After the popularity of my cheeseburger bites recipe, I wanted to take the other summer cookout staple—hot dogs—for a spin. If you’re a hot dog enthusiast, I’m sure you appreciate a good pretzel bun. There’s just something about the salty, crunchy texture that compliments the hot dog so well. So, I had to go with pretzels for the bun in these bite size pretzel dogs.
I say bun loosely since these pretzel dog bites only have 2 servings of pretzels in the entire recipe. Similar to the cheeseburger bites recipe, which only uses 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs, this gives them just enough texture and crunch while keeping carbs and calories low. Seriously, you’ll never know they’re nearly carb-free when eating them.
Bite Size Pretzel Dogs Ingredients
This recipe is super simple, with only five core ingredients. So I’ll just briefly touch on a few modifications before you get to the recipe.
The biggest modification is the type of hot dog or sausage you use. You can see below that I used Johnsonville’s Turkey Cheddar Smoked Sausage. I love these things, but it was truly a default decision. My grocery store normally has chicken sausage that’s a bit lower in fat than these but either moved them or stopped carrying them.
Either way, you can use any type of hot dog or sausage you want. For comparison’s sake, the macros of the sausages I used are 120 calories, 10g of protein, 4g of carbs, and 6g of fat.
Outside of the dogs you use, you can always swap full-fat cheddar for fat-free, which the recipe calls for. I’ve included the macros for both in the recipe notes and below.
- Per pretzel dog bite (makes 24): 54 Calories | 5.2P | 3.4C | 2.2F
- Per pretzel dog bite with full-fat cheddar: 59 Calories | 5P | 3.3C | 2.9F
The only other note I have would be your condiments. I prefer mustard over ketchup when it comes to hot dogs, so I used more mustard. If you check out the cheeseburger bites, you’ll see I used twice the amount of ketchup. Feel free to tweak these as you see fit. I included a note in the recipe about adding things like relish or other condiments. You have some room to play with without overflowing the muffin tin.
By the way, this is the muffin tin I use since the question comes up often.
Bite Size Pretzel Dogs
Lower calorie, lower carb pretzel dog poppers that are perfect for any get together or make-ahead snacks.
Ingredients
- 1 package (13.5 oz) Turkey Cheddar Sausages, or your choice of hot dogs/sausage
- 1/2 C (56g) Shredded Parmesan
- 1/2 C (56g) Fat-Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 2 oz (56g or about 40 pretzels) Mini Pretzels, crushed or blended in a food processor
- 3/4 C (184g) Liquid Egg Whites, or 4 whole egg whites
- 3 Tbsp (45g) Mustard
- 2 Tbsp (34g) Reduced Sugar Ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and spray a 24-muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- Slice hot dogs or sausages once vertically and ten times horizontally. (See image.) If you'd like smaller pieces in your bites, feel free to slice them smaller.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Using nonstick cooking spray, pan sear the hot dog/sausage slices (maybe 4-5 minutes, stirring often.)
- While your hot dogs are in the skillet, mix all ingredients in a large bowl. If you'd like to add more ketchup, reduce the mustard, or add something like relish, feel free. As is, you could get away with adding ~100 grams of additional ingredients without overflow in the muffin tin.
- Once you've mixed all ingredients and allowed the hot dogs to briefly cool, add them to the mixture and stir well.
- Using a spoon, transfer the hot dog mixture to the muffin tin. Do your best to portion the hot dogs equally but don't sweat perfection. Wipe any excess off the top of the muffin tin.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Depending on the type of hot dogs or sausage you use, you may have a bit of excess grease during baking. Be sure to keep an eye to avoid any overflow in the oven.
- After the pretzel dog bites have cooled a few minutes, transfer them to a cooling rack or plate.
Notes
- Each bite size pretzel dog has 2 Smart Points.
- Each one of the pretzel dogs (makes 24): 54 Calories | 5.2P | 3.4C | 2.2F
- I've calculated the mustard with 5 calories per teaspoon or 45 calories for all 3 tablespoons since the label is likely rounded down to 0. Not a big deal either way.
If you give these pretzel dog bites a shot or make any of my recipes, I love sharing recipe remixes on Instagram. Be sure to tag me in your creations!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1 mini pretzel dogAmount Per Serving: Calories: 54Total Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 5g
More Bite Size Recipes You Might Like
- Low Carb Pizza Bites
- Cauliflower Tots
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