Cottage Cheese Bagels With Only Three Ingredients!

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

The Cottage Cheese Bandwagon

Cottage cheese seems to have been popular for a while now. And I love the trend of cottage cheese!
You can make cottage cheese eggs, toast, pancakes, pizza crust, or anything else you can think of.
Savory cottage cheese bowls with cherry tomatoes, avocado, and balsamic glaze have been my latest obsession.
I was all in when I found out that I could make high-protein bagels with only three simple ingredients, one of which was cottage cheese. I’m always on the lookout for a healthy breakfast recipe that will give me and the kids more protein. I can’t stop thinking about all the different sandwiches and toppings I want to put on it!

Trying out this recipe for cottage cheese bagels

On TikTok, I’ve seen a lot of different high-protein bagels made with Greek yogurt, but not many made with cottage cheese. I tried both of them, and the difference in taste and texture was very small. But cottage cheese has more protein than Greek yogurt!
I also tried this recipe with 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 tried a batch of these in the air fryer to make sure they worked, and I had a good air fry time. To cook evenly, I suggest preheating your air fryer like an oven. They were just as good, and they took almost half as long as the oven!
Want a recipe for bread? These healthy sourdough buns and pull-apart sourdough dinner rolls are two of my favorite bread recipes.

Why You Will Love These 3-Ingredient Bagels with Cottage Cheese

Just mix, knead, roll, and shape it before baking. No need to rise!
Easy: This recipe doesn’t need a lot of work or mess because it only calls for three simple ingredients.
High in protein: Eating cottage cheese first thing in the morning is a great way to get more protein. They have a lot more protein than regular bagels (11 grams per serving).
Make-ahead: Make a double batch, cut them up, and freeze them. Then, every morning, put one in the toaster.
You can eat them any time of day, whether it’s for breakfast, a snack in the afternoon, or as part of a sandwich. You can top them however you like!

How to Make a Cottage Cheese Protein Bagel

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

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

What you need

1 cup of self-rising flour (Note 1)
1 cup of full-fat cottage cheese (Note 2)
1 large egg, beaten, for the egg wash
Toppings: poppy seeds, shredded asiago cheese, sesame seeds, or everything bagel seasoning

How to do it

Set the oven to 375 degrees and move the rack to the top. Put parchment paper on a big baking sheet.
Mix the cottage cheese: Put the cottage cheese in a food processor or blender and pulse or blend on high until smooth. If you need to, stop and scrape down the sides.
Put it in a medium bowl and add the flour. Mix until the dough is fully mixed and starts to pull away from the bowl’s sides. Put the dough on a work surface that has a lot of flour on it and knead it 8 to 10 times, or until it is smooth. If the dough is still sticky, add more flour to the work surface.

How to shape and season: Roll the dough into a ball and then cut it into four equal balls. Weighing each piece of dough to about 80g will make them all the same size. Make a rope out of each ball that is 6 to 7 inches long and 1 inch thick. Make a circle by joining the ends and pinching the seam tightly to seal. Brush the tops with an egg that has been beaten and then add the seasoning of your choice.

Baking

Put in the oven that has already been heated and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the dough puffs up and turns golden brown. Let it cool for 15 minutes before cutting it up and serving it. An airtight container at room temperature can keep bagels fresh for up to four days.

Fry in the air

Set the air fryer to 350 degrees and let it heat up for five minutes. Spray the basket of the air fryer with nonstick spray and cook for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the food is golden brown and no longer doughy in the middle.

The last step! Please leave a review if you make this to let us know how it turned out!

What Kind of Flour to Use

To keep them easy and with 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 self-rising flour, mix in 2 teaspoons of baking powder and a pinch of salt.
I don’t think you should switch to a different kind of flour, like the almond in this gluten-free pizza crust. That and coconut flour soak up too much water, so your bagels will be very dry.

Different Ways to Make the Recipe

Use 1 cup of a good gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum to make gluten-free bagels. (I tried this with King Arthur’s.) Add 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt to it.
Some ideas for toppings are sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, shredded asiago cheese, or poppy seeds.
Just like with regular bagels, you can spread butter or cream cheese on top.
You can make lox, tuna salad, chicken salad, or any of these other tasty bagel sandwiches.
Spread this Boursin cheese on top and make a delicious turkey sandwich.

How to Freeze and Store

Let the bagels cool all the way down, then put them in an airtight bag at room temperature (not in the fridge, which can make them stale faster) for 3–4 days. Or put them in the freezer right away for up to four months.

Tip for success: Cut them almost all the way through before freezing them so you can toast them straight from the freezer.

Notes

Flour. Use 1 cup of a good gluten-free flour mix with xanthan gum to make gluten-free bagels (I tried this with King Arthur’s). Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt to it.
Cheese from a cottage. Cottage cheese with full fat is the best. The brand and type of cottage cheese you use will affect how thick the dough is.
Flour that is normal. You can use all-purpose flour instead of self-rising flour and follow the same steps as the gluten-free option.
Yogurt from Greece. I also tried these with plain Greek yogurt and they worked great!
Dough that sticks. The brand and type of cottage cheese you use will affect how thick the dough is. Good Culture Full Fat Cottage Cheese is my favorite. The way you measure your flour is also important. Use a spoon and level to make sure you’re measuring correctly, or weigh it for the best results. Add flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough is no longer sticky, and then knead the flour into the dough on the work surface.

Food

The American Dairy Association Mideast paid for this recipe. I am the only one who has these thoughts and opinions. Thanks to brands like theirs that believe in our mission and recipes, we can keep giving you free ones. For information about dairy farming, nutrition facts about dairy, and cooking tips, check out their website.