Truly chewy keto bagels – you want them and I’ve got them! These bagels are low carb, nut-free, and take only 5 ingredients to make. Easy and delicious, they will take your healthy breakfast to a whole new level.
Okay, let’s talk about keto bagel recipes. Everyone seems to have one these days, and everyone seems to claim that theirs is the best. In case you haven’t noticed, I do not like to do what everyone else is doing. So despite many requests from readers, I really resisted coming up with my own keto bagels. But I finally caved, and here it is.
The reality is that these days, a lot of bloggers are simply doing whatever everyone else is doing. They are searching out the most popular ideas and recreating them in the hopes that theirs will be popular too.
If you’ve been thinking that a lot of keto food blogs are looking exactly the same lately, that’s because they are. The desire to get noticed and get ahead has killed originality and it makes me very sad.
Once upon a time, when I first started this website, bloggers were being unique and putting wonderful twists on old classics. Now so many of them just want to make whatever they think will do well in search results. Which means that they all essentially do the same recipes, trying to compete with one another. I find it very disheartening.
I have vowed not to succumb to this little game and to stay true to my creative spirit. So you may be wondering why I am now publishing a keto bagel recipe when there are so many of them. I will only do this when I think I have something unique to offer on a subject. Or when multiple readers put in a request for a particular recipe. And in this case, both rules apply.
Fathead Dough Bagels
For ages now, readers have been asking if they could make bagels from my Magic Mozzarella Dough. I’ve said yes, but with reservations. I love that version of the famous fathead dough and it’s ideal for things like keto cinnamon rolls and keto pizza.
But it does have a tendency to spread and flatten when baking and I wanted nice round domed bagels. Not bagel thins! And from what I hear, this is an issue with many other keto bagels as well.
Fathead dough has a lot of oil in it from the cheese and the cream cheese. If you’re adding almond flour to that, then you are adding even MORE oils. So it makes perfect sense that all of these fats melt together during baking and cause the dough to spread significantly.
You can always add more almond flour or something else but that just adds more carbs. And that’s not really the point now, is it?
Keto Bagels with Coconut Flour
But a few weeks ago, I was playing around with the recipe for keto gnocchi. I simply couldn’t get the plain cheese and egg version to hold together, no matter what I did, so I added some coconut flour. And then, when it still stuck to the pan and fell apart, I decided to pick up the bits and bake them instead. And they puffed and became beautifully golden brown and I realized I was onto something. It struck me that this dough would make really great low carb bagels.
For many folks, this recipe will be a hit because it’s entirely nut-free. I still had to play around with it some to get it to work. For one thing, I made them a bit on the small side the first time, divvying up the dough into 10 bagels. It’s better to make 8 slightly larger bagels, and they still only have 5.5g total carbs per serving. Yippee! That’s definitely doable for most keto dieters. I also needed more baking powder to get a better rise out of them.
I was really delighted with these. They taste like bagels, they have that real bagel chewiness, and they are quite easy to make. They reminded me of traditional Montreal style bagels…smaller and denser than the New York kind, but full of flavor and delightfully chewy. They toast really well too, and with a schmear of cream cheese, you can truly enjoy bagels again.
Tips for Making Keto Bagels
- Coconut flour can vary sometimes so it’s best to try to use what I used, which is Bob’s Red Mill.
- These bagels are best baked on a silicone mat, to help protect the bottoms from getting too brown.
- Bake the bagels in the middle of the oven for more even heat distribution.
- Use good baking powder that isn’t past its prime, so that they will rise properly.
- Bake until golden brown on the tops. Try not to take them out to early so that they don’t shrink.
So there you have it. My keto bagel recipe among a zillion other keto bagel recipes. But I think mine has worth and so I shared it with you.
But I promise you, my friends…I will never lose my originality.
Keto Fathead Bagels
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut flour (56g)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 12 oz pre-shredded part skim mozzarella
- 2 large eggs
Optional Topping for Everything Bagels
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon poppyseed
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with a silicone liner. In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, baking powder, and xanthan gum. Set aside.
- In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the cheese on high in 30 second increments until well melted and almost liquid. Stir in the flour mixture and the eggs and knead in the bowl using a rubber spatula.
- Turn out onto the prepared baking sheet and continue to knead together until cohesive. Cut the dough in half and cut each half into 4 equal portions so that you have 8 equal pieces of dough.
- Roll each portion out into a log about 8 inches long. Pinch the ends of the log together.
- In a shallow dish, stir together the sesame seeds, poppyseed, dried onion, and salt. Brush the top of each bagel with melted butter and dip firmly into the everything seasoning. Set back on the silicone mat.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the bagels have risen and are golden brown.
JoAnn says
I made these and they turned out great! Question…the melted mozzarella seemed like it began to”cook” the egg and it was had to make smooth. I kneaded it and it came together enough I guess. Is this normal? Any suggestions? I did use block cheese that I shredded. Will definitely try again with packaged shredded cheese!
