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Cottage Cheese Bagels: A 3-Ingredient Protein-Packed Snack

You will love these cottage cheese bagels with only three ingredients. You may make them in the oven or the air fryer and eat them at any time of day as a healthy, tasty snack or as part of a sandwich.

The Cottage Cheese Bandwagon

Cottage cheese seems to have been popular for a time now. I love the cottage cheese trend!

You can make cottage cheese eggs, toast, pancakes, pizza crust, and more.
I’ve been really into savory cottage cheese bowls with cherry tomatoes, avocado, and balsamic glaze lately.
When I found out that I could make high-protein bagels with just three simple ingredients, including cottage cheese, I was all in. I’m constantly on the lookout for a nutritious breakfast recipe that will give both me and the kids more protein to start the day. I can’t quit thinking about all the different kinds of sandwiches and toppings I want to try with it now!

Why You’ll Love These Bagels

Quick: Just combine, knead, roll, and shape the dough before baking. No need to rise!
Easy: This dish only needs three simple ingredients, so it doesn’t take a lot of work or mess.
High in protein: Eating cottage cheese first thing in the morning is a terrific way to get protein into your day. They feature a lot more protein than conventional bagels (11 grams per serving).
Make-ahead: Make a double batch, cut them up, and freeze them. Then, every morning, toast one.

You can eat them for breakfast, as a snack in the afternoon, or as part of a sandwich at any time of day. You can put whatever you want on top of them!

Trying out this recipe for cottage cheese bagels

I have seen a lot of high-protein bagels on TikTok that use Greek yogurt, but not many that use cottage cheese. I tried each of them, and the taste and texture were very similar. But cottage cheese has more protein than Greek yogurt!
I also tried this recipe with a gluten-free flour and baking powder. They didn’t rise as much as I thought they would, but they were still soft and tasty!
Lastly, I used the air fryer to test a batch of these to make sure they worked and to get a good air fry duration. For consistent cooking, I suggest preheating your air fryer like an oven. They tasted exactly as good and took almost half as long as the oven!
Want to make bread? I really like making these nutritious sourdough buns or pull-apart sourdough dinner rolls.

Prep: 10 minutes
Time to cook: 25 minutes
Total: 35 minutes

These 3-ingredient cottage cheese bagels will be your new obsession. You can make them in the oven or the air fryer and eat them as a healthy, tasty snack or sandwich at any time of day.

Ingredients

1 cup of self-rising flour (Note 1)
1 cup full-fat cottage cheese (Note 2)
1 large egg beaten, for egg wash
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 generously floured work surface and knead the dough 8-10 times, until smooth. Add more flour to the work surface as needed until the dough is no longer sticky.

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 Fry

Preheat the air fryer to 350 for 5 minutes. Spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray and air fry for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown and no longer doughy in the center.

What Kind of Flour to Use

To keep these easy and only three ingredients, this recipe calls for self-rising flour. You can use whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or gluten-free flour instead of self-rising flour, though. To make it like self-rising flour, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and a touch of salt.
I don’t think you should switch out another kind of flour, like the almond in this gluten-free pizza crust. That and coconut flour take in too much moisture, so your bagels will be very dry.

Flour.

For gluten-free bagels, use 1 cup of a quality gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum (I tested this with King Arthur’s). Mix it with 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

Cottage Cheese.

A full-fat cottage cheese is best. The consistency of the dough will depend on the type of cottage cheese you use and the brand you use.

Regular Flour.

If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can follow the same instructions as the gluten-free option, but use all-purpose flour.

Greek Yogurt.

I’ve also tested these with plain Greek yogurt with great success!

Sticky Dough.

The consistency of the dough will depend on the type of cottage cheese used and the brand. I love Good Culture Full Fat Cottage Cheese. How you measure your flour also plays a role. Make sure you’re measuring correctly with the spoon and level method, or weigh it for best results. Continue to add flour a Tablespoon at a time until it’s no longer sticky and knead the flour well into the dough on the work surface.

Toppings and Serving Suggestions

Different toppings: Sesame seeds, everything bagel spice, shredded asiago cheese, or poppy seeds are just a few choices.
Spread butter or cream cheese overtop just like you would with traditional bagels.
Make lox, tuna salad, chicken salad, or any of these tasty bagel sandwich ideas.
Spread this Boursin cheese overtop and make a savory turkey sandwich.

Freezing and Storing Tips

Allow the bagels to cool completely and store them in an airtight bag at room temperature (not in the refrigerator, which can make them stale faster) for 3-4 days. Or freeze them immediately for up to 4 months.

Success tip: Be sure to slice them almost all the way through before freezing them so you can toast them from frozen.

Nutrition