Low-Carb Bagel Recipe

Low-carb bagels topped with a generous sprinkling of Everything But the Bagel seasoning will ensure that you don't miss carb-loading dough even one bit! Low-carb breads can often taste like a mixture of sawdust and glue, says food blogger & photographer Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table. But our low-carb bagels are going to change your mind about low-carb baking forever.

Remember what it felt like to grab a warm bagel out of the toaster, smear cream cheese all over its surface, and then top it with layers upon layers of freshly cured lox? Or were you the type to grab those toasted bagel halves and eat them with butter? Or was cream cheese alone your go-to bagel topping? Any way you like them, when you're watching your carbs, bagels seem like the purview of the distant past. But we are here to tell you all those bagel memories can be yours again!

With this easy, mess-free, delicious, and healthy low-carb bagels recipe, you can be the boss of the lox and bagel platter once again. Or just eat them plain out of the oven — we won't judge.

From the moment you start pulling the ingredients out of the fridge and the pantry and until you pull those freshly made bagels out of the oven, less than half an hour will pass. So let's get started!

The base for these low-carb bagels is something called a fathead dough. To make a fathead dough, you will need shredded, part-skim mozzarella, low-fat cream cheese, almond flour, and an egg. If you don't have part-skim mozzarella, you can use another shredded cheese of your choice, but keep in mind the resulting bagels may not be as low-carb.

To help the dough rise, we will also leaven it with a bit of baking powder. And finally, to really zone in on that ubiquitous bagel flavor we love so much, we recommend topping your bagels with Everything But the Bagel Seasoning. Feel free to use another bagel seasoning of your choice if you prefer!

Start by preheating the oven to 375 F. Prep a baking sheet by covering it with parchment paper or a reusable silicone mat.

The first step in making a fathead dough may sound weird, but bear with us — it makes the texture of our bagels so amazing, you'll completely forget they are low-carb! In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the mozzarella and cream cheese. Heat them in the microwave on full power for 30 seconds. Stir well with a spatula. Return to the microwave for another 30 seconds.

After 60 seconds in the microwave, the mozzarella and cream cheese mixture should be fully melted and easily stirrable.

With the base of our low-carb bagel dough ready, we need to bulk it up. The flour of choice in most low-carb recipes is either coconut flour or almond flour, and in this case, we are going to use almond flour. Add almond flour and baking powder to the cream cheese mixture. Stir to combine as much as possible — it's okay if you have some lumps, but try to get everything mixed together.

Add the eggs to the bagel dough mixture, and stir them in. At this point, your dough should become malleable. Work it in the bowl until it comes together into a ball.

Now our bagel dough is ready, so let's get shaping on those easily recognizable bagel forms. You will need to work quickly while the dough is warm and pliable. If the dough hardens, return it to the microwave for another 10 to 30 seconds.

Sprinkle the counter with a bit of almond flour. Transfer the dough onto the counter and divide it into six equal parts. You can weigh your balls with a kitchen scale if you want your bagels to be truly uniform. Roll each ball into a log of about seven inches (it's best to start rolling from the middle and work your way to the sides).

Bring the ends together and press them into a bagel shape.

Sprinkle the Everything But the Bagel seasoning onto the bagels, and press on the tops to ensure the seasoning stays put. Transfer bagels onto the prepared baking sheet. If you find this method of coating your bagels makes too much of a mess, you can also put the seasoning in a medium bowl and dip your bagels halfway into the mixture. Then, pat the bagels' tops to ensure the seasoning stays there.

Place your low-carb bagels into the oven, and bake them at 350 F for 15 minutes until they've expanded and become golden brown. Let cool on a baking sheet for five minutes, and then transfer to a cookie drying rack to cool completely.

Voila! You've got freshly made low-carb bagels just out of the oven, and your home should smell like the best bakery. Aren't you feeling better already? You can eat your bagels warm out of the oven, just as they are. You can also slice your bagels in half and spread some butter or cream cheese on your bagel halves.

But to really complete the bagel experience, we recommend setting up a full bagel and lox spread. Pile those bagels on a big cutting board and add cream cheese, slivers of purple onions, capers, lemon slices, and as much lox or smoked salmon as you'd like. Treat your friends, family or just yourself to the full bagel experience, and forget that you ever lived life without freshly baked.