Hitting your fiber and protein goals has never been easier or more fun than with this easy recipe for our delicious, satisfying High Protein Bagels made with oat flour! You will love the chewy texture, simple ingredients, and fast cook time of these mini bagels, thanks to the help of the Air Fryer!Â
Tiktok made 3 ingredient bagels famous, but making them with oat flour is a game changer, especially if you are looking to increase your fiber intake like me. I eat oatmeal pretty frequently, and the idea of making a bagel using oats was super exciting to me. And even more exciting – it works great!
I tested these with both Greek yogurt and cottage cheese and while both options worked out ok, I really liked the fluffy texture from the cottage cheese batch!
These easy cottage cheese bagels make getting your protein in so easy. I love to make them into a breakfast sandwich with eggs and turkey bacon, my homemade sausage patties, or ham. You can also toast them up with some cream cheese, peanut butter, or even this healthy chicken salad for a protein-rich snack to bust those mid-day cravings.
When it comes to protein-rich breakfast options, we love our Cheesy Bacon Breakfast Bites. If you make them a little bigger, they’d make the perfect filling for these bagels, too.
I love to use our Homemade Everything Bagel Seasoning to top off this recipe!
More Reasons To Love These
- Gluten-free + high fiber – This high protein bagel recipe is gluten-free and uses oat flour in place of wheat flour.
- Simple to make – Even beginners can make this recipe successfully and they are so quick!
- Bagel cravings curbed – Much healthier than store-bought bagels, and yet these still do the trick to crush those cravings!
If you need more great gluten-free meal options, try our Gluten Free Greek Yogurt Pizza Crust (high protein), our popular Momma’s Gluten Free Meatloaf recipe, or these delicious Gluten Free Make Ahead Freezer Waffles!
Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients for this recipe. For full ingredients and amounts, be sure to check out the printable recipe card below.
- gluten-free oat flour – I like Bob’s Red Mill brand
- cottage cheese – Good Culture OR sub plain Greek yogurt are nice and thick and perfect for this recipe! (both options are pictured, but use only one!)
- baking powder
- salt
- garlic powder
- egg or liquid egg whites
Variations + Favorite Toppings
- Sesame seeds & everything bagel seasoning are pictured here topping the bagels, and they taste great!
- Cinnamon + raisins or jalapeño and cheddar cheese would also make incredible topping options for some easy variation.
- Poppy seeds, flakey sea salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, chocolate chips, or even blueberries would be fun to experiment with!
Step by Step Instructions
See the printable recipe card below for full instructions.
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients – flour, salt, garlic powder, and baking powder – to a large bowl and whisk. Add the strained cottage cheese and mix with a fork or spatula until well combined. It should look like small crumbles.
Step 2: Knead the dough until it comes together and is smooth and tacky, but not sticky. It usually takes about 2 minutes. If you need to add more flour, you can add 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Step 3: Divide your dough into 4 equally-sized balls. Roll each one into a 3/4-inch thick rope and join the ends to form a bagel shape. Alternatively, you can make a ball and poke a hole in the center, then stretch it out slightly.
Step 4: Brush on a light coat of egg wash, and sprinkle both sides with seasoning of your choice. Pictured here is everything bagel seasoning and sesame seeds.
Step 5: Preheat your air fryer for 5 minutes at 350°F. Place the bagels in the air fryer basket and air fry for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Step 6: Let cool for 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- There’s no need to blend the cottage cheese, but straining the extra liquid will help the dough be less sticky.
- Be sure to lightly flour your hands while kneading and shaping the bagels to help the dough from sticking to your fingers. Also use extra flour on your work surface. This will also help the sticky!
- Make the hole in the center slightly larger than you think you should, because the bagels will puff up a bit while cooking and the center closes up a little.
- Do not sub almond flour or coconut flour, but you can sub in gluten free 1:1 flour or an all purpose self rising flour for fluffier bagels (but less fiber!).
- For bigger bagels, increase both the flour + the cottage cheese – just be sure to keep the ratio at 1:1! I have done 1 1/3 cup of each or up to 2 cups of each for larger bagels!
Meal Prep and Storage
Prep Ahead: This recipe is great for meal-prep. Make these amazing bagels and have easy breakfast sandwiches for the week!
To Store: Store your gluten-free bagels in an airtight container in the fridge. They will keep for 3 days. They can be kept for longer in the freezer. We recommend vacuum sealing for the best results.
To Reheat: Reheat your sliced bagels in the toaster using the bagel setting, if available. You can also reheat in the air fryer for a couple of minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! If you blend your old-fashioned or rolled oats until a fine flour forms, you can make oat flour at home!
We love this recipe for additional protein because it incorporates cottage cheese into the mix, which is a great source of extra protein!
Each one of our high-protein bagels contains 13 grams of protein.
I have not tested with either of these flours, so I would not recommend either of them. You could use a gluten-free 1:1 flour or other self-rising flour if you don’t have oat flour. If you don’t need gluten free, you could also sub whole wheat flour.
Yes – if you don’t have an air fryer or want to make a larger batch, bake bagels at 375 degrees until puffed and golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating & a review in the comments section! We love hearing from you!
Air Fryer GF Protein Bagels (High Fiber)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Gluten Free Oat Flour + more for kneading and to add if dough feels too sticky
- 1 Cup Cottage Cheese extra liquid strained out – I like a thick brand like Good Culture; or sub plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- Pinch salt and garlic powder
- 1 Egg beaten for egg wash
- Sesame Seeds optional for topping
- Everything Bagel Seasoning optional for topping
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, salt, garlic powder, and baking powder and whisk well. Add the strained cottage cheese and mix with a fork or spatula until well combined, it will look like small crumbles.
- Using your clean hands, working in the bowl, knead the dough until it comes together and is smooth, tacky, but not sticky, about 2 minutes. If you need to add more flour, do so 1 Tablespoon at a time.
- Divide dough into 4 equal balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch thick ropes and join the ends to form bagels. Or you can make a ball and poke a hole in the center, then stretch it slightly.
- Top with egg wash and sprinkle both sides with seasoning of your choice.
- Preheat the air fryer to 350 for 5 minutes. Spray the air fryer basket with nonstick spray and air fry for 15 minutes, until golden brown.
Notes
Helpful Tips
-
- There’s no need to blend the cottage cheese, but straining the extra liquid will help the dough be less sticky.
-
- Be sure to lightly flour your hands while kneading and shaping the bagels to help the dough from sticking to your fingers. Also use extra flour on your work surface. This will also help the sticky!
-
- Make the hole in the center slightly larger than you think you should, because the bagels will puff up a bit while cooking and the center closes up a little.
-
- Do not sub almond flour or coconut flour, but you can sub in gluten free 1:1 flour or an all purpose self rising flour for fluffier bagels (but less fiber!).
- Â
- For bigger bagels, increase both the flour + the cottage cheese – just be sure to keep the ratio at 1:1! I have done 1 1/3 cup of each or up to 2 cups of each for larger bagels!
Felicia Jones says
Mine look good but they didn’t really rise. Are they supposed to?
Nancylynn says
Hi! So they won’t rise as much as if you used bread flour, but they definitely rise! Is your baking soda old?
Lisa Kelly says
I’m looking forward to trying these .
Can you use homemade oat flour (grinding up oats)?
Nancylynn says
Absolutely!