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Aldi Bavarian Soft Pretzel Sticks (Deutsche Küche) Review

Written byThe Snarkle Sauce
A baked and salted Aldi Deutsche Kuche Bavarian soft pretzel stick, sitting on a white plate.

Even better than the twists.

I previously reviewed Aldi’s twisted version of these soft Bavarian pretzels, so you might be wondering why I’m bothering to write a separate review of the stick version. It turns out the stick variety tastes a lot different! I liked the sticks better. Sticks trump twists! They get their own review. So there!

Aldi offers both types of frozen pretzels during their popular “German Week” event, which happens twice a year and features many Deutsche Küche brand items. I’ll link to my other reviews at the end.

A hand holding a box of Aldi's Deutsche Kuche Bavarian Soft Pretzel Sticks.

Anyway. The box contains two cellophane bags of three pretzels each. So six total.

I math good. Don’t be jealous.

A frozen, un-baked Bavarian soft pretzel stick from Aldi.

Although these sticks LOOK bigger than the twist variety, they’re identical in weight. Each pretzel is approximately 3 ounces. They’re also pre-baked, but unsalted. You add the salt yourself right before baking.

A hand holding a paper packet of coarse salt grains from the Aldi's Deutsche Kuche Bavarian Soft Pretzel Sticks package.

The pretzel salt comes in a separate paper pouch. I liked how light and crunchy the chonky salt fragments are. It’s a crispy, airy, and easy to chew. Not hard on my teeth. The salt grains dissolve quickly on the tongue. To avoid freezer smells, store the porous salt packet separately from the frozen box.

A whole, baked, salted soft pretzel stick sitting on a white plate held by a hand, from Aldi's Deutsche Kuche brand.

Here’s a baked pretzel stick. They are handsome fellows. I love the slashes on top that created diagonal segments. The long shape lends itself to substituting as a bread stick at dinner. Interestingly, the pretzels don’t change much after baking — just a bit browner and crisper.

A detail of the coarse salt on the Bavarian soft pretzel stick from Aldi.

The pretzel stick exterior is much toastier and crunchier than the twisted version of Aldi’s Bavarian pretzels — which has more of a chewy, semi-shiny coating.

Detail of the bread texture from the inside of a Bavarian soft pretzel stick from Aldi's Deutsche Kuche brand.

And the inside is softer. And fluffier. And tastes yeastier, maybe? I liked it much better than the flavor and texture of the twists. Somehow fresher tasting. Technically, the ingredients are identical between the two pretzel varieties, but something about the thicker dough shape improves the gustatory experience.

Two halves of a baked Bavarian soft pretzel stick from Aldi, sitting on a white plate on a wooden table.

Like the twists, I enjoyed these sticks best dipped in melted butter. They’re certainly tasty enough to eat solo, however. I preferred the texture immediately after baking, but they were still edible a couple hours later. Just not as amazing.

Ingredients in Deutsche Küche Bavarian Pretzel Sticks

Here are the ingredients from the label:

  • Wheat flour
  • Water
  • Salt
  • Yeast
  • Malted wheat flour
  • Dextrose (from wheat)
  • Emulsifiers (471, 322 from soy)
  • Stabilizer (412)
  • Acidity regulator (260)

Yes, these are the same ingredients as the twist version of Aldi’s Bavarian pretzels. I would have guessed otherwise. Kind of fascinating what dough shaping can do.

Nutrition Facts in Aldi Bavarian Soft Pretzel Sticks

Nutrition facts from the label on the Aldi's Deutsche Kuche Bavarian Soft Pretzel Sticks box.

“The Salt Police” (aka my lovely, salt-sensitive friend) wants you to know that each pretzel has 2060mg of sodium. A whopping 90% of your daily sodium allowance. Of course, that’s only IF you actually use 1/6th a packet of salt per pretzel. I certainly did not. In fact, I probably used less than half that much, and a bunch fell off after baking, anyway. So, you won’t necessarily be consuming that much sodium. But, you could. The separate salt packet makes it possible to add as little salt as you prefer, before baking.

Cooking Instructions for Aldi Bavarian Pretzel Sticks

Baking instructions from the label on the Aldi's Deutsche Kuche Bavarian Soft Pretzel Sticks box.

The only bummer in the cooking instructions is that you’re supposed to spray the pretzels with water before sprinkling the salt over them. If you’re a grubby urchin like me and don’t have a clean spray bottle of water handy, that’s slightly difficult. I ended up trickling water over my fingers from the faucet and wiping it carefully over the top of the pretzel before salting. Unfortunately, the water absorbs almost instantly, and then the salt won’t stick, so you have to work quickly.

Compared to the twists, the sticks take almost twice as long to bake, although it’s still only 9 minutes, max. I guess 9 minutes is a lifetime when you’re feeling peckish. If speed is a priority, you can bake the twist variety in under 5 minutes.

Price and Shelf-life

These are made in Germany, which elevates their Bavarian credibility in my mind. Hopefully as authentic as it gets. But, frankly, my American stomach wouldn’t know the difference. The box weighs more than a pound and costs just $4.79, so each pretzel is a frugal 80 cents. Mine had an expiration about a year and a half from my date of purchase. However, there’s no way these will ever last that long at my house. Yum.

More Reviews of Aldi Products You Might Like (or Hate)

Check out these other reviews of Aldi frozen stuff I’ve recently written:

Author’s note: I have no affiliation with Aldi, and I wasn’t compensated in any way for this review.

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