Looking for a delicious way to use up stale soft pretzels? Check out this seasoned pretzel chip recipe to ensure your leftover pretzels don’t end up in the trash.

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Soft pretzels are a centerpiece of the Philadelphia food culture. People eat them for breakfast (akin to bagels) with a dash of mustard along the top. They’re a staple at most parties, sitting on a tray next to hoagies, veggies, and a bowl of chips. And they are a typical snack on the go.

A while back, we had several friends over to our house, and one of them brought a bag of soft pretzels to share. By the end of the night, many of the pretzels remained. Soft pretzels have a short shelf life; they lose most of their appeal as a fresh snack just a few hours after exiting the oven. But I couldn’t bear to see so much excellent food go to waste.

I put my best food waste warrior hat on and headed to Pinterest and the Google Machine in search of creative inspiration for recipes to use up stale soft pretzels. In addition to the handful of promising ideas I found online, I also love a particular, long-standing seasoned pretzel recipe my husband’s aunt and my mother-in-law make from time to time. They use store-bought thin, hard pretzels traditionally, but I wondered if I could replicate the addicting flavor in the form of sliced, toasted pretzel chips made from the stale soft pretzels.

The recipe took a few tries to nail down, but I was really happy with how it turned out. The chips are pretty crunchy, so if crunchy and savory is your jam, these should do the trick. If you’ve got stale soft pretzels hanging around, don’t send them to the landfill. Save money and reduce food waste by turning them from trash into tasty, crunchy pretzel chips.

Ingredients

5 soft pretzels (stale), cut into 1/2″ thick slices
1 cup of oil
1 tbsp dill, dried
1 tbsp lemon pepper
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dry dressing mix

Tools

Whisk (ours came from our Raddish Kids box)
Large Bowl (you can find lots of gorgeous secondhand Pyrex bowls on Facebook Marketplace and other secondhand sites)
Bread Knife
Cutting Board
Oven
Cookie sheet (our Caraway cookie sheets are amazing)
Wire rack (this cooling rack is oven safe up to 550°F, so it doubles as a cooling rack and a wire rack in the oven)
Silicone baking mat (optional)

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As an aside, I’m a big fan of my Caraway pots and pans. I have the full Cookware set in Sage and the full Baking set in Slate. They’ve replaced nearly all of my previous pots and pans. I even convinced my sister to make the investment.

If you’re in the market for a cookware or bakeware refresh, you get $150 off the Cookware set or $150 off the Bakeware set plus free shipping. Each set also comes with free storage sets (both of which I love).

Instructions

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Whisk together oil through the dressing mix in a large bowl.
Toss pretzels into the mixture.
Let stand for 5 minutes.
Spread soaked pretzel slices on a wire rack on a cookie sheet
Bake for 15-17 minutes.
Flip the chips and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until crispy to your liking.
Let cool and enjoy!

Low-waste cooking and baking

As you test out this food waste-fighting savory snack recipe, consider how you might be able to reduce waste in the baking and making process. We’ve shared a beginner’s guide to zero-waste baking as well as lots of other resources about how to reduce food waste.

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Jen Panaro

Jen Panaro, founder and editor-in-chief of Honestly Modern, is a self-proclaimed composting nerd and advocate for sustainable living for modern families. To find her latest work, subscribe to her newsletter, Stepping Stones.

In her spare time, she’s a serial library book borrower, a messy gardener, and a mom of two boys who spends a lot of time in hockey rinks and on baseball fields.

You can find more of her work at Raising Global Kidizens, an online space to help parents and caregivers raise the next generation of responsible global citizens.