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These high-protein bagels are soft, chewy, and so easy to make — no yeast or long proofing time required! With cottage cheese as the secret ingredient, each bagel is packed with protein and perfect for a quick breakfast or lunch base.

Cooked bagels with small holes in the centre topped with sesame seeds on metal tray lined with baking paper.

Fuller Facts - Nutrition At A Glance

Protein | 12 grams
Calories | 226 kcals
Time | 30 minutes

What You Will Need

Ingredients for protein bagels on benchtop with text overlay.

Your Bowl Your Way - Notes, Add-Ins, Adjustments

Every body, every day is different. These tips help you tweak, boost, or simplify the recipe to suit your goals, your kitchen, and your routine.

Bread flour—sometimes labelled strong flour—is a type of wheat flour with a higher protein content than regular all-purpose flour. This extra protein (usually around 12–14%) helps develop more gluten when mixed and kneaded, which gives bread its chewy texture and structure. It's ideal for recipes like bagels, where you want a firm, slightly chewy bite and good rise without using yeast.
Gluten-Free? My son is celiac so we have tested this recipe with gluten-free flour it worked well! Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, the dough is a little more delicate to work with, but when baked the GF Bagels are great.
No cottage cheese? Smooth ricotta or thick Greek yogurt will work, but the dough may be stickier.
More Protein? Sprinkle with hemp seeds and/or top with your favourite protein-rich topping like nut butters, cottage cheese, eggs, shredded chicken, baked beans, hummus

Prep To Plate In Pictures

Follow these step-by-step photos to see exactly how this recipe comes together. Prefer to jump ahead? Scroll down for the printable version or watch the quick video.

Blend or mash the cottage cheese: You can totally use a blender or smoothie cup for silky-smooth results—but honestly, a good old potato masher gets the job done too. Lumpy isn’t our vibe here—smooth cottage cheese means smoother bagel dough.

Hand holding a potato masher in a bowl of cottage cheese, smoothie cup with blender lid on benchtop with cottage also.

Start with your dry ingredients: Mix the bread flour, baking powder, salt, and whichever extras you’re in the mood for—onion powder for savoury or a bit of cinnamon for sweet.

Hand holding a wooden spoon mixing flour and dry ingredients in glass bowl.

Add the wet and mix it all together: In goes your smooth cottage cheese (plus vanilla if you’re going sweet). Give it a good stir until you’ve got a dough forming. No need to overwork it.

Wooden spoon mixing bagel mixture together in large glass bowl on marble benchtop.

Dough ball check-in: Once it’s all combined, scoop out a portion and shape it into a ball. It should feel soft but not sticky. This one’s looking just right! To stop the dough sticking lightly flour your hands and your work surface.

Womans hand holding a round ball of bagel dough in her palm.

Divide and conquer: Lightly flour your bench and divide the dough into four equal pieces. No need for precision tools—eyeballing is absolutely acceptable here.

Four balls of bagel dough on marble benchtop scattered lightly with flour.

Make that bagel shape. Use the handle of a spatula (or your finger) to poke a hole through each ball, then gently stretch it out. You can also roll the dough into a log and shape it into a ring if that’s more your style. You need to holes pretty big so that once baked they look like bagels!

Hand holding a metal spatula handle horizontally with bagel dough pierced through forming a hole in the middle.

Time for the egg wash: Brush the top of each bagel generously with whisked egg. This helps the toppings stick and gives you that shiny, golden crust. Note, see the size of these bagel holes (they are too small, this was from a test batch, I found the holes closed over at this size).

Four bagel shaped dough on marble benchtop scattered lightly with flour, hand holding a basting brush basting bagels with whisked egg.

Topping time: sweet or savoury: Dip the tops into sesame seeds for savoury, or into cinnamon sugar for sweet. Go generous! The coating makes the final bagel extra special.

Metal tray lined with baking paper with three bagels dipped on top side with sesame seeds, green plate with sesame seeds on it, woman's hand holding a bagel and dipping topside in.

Metal baking tray lined with baking paper, four bagels topped with brown sugar mixture, blue bowl with brown sugar mixture inside.

