Cottage Cheese Protein Bagels (Printable)

Soft, chewy bagels made with cottage cheese and self-rising flour for a nutritious, easy meal.

# What you need:

→ Dough

01 - 1 cup cottage cheese, full-fat or low-fat
02 - 1½ cups self-rising flour

→ Toppings

03 - 1 egg, beaten for egg wash
04 - 2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds

# How to make it:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, combine cottage cheese and self-rising flour until a shaggy dough forms.
03 - Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead gently for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth, being careful not to over-knead.
04 - Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope, then form into a bagel shape and pinch ends to seal.
05 - Place bagels on the prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with desired toppings.
06 - Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
07 - Allow bagels to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

# Helpful Hints:

01 -
  • Ready in 30 minutes flat, which means you can make fresh bagels faster than your coffee brews.
  • Packed with protein from cottage cheese, so this breakfast actually keeps you full until lunch.
  • No yeast means no mysterious fermenting smells or waiting around wondering if your dough will cooperate.
02 -
  • Don't over-knead—I learned this the hard way when I was trying to make the dough perfectly smooth and ended up with dense, tough bagels that felt like hockey pucks.
  • The egg wash is optional but worth doing because it's the difference between bagels that look homemade and bagels that look homemade in the best way possible.
03 -
  • Room-temperature cottage cheese mixes into the flour more smoothly than cold cottage cheese straight from the fridge.
  • If your dough feels too wet, dust with a tiny bit more flour one teaspoon at a time—cottage cheese moisture varies by brand.
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