It can be hard to give up bread, but with delicious keto mozzarella dough bagels, you don’t have to.
Is bread keto?
No, most traditional bread is not keto because they are made for wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or gluten-free flour and are high in starch and carbohydrates.
If you are new to low-carb or keto, you may think you have to give up bread — including bagels — forever!
Luckily there are plenty of low-carb and keto bread recipes you can enjoy. All are low-carb, grain-free, and naturally gluten-free.
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They are made with simple pantry and fridge ingredients, and you will discover just how filling and delicious they are.
What is mozzarella dough?
Mozzarella dough is often called fathead dough or keto dough. It is the easiest keto dough and is made with 4 simple ingredients and can be used in a variety of recipes.
The wonderful thing about this keto almond flour dough is that its ingredients, (mozzarella, cream cheese, egg, and almond or coconut flour) are naturally free of grain and wheat — making it perfectly low-carb and keto!
And if you learn how easy it is to make mozzarella dough, you can make an entire library of keto fat head recipes.
How to make mozzarella dough
You may want to watch the supreme guide to making fat head dough even without a microwave. Can be made with almond flour or coconut flour PLUS 16 keto recipes to use it.
Making keto dough is a simple process, but there is a couple of top tips I need to give you.
1: Do not heat the cheeses too much, or the dough will become sticky and difficult to handle. If this happens, simply pop it in the fridge for a minute, and it will firm up nicely again.
2: You must use parchment paper, not baking paper. And if for some reason you do find the dough sticks, use wet hands to slowly peel the paper away from the dough ACROSS the dough not UPWARDS.
Ingredients
All quantities, ingredients, and instructions are in the recipe card below.
You only need a few simple low-carb ingredients to make keto bagels. You probably have them already.
- Pre shredded/grated cheese mozzarella
- Almond meal/flour *see recipe notes below
- Cream cheese full fat
- Egg – medium
- Baking powder
Instructions
If you have never made mozzarella dough before, you may want to read the beginner’s guide to mozzarella dough (fat had dough). It will show you everything you need to know and the top recipes that use this versatile keto dough.
There are even tips showing you how to make it with almond flour or coconut flour and even if you don’t have a microwave.
Keto bagels
Bagels have been around since the 17th century and have since then spread across the world especially where there are thriving Jewish communities. People became so enamoured by its dense, chewy, and doughy interior that they are now made in a variety of ways to suit different tastes.
Keto bagels are the perfect healthy lunch box filler for hungry children. These delicious keto bagels are naturally gluten-free and will keep blood sugars and concentration stable without the highs and lows that a high-carb lunch might do.
No more stodgy bread and wheat, keto bagels are simply the yummiest naturally gluten-free bread there is.
Best Keto Bagels Recipe (Mozzarella Dough)
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Baking sheets – non stick
Ingredients
- 170 g shredded/grated cheese mozzarella
- 85 g almond meal/flour *see recipe notes below
- 2 tbsp cream cheese full fat
- 1 eggs – medium
- 1 tsp baking powder
- +/- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix the shredded/grated cheese, almond flour/meal and cream cheese in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute.
- Stir then microwave on HIGH for another 30 seconds.
- Add the egg, baking powder, salt, and any other flavourings, mix gently.
- Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Roll into balls then into cylinder shapes as shown in the video.
- Fold the ends of the cylinder shapes in a circle and squeeze the two ends together to form a bagel shape.
- Place on a baking tray and sprinkle with sesame seeds.Bake at 220C/425F for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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If we don’t have a microwave, how can I make bagels ?
You can gently heat them together on the stove top.
I make mozzarella dough in a homemade double-boiler. I put the cheeses into glass bowl on top of a saucepan with simmering water.
Do you have a recipe to make low carb noodles? I want to make korean ttebbokki ( thick rice noodle-rectangular—way thicker than Shirataki, etc) but want to avoid rice. Going to try the bagel recipe today! Thanks!
Sorry, no. I generally use zoodles.
I don’t have the enzyme to digest fat well. Can these be made with low fat mozz and cream cheese?
Hasn’t your doctor prescribed digestive enzymes? If you take lipase when you eat fat you will digest it just fine. You can buy them over the counter. I take a combination of enzymes with a probiotic. I used to have digestive difficulties, and I’m not sure which of my enzymes are deficient. I now can eat anything and feel great.
Mine haven’t risen at all, I followed the recipe and they are tiny! 🙁 very disappointed ?
