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★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
Lower carbs. Add protein.
Homemade bagels. Easy? Yep! It's true. Just 5 ingredients is all you need to make these baked bagels. Lower your carbs and add protein with the help of Greek yogurt.
Homemade bagels, really? That's possible?
Yep. I never thought I'd be making my own bagels. Homemade bread? Sure. But bagels felt out of reach—boiling just sounded too complicated for my easy-going style.
Yet, here we are...
These bagels are baked, no boiling required.
Come to find out you don't need to boil bagels, but essentially it creates a thicker more chewy crust. And to be honest, I always toast my bagels anyway to get rid of the chewy crust. So my lazy brain says, why boil them then?
You don't need to. In fact you'll get a lighter, less dense bagel if you don't boil them and I actually prefer that as well. Dense bread makes me feel like I'm instantly gaining 5lbs with every bite so the lighter, the better in my opinion.
No lye required.
Lye can be intimidating—goggles and gloves aren’t exactly part of my baking routine! But good news: you don’t need it to make great bagels. Baking soda gives a similar flavor, and you’ll need it for rising anyway. For that classic golden color, just use an egg wash—it also helps toppings stick. So skip the lye and keep it simple.
No yeast required.
No yeast needed! While some bagel recipes use yeast, I prefer to skip it—too unpredictable for my a little lazy, use-what-you-have style. Instead, baking powder does the trick. It's reliable, shelf-stable, and quietly works its magic to give you rise and flavor.
Easy to make on the first try.
I got into bagel-making after finding Skinny Taste’s bagel recipe—no yeast, no boiling, no lye. Sounded perfect! I made them on the first try, so I'm confident you can too.
My version uses the same ingredients but with a slightly lazier method. Just five ingredients (plus toppings), or only four if you’ve got self-rising flour—though I usually don’t, so five it is!
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
As mentioned, you'll need just 5 ingredients to make the batter plus any toppings you'd like to add to your bagels.
Here's everything you'll need:
- Bread flour. This provides a nice chewy texture. All purpose can be use, but bagels will be more stiff.
- Greek yogurt. Plain, unflavored.
- Salt. Any salt you prefer works. Sea salt is typically stronger so if using that, you may want to use less. If using kosher salt, use more since it's not as strong. My recipe uses regular table salt.
- Baking powder. Make sure it's powder not soda of bagels will have a funny taste. Also make sure it's not old and expired.
- Egg. Any type of egg. This is for the wash to make the top golden brown and helps toppings stick.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
These easy homemade bagels come together in just a few steps.
Here's a look at the process:
- Mix together dough ingredients.
- Knead to form a sticky dough.
- Separate dough and shape into bagels.
- Place on baking sheet, brush with egg wash.
- Add toppings then bake.
- Remove from oven and cool. Store or serve.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
Yes, you can make these with almond flour! If you're cutting carbs but miss bagels, this low-carb, gluten-free version is a great alternative. They’re a bit chewier and more crumbly than traditional bagels, with a hint of cheesy flavor. Just note: you’ll need twice as much almond flour as all-purpose flour.
These bagels can be made with all-purpose, bread, or almond flour—just check the ingredient list for the correct amounts. While not strictly low carb, the all-purpose version has about 15g of carbs vs. 29g in a typical bagel (without toppings).
Top these bagels however you like! I love whipped cream cheese for a treat or smashed avocado with eggs for a healthier option. Butter or cheddar and a quick toast is always good. They also make great breakfast sandwiches with bacon, egg, and cheese. For something rich, try cream cheese, lox, dill, red onion, and capers.
Shown here is one of these baked bagels topped with a poached egg. (You can learn how to poach an egg here.)
All Purpose Flour
This is the most common flour people have on hand and it works great to make these bagels. The dough is easy to work with and the texture is dense yet airy.
Bread Flour
Bread flour is the best choice for making these. However, it's not common that you stock this in your pantry unless you make a lot of homemade bread. When you use bread flour, your bagels will be chewier and more like a traditional bagel. So if you have time and space in your pantry to get this special flour, you'll get the best results.
Almond Flour
Almond flour is going to be a great gluten-free option and will produce a lower carb bagel. The texture is going to be more grainy and has a flavor that's different than a typical bagel. To me it has a cheesy flavor to it. Not bad! But just different than what you expect from a bagel. You also need TWICE AS MUCH almond flour as you do bread or all purpose flour.
You can also try a half and half blend of regular flour and almond flour. Just keep in mind, you'll need substitute twice as much almond flour as regular flour to make these come together.