Don’t forget the hole! Make sure the holes in your bagels are at least 3–4 cm wide. If they’re too small, you’ll end up with very tasty dinner rolls—but not bagels. Measure if you must (this one’s a 9 cm bagel with a 3 cm hole).

Four bagels on metal tray lined with baking paper, woman's hand holding a metal ruler measuring the size if whole in the middle.

Baked to golden perfection: Fresh from the oven—four sweet and four savoury. Crispy outside, soft inside, and packed with protein. Ready to slice, toast, or devour as-is.

Eight cooked bagels on metal baking tray lined with baking paper, four topped with seasme seeds, four with brown sugar mixture.

You've Got This - Helpful Hints

A few handy tips to make this protein bagel recipe even quicker and even easier

Cottage cheese must be smooth—blend or mash it well to avoid lumps in your dough.
Dough too sticky? Add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until soft but workable.
These are best eaten fresh or lightly toasted once cooled.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Toppings can turn these bagels into a true high-protein meal, I love shredded chicken, cottage cheese and cucumber slices

A bagel on a plate cut open with cream cheese cucumber slices and fresh chicken inside.

More Recipes To Fill Your Bowl

Here are a few more high-protein ideas to keep your week feeling sorted.

Coffee Protein Shake - Perfect paired with a fresh bagel!
Cottage Cheese Egg Muffins
Meal Prep Protein Pasta Salad

High Protein Bagels

Easy protein-packed bagels made with cottage cheese—choose savoury sesame or sweet cinnamon sugar!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 22

Total Time 32

Serving Size bagels

Video

Ingredients

1 cup bread flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoons salt
1 cup cottage cheese (blended or mashed to become smooth)
1 egg

Savory (optional)

½ teaspoon onion powder
2 Tablespoons Sesame seeds

Sweet (optional)

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180°C (360°F). Line a baking tray with baking paper or lightly grease it.
Blend or mash your cottage cheese to give it a smooth consistency.
In a mixing bowl, combine the bread flour, baking powder, salt, and either savoury (½ teaspoon onion powder) or sweet (½ teaspoon cinnamon) additions if using.
Add the cottage cheese (plus ½teaspoon vanilla extract if making the sweet version) and mix until a dough forms. You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook or mix by hand with a spoon.
If the dough feels too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour. It should be soft but not wet.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 4 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball, then shape into a bagel by poking a hole in the centre and gently stretching it out.
Brush the bagels with beaten egg.
Savoury: Spread the sesame seeds on a side plate. Place the egg-washed bagel into the sesame seeds so that it is generously covered with the seeds.
Sweet: mix the remaining ½ teaspooon of cinnamon and 1 Tablespoon of Bbrown sugar and spread on a side plate. Place the egg-washed bagel into the cinnamon sugar so that it is generously covered.
Place the bagels on your prepared tray.
Bake for 20–22 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
Allow to cool slightly before slicing. Enjoy fresh or toasted!

Notes

Bread flour—sometimes labelled strong flour—is a type of wheat flour with a higher protein content than regular all-purpose flour. This extra protein (usually around 12–14%) helps develop more gluten when mixed and kneaded, which gives bread its chewy texture and structure. It's ideal for recipes like bagels, where you want a firm, slightly chewy bite and good rise without using yeast.
Gluten-Free? My son is celiac so we have tested this recipe with gluten-free flour it worked well! Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, the dough is a little more delicate to work with, but when baked the GF Bagels are great.
No cottage cheese? Smooth ricotta or thick Greek yogurt will work, but the dough may be stickier.
More Protein? Sprinkle with hemp seeds and/or top with your favourite protein-rich topping like nut butters, cottage cheese, eggs, shredded chicken, baked beans, hummus
Cottage cheese must be smooth—blend or mash it well to avoid lumps in your dough.
Dough too sticky? Add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until soft but workable.
These are best eaten fresh or lightly toasted once cooled.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Toppings can turn these bagels into a true high-protein meal, I love shredded chicken, cottage cheese and cucumber slices

Nutrition

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