family and they all love them. Thank you for the recipe.
Jill – Thank you so much! This means so much!