Yes. I do. Bread flour creates a chewier texture than all purpose flour which makes these taste more like a traditional bagel. However, if you don't have time to run to the store or don't want another bag of flour in your pantry, all purpose flour works well too.
Yes, you can use self-rising flour, but consider adding an extra teaspoon of baking powder—bagels need a lot to puff up, and self-rising flour may not have quite enough on its own.
Check out this comparison showing the difference between using bread flour vs. almond flour vs. a typical store-bought bagel for comparison. Please note nutrition facts may vary by brand of ingredients used. To generate your own brand-specific nutrition facts, go to ReciPal.com. Note: All purpose flour results not shown but do vary most significantly by calories (190), carbs (35g), fiber (0g), and protein (9g).
Store bagels in an airtight container at room temp for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 5 days (they may dry out a bit). For longer storage, slice, wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Toast from frozen or thaw before eating.
★ More Baked Breakfast Ideas ★
Are you a breakfast person? Browse all my easy breakfast recipes and Pin your favorites for later.
If you're a bagel-lover, check out my smoked salmon bagel board! Great for gathering.
These 5-ingredient easy baked bagels were featured on Wow Me Wednesday and South Your Mouth!
Baked Protein Bagels (5 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 2 cups bread flour recommended -or- all purpose flour -or- 4 cups almond flour
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups plain Greek Yogurt
- 1 egg
Toppings
- everything bagel seasoning or try dried onions, poppyseeds, sesame seed, salt, etc.!
Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add Greek yogurt. Blend just until lumpy dough forms. *Do not over mix the dough or this may result in flat bagels*
- Divide dough into 8 equal parts using a bench scraper or large knife.
- Shape dough. Grab the first chunk of dough and roll it around using your hands, pressing it together to compact it. Poke a hole in the center and gently squeeze the dough all the way around to enlarge the circle. The hole in the center should be about 2" wide.
- Add to baking sheet. Place bagel-shaped dough onto a lined, lightly floured baking pan. Repeat until all bagels are formed and placed onto the baking sheet, leaving space between each so they have room to expand. I put four bagels on each baking sheet.
- Brush with egg wash. In a small bowl or cup, beat the egg then brush it onto each bagel. Add seasonings like everything bagel blend or whatever you prefer.
- Bake on the upper rack at 400˚ in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and cool for about 5 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Flour your hands if dough is too sticky to work with.
- Top with any seasonings you'd like. You can find Everything Bagel seasoning on Amazon. or at most grocery stores.
- You can mix extras like cheese or dried fruit (dried onion, cranberries, blueberries, raisins, cinnamon sugar, etc.) right into the dough before baking to create different flavors of bagels.
- You can use all almond flour, or substitute part of the bread flour. Just keep in mind, if using almond flour, you need to double the amount. This also changes the density of the bagel.
Marsha says
Hi There, I haven't tried these yet but I was wondering about using regular yogurt instead of Greek? Thank you.
Angela G. says
Hi Marsha, yes, you can use regular yogurt if you prefer, just keep in mind this changes the nutrition facts.
karen says
Loved your recipe I have tried the boiling method and although it was successful I do prefer your method so much less work. I did however experience the sticky dough, I know it is supposed to be it was overly sticky I couldn't work with it at all without adding more flour but then I was concerned about overworking the dough. I'm not sure why mine was so sticky.
Angela G. says
Thanks for the feedback Karen. You could try flouring your hands or even just your finger tips to work with the dough to help prevent sticking. You could also try working the dough on parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet.Hope this helps. Thanks again for sharing your experience. 🙂
Sarah says
I’ve been making these as needed and my family really likes them. I’ve added cheese to some, dried blueberries to others, and white chocolate chips and dried raspberries to some others. And did chocolate chips. My 10 month old loves the cheese bagels and my fiancé loves the other flavours (he suggested them). I also made everything bagels to and those were just amazing.
Johnny says
Hi,
Thanks for the awesome recipe! Unfortunately the calories are underestimated for the bread flour version 🙁
Per bagel, It would be around 379 kcal, 11g protein, 31g carb, 2g fat
Angela G. says
Hi Johnny, What did you use to calculate the nutrition facts? I used an app which calculates nutrition based on ingredients and amount of each. Thanks for the feedback.
Jennefer Davis says
My first attempt produced flat bagels, like everyone else is experiencing. Yes, I used baking powder and yes it’s fresh. My second attempt was very different! Big fluffy bagels!! The difference is how much I mixed the dough. I was careful the second time not to over work it.
I think that may be the issue for others. If you push past that sweet spot, dough will lose its air and fall.