Two possibilities: your baking powder is old or you put it in too early. Tins of baking powder should be dated when opened and pitched after 6 months. Also don’t put it in for the microwave/cheese melting step. Baking powder acrivates with heat and moisture. If you add too early you’ll lose a good bit of rise.
Looks yummy! You think you can freeze it?
Yes after they are cooked. I don’t advise to freeze the raw dough.
My fat head dough tends to somewhat ‘melt’ and go flat…ie it melts off my sausage rolls and my cinnabons went flat as pancakes. Any idea what I’m doing wrong? Love you recipes! Thank u for sharing
For how long can you storage the bagels?
I would keep them for up to 3 days. In the summer months, I would keep them in a airtight container in the fridge because of the high dairy content.
Can the bagels be frozen after you bake them?
They are best fresh, but yes they can be frozen then best toasted – yum.
These are sooooooo tasty!!!!!! I was skeptical, but they worked beautifully. Do you know if I could freeze these? Thank you so much for sharing x
I’m so glad you loved them Jaye, and yes they freeze well. Pop them in an airtight container in the freezer.
Can you use fresh mozz?
Any idea how much sunflower seed meal to use? My family is allergic to nuts and we didn’t like the coconut flour!
I would try a 1:1 swap. Then you may wish to add more meal if it is the dough is too sticky/damp or add a little liquid if it is dry (perhaps more cream cheese).
I’ve been making these for a few years. I usually make large pretzels and top with an “everything” mix. I always add 1 tsp of xanthen gum to it for better texture. I’ve never used baking powder. I’m going to try a variation with both and see how that works. I love the bagel shape idea!
These are truly wonderful! Thank you for sharing this recipe. My husband is so happy he can eat breakfast sandwiches again! He’s like, you know you will be making these all the time right?
Whoops – I think I may have just created a daily job for you now. 😉
I made these this morning and they turned out to be delicious. Simple and quick to assemble.
Jess that’s awesome. I’m glad you loved it. Pretty darn yummy huh?
I wanted to try a Cinnamon Bagel. How much cinnamon can i use? For the topping going to make icing!
Gosh, that is another recipe entirely. I would add sweetener to taste and cinnamon, but I would have to experiment with the quantities to make it perfect, alternatively try my cinnamon Chelsea buns.
It looked like the dough was coming along nicely, however once i added the egg it got super gooey and it would not mold at all into any shape. It was just a big mess in my hands. Any tips? I followed the directions exactly so I’m confused as to why it turned out this way. Any help is much appreciated…thanks!
Same thing happened to me! It was so tacky that a lot of it was wasted getting stuck to my hands. I couldn’t get it to roll out well either, so they look like mini-bagels.
This was kind of a disaster and I did everything step by step. No ingredients had gone past their date or anything… I had to add about a tablespoon or more of more almond flour to get them to be rollable and even then just got 4 mini bagels.
I have the tacky problem every time I make these. I just coat my hands with avocado or coconut oil first and it solves the problem. 🙂
The recipe calls for 1 med egg. I use large or xlarge eggs so ive had same problem. I just added more almond flour till it was malleable.
Hope this helps!
Wow, a medium egg! Who even uses medium eggs?? Thanks for noticing, that makes so much sense now!
You have to wet your hands when rolling each bagel. They don’t really roll, I just kind of pulled them into a tube shape then made a circle. They did go flat out of the oven, but they taste great. The recipe made 4 good sized “bagels”
I make a ball and poke a hole in the middle with my thumb. Much easier than the log method!
Just curious if boiling like a tradition bagel might be possible before the bake? I might try it and see what happens..
Ooooh, please come back and let me know how that works.
Same thing happened to me actually they looked perfect out the oven but an hour after they went completely flat. Still delicious but would rather if they had the shape of bagel after.
I doubled the recipe so the bagel could be a “normal” size and yes they did flatten out a little but they still taste great.
Must have made error somewhere along the way. Mine turned out small and only 5, then very flat?
Mine did the same thing but were still good. Next time I think I will double the recipe and see if that helps.
Any chance there is a fat-head recipe out there without almond flour/meal? I’m allergic to almonds and have been unable to find a decent substitute.
YES!!!!! In all my Fat Head recipes there is a recipe note at the end, explaining how to substitute almond flour for coconut flour instead. I have had so many people contact me asking for nut free recipes, I am making more and more with coconut flour, or at the very least, conversions using both 🙂
Did you try coconut flour?
It says too can substitute the almond flour with coconut flour ?
I just made these, and they are great! I just started a low carb eating plan, and these are a great substitute without the carb. I can’t wait to try the other recipes!
