INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (170 g)
- 1 cup
blanched almond flour (113 g) (this cannot be substituted with coconut flour) - 2 tbsp cream cheese (28 g)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tsp
baking powder
Seasoning Mix (Or Use Seasoning Of Choice):
- 1 tbsp
dried dry minced onion - 2 tsp
poppy seeds - 2 tsp
white sesame seeds - 1 tsp
garlic powder - 1/4 tsp salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick silicone baking mat. - In a small bowl, add all seasoning mix ingredients and stir until well-mixed.
- In a large heatproof bowl, add almond flour, about two-thirds of the seasoning mix, and baking powder. Whisk until well-mixed.
- Add mozzarella cheese and cream cheese to the same bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds, stir, and microwave for another 45 seconds or until the cheese is melted. Stir until the mixture forms a smooth dough.
- Add the egg to the same bowl, working it in until absorbed and well-mixed. If easier, use your hands to knead once the dough is cool enough to handle.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a log about 6 inches long, and attach the ends to form a bagel shape. Place the bagels at least 1 inch apart on the prepared lined baking sheet.
- Brush olive oil across the tops. Take the remaining seasoning mix and sprinkle on top, using as much or as little as desired.
- Bake at 375 F until golden brown on top, about 20 minutes. Since ovens vary, start monitoring at 15 minutes.
NUTRITION
| Makes 4 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving (1 bagel w/ seasoning): |
| Calories 370 (72% from fat) | |
| Total Fat 30g | 46% |
| Saturated Fat 8g | 41% |
| Cholesterol 82mg | 27% |
| Sodium 680mg | 28% |
| Net Carb 6.5g | |
| Total Carb 10g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 3.5g | 13% |
| Sugars 2g | |
| Protein 19g |
Bagels Made With Fathead Dough
I use fathead dough to make these bagels, which is a simple low carb dough composed of almond flour, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, and egg. I’m always pleasantly surprised at how easily these ingredients can come together to form a dough, versatile in its uses whether you’re making pizza crusts or garlic knots.
The baked result looks eerily similar to regular bagels. And you can easily slice them in half, slather with your favorite cream cheese spread, and eat them like you would normal bagels. They make for a convenient grab-and-go breakfast or snack.
Homemade Everything Bagel Seasoning Mix
These bagels include a homemade seasoning mix that mimics “everything bagel” seasoning — sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dry minced onion, and garlic powder — and it’s added to both the dough and the topping.
You can make your own seasoning as I did, or use 2-3 tablespoons of store-bought everything bagel seasoning. Another option is to skip the seasoning altogether and just make plain bagels. Either way will work.
Tips For Making Successful Bagels
- For best results, measure out the main ingredients (mozzarella cheese, almond flour, and cream cheese) by weight, not volume. You’ll also get more consistent results that way.
- Watch out for the carbs in almond flour, which can vary from brand to brand. It should be 2g net carbs per 1/4 cup or 1 ounce serving (if you don’t know what net carbs are, read this beginners guide on how to start a low carb diet). I typically buy Kirkland brand almond flour in bulk from Costco.
- I use the microwave to heat the dough ingredients. The microwave times are estimates only, and depending on your particular appliance, you may need longer or shorter times. The goal is to microwave long enough, pausing to stir every 45 seconds or so, so that the ingredients can be easily stirred to form a smooth dough.
- Use a nonstick liner for baking these bagels. I use parchment paper, and another good option is a silicone baking mat. Note that wax paper is not the same as parchment paper and shouldn’t be used in the oven.
- Don’t crowd the individual bagels too close together on the baking sheet. They will expand a fair amount as they bake. I usually space them 2 inches apart.
They taste like I’ve died and gone to some magical cheesy biscuit heaven. Texture is wonderful as well! They’re amazing alone as is, so I cannot wait to try as a sandwich. I did change it up a bit and brushed them with melted butter instead of oil(I was out!). I will be making these all the time! Thanks so much for the recipe!😘
I just made two batches and they are amazing. I had to adjust my cooking time to 16 mins. I made one batch plain and one cheddar jalapeño. Added 1/2 cup cheddar and chopped up 4 oz of jalapeño slices and incorporated it with the egg. Oh my gosh! So yum! Thank you for this recipe!
You’re welcome, Katherine! Cheddar jalapeño sounds amazing 🙂
So I am thinking about meal planning with these. Is it possible to make a large batch, make breakfast sandwiches, and freeze them for a quick on the go breakfast? I work 5a to 3:30p and it takes me 1 hour one way to get to work. If I could just grab a sandwich from the freezer and pop it in the microwave as I am heading out would be a game changer.
I don’t think these bagels would reheat well in the microwave, but I haven’t tested that myself so I can’t say for sure. I’m hoping other readers can chime in with their experience on freezing and reheating these bagels.
Is there an alternative to almond flour? I have a nut allergy…thanks
These can’t be directly substituted with something else like coconut flour. Sorry!
I used coconut flour but adjusted the measurement to 1/2 cup coconut flour. They turned out great and hubby loves them! Thanks so much for the recipe, we love bread but not the carbs 😉.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Love these! How do you store the leftover bagels? Have you frozen them?
Glad to hear you enjoyed them! Mine have never lasted long enough to have leftovers, but I would suggest covering them and storing at room temperature for up to a few days.