Carolyn says
So if you watch the video, you see that I put the flour mixture down over the cheese before the egg. It just protects it a bit more, although I’ve never had an issue with feeling like the egg is cooking. Try that next time… dump the egg in the same part of the bowl where you put the flour mixture.
Share Zimberoff says
Can these be stored on the counter top in an airtight container? What about refrigerator or freezer storage? How long for each method? Thanks
Carolyn says
The counter is best to avoid them getting too hard. They are good for up to 5 days.
Emalene says
I made this tonight and did half the dough for a pizza crust and then four bagels to try different applications. OMG! This was the best keto crust/bread I’ve ever made! I love your recipes, Thank You.
Carolyn says
Delighted to hear it!
Margaret says
Today is probably the 6th times I have made these. I have a 6 count silicone donut/bagel mold and they come out beautiful. I have been doing keto or low card for less than a year, but until I tried this recipe I found no substitute for bread that DH and I would eat. Also love this web site!
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Judy M says
Hi Carolyn, I miss you. I just happened to see this post. I had to give up cheese and Erythritol. It was painful to have to give your book away (to a happy person)
It would be too pricey to experiment with vegan cheese.
I will check your posts for foods I can use.
Best of everything to you. Merry Christmas. Happy 2022
Charla Hack says
Has anyone used this recipe with dairy free cheese?
Stephanie says
I can’t believe the texture on these amazing bagels. So perfect!
Rebecca Hubbell says
The best keto bagel recipe I’ve tried so far. They are softer and chewier than most others and not and tough/dense! Great recipe!
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Jessica Burgess says
These turned out absolutely PERFECT! I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for so long and this is a keeper! Thank you so much!
Rebecca says
Hi there,
Is there a substitute for xanthan gum? I couldn’t find this in my area. Was wondering what is the best next substitute to use in this recipe.
Love your recipes.
Rebecca
Carolyn says
Really, there isn’t. But it’s usually in the gluten-free aisle of most grocery stores. Or it can be purchased online.
Rob Giese says
Great recipe and gets me paste the fast food breakfast sandwich craving.
Jo Truan says
I love these, they are my go to when I want bread.
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
Mark Henningsen says
I purchased a USA pan donut/bagel pan. Will that work for this recipe?
Carolyn says
I have never made mine in a pan, just free-form, so I can’t really advise.
Luiza says
Hello, great recipe! Although I did it with European products, it turned out exactly as in the video. The dough was great to work with and the taste… so addictive! The only problem I had was that the bagels puffed very nice in the oven, however they became flat after I took them out of it. I followed the advice not to hurry and put them put right away, left them in half open oven for 5 more minutes. Will apreciate any advice how to avoid this! Thank you again for the great recipes you share with us!
Carolyn says
I think that’s going to come down to what cheese you used, and with you being in Europe, I can’t know what affect that would have. So I recommend adding a bit more coconut flour to help them keep their shape. Work in at least 1 or 2 more tablespoons.
Luiza says
Thank you! Next time I will do this, I feel like the dough could take 1-2 spoons of flour more. Wish you a great day!
Kirstin says
This is my favorite keto bread recipie ever! I’ve made it a dozen times at least. Thank you, thank you!!
Wendy Flood says
I’ve made several recipes of keto bagels before, and all were ok…..but these were outstanding!!! Not sure if it’s the cat hum gum, the extra egg, or what….. soooo good!!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear that.
Cindi Loohoo says
I have one of those donut pans, do you think they would come out good if I used it instead of the mat?
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried, sorry!
Amanda Shaw says
That’s what I personally use! Come out amazing every time!
Kirstin says
I use a silicon mat and it works great. I like to roll them in a ball or “puck” and poke a hole in the middle.
Dawn says
Any mat, cookie sheet or parchment paper will work. The hole in the middle is to make sure it bakes all the way through. That’s why so many recipes call for either a bundt pan (hole in the middle) or donut shapes – the dough is too dense to cook all the way thru without that middle part taken out of play.
Amy says
Great recipe! Very easy to make with your clear and thought out explanations. I made them plain then toast the toppings (everything seasoning and onion) on a cookie sheet. Then I toast the bagel spread on cream cheese and dip the cream cheese part of the bagel in the toasted toppings to get more on! Lol Thank you! I’ll be checking out your other recipes.
Carolyn says
So glad you like them!
Kathleen Massey says
May I use another cheese that I have on hand like shredded cojack?
Carolyn says
I am not sure how well the dough will come together but it’s worth a try!
Amanda Shaw says
I love how versatile this recipe is! I made some jalapeño cheddar ones today and now I’m looking up some sweet ideas too!
Kim says
Omg!! I would love to know how you did that!!! I love jalapeno cheddar bagels!!