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These keto bagels are chewy and dense in the middle and have a tender crust, they taste like the real thing! Made with just 5 ingredients, these have no yeast in them!
Love keto bread recipes? Try my keto bread, keto buns, and keto rolls next.
You’ve come to the right place if you are after the best-tasting low-carb bagels.
It’s no secret that when it comes to low carb bread, I’m quite the expert with tons of tried and tested varieties up my sleeve. These bagels are up there too.
There are so many keto bagel recipes out there, but none of them come close to achieving the texture of a traditional wheat-based bagel. This one, however, is the real deal.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- No resting time. It takes less than 15 minutes to bake.
- Best texture and flavor. The bagels are chewy in the middle and have a light yet dense crumb. There is no eggy, cheesy, or any weird taste (thanks to the fathead dough).
- Easy to customize. Like any good bagel, you can add your favorite toppings, seasonings, and/or herbs.
What are keto bagels made of?
As mentioned earlier, this recipe calls for just 5 simple ingredients. Here is what you’ll need:
- Almond flour. Blanched almond flour or superfine almond flour, not almond meal. The former two will yield a light and tender crumb.
- Baking powder. Gives the bagels some rise and fluffiness.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese. Low-moisture mozzarella cheese is best, as it will yield a more chewy bagel with a golden exterior. I’ve tested it with other kinds of mozzarella, and they were decent.
- Cream cheese. Full-fat cream cheese, NOT reduced-fat varieties.
- Eggs. Room temperature eggs. You can also add an extra egg yolk to be used as an egg wash.
- Toppings. Everything but the bagel seasoning, garlic powder, sesame seeds etc.
How to make low carb bagels
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prepare the ingredients. Start by whisking together the almond flour and baking powder in a small bowl then set it aside. Next, add the mozzarella cheese and softened cream cheese to a microwave-safe bowl. Melt the two cheeses together in 20-second spurts, stirring each time, until they both are mostly melted. Whisk them together until combined and smooth.
Step 2- Process the dough. Next, let the cheese mixture cool slightly, before transferring them into a food processor. Add two of the eggs and dry ingredients and pulse everything together until a smooth and sticky dough remains.
Step 3- Shape into bagels. Now, sprinkle some almond flour onto a flat kitchen surface. Using lightly wet hands, transfer the dough onto it divide it into 8 portions. Roll out the dough then join them at the sides to form a bagel shape. Place them on a lined baking sheet and whisk the remaining egg. Brush the top of each bagel with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Step 4- Bake the bagels. Finally, bake the bagels for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Allow the bagels to cool before slicing, toasting, and serving. Use them for keto breakfast sandwiches,
Arman’s recipe tips
- If your stand mixer has a dough blade attachment, use that to pulse everything together for a more uniform dough. It’s much easier than mixing by hand.
- Do not microwave the cheeses all at once– you must do them in 20-second spurts. This ensures they don’t burn or overcook and be pliable enough to form the dough. No microwave? I find the double boiler method to be the next best option, but be sure to keep mixing.
- The egg wash is optional, but it gives the bagels a golden crust and holds the toppings better. You can also try melted butter.
- Use a donut pan for uniform-size bagels. Add the batter to a ziplock bag and pipe it in.
Flavor Variations
While delicious on its own, here are flavor ideas to add on top. Personally, I love them with some almond butter, keto jam, or homemade Nutella on top!
- Asiago. Also known as cheese bagels! Fold through 1/4 cup of shredded cheese into the dough, and sprinkle the tops with parmesan cheese before baking.
- Poppy seed. Sprinkle the tops of the bagels with poppy seeds.
- Cinnamon Raisin. Add 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon into the dough, and fold through 2-3 tablespoons of raisins.
- Sesame. Simple and classic- Add toasted sesame seeds on top.
- Onion bagels. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and add onion powder and onion flakes to it. Top the bagels with coarse sea salt, onion flakes, and sesame seeds.
- Everything. Add everything but the bagel seasoning over the tops of the bagels.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftover bagels are best to be stored in the refrigerator, in a sealed container. They will keep well for up to 5 days.