So, my advice is, mix the yogurt until it’s mostly blended, then use your hands to finish and flour on your counter to help this process. Divide into 8, make each bagel and put them in the oven right away. Have it pre heated. This will help the dough not fall as well. If you wait too long to put them in, they may also fall.
Hope this helps everyone! Cheers! It’s a fantastic recipe!
Angela G. says
Thanks so much for sharing this, Jennefer! I'm going to update the directions based on your feedback as I think this will help prevent others from having issues. Really appreciate you taking the time to share your tips. 🙂
Jennefer Davis says
You’re so welcome!! I hope it helps. I love your website! Question, how many cals are in the bagels? I read your carb content, but curious about the calories for both options (almond flour as well). Thank you!! Cheers~ Jennefer
Angela G. says
Good question, Jennefer. Thanks for giving me a little time to gather some info on this. I used a Nutrition Facts generator to create a comparison between making this recipe using bread flour vs. almond flour vs. a Lender's bagel for comparison. It's very interesting to see how the nutrition completely changes with this one swap. I posted the results above towards the end of the post, for others who may have been wondering about this also.
Monique says
Wow love these. How should I store the remaining ones? Can I freeze them?
Angela G. says
Hi Monique, Glad you liked them! I store them in a sealed container or plastic bag at room temperature. This locks moisture in so they don't dry out, and they can stay out at room temp for 3-4 days before you'd have to worry about mold. You can also store them in the fridge and they'll last a bit longer. You can freeze them as well. You may want to slice each bagel in half before you freeze so you can separate them easily and toast them without having to thaw first. Thanks for asking!
Jenny says
They turned out is flat. I don't know where I went wrong. But the dough was sticky as well. I had to add a little more flour
Angela G. says
Hi Jenny, I'm so sorry these didn't turn out for you. The dough should be sticky so that is OK, but they should absolutely rise. There are two main things to check that could cause flat bagels. 1.) Make sure you're using non-expired baking powder (and make sure it is powder and not soda). This is the only rising agent so if it's too old to activate, then your bagels will not to rise. 2.) If you are using almond flour, you have to make sure you're using double the amount of flour because it's made of almonds and not actual grains, you literally need twice as much. The ingredients list specifies how much you need. Let me know if you have questions and I appreciate feedback. Hope you give these a try again as many people have had success and enjoyed these.
Natalie says
Wondering why in the list of ingredients it says baking powder and in the instructions it says soda. I wasn't sure what to use so I went with powder. they did not rise at all for me.
Angela G. says
Hi Natalie, thank you for asking. You need to use baking powder. (Baking powder only requires liquid to activate so is a better choice for this recipe). Unfortunately it is prone to not working unless it's fresh. So, if the baking powder you're using is expired, there's a good chance that's why these didn't rise. I'm sorry you didn't have good luck with these. I personally have had good luck with the brand Clabber Girl baking powder:
Here's a test you can do to see if your baking powder is still good before you start your recipe next time: Take a 1/2 tsp of the baking powder and carefully add a 1/4 cup boiling water to it. It should bubble rapidly if it's still good. If it doesn't bubble, then it's time to toss it.
Angela G. says
Update: I made these again with gluten-free almond flour and regular flour. You need to use twice as much flour if you use almond flour. If you only use 2 cups of almond flour, then the bagels will be somewhat flat.
The bagels shown in the recipe photos were made using 2 cups of all purpose flour.
The bagels shown here, are ones I made with 4 cups of almond flour (all other ingredient amounts remain the same):
Connie says
I followed your recipe exactly and they came out as flat as pancakes. They look nothing like your pictures. How did you get yours to stay thick?
Angela G. says
Hi Connie, I’m so sorry this didn’t work for you. A couple quick things to check: 1.) Make sure your baking powder is not old or it can loose it's ability to make things rise. 2.) Make sure you're using baking powder (not soda).
The type of flour you use also makes a difference. If using almond flour, you'll need to use more of it than regular flour, up to twice as much.
I am going to try making these again soon with almond flour and regular flour to see if I can offer you more tips for success. Thank you for the feedback. I will post an update for you as soon as I’m able to work on this.
Angela G. says
Update: I made these again with gluten-free almond flour and regular flour. You need to use twice as much flour if you use almond flour. If you only use 2 cups of almond flour, then the bagels will be somewhat flat.
The bagels shown in the recipe photos were made using 2 cups of all purpose flour.
The bagels shown here, are ones I made with 4 cups of almond flour (all other ingredient amounts remain the same):
