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Whip up a batch of these quick and easy Protein Bagels with Cottage Cheese for breakfast or lunch in less than 30 minutes – they come out perfect!
Protein Bagels with Cottage Cheese
Remember my Greek yogurt bagels? They’re so last year! What’s new? Cottage cheese everything and anything! Cottage cheese is trending this year, and I’ve been using it in everything from my cottage cheese scrambled eggs, cottage cheese lasagna roll ups to savory cottage cheese bowls. These protein bagels are made with just 5 ingredients, plus toppings! You can make them in the oven or air fryer (my favorite way!). I basically swapped the yogurt in my bagel recipe for cottage cheese and it’s worked out beautifully. For extra protein, serve this with egg salad, chicken salad or turn it into a bacon egg and cheese breakfast bagel!
Why These Protein Bagels Work
- Quick! No need to add yeast or wait for them to rise.
- Easy! No fancy mixers needed, perfect for beginners.
- Delicious! Nothing’s better than a warm, fresh baked bagel right out of the oven.
- Can easily be made gluten-free! Just swap flour for Cup4Cup.
- Make ahead and freeze! Let the bagels cool, then freeze wrapped tightly with foil. You can reheat in the oven or microwave.
- Clean ingredients! No artificial ingredients added, just wholesome ingredients.
Protein Bagel Ingredients
- Flour: This recipe works with unbleached all purpose flour, whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour mix such as Cup4Cup.
- Baking Powder: For rising, make sure it’s not expired.
- Kosher Salt: Also helps flour rise, I use kosher salt, if you use table salt you make have to cut in half.
- Cottage Cheese: Use 1 cup 2% cottage cheese (I like Good Culture) and strain it in a mesh sieve so it’s thick.
- Egg: 1 large egg or egg white, beaten (to help the toppings stick) If you can’t eat eggs, you can omit and just press them into the dough.
- Optional toppings: If you like a plain bagel, no toppings needed. But if you like seasonings, try this with everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic flakes, dried onion flakes, etc.
How To Make Protein Bagels
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk well.
- Strain Cottage Cheese so it’s Thick: Add the strained cottage cheese and mix with a fork or spatula until well combined, it will look like small crumbles. If you don’t strain it well, the dough will be sticky.
- Knead: Using your clean hands, working in the bowl, knead the dough until it comes together and is smooth, tacky, but not sticky, about 2 minutes (it should not leave dough on your hand when you pull away).
- Form Into Bagels: Divide into 4 equal balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch thick ropes and join the ends to form bagels. (or you can make a ball and poke a hole in the center then stretch it slightly)
- Egg Wash: Brush with egg wash and sprinkle both sides with seasoning of your choice.
- Air Fryer Method: Spray air fryer basket with oil. Transfer the bagels to the air fryer basket in batches without overcrowding and air fry 280F 15 to 16 minutes, or until golden. No need to turn. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting, this step is a must.
- Oven Method: Preheat oven to 375F. Place parchment paper or a silpat on a baking sheet. If using parchment paper, spray with oil to avoid sticking.
Bake on the top rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting, this step is a must.
How Much Protein is in a Bagel?
The protein content of a bagel can vary depending on its size, ingredients, and preparation method. A plain, medium-sized protein bagel contains about 9 grams of protein. Specialty bagels with sesame seeds, poppy seed, or whole wheat, may contain a slightly higher protein content.
Air Fryer Must-Haves!
More Cottage Cheese Recipes:
- Cottage Cheese Egg and Sausage Frittata
- High Protein Oat Waffles
- Savory Cottage Cheese Bowl
- Roasted Strawberry Protein Smoothie
- Lasagna Roll Ups with Cottage Cheese
Protein Bagels with Cottage Cheese
Whip up a batch of these quick and easy High Protein Bagels with Cottage Cheese for breakfast or lunch in less than 30 minutes – they come out perfect!
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 1 bagel
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour, or whole wheat or gluten-free mix like cup4cup, (5 oz total in weight)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder, make sure it’s not expired or it won’t rise
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, use less if using table salt
- 1 cup 2% cottage cheese, excess liquid strained well (I like Good Culture)
- 1 egg white, or 1 large egg, beaten
- optional: everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried garlic flakes, dried onion flakes
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk well. Add the strained cottage cheese and mix with a fork or spatula until well combined, it will look like small crumbles.
- Using your clean hands, working in the bowl, knead the dough until it comes together and is smooth, tacky, but not sticky, about 2 minutes (it should not leave dough on your hand when you pull away).
- Divide into 4 equal balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch thick ropes and join the ends to form bagels. (or you can make a ball and poke a hole in the center then stretch it slightly)
- Top with egg wash and sprinkle both sides with seasoning of your choice.
Air Fryer Method:
- Spray air fryer basket with oil. Transfer the bagels to the air fryer basket in batches without overcrowding and air fry 280F 15 to 16 minutes, or until golden. No need to turn.
- Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting, this step is a must.
Oven Method:
- Preheat oven to 375F. Place parchment paper or a silpat on a baking sheet. If using parchment paper, spray with oil to avoid sticking.
