This easy Pretzel Bark recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make and is the perfect sweet and salty treat, made with layers of melted chocolate, caramel and crunchy pretzels.
Pretzel Bark is the #1 Easiest Sweet and Salty Treat
Pretzel Bark is the #1 Easiest Sweet and Salty TreatIt hits all the right notes of sweet, salty, crunchy, and chocolatey, without any complicated steps (and they're easy enough for my little kids to make!). All you need is a sheet pan (here's my favorite one), chocolate chips, caramel, and sea salt.
Pretzel Bark tastes like a homemade candy bar but only uses four ingredients, and you don’t need a candy thermometer or any special tools. It's one of our favorites for the holidays or when we want a sweet and salty snack. I like to gift pretzel toffee in these cute holiday cookie boxes or plain white boxes for any time of year.
Try my other candy recipes, like Rocky Road, Graham Cracker Toffee, Chocolate Fudge, or Chocolate Covered Marshmallows!
How to make Pretzel Bark:
Melt and Spread Chocolate: Grab some high-quality chocolate chips (Ghirardelli and Guittard are my favorite brands for smooth melting. Other chocolate chips wont melt properly.) and microwave in 30 second intervals until completely smooth. Spread melted chocolate on a lined baking sheet. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
Add Pretzels: Gently press mini pretzels into the melted chocolate. Don’t worry about making them even, just scatter them on for a fun, rustic look.
Melt and Drizzle Caramel: I use Kraft Caramel Bits but you could also use my homemade caramel recipe if you prefer from-scratch. Drizzle the warm caramel generously over the pretzels. It acts like glue to hold everything together!
Add More Chocolate and Sea Salt: Drizzle a little more melted chocolate over the top, then finish with a light sprinkle of flaky sea salt. YUM! Let the bark set in the fridge until firm (about 30 minutes). Break or cut into pieces and start snacking!
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Recipe
Pretzel Bark Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips , good quality chocolate divided into pieces (I like ghiardelli or baker's chocolate bar best for melting)
- 8 ounces mini pretzel twists , half of a regular 16-ounce bag
- 11 ounce bags Kraft Caramel Bits , or homemade caramel
- flake finishing salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt Chocolate: Melt 8 ounces of the chocolate chips gently in the microwave (on low heat, stirring every 15 seconds) until smooth.12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Spread chocolate evenly over the parchment. Immediately add pretzel twists over the top (it's ok if they overlap!) and gently press them into the chocolate.8 ounces mini pretzel twists
- Melt caramel: Add caramel bits to a microwave safe bowl with 2 tablespoons water and melt according to package instructions (on high for 2 minutes). Stir well and drizzle melted caramel over pretzels.11 ounce bags Kraft Caramel Bits
- Top with remaining chocolate. Melt remaining 4 ounces of chocolate and drizzle over the caramel. Sprinkle with flake salt.flake finishing salt for sprinkling
- Refrigerate until set. Cut or tear into pieces, Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe February 2017. Updated August 2019 and November 2025.
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Tried this recipe for the first time. It was not complicated in any way. My problem was the chocolate drizzle was more like a storm. Much of the chocolate blobbed on instead of a finer drizzle. We haven’t tried them yet, I’m sure they will be wonderful, however I wondered what is a better way to drizzle the chocolate. I was using a teaspoon. Or is it that the chocolate was not melted enough, it looked smooth.
Hi Casey,
The chocolate should be runny enough to drizzle over the bars. I like to put it in a plastic zip lock, cut off the very corner and then drizzle it on top!
Is your homemade caramel recipe the right amount for one batch of bars?
Hi Katie,
My homemade caramel recipe will make roughly 3-4 batches of these caramel pretzel bars!
Hi Lauren..I would like to make these for Christmas, how do I store them until Christmas..
Hi Lee, I would store them in a covered container in the fridge! Hope you enjoy them!
These are so easy and everyone raves about them. They are soooooo good!
Thanks Heather! I really love how easy they are! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Hi.
I am going to attempt these tomorrow! So excited! But I was wondering if caramel chips would work? I can’t ever find caramel candies in any of my stores. But I just found some caramel chips(like chocolate chips but caramel) 🙂
Hi Sarah, I have never tried those so I can’t say for sure…but if the package has melting instructions then they should work!
I used caramel flavored chips today and it was a total mess. Use real caramel.
Thanks for letting us know–sorry those didn’t work. Hopefully you can use the real deal next time 🙂
Fantistic…made a batch for Thanksgiving…thought it would be enough for the whole family… two boys ate the whole thing except for the 2 pieces I got. Guess it was a hit as they both wanted the recipe!!! Thanks
Thinking about making these and shipping them xmas gifts. I’d put them in mason jars with a typical jelly lid. Would they keep for a few weeks or just go stale?
Nellie, I think that is a fantastic idea and I think they would keep just fine mason jars!
So yummy and easy. My 7 year old made these today!! Thanks for the recipe!
Love that you added a step by step with pictures. You couldn’t of walked me through the steps any easier 🙂
Can’t find the caramel squares what can I use instead
I found Hershey’s sea salt caramel baking chi ps can I use these?
Thanks
Hi Diane, I wouldn’t use the caramel baking chips–those wont melt like caramel.
Most standard grocery stores carry the Kraft caramel bits…they are in an orange bag, in the same area as the chocolate chips. They look like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005I570GE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=taste03e-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B005I570GE&linkId=df75a35e9fd389431965747236d37482
Let me know if you can’t find those. You’re other option would be to make the caramel homemade.
You may also find them in the candy aisle. That’s where I found them in my local grocery store.