Blueberry Cottage Cheese Bagels
These blueberry cottage cheese bagels taste like a real bakery bagel, but they’re high in protein and come together with no yeast, no boiling, and no waiting around for dough to rise. You blend, mix, shape, and bake. That’s it.
If you’ve been seeing cottage cheese bagels all over your feed, this is the sweet version. A little cinnamon, a handful of blueberries, and the same easy dough, about thirty minutes start to finish and most of it hands-off.
Why You’ll Love These Blueberry Cottage Cheese Bagels
They’re genuinely high protein. The blended cottage cheese does double duty here. It gives you a soft, chewy bagel and a real hit of protein, so one of these cottage cheese protein bagels actually keeps you full through a busy morning.
There’s no yeast and no boiling. Traditional bagels are kind of a project. This recipe skips all of it. If you can stir a bowl and shape a ring, you can make them.
The dough comes together in minutes. Blend the cottage cheese, stir in your dry ingredients, fold in the berries, and you’re basically done. The only patience required is a quick chill in the fridge.
You probably have everything already. Cottage cheese, flour, baking powder, a handful of blueberries. Nothing fancy, nothing you have to hunt down.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cottage cheese: Blend it smooth before anything else so you don’t get lumps in your dough. Use a good thick brand if you can. Some cottage cheese is much runnier than others, and a watery one will make the dough hard to work with. If yours looks loose, drain it for a few minutes first.
- All-purpose flour: This is what gives the bagels their structure and chew. I don’t recommend swapping in almond flour one for one here. It has no gluten, so the dough won’t hold its shape and the bagels will spread flat in the oven.
- Baking powder: Your only leavening. It’s what gives these a little lift since there’s no yeast.
- Cinnamon and salt: The cinnamon is subtle and works really well with the blueberries. The salt keeps them from tasting flat.
- Maple syrup or honey: Totally optional. A little adds a soft sweetness, but the berries bring plenty on their own.
- Blueberries: Fresh or frozen both work. Toss them in a teaspoon of flour first so they don’t sink, and if you’re using frozen, pat them dry so they don’t bleed into the dough.
- One egg: Just for the egg wash on top. It’s what gives them that shiny, golden bakery finish.
How to Make These Cottage Cheese Bagels
This cottage cheese bagels recipe makes 4 big bagels or 6 smaller ones.
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Blend the cottage cheese in a food processor until completely smooth.
Step 2: In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Step 3: Fold in the blended cottage cheese and the maple syrup or honey if you’re using it. Mix until it comes together into a dough. It should feel tacky but still hold its shape. If it’s too sticky to handle, add flour one tablespoon at a time.
Step 4: Gently fold in the blueberries. Don’t overwork the dough. Chill the dough in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes. This firms it up and makes shaping so much easier.
Step 5: Divide into 4 pieces for big bagels or 6 for smaller ones. With floured or lightly oiled hands, roll each piece into a ball, poke a hole in the center, and shape it into a ring. Place the bagels on the parchment and brush the tops with egg wash.
Step 6: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and set. Let them cool before slicing. They firm up as they cool.
Tips for the Best Cottage Cheese Bagels
- Use thick cottage cheese, or drain it. This is the number one thing that makes or breaks the dough. A runny cottage cheese means a wet, sticky dough that won’t hold its shape. If yours looks loose in the tub, let it drain in a fine mesh strainer for a few minutes first.
- Don’t skip the chill. Twenty minutes in the fridge takes the dough from sticky and frustrating to easy to shape. It’s the difference between fighting the dough and actually enjoying this.
- Resist the urge to dump in flour. If your dough is sticky, it’s tempting to keep adding flour until it behaves. Too much will make the bagels dense and dry. Instead, flour your hands and your surface, and only add small amounts to the dough itself if you really need to.
- If they flattened, it’s usually moisture. Bagels that spread instead of holding their shape almost always come down to a dough that was too wet, or almond flour standing in for all-purpose. Stick with all-purpose, drain your cottage cheese, and chill the dough, and you’ll get a proper bagel shape.
- Parchment paper is your friend. It makes transferring the shaped bagels painless and keeps the bottoms from sticking.
How to Store
Store cooled bagels in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To freeze, let them cool completely, then freeze in a zip-top bag for up to 2 months. I’d slice them before freezing so you can pop them straight into the toaster from frozen.
frequently asked questions
Not as a one to one swap. Almond flour has no gluten, so the dough won’t hold together and the bagels will spread flat. Stick with all-purpose for this recipe.
Almost always a dough that was too wet. Use a thick cottage cheese or drain it, pat frozen blueberries dry, and chill the dough before shaping.
A thick, good quality full-fat or 2% brand. The runnier the cottage cheese, the harder the dough is to work with.
Yes. The cottage cheese is what makes them high protein cottage cheese bagels, with way more protein than a regular bagel and no yeast or boiling required.
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Blueberry Cottage Cheese Bagels
Ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese blended until smooth
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey, optional
- ½ cup blueberries fresh or frozen, tossed in 1 tsp flour
- 1 egg for egg wash
Instructions
Enable step-by-step mode- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Blend cottage cheese in a food processor until smooth.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Fold in the blended cottage cheese and the maple syrup/honey if using. Mix until it comes together into a dough. It should be tacky but hold its shape. If it’s too wet to handle, add flour 1 tbsp at a time.
- Gently fold in the blueberries (pat them dry first if frozen). Don’t overwork it.
- Chill the dough for 15-20 minutes. This firms it up and makes it much easier to shape.
- Divide into 4 pieces (or 6 for smaller bagels). With floured or lightly oiled hands, roll each into a ball, poke a hole in the center, and shape into a ring.
- Place on the parchment and brush with egg wash.
- Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and set.
- Let cool before slicing. Serve with cream cheese, honey, or butter.
Such a treat! I’ve made these bagels over and over. I make mine with fresh milled (whole wheat) flour and they are just fabulous! It’s one for the recipe box.
I can’t get the dough to not be overly sticky. I even add flour hoping it’ll help but I’m almost doubling the amount and it’s still a pain to form. Any tips?
Hi Stephanie,
A couple things that usually help: drain your cottage cheese well if needed (and pat blueberries dry if they’re juicy, especially frozen ones), and then try chilling the dough for about 20 minutes before shaping. It makes it way easier to work with. I also like to keep my hands and surface floured (or lightly oiled) instead of working too much extra flour into the dough itself, since that can make the bagels dense. Parchment paper is another little lifesaver when transferring them! Hopefully those tips make it less of a hassle!
I must have done something wrong because when I baked them in the oven they flattened. Any guesses as to what happened?
Hi Alex,
It sounds like you may have overmixed the dough! Just mix until it’s slightly tacky. Also, make sure you’re using good quality cottage cheese. Some brands are runnier than others, so that could also be the culprit.