- Bake on the top rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting, this step is a must.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
If the cottage cheese isn’t strained well, the dough may be sticky. If so, add a little more flour.
Freeze cooked bagels wrapped tightly in plastic or foil. Reheat in foil in the oven.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 bagel, Calories: 164 kcal, Carbohydrates: 28.5 g, Protein: 9 g, Fat: 1 g, Saturated Fat: 0.5 g, Cholesterol: 5 mg, Sodium: 583 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 1 g
Wow these were so easy and so delicious. Ensure you really work at straining the moisture from the cottage cheese. A repeat for sure.
This is a great recipe! I’ve never made bagels before, but these turned out very nicely taste-wise. Next time I need to make the bagel holes bigger, but live and learn. I used Good culture cottage cheese, which did not require too much straining.
Topped mine with sesame seeds. Will definitely make this again!
Yummy!
I’m happy I gave these a try because they’re delicious and so simple to make. I’ve been making the yogurt ones for several years now but wanted to give these a try. I like the density the cottage cheese provides. The only drawback for me, since we need to watch sodium in our household, is that cottage cheese does give the overall product higher sodium content than yogurt does. Still, they’re delicious and worth it! I only wish I better understood the air fryer in my LG range because the timing is so much different than what is given for the counter top models. It was all great in the end though. 😉
Makes this recipe, fantastic!
I didn’t have the 2% cottage cheese available, what I used had no liquid to it Whatsoever, so I had to add some water to be able firm the balls. Other than that, worked perfect, browned nicely and super delicious!
Love these bagels. I tried regular and gluten free and I was impressed with both. I also made them without the hole and used them as the bun for a hamburger.
First time making these. They turned out great! I used Good Culture Cottage cheese. I may try another seasoning next time as the Bagel Seasoning made them a little saltier. Not to bad though. They’re not big for making four of them, but that is fine for me. I suppose you could make them bigger and make less of them. You don’t even taste the cottage cheese at all. They’re moist and fluffy too. I will be making more of these.
These are awesome! Made them with the EBTB seasoning and my husband and I LOVED the taste and texture and were from NY where bagels are everything! Lol I can see making many different flavor combos like cinnamon raisin, orange cranberry and just plain sesame.
Not a fan. Won’t be making these again. Maybe it’s the operator. Lol.
Delicious and super easy! This is my new favorite.
Delicious! I ate one with nothing on it while it was still warm. The next morning I split and toasted the bagel, topping it with peanut butter and raspberry jelly. Toasting made every bite crunchy. I didn’t have everything bagel seasoning so I used sesame seeds. I used fat free cottage cheese plus 1 tsp canola oil (1 cup 2% cottage cheese has 5G fat).
Brilliant recipe! Delicious bagels and so easy I can’t believe I didn’t make them sooner! One already vanished!
Made these tonight. Dough came together easily. It does make 4 small bagels. If I make again may make 3 from one batch and just adjust calories.
These are amazing! I am a super novice baker and this recipe made me feel like a pro. They came out literally perfect. They have such a nice chew to them. We did a bacon/egg/cheese sandwich and next I want to try lox and cream cheese. So easy and so good, thanks Gina!
Glad you enjoyed them!
I made these and they are terrific. Topped with sesame seeds. My son wants me to make with garlic and onion next.
Yum!
How do you strain the cottage cheese? Looks yummy.
My cottage cheese was pretty thick so I did not feel that I needed to strain it. I used wheat flour because it’s all I had. I think these bagels have a better taste than the yogurt ones (which I’ve made many times.) Thank you, I’ll definitely make these again.
I want to make these, but I have two questions. If I make the dough today and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, will it be OK to make tomorrow morning ?Or will refrigerating the dough for that long cause any problems? Also, what is the importance of letting them rest for 15 minutes? Will they not be fully cooked if they’re not rested for the full 15 minutes?
It will be fine overnight. And letting them rest cooks them otherwise they will be doughy inside.
Thank you!!! I have missed bagels so much and this recipe is AMAZING! I followed it exactly as written, using my air fryer to bake. Delicious!
Yum!! Not exactly same consistency, but these were delicious…and I could feel good about eating it!
So simple to make and very delicious! Will definitely make them again!
This bagel is delicious!! I added egg and avocado. Thank u so much for posting.
These were very easy to make, the straining of the cottage cheese was easy. They came out amazing!! I will definitely make them again.
Really easy to make, simple ingredients. I baked mine and they turned out perfect. I think my kids will love them (as long as they don’t see me make it with the cottage cheese) 😅. Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Lol, I understand! 🙂
I have your yorgurt bagels in the oven right now because I didn’t have any cottage cheese. Can I use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese in this recipe? Thanks!
I read your comment that almond flour doesn’t work… do you know of any low carb flours that WOULD work?
Sorry I do not
Pretty good.
Made this bagel recipe today, minus the seasoning, actually topped with some sea salt! Both my husband and I totally enjoyed them!😋🥯
Great!!
Very good, fun to do! Will make again, but I’ll air fry a little longer. The first 2 were a little doughy in the center – my fault – to anxious to try them!
