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My low calorie bagels are light, fluffy, and tangy, like all bagels should be. The best part? They’re 80 calories each, and NO yeast or frying is needed!
Need more easy bagel recipes? Try my keto bagels, air fryer bagels, 2 ingredient bagels, or protein bagels next!
I genuinely love bagels, but I rarely eat them because they have so many calories, carbs, and, is it me, or do they seem to be getting smaller?
Well, lately, I’ve been craving a bagel like no other, so I devised a low-calorie option that uses my Greek yogurt dough as the base. The results are light, fluffy bagels with a subtle tangy taste (thanks to the yogurt) and the perfect golden crumb!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Baked, not fried. Which dramatically cuts down on the added calories–and labor!
- No yeast is needed. So there’s no waiting around for the dough to rise.
- They freeze well. Do yourself a favor and make a double-batch, then freeze the extras for when you’re craving a smoked salmon bagel.
- Toast-worthy. Enjoy these bagels fresh from the oven, or toast them and add your favorite spreads.
- Less than 80 calories each. That’s roughly ⅓ of a traditional bagel!
Ingredients needed
- Non-fat yogurt. Use Greek yogurt for the best texture and extra protein. You can also use regular plain yogurt, though the calories will be higher.
- Self-rising flour. Essentially a pre-made mix of all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. This helps cut down on measuring and helps the bagels to rise. In addition to being convenient, it’s very easy to make my homemade self rising flour.
- Salt. For flavor.
- Bagel seasonings. Like sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or Everything but the Bagel seasoning.
- Butter. Optional, but I brush melted butter onto the tops of the bagels to help the toppings stick. Alternatively, use an egg wash.
How to make low calorie 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- Prep. Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2- Make the dough. Combine the flour, yogurt, and salt until a smooth dough forms. Shape it into a ball.
Step 3- Shape. Place the dough on a floured surface and divide it into equal-sized balls. Roll it into a bagel shape, connecting the sides to form a circle.
Step 4- Bake. Place the bagels on the lined baking sheet, brush them with oil, and sprinkle your toppings on the tops of each bagel. Bake until they’re golden brown, then let them cool briefly.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Bake the bagels on the middle rack of the oven to prevent the toppings from burning.
- Make them savory. Add 1-2 teaspoons of garlic powder or onion powder for a different flavor.
- Or sweet. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar (or brown sugar substitute) for sweeter bagels.
- Add mix-ins. Like raisins, cinnamon, blueberries, pickled jalapeños, or asiago cheese…though preferably not all in the same recipe!
Storage instructions
To store: Store the bagels in an airtight container in the fridge for one week.
To freeze: Place the cooled, uncut bagels in a freezer bag and freeze for six months.
Frequently asked questions
Smaller bagels or bagels made with whole grains tend to have fewer calories, though it depends on the brand. That’s why I often prefer to make my own!
Bagels can be an acceptable part of a weight loss diet so long as they’re enjoyed in moderation. One way to help is to add high protein spreads, like my low-calorie peanut butter or whipped cottage cheese, to make them more nutritionally dense.
More low-calorie favorites
- Low calorie banana bread
- Low calorie cereal
- Low calorie pancakes
- Low calorie tortillas
- Or any of my low calorie recipes
Low Calorie Bagels
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup Non fat Greek Yogurt
- 1 cup self rising flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon light butter optional
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds * See notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, non-fat yogurt, and salt, and mix until a thick dough remains. Using your hands, gently shape into a smooth ball.
- Lightly flour a kitchen surface. Transfer the ball of dough on top of it. Divide the dough into 8 large or 12 small portions. Using your hands, roll out the dough into a hot dog shape then connect the sides to form bagels. Place them on the lined baking sheet.
- Brush the tops of each bagel with the melted light butter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and/or your favorite bagel toppings.
- Bake the bagels for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Remove the bagels from the oven and let them cool completely, before slicing in half and serving.
Hm I was searchimg this week in the shop. But I couldnt find low calorie bagels. You have some advice?
Can I also use skyr instead of Greek Youghurt?
I never bake things especially not bread and this seemed too good to be true low calorie and quick and easy but ALAS they came out literally perfect I can’t believe it!! I put rock salt and garlic on the top and omg so amazing
I never made bagels before. When you write self raising flour, can I use regular one and put baking powder?
I never made baga before. I see many of your recipes have Greek yoghurt.
But in grocceries I only find “type of Greek yoghurt”. Is that the same?
These are the most delicious and easy bagles to make. I love them! Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome!
best bagels ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
made these many times. They are so so good. Thank you Armin for this. Nice to have some bread type that is not just bread. Goes lovely with a salad.
Would you be able to make this using regular plain low fat yogurt rather than Greek?
Yes 🙂
The bagels are amazing! I made everything and I also made a blueberry bagel with frozen blueberries! They are a some you can’t even tell they were made with 3 ingredients, they are so good! My only gripe is that the dough gets very wet with the Greek yogurt so I would either use less Greek yogurt or more flour your choice, they are small bagels but you could always make more dough, I had my gallbladder removed and I really wanted a bagel but all the of bagels you find are high in Fat, so I would highly recommend these to anyone!! And they do not brown like the pictures but they are still soft and crunchy at the same time
I love the bagel recipe. Thank you very much. They came out perfect.
Is there a vegan yogurt brand that would work in this recipe? Or is there another substitute that would work that is vegan?
Yes! I like using nakula coconut yogurt.
Super easy to make and nice and chewy. When I made them, they came out a bit dense and a little bitter (I’m guessing from the Greek yogurt). Is there anything I can do to make them fluffier and maybe a little sweeter/less tart?
I must say im more than happy ! They are soo easy and also cheap to make! They taste so good and they are soo fluffy ! They fit my low calorie diet :)) as a 15y.o with no skills this was fun and easy, i enjoyed them, as Well my brother. Thank you! Now i need to try more of your recipes !
What brand of greek yogurt do you use?
I like Fropro which has extra protein and lower calories, but Chobani non fat works too 🙂
can I use whole wheat instead?
Yes, provided it is self rising flour.
AMAZING !! I was sure it couldn’t be as good as you said. I was wrong!! So good!!! Thank you SO much. These will be added to the rotation for sure.
Thanks again
Could I do this with an air fryer?
You can!
So yummy, soft and chewy. They’re not the size of a regular bagel (I thought they would be) and if you’re using a salty topping (I used everything bagel seasoning) I would omit some salt from the recipe unless you like it salty. Awesome recipe tho, so easy and quick !!
This recipe was really good! I had to scale down my yoghurt because it’s really drippy so it makes this type of dough too sticky if I put the full amount. My only grief is that it never gets a nice browning on top it stays sheet white even though I put olive Oil on top. Fsr the bottoms browns though they were fully cooked So I don’t understand the problem any suggestions?