To freeze: Place the bagels in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To reheat: Microwave for 30 seconds, before slicing in half and toasting in a toaster.
Frequently Asked Questions
This particular keto bagel recipe contains 175 calories per bagel. Compared to a traditional bagel which yields at least 300 calories, they are not just low carb but also low calorie!
Low carb bagels have 2 grams net carbs per bagel.
More keto bread recipes to make
Perfect Keto Bagels
Video
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- 3 large eggs divided
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the almond flour and baking powder and set aside. In a microwave safe bowl, add the mozzarella cheese and cream cheese. Microwave them together in 30-second spurts, until mostly melted. Whisk them together until smooth.
- Transfer the mixture into a food processor, along with two of the eggs and dry ingredients, and pulse until smooth.
- Lightly flour a kitchen surface with some almond flour. Transfer the dough onto it and divide it into eight equal portions. Roll out each piece of dough into a thin, sausage shape. Connect the sides to form bagels.
- Place the bagels onto the lined baking sheet. Whisk the third egg in a small bowl then brush it over the tops of each bagel, then sprinkle your toppings of choice. Bake the bagels for 12-15 minutes, until firm and golden on top.
- Remove the bagels from the oven and let them cool completely, before slicing and serving.
Arman,
Maybe I missed it but can you tell me how I can convert the ingredients to grams?
I am a bagel snob. I worked in a bagel bakery for 5 years. In my opinion, if it’s not boiled, it’s not a bagel. I plan on making this recipe (doubled) this upcoming weekend. I’ll boil half and let you know the results.
Delicious!!! I double the batch, mix it all together(all eggs mixed in), and top with Everything but the Bagel and bake in silicone donut/bagel pans. Makes 18
What can you do if you don’t have a food processor?
You can try using a mixing bowl
Putting the dough in the food processor really helped make the dough workable. Mine came out nice and smooth when I rolled them out. They baked up nice and puffy and the flavor was good. I tried 2 different kinds, cinammon/”sugar”(using monk fruit sweetener) and everything bagel seasoning. They were a little “cheesy”, but still good. I’m going to try Asiago cheese ones, bet those will be SPECTACULAR! Thanks for the recipe!
Loved these bagels. I’m a fan of bagels and really missed not eating them due to the high carbs. These are easy to make and take care of my bagel cravings. They’re chewy and I love them toasted in the air fryer. 😋
absolutely OBSESSED with these!! started adding some sugar free chocolate chips into the dough to make chocolate chip bagels, so delicious!
I love bagels, but they’re not in the menu these day…until now! I just made a batch and they came out great. For those concerned about how many bagels you can yield, watch the video and you’ll see how you can get 8 perfectly sized bagels per batch. I topped mine with Everything But The Bagel on most then onion flakes on the rest. I’m so happy with this and look forward to trying the pizza recipe next.
Think the food processor is necessary? Or could I just hand mix – or use a hand mixer to incorporate? Recipe looks great!
Hey Arman, what if we don’t have a food processor?
You could try mixing by hand, but I didn’t like the results.
You might try pumpkin seed flour. The bagels may be a bit green or gray in color but the flour is supposed to act just like almond flour.
We have a tree nut allergy in the household – is there a keto friendly almost flour substitute that doesn’t use tree nut?
You could try sunflower seed flour
Greetings from Texas! You have FORVER changed my keto life!!! My husband is real skeptical on “breads” bc I still haven’t found a recipe that has been a winner but I made this to meal prep as bagel breakfast sandwiches for our camping trip and omgeee they were soooo freakin good! Thank you for this and blessing my keto cooking game!! I’m excited to try more recipes of yours!
Hello!! I just tried this recipe and love it. Note to self, do not use the spreadable cream cheese, it melts quicker than using the cream cheese brick. Also, curious, could the Lupin flour be substituted for the almond flour?
Can you substitute the cheese for lactose cheese ?
I haven’t tried but I don’t see not.