I tried to make this but i screwed up somehow i did exactly the recipie but they didnt really rize much at all and were like hard and dense nothing like the photo.
Mine too ?
After 10 minutes in the oven they started to get really dark on top but we’re still a little gooey in the middle. Should be using the convection?
just make them . They came out good not that cheesy flavor thank good!! I use a large egg but took some of it out with a paper towel . They are good thank you , I miss having bagels
Why can I not see the cooking video? I cannot find the referenced video on any recipe. Am I just overlooking it?
It’s sitting just above the recipe 🙂
I can’t see it either, I’m sorry, older guy and very NOT tech savvy! Could you maybe put a button that says “HEY! Here’s the video!!”?? LOL
It would seem the video does not show if you have your AdBlocker turned on for this website. Disabling it showed the video for me.
This was REALLY easy and quick to make and fulfilled my carb craving. Mix gently and don’t over do it. My dough didn’t come out sticky at all. My husband was amazed that I made my own bagels on a Saturday morning.
I don’t have a scale for food. Could someone tell me the measurements for the mozzarella cheese and almond meal?
There are conversion buttons below each recipe. You can swap between cups or weight (grams) whichever you prefer to cook by. You can even dial up how many servings you wish to make, try it out. The recipe magically calculates all the ingredients for you – yay!
1 & 3/4 cup mozzarella. 3/4 Almond Flour
Just finished my first batch, look good, I added cinnamon, 1tbs, think it needs more, overall I think they came out really good and I can now start eating bagels again. Thinking about next time using flavored cream cheese instead of regular.
Just be sure to check carbs on flavored cream cheese, as these can be higher in carbs due to added sugars.
After baked, do you need to refrigerate them or can they stay out in a storage container?
I keep mine in the fridge in an airtight container in the summer, and in the pantry, in the winter. The mozzarella dough bagels are so high in dairy, they need to be kept somewhere cool (but airtight) to remain fresh.
What to do if I do not have a micro. Thanks.
You can heat/melt the cheeses together in a saucepan gently on the stove/hob.
I have these baking now, but after entering the recipe into my app, it says 5 net carbs per serving. My cheese is showing 11 carbs, is that because I’m using preshredded? Would I be better off shredding my own, or using fresh? 5 carbs is still better than a regular bagel, but 2.6 sounds much better ?
It sounds like your pre-shredded cheese has fillers/flours. Yes, it’s best to shred/grate your own, but many people won’t even look at a recipe if I ask them to do that ( 😉 ). Next time you’re buying cheese, take a look at the labels, each brand of shredded cheese can vary incredibly. Once you find a good brand, stick with it! Enjoy, these bagels are the best 🙂
It could be the brand you’re using as well. My cheese is 1g carbs per serving (1/4 cup) so this recipe would be approx 3g carbs (cheese alone clearly)
My 4 year old grandson and myself made them. We used a large egg. It turned out wonderful. We are going to actually try to make this recipe into pizza crust tonight for supper.
Can these be frozen for future use?
Mine didn’t rise – could that be because I used light mozzarella? They are otherwise very delicious
I did frozen it! And worked, after going to the foster they tasted like fresh!
These are so good. I even used Neufchâtel cheese which was a little nervous about, but I added 1/2 tsp gluten free xantham gum. Wonderful.
I thought why bot try cheddar? Fail! Lol in sure they will still taste good!
I added a teaspoon of garlic powder and sprinkled white sesame seeds on top, yum.
Any suggestions to replace the egg(allergy) we bake the dough without egg for pizza bases which turns out great – but will baking powder without egg be enough to get a rise for a bagel or bun??
I have successfully made the mozzarella dough pizza base without an egg also, but I’m unsure how the bagels would rise without the egg. The baking powder would have some effect on the dough being able to rise, but not as much as per photo.
Make sure you use double acting baking powder(rises twice 1st with liquid acid and 2nd with heat) Try adding a little apple cider vinegar or sour cream(acid) to the batter
Is it the same recipe but no baking powder for the pizza dough?
Bagels are amazing!
Yes, by adding a little baking powder to the dough, makes it rise for a bagel. We don’t want it in the pizza dough so it stays thin and crispy (or you could add it if you want a fluffy soft pizza crust).
Can you use a donut pan?
A doughnut pan is more suited to a batter that you pour and it will take the shape of a doughnut. Mozzarella dough needs to be rolled out then formed into a circle to make the shape of a bagel.
I use donut pan all the time..just stretch dougj around circle
So, I just got done mixing up a batch of these. These are my thoughts. I don’t use pre-shredded cheese because they typically coat it with potato starch which is not keto. I used fresh mozzarella that I chopped up and followed all the other directions, but the dough was so wet there was no forming it. so I had to add about a half a cup more of almond flour just to get it where it wasn’t falling all over the place. Even then the dough was so sticky and wet it just stuck to my hands. So, I just made a blob on the cookie sheet and put a hole in the center as there was no forming it. We shall see how it goes.
You really need to follow the recipe as it was developed and use pre-shredded mozzarella, the other type will not work (as you discovered – whoops). Yes, many pre-shredded kinds of cheese contain starches to stop the cheese from clumping, but many others don’t. The one I buy only has 0.1% carbs and so is keto – yay!
I use fresh Mozza too and I found that this tips help. I throw the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up. It’s not as sticky then. I also then kneed the dough using just some avocado oil on my hands. Much more manageable this way.
Yes, the egg turns it into a sticky, wet mess.
In the video your bagels look dryer than mine turned out. Mine were a “wet sticky mess”. Any suggestions?
Some mozzarella brands are wetter than others, and fresh mozzarella is not recommended as it is so wet. I use pre-shredded mozzarella, it turns out perfectly every time. Hope that helps 🙂
You just have to keep working it. It will come together at the end.
I used a similar recipe and had the same issue with it being sticky. They recommendation was to freeze it for 30 minutes. That made it much easier to work with. Just had to be quick as it does warm in your hands and feet sticky again.
How can coconut flour be keto. The package I have says there are 9 grams of net carbs per 1/4 cup?
You might want to read this article. The Ultimate Guide To Coconut Flour vs Almond Flour. Coconut flour recipes require so little, the result is keto.
The whole recipe calls for 1/4 cup coconut flour. Thats not bad for 6 bagels. That means the coconut flour contributes 9g to the WHOLE recipe. Thats good.
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe but are sure the amounts are correct for 6 servings?
I barely could get 4 out of them. Also, with 425 F even 7 minutes was too much.
Am I missing something?
Yes, it makes 6 regular bagels, not super-sized one 🙂 Our serving sizes have been skewed by the sizes that are now served at restaurants and cafes. They are 30% biger then they were even 15 years ago.
You are right about that! I made six and substituted oat fibre for the coconut as I was out. They are delicious.
My boyfriend loves these. We have been making 4 bagels with this recipe instead of 6. In our oven 11 minutes is the perfect amount of time.
I am gluten/dairy/egg free. Do you think substituting non-dairy cheeses & an egg replacer would work? Any other suggestions? I’m craving a crispy bagel/bread experience!
I wouldn’t be able to say, you just completely reinvented a new recipe by replacing all the ingredients 😉
Hi, my bagels came out flat. Do you think I should add more baking powder or people something else be causing this? My dough came together very nicely, though it wasn’t ‘fluffy’, maybe I over stirred?
Maybe try to add more almond flour next time to make the dough a little sturdier. This helps prevent the bagels from collapsing. Also, it is worth checking the expiry date of your baking powder, I find if it is close to the expiry date, it never produces a fluffy cake, bread, dough.
How can these be made chewy? Gelatin?
Hi!
I just logged everything as you listed to my CarbManager app, and it shows that the net carbs are 4g? 🙁 I know there’s the fiber part, but I thought the app would calculate that since it shows “net carbs”.
Do you have any advice?
Every app shows nutrition results differently and some are very inaccurate depending if they allow “user added” entries. Some users add net and some users add total carb values. I use cronomter.com which has accurate nutritional values to calculate all my nutrition panels.
I just made these and followed the recipe perfectly for the bagels. I topped them with cheddar cheese and everything but the bagel topping from Trader Joe’s. They turned out AMAZING. These will save me when I’m craving bread. Thank you so much!
I have just started the Keto diet and am currently using coconut flour for all my baking as it seems to be easier to get hold of and cheaper but I’m struggling with the texture. Does almond flour produce a better texture and is it worth investing in for the future? I liked The taste of these bagels but I also had run out of pre grated cheese. I dried the cheese out as much as I could but I will try again next week. The texture in the middle still seemed moist and grainy but I don’t know if this is due to the coconut flour or cheese. I am trying to reduce carbs for the whole family and my kids are fussy eaters and I need to come up with some more ideas, so any suggestions are welcome.
Many people dislike the texture of coconut flour, it is incredibly high in fibre so the grainy texture can be quite gritty in baking. Yes, almond flour will have a better texture, but as you said, it is expensive. I tend to use ground almonds (almond meal) instead of almond flour, it is much cheaper. I think the moist and grainy texture you are experiencing in the centre will be from the coconut flour and it may be slightly undercooked. You say you dried the cheese out as much as you could, were you using the pre-grated/shredded cheese or the fresh mozzarella that is usually very damp? The pre-shredded variety is what is required in this recipe. Hopefully, you have some great tips ready to make it next time with better texture and your kids are coming back for more.
How long will the bagels stay fresh in the fridge? What’s the best way to store it in the fridge, sandwich bags or airtight container?
I would keep them in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 3 days.
Is there a way to make this without the microwave? I’ve survived without one for over 17 years. Hoping I still can!
Yes, but don’t let it get to hot on the stove you will turn the egg to scramble. Use a non-stick pan and keep stirring until it forms a ball. Once the ball is even colored (all ingredients mixed) drop into a glass bowl. While stirring add egg, baking powder and salt. Then complete the recipe. Hope this helps. They are stunning.
how old are you
I used an oven safe bowl at 400 for 2 minutes and carefully stirred using an oven mitt. You could probably transfer bowls.
I have made this recipe and they turned out great. However, they are a little dry, is there anything I can do to make them a little moist? If I toast them it is better, but don’t want them toadted all the time.
I followed the recipe as written and it worked out just fine. Great, in fact. I did divide the dough into 4 parts, rather than 6, as I was hoping to use these for sandwiches. Also, mine only needed to bake for 11 minutes, so my oven must be hotter.
I tried making a bagel, but the hole closed as it puffed up 😀 but that worked out anyway since they now just work like rolls and are absolutely fantastic for sandwiches. Great crust on out the outside, nice slightly chewy texture (not crumbly like most almond-based breads), and very nice flavor!
My bagels were small next time I’ll try your way dividing it into four.
Instead of making bagels, I made little ‘bread balls’. Perfect lunchbox sized dipper. The world ma easiest recipe. Tastes just like cheese sticks.
Easy to make, satisfying. Mine turned out and tasted like cornbread rather than bagels, though. Suggestions?
I would presume it was the brand of cheese you bought? You could try another brand and you could also sprinkle some bagel seasoning or sesame seeds n top to make it more like a traditional bagel. Yummo!
I have been craving bagels for breakfast with my eggs. This recipe was wonderful. A little tacky because I used a large egg but I was still able to roll and make 6 med sized bagels. Delicious!
I did the net carb math out using the labels of each ingredient and then again using Carb Manager (in case I was making a mistake) and I’m getting a higher net carb value.
I got ~24 net carbs for the almond flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
~13 for the mozzarella (Good and Gather from Target)
~2 for the cream cheese (Philadelphia while fat)
Is there some net carb technicality I’m not taking into account?
Thanks in advance!
There should be almost zero carbs for the mozzarella. Find a brand that is cheese only. Some will have starch powder to stop it form clumping.
Thanks for this recipe! I had a mozzarella/provolone pre-shredded mix on hand and used that instead. I also used a large egg. Mix was slightly wet, but workable. Baked 6 mini bagels in a silicone donut pan using a convection oven for 15 min. They turned out perfect! So easy to make and satisfied my biggest weakness!
I’ve tried this twice now and my mixture is so runny and I don’t know why. I end up adding so much more almond flour to try and firm it up a bit.
Are you using the pre-shredded mozzarella or the mozzarella dough that is stored in water? This definitely doesn’t sound right, if anything, sometimes the dough is too thick. Or are you o=heating the cheese too much so it is super runny?
Having the same issue. Followed and measured well. Seems like the oven is too hot at 425 is that possible?
There is no video. You said it was above the recipe. You can’t click on it.
It’s there, you may have an ad blocker installed or a video blocker in your browser?
no video showing, probably it was not embedded properly
It’s there, I just double checked using an incognito window, phew, you may not be able to see it if you have an ad-blocker installed in your computer. I also have a YouTube channel you can watch all my cooking videos too.
NO the video is not there. I disabled all plug ins and no video. The coding is not done properly, please don’t blame the users, but the programmer.
it is a tasty recipe, however it won’t make even close to 6 bagels – more like 4 mini bagles.
Also, do not use a traditionally mozzarella stored in water, use the block one variety (I doubt it is “true” mozzarella, but hey). I also made it with other hard cheese varieties like shredded Cheddar and Comte and it was delish.
Yes, you mustn’t