Love them! How long do they keep? How do you suggest to store them?
Delicious bagels..but from making them in the past, mine always came out looking like skinny circles and not plump round bagels….so this time. Instead of rolling, I divided into 4 balls…placed them on the parchment paper and flattened with my hand…I then poked a hole in the middle and stretched the center til it resembled a bagel….so much easier and worked fabulously!
Mine did not plump up, or stay together like your picture 😩 They tasted great tho. Any tips on what I could be missing?
I would increase the amount of baking powder that you’re using, or possibly replace it with a new one if yours is old. Besides that, I can’t think of anything else you’re missing, especially since they tasted great.
These bagels are WONDERFUL…and my husband loves them also…will always be my go to bagel recipe! Thank you!
Hi, maybe I did something wrong. Mine tasted OK but the texture was more like cornbread and I couldn’t toast it enough without it falling to pieces. I heated mine three time at 45 seconds, stirring each time and I did forget to put the olive oil on top before I baked them. Could that be the problem? Or is it supposed to have a texture like cornbread?
These bagels aren’t supposed to taste like cornbread and shouldn’t fall apart to pieces when toasting. The olive oil omission shouldn’t affect that. Without more information, it’s hard to say what went wrong here. Did the texture of your dough look similar to that of my photos? If not, I would verify your measurements of shredded mozzarella cheese, almond flour, and cream cheese.
No, not at all. Even after heating and stirring 3 times the mozz was melted but you could still see the strings of it, no matter how much I stirred. Maybe I should have heated more or longer? Maybe I worked it too hard by stirring like a crazy woman. I’m sure I did something really dumb. I so want to be able to eat bread and bagels again! 🙂
Odd, sounds like it’s either the particular mozzarella you used, or your heating method. It’s possible that heating the dough ingredients in a small nonstick saucepan over low heat would yield better results for you (as opposed to using the microwave). You can also try recipes that don’t use fathead dough, like this cornbread recipe or biscuit recipe, they’re not bagels but they’re bread-like.
So good!! Thank you for the recipe. Very rarely do I miss bread but lately it’s been something I crave. This curbed my bread cravings. My husband also loved them.
Thanks for the delicious recipe! I made this without the seeds and went for an onion taste instead. I saved one for the next morning and it was still delicious. I don’t have a toaster so I heated it up in the oven for about 5 min while making my bacon eggs, topped it off with some cheese for a low carb Egg/Bacon/Cheese McMuffin 🙂
Wow, I just made this and it is really good! 😋😋. I should have doubled (or tripled) it. Thank you Julia for this recipe.
Can I use different types of cheese?
I recommend sticking to mozzarella cheese. Cheese plays an important role in this recipe, forming a dough with the proper texture and elasticity. There’s an earlier comment by a reader who tried gouda and cheddar cheese, and her dough was so sticky that she was unable to get the bagels to form properly, despite adding more almond flour.
So good!! I was skeptical at first but they are easy to make and are yummy.. and I’m picky! Almost like a biscuit/English muffin. Thank you for the recipe!
Just made these for the first time and they are so good!! I can’t wait to try a breakfast sandwich with them. Hubby was surprised at how good they taste!
This recipe turn out great every time! I have a couple of members in my family who have gluten sensitivities. It’s hard to find good recipes for baked goods, but this recipe has it all, good texture and good flavor!
Can these be toasted after?
Yes, these bagels can be toasted. See an older comment by Theresa, who said that she toasted the bagels the next day, plus added meat and eggs so it was a toasted bagel sandwich. If you give it a try, please let me know how it works out for you.
I tried this recipe once but unfortunately, did not read the comments before I did so. I used coconut flour instead of almond flour. They turned out like crumbly biscuits. They were edible, but not what I was looking for. I just made them with almond flour now. What a world of difference! Thank you for posting this recipe.
Are you able to use regular almond flour instead of it saying “blanched”?
Diana, that should be fine. Almost all almond flour out there, including the ones I use for my recipes, are blanched. That means the skins are taken off of the almonds, so that the resulting flour looks white. Your packaging’s ingredients label should indicate if blanched or unblanched almonds are used to make the flour. If you use unblanched almond flour, the color will be darker. For these bagels, it shouldn’t matter much which kind you use, as long as you don’t mind a difference in the color of your bagels.
Absolutely delicious! Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out GREAT. Best alternative to any bread/bagel recipe I’ve tried!
So I made this with Gouda and cheddar instead of mozzarella and used cup no weight no scale. They were really moist the dough and sticky so was hard to get them to shape properly since dough kept sticking to my fingers I added more flour but still sticky they came out ok but crumbly. You think is the cheese ??
I think it’s the cheese. They have different textures, and mozzarella cheese has properties that make it ideal for use in “fathead dough.” In many situations, cheese can be substituted without much detriment to the dish. In this recipe, cheese plays an important role in forming the correct dough, so substitutions often do not work.
These are delicious!! Thanks! What is the best way to store?
Can you sub with coconut flour or flax seed.. not a huge fan of almond flour?
You can’t substitute directly, no. I haven’t experimented with coconut flour or flaxseed to determine how the other ingredients would need to be modified.
For Christmas brunch, I made your recipe using a large cookie baller. Two batches made enough bites for 10 people to share.