Protein Bagels with Cottage Cheese

Protein Bagels with Cottage Cheese made with 5 simple ingredients, are fluffy and easy to make even for novice bakers!

I used same dough to make cottage cheese pizza crust and it came out fantastic!

These protein bagels with cottage cheese turned out way better than I expected!

Today we seem to add cottage cheese to anything and I’m enjoying this wave because I actually love its taste and extra protein content. So far I have made, cottage cheese pasta, cottage cheese ice cream and cottage cheese egg bites. More to come!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy: No yeast, waiting for the dough to rise or boiling the protein bagels.
• Simple: 5 ingredients, could be even 3 ingredients without toppings.
• High in protein: 11 grams of protein content per bagel.
• Tasty: These bagels with cottage cheese actually taste like a bagel my kids want to eat!
• Looking good: High protein bagels look like regular bagels! If you are wondering, cottage cheese curds melt during baking and not a trace of them is left.
• Make gluten-free bagels: With cup for cup of all-purpose gluten-free flour.
• Perfect for meal prep: Make ahead my healthy tuna salad or chicken salad, place on top of a bagel and enjoy healthy lunch all week!

Ingredients for Protein Bagels with Cottage Cheese

To make protein bagels with cottage cheese you will need 5 simple ingredients. 3 ingredients without toppings or even 2 ingredients if you have self-rising flour on hand.

• Cottage cheese: I use 2% fat cottage cheese. Good brand is Organic Meadow or Good Culture. You can also use 0% and 4% cottage cheese or lactose free cottage cheese.
• Flour: I tried this bagel recipe with all-purpose flour and this Bob’s Red Mill gluten free baking flour. I know there is also this one, and I think it will work, I just don’t love its chickpea taste or texture. For protein bagels with whole wheat flour, try to use 3/4 cup.
• Baking powder: To help protein bagels rise. Skip if you are using self-rising flour.
• Egg: One egg or egg white for an egg wash to make bagel golden brown and help toppings stick.
• Everything bagel seasoning: I used it as a topping. You can omit or use anything else.

How to Make Protein Bagels

Here is a quick overview how to make protein bagels with cottage cheese in as little as 1 hour of which 25 minutes is resting time. Full recipe card is located below.

• Make self-rising flour: In a large bowl, combine flour and baking powder, and whisk very well until combined.
• Make the dough: Add cottage cheese. No need to strain or blend it. Mix with spatula and then with your hands until a ball of dough forms. It should be not too sticky and not too dry. Mix until it barely sticks to your hands.
• Let dough rest: Cover bowl with kitchen towel and let bagel dough rest for 10 minutes. Do not skip this step!
• Divide it: Transfer dough onto a floured surface, roll into a log and divide into 4 equal pieces.

• Make an egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk the egg or an egg white and set aside. You will need just a little bit or you can also skip this step.
• Form the bagels: Roll each piece of dough into a rope and form into a bagel shape, pinching the ends together. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat the process with remaining 3 pieces of dough.
• Top and bake: Brush top of each protein bagel with egg wash and sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning or leave plain. Bake on a middle rack at 350 F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Let protein bagels rest: Remove bagels from the oven and let them rest for 15 minutes. It is super important step for fluffy bagels with cottage cheese!

Tips for Best Results

Here are my top tips for the best protein bagels in the world! So good, even your kids will love them!

• Don’t drain or blend cottage cheese: Other recipes might ask you to drain your cottage cheese, but my easy recipe isn’t one of them. There is also no need to blend it as cottage cheese will melt. This is one bowl recipe!
• If the dough is too sticky or wet: It can happen as different brands of cottage cheese, just like Greek yogurt, have different amount of liquid. Just add small amounts of flour until dough is barely sticking to your hands, if any.
• Don’t skip resting the dough: Leave the ball of dough alone for 10 minutes. It will relax and rise a bit, resulting in fluffy protein bagels!
• Don’t flatten the bagels: I have experimented to flatten the ball of dough (pictured above) and make a hole in it, and to roll it into a rope and pinch the ends. Last method definitely produces classic round and nicely risen homemade bagels!
• It’s a must to let bagels rest after baking: If you try to cut into a protein bagel while it’s piping hot, it will deform and be soggy.

Toppings Ideas

To be perfectly honest, everything bagel seasoning is completely optional when making these protein bagels with cottage cheese. The egg wash makes them nice and golden brown though. It’s great to make plain bagels.

But if you want to experiment with different toppings, here are a few ideas:

• Everything bagel seasoning
• Poppy seeds
• Sesame seeds
• Onion flakes or garlic flakes
• Chia seeds
• Flax seeds
• Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds

How to Store and Reheat Protein Bagels

Store: Store protein bagels in an airtight bag or container in a cool dry place for up to 3-4 days. Just like regular bagels. But I bet they won’t last that long, they are so delicious!

Freeze: Bake and cool bagels completely. Transfer to a gallon size resealable bag, let out as much air as possible, seal and freeze for up to 3 months.

Thaw bagels on a counter for a few hours. Or to save time, I like to pop frozen bagels in a microwave for a minute or two, then slice in half and toast.

I would suggest you to slice them before freezing to be able to place frozen bagel into the toaster, but I think sliced bagels will dry out in the freezer. Unless you are planning to consume them within a few weeks.

FAQs

More Cottage Cheese Recipes to Try

• Cottage cheese protein pancakes
• Low carb breakfast casserole
• Zucchini lasagna
• Cottage cheese ranch dip
• Egg white bites