Cottage Cheese Bagels are easy protein bagels with 5 simple ingredients that require no yeast, no dough rising and no boiling. Fluffy, with 13 grams of protein and perfect for breakfast or afternoon snack.
These cottage cheese bagels turned out way better than I expected! I have made Greek yogurt bagels and almond flour Greek yogurt bagels before but never bagels with cottage cheese. They taste similar, have identical texture and both are high protein bagels but cottage cheese is higher in protein.
Today we seem to add cottage cheese to anything and I’m enjoying this wave, as you can see by my growing collection of cottage cheese recipes, because I actually love its taste and extra protein content.
Reader’s Review
I make these on repeat weekly!! They are delicious! My whole family loves them. They are great with butter or cream cheese or avocado toast or as a breakfast or lunch sandwich!!!
Jenny
Also I would like you to know that I tested this cottage cheese bagel recipe with all-purpose flour and this Bob’s Red Mill gluten free baking flour. You can also use self-rising flour. I do think whole wheat flour will work as well, you just need a different amount.
All helpful information is listed in recipe card’s notes below, including baking them in air fryer.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy: No yeast, waiting for the dough to rise or boiling the bagels.
- Simple recipe: It’s just 5 ingredient or 3-ingredient cottage cheese bagels recipe if you have self-rising flour.
- High in protein: 13 grams of protein per each cottage cheese bagel.
- Tasty: They taste like a bagel my kids want to eat!
- Look good: These bagels also look like regular bagels! If you are wondering, cottage cheese curds melt during baking and not a trace of them is left.
Ingredients for Cottage Cheese Bagels
- Cottage cheese: I use 2% fat cottage cheese. Good brand is Organic Meadow or Good Culture. You can also use low-fat or full-fat cottage cheese like 4%, or lactose free cottage cheese.
- Flour: All-purpose flour. For other flours see variations below please.
- Baking powder: To help bagels with cottage cheese rise.
- 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.
Variations
- Gluten-free bagels: I tried this Bob’s Red Mill gluten free baking flour and bagels turned out well. I know there is also this one, and I think it will work, I just don’t love its chickpea taste or texture.
- Whole wheat bagels: Try to use 3/4 cup, adding 1-2 tablespoons at a time, if necessary.
- Self-rising flour: Use 1 cup + 1 tablespoon and skip the baking powder.
- Toppings ideas: Everything bagel seasoning, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion flakes, chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds.
- No eggs: The egg wash makes bagels nice and golden brown. But you can omit if not adding any toppings or use melted butter.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Bagels
Here is a quick overview how to make these high-protein bagels 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 and mix with spatula, then with your hands, until a ball of dough forms. You may need to add 1-2 tablespoons of flour. It should be not too sticky and not too dry. Mix until the dough barely sticks to your hands.
- Let dough rest: Cover bowl with kitchen towel and let dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide it: Transfer dough onto a floured surface, roll into a log and divide into 4 equal balls.
- Make an egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk the egg and set aside.
- 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 dough.
- Top and bake: Brush top of each bagel with egg wash and sprinkle with topping or leave plain. Bake on a middle rack at 350 F for 25 minutes or until golden brown. You can also spray air fryer basket with cooking spray and air fry bagels at 280 F for 15-20 minutes.
- Let bagels rest: Remove bagels from the oven and let them rest for 15 minutes.
Tips for Best Results
Here are my top tips for the best cottage cheese 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 or blend your cottage cheese, but my recipe isn’t one of them. Cottage cheese will melt once baked and we need all the liquid.
- If the dough is too sticky: It can happen as different brands of cottage cheese have different amount of liquid. Just add small amounts of flour and knead until dough is barely sticking to your hands, if any.
- Don’t skip resting the dough: It will relax and rise a bit, resulting in fluffy bagels.
- Let bagels rest after baking: Bagels will be soft to the touch right out of the oven. Let them sit for 10-15 minutes and they will harden. If you try to cut into a hot bagel, it will deform and be soggy.
Meal Prep Tip
Make ahead my healthy tuna salad or cottage cheese chicken salad, place on top of a bagel and enjoy high protein lunch all week!
How to Store
Store: Store bagels just like regular bagels, in an airtight bag or container in a cool dry place for up to 3-4 days. It is not recommended to refrigerate bagels as they become stale faster.
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 1-2 minutes, 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
You can refrigerate the dough overnight but you will need to bring it to room temperature before baking in the morning, I would say about 30 minutes.
I have not tried freezing and baking these bagels from frozen but you could experiment with one and see how it goes. Please let me know if you try!
Sure. This recipe makes 4 cottage cheese bagels as is. Make a double batch or make as many bagels as you like.
More High Protein Bagels Recipes
More Cottage Cheese Recipes to Try
- Cottage cheese flatbread
- Cottage cheese toast
- Cottage cheese bread
- Cottage cheese biscuits
- Protein breakfast biscuits
- Cottage cheese pizza crust
Cottage Cheese Bagels
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour, more for dusting
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- Everything bagel seasoning
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add flour and baking powder; whisk well to combine.
- Add cottage cheese and stir with spatula to combine, then proceed to mix with your hands until a ball of dough forms. Knead it about 20 times. Dough should be not sticky but not dry. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Transfer dough on a counter, form a log and cut into 4 even pieces. Flour the surface, place one piece of dough, roll into a rope and then into a bagel shape, pinching the ends together. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and repeat with remaining dough.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Brush bagels with an egg wash and sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion flakes or leave plain.
- Bake on a middle rack for 25 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes (do not skip!). Slice, spread and enjoy bagels with your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Store: Keep in an airtight container in a cool dark place for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Freeze in a resealable Ziploc bag for 3 months. Thaw on a counter for a few hours or pop into microwave or toaster.
- Gluten-free flour: I tried this Bob’s Red Mill gluten free baking flour and bagels turned out well. I know there is also this one, and I think it will work, I just don’t love its chickpea taste or texture.
- Self-rising flour: Use 1 cup + 1 tablespoon and skip the baking powder.
- Whole wheat flour: Try to use 3/4 cup, adding 1-2 tablespoons at a time, if necessary.
- Air fryer: You can also air fry bagels at 280 F for 15-20 minutes, depends on air fryer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I tried these cottage cheese bagels with Bob’s GF 1to1 flour and they were pretty sticky in the middle even though I followed all the wait times and even added a bit more flour to ensure the dough wasn’t sticky. They did have good flavor.
Generally GF flour is more sticky and requires more gentle handling. I would add more flour. That’s my experience with bobs gf baking blend. It works but needs not rolling but kinda more shaping rather.
Can I use oat flour to make these?
Also what would you recommend for a keto bagel?
Thanks
Hi Mary. Oat flour is lighter than all-purpose flour so you will need more of it. You must substitute oat flour for all-purpose flour by weight and not volume. It means, for example, if recipe calls for 1 cup of regular flour (spooned and leveled), you can’t use 1 cup of oatmeal flour instead. Instead, know that 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs 4.5 ounces or 120 grams. Get your kitchen scale out and weigh 120 grams of oat flour, which will be approximately 1 1/4 cups. Hope this helps! I am not familiar with keto diet guidelines so I am sorry on that one.
These are SO good!!! My kids beg me to make them, even my teenagers.
That’s awesome! Sounds like they’re a real family favorite.
These bagels are amazing! I didn’t roll out the shape. I rolled them into balls and flattened them a bit and worked a hole into the center.
So glad you loved them! That shaping method works great too—whatever’s easiest and still delicious!
I love this recipe and have made it several times, many different ingredients.
This time I tried cheese and zucchini, baked up fluffy, but as soon as I took them out they flattened and looked very dense…..put them back in, but not hopeful…..any thoughts?
Zucchini adds extra water and cheese extra fat, so you need to add extra flour to soak it up. You may try my Greek yogurt jalapeno cheddar bagels recipe with tweaks or just add more flour to this one. Glad you love these bagels!
Definitely need to double the recipe (but still one egg is enough) because my family of 5 eats all of these up as egg sandwiches in one sitting. I made a double batch yesterday and I’m about to make another double batch today!
That’s awesome to hear — sounds like a total hit with your family!
I have really enjoyed this simple recipe. I have made them savory and with fruit I place a berry on top before baking. I’ve given as a gift. Everyone likes homemade goodies. I’ve shared the recipe many times as well.
That’s so lovely to hear! I’m glad the recipe has been so versatile and gift-worthy—homemade treats really are the best to share!
These are so good!! I was to double the batch and want to freeze half. Would you recommend freezing before or after cooking? And any other thawing instructions?
Freeze after baking. You can see the info in the bottom of the recipe card or towards the end of the post about sewing and freezing. Hope this helps.
These are the best. I add shredded cheese and make cheese buns, not bagels.
My husband want them for every meal.
So great to hear! Cheese buns sound delicious—love that your husband is such a fan!
Is it supposed to be sticky inside?
No. Should be like bagels. Need to bake longer or add more flour.