April 6, 2018

Low Carb Keto Bagels

by Kirbie

This keto bagel recipe is low-carb, gluten-free and wheat flour free. You only need 5 ingredients, and it’s easy to make. Step-by-step photos included!

This keto bagel recipe is great for anyone following the keto diet or just avoiding wheat flour.

After I shared my post for 2 Ingredient Bagels on the blog, the question I kept getting over and over again was whether the bagels could be made with almond flour. Unfortunately, substituting almond flour for regular all purpose flour or self rising flour just won’t work for the 2 ingredient dough recipe.

However, it did make me want to research a possible almond flour bagel recipe alternative for those who are not able to consume wheat flour.

So today, I’m excited to share with you these low carb bagels! The dough is made with a cheese mixture, eggs, almond flour and baking powder. The end result is something that looks remarkably similar to regular bagels.

Keto Bagel Recipe Ingredients

Shredded mozzarella cheese (low moisture part skim)
Cream cheese
Large eggs
Superfine almond flour
Baking powder (aluminum free)
Toppings like poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning, or sesame seeds

Because they are made with almond flour, they don’t have that distinctive chew of regular bagels. But they also don’t just taste like bread baked into bagel shapes. They have a firm crust and a slightly chewy interior.

Also, unlike the 2 Ingredient Bagels, these have no tangy flavor. Instead, they are decidedly savory with a delicious cheese flavor throughout.

Cheese Dough

I’ve made cheese crust pizza and flourless breadsticks with just cheese and eggs. When mixed and baked, the eggs give the cheese enough structure to form a chewy thin bread. This bagel recipe uses a similar cheese mixture as its base.

The cheese used is a combination of mozzarella and cream cheese. You can melt it on the stove or in the microwave until it becomes creamy and uniform. The end result looks like dough (but made out of cheese!).

Almond flour

The almond flour + baking powder give the bagels a lighter, fluffier texture. Otherwise, just cheese and eggs will be quite flat.

I like using superfine almond flour when baking. Regular almond flour is more gritty, but with superfine almond flour you can barely detect the almonds at all. For this recipe, I used Bob’s Redmill Superfine Almond Flour.

I have not tested this recipe with coconut flour or other gluten-free flours.

Making the Dough

I tried mixing the dough by hand, mixer and food processor. I thought the best way was using a food processor using the dough blade attachment. The dough is quite sticky so I don’t recommend trying to mix it by hand. The mixer with dough hook attachment works but you have to help it along as it doesn’t reach all the ingredients and the batter get stuck on the sides of the bowl.

However, the food processor blended all the ingredients and turned it into a smooth and uniform dough.

Once the dough is ready, it will still be quite sticky. It gets less sticky as it cools, but I found the best way to work with the dough is to wrap your pastry board with plastic wrap until it’s taut (so that it won’t shift as you’re rolling out the dough) and then lightly coat your hands with oil. This way the dough won’t stick to the board or your hands.

Once the dough is rolled out into logs, you shape into circles and pinch the ends closed. Carefully transport the dough to a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper) lined baking sheet.

Then you add egg wash which will give the surface of the bagels color as they bake. If you wish to add toppings, you sprinkle them on top after the egg wash. I did sesame seeds and everything bagel seasoning (I used the one from Trader Joe’s).

The bagels come out a beautiful golden brown. You can spread cream cheese on them, toast them, or eat them as is.

Additional Recipe Tips

Bake the sheets of bagels one at a time, in the middle of the oven. Avoid baking both trays at once and avoid having other things cooking in the oven at the same time as it causes uneven heat distribution. (I rushed one of my batches of bagels because I needed to leave the house soon, so I stuck them on the bottom rack and they ended up being flat and wrinkly rather than puffy and golden.)

More Keto Breakfast Recipes

Post now updated with video! You can also view all my recipe videos on my youtube channel.