I never thought I would find a bagel recipe I liked even better than your yogurt ones but oh my goodness – these are AMAZING! Did them in the air fryer and loved how they were just the right crisp on the outside and pillowy soft in the center without feeling over or undercooked anywhere. I used Nancy’s 2% cottage cheese, which was great, too, because it isn’t as runny as some other brands. What a great way to enjoy a better tasting bagel without all those preservatives in the store-bought ones. Gina did it again!!!
The original yogurt bagels are higher in protein and overall appear to be healthier.🤷🏻♀️
Feel free to use the OG!
I’m trying to understand the purpose of this comment. People might prefer the taste of these to the yogurt ones or find this to be plenty of protein for a bagel.
Amazing! Love love love this recipe!
These were excellent. I used 1% small curd cottage cheese that was already pretty dry. I skipped the straining with no issues.
These were delicious and so easy!
Do you let the dough rest?
You don’t have to but if they do I find they plump up more.
These are the best gluten free bagels that I have ever eaten! They still have some moisture and don’t fall apart as soon as you start eating. I’m going to try to make them without the hole so that I can use them as roll/bun for sandwiches.
Just made these and I might have strain out too much of the cottage cheese as it was too dry to form with the flour mixture. I started to add some of the cottage cheese liquid (thank goodness I did not throw out) and it came together. I let it rest for 10 minutes and air fry as per directions. They were DELICIOUS and no cottage cheese taste. The size of each bagel is perfect and not too big!
I made this using spelt flour and they were delicious .
Great flavor and texture!! Will be making this again.
How about alternative flours to add fiber? I’m thinking whole-wheat or spelt or even oat? I haven’t tried this yet but I rate it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because all of your recipes have been for me!
Oat works great, I have not tried spelt, please let me know if you do!
I tried white and whole-wheat flour, the white was more delicious to my palette but both were tasty!! Crowd pleaser!
Can bread flour be used in this recipe?
Sure
Question: Instead of manually straining the cottage cheese, can I whirl it
up in a food processor or with an immersion blender
The staining is so it’s thick. If you don’t strain, it will be sticky.
Looks good but for 3 points and no fuss I say yeah yogurt bagels
Would like to try this recipe but I’m dairy intolerant…what can I do?
You could try a nondairy version of the Greek yogurt recipe. I often substitute coconut or almond yogurt and it typically works well. I haven’t tried those alternatives with this. But I bet it would work.
You can use dairy free Kite Hill Greek Yogurt or silken tofu.
Can you make the cottage cheese bagels with almond flour??
No they come out awful.
No
I will be making these. Will one of those bagel silicone baking things work? Haven tried it yet.
Can you use self rising flour?
Yes.
Love your recipes ! These came out great. Can I use fat free cottage cheese instead?
Sure!
wat are the WW points for one of these bagels
Good catch, with fat-free it would be 4.
3 pts on WW app
Yum! I like the taste of these better than the Greek yogurt. Texture is lighter too. Will make on repeat.
These look delicious, but when I push the WW button and when I put it in the recipe builder I get four bagels and 5WW points. Am I doing something wrong?
Good catch, it’s 5. With fat-free cottage cheese it would be 4.
I had to try the recipe as soon as I saw it, especially that I have Good Culture cottage cheese in my fridge 95% of the time.
Personally I highly recommend not straining the yogurt, Good Culture (at least what I buy in California) is very thick. It took 3-4 minutes to come together and I almost strained my hand in the process. I was almost discouraged that it was to dry to form a dough… but after a lot of work it did and I am happy I didn’t gave up and added water. Otherwise I liked this better than the yogurt bagels, the crust gets more crispy and it’s not as tangy.
I didn’t strain my Good Culture cottage cheese either – it looked thick and I was too lazy TBH 🙂
(turned out great)
Trying these this weekend. Could you use rye flour or bread flour?
I also would like to use rye flour in this receipe. Trying these as is today but would love to hear the answer for the future.
Thanks!
Haven’t tried but I bet they would be great!
Hello
You did say it’s just 1 cup of flour correct? I saw something in directions about gluten free 4 cups. Just want to make sure I have it correct.
Cup4Cup is the brand of gluten-free flour I like : )
Could I use almond flour instead of all purpose?
No it doesn’t work. Oat flour works, but it’s more dense.
Do you measure the cottage cheese (1 cup) before or after straining?
After.
These came out amazing! How would you recommend storing them? Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed them! I would keep them in the fridge if you are not freezing them. 🙂
Final thoughts
Even though they don’t look like your final product, I loved them and will make them very soon. I was surprised how delicious they were.
Can you use almond flour? Love all your recipes!
No, thank you!!
Just followed your recipe. Rolled out each piece as mentioned. Should have watched your video, would have preferred to punch a hole in the dough ball. Now just waiting for them to cool. Not sure if they are cooked, so will wait and see . Thxs if I don’t succeed this time, will try again.
Could you use a dry curd cottage?
I dont see why not?
So easy and so delicious! Thank you for always creating such great recipes!