These 3-ingredient Cottage Cheese Bagels will be your new obsession. Make them in the oven or the air fryer and enjoy them as a healthy, savory snack (or part of a sandwich) any time of day!
When I discovered I could make high-protein bagels from just three simple ingredients, including cottage cheese, I was all in. Now I can’t stop thinking about all the sandwich and topping combinations I want to try!
Why you will love these bagels:
- Quick: Just mix, knead, roll, and shape before baking. No rising required!
- Easy: With three simple ingredients, this recipe doesn’t require a lot of mess or effort.
- High protein: Cottage cheese is a delicious way to add protein.
- Make-ahead: Whip up a double batch, slice and freeze them, and pop one in the toaster.
- Any time of day: Enjoy them as your breakfast, afternoon snack or as part of a sandwich. Top them any way you’d like!
Cottage cheese is fresh cheese with a mild flavor, available in a variety of curd sizes and milk fat percentages that can easily be found in the grocery store.
Explore four more ways to enjoy cottage cheese, including pairing it with fruits, nuts or veggies, whipping it into a spread or dip or blending it into recipes—like I did to make these bagels! I love making Cottage Cheese Toast with tomatoes, avocado and balsamic.
Cottage Cheese Bagels
- 10 minutes
- 25 minutes
- 35 minutes
- 4 bagels
Ingredients
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Toppings: sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, shredded asiago cheese or poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 and position the rack to the top position. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the cottage cheese in the food processor or blender and pulse or blend on high until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Transfer it to a medium bowl and add the flour. Mix until completely combined and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer the dough to a gently floured work surface and knead the dough 8-10 times, until smooth. Skip this step if you’re using gluten-free flour (there’s no gluten to knead).
- Roll the dough into a ball and divide it into 4 equal balls. If you want them to be the exact same size you can weigh out each piece of dough to approximately 80g. Roll each ball out into a 6-7-inch rope, about 1-inch thick. Join the ends to make a circle and pinch the seam tightly to seal.
- Brush the tops with a beaten egg and top with your seasoning of choice. Bake in the preheated oven until puffed and golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Bagels stay fresh in an airtight container at room temp for up to 4 days.
- Air Fryer Bagels: Preheat the air fryer to 350 for 5 minutes. Follow the instructions to make the cottage cheese bagels then spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray and air fry for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
Notes
- Flour. I don't recommend swapping another type of flour, like almond, like in this gluten-free pizza crust, or flour or coconut flour. They absorb too much moisture, and you'll have very dry bagels. For gluten-free bagels, use 1 cup of quality gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum (I tested this with King Arthur’s). Mix it with 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. If you don't have self-rising flour, you can follow the same instructions as the gluten-free option but use all-purpose flour.
- Cottage Cheese. A full-fat cottage cheese is best. I've also seen people make these with plain Greek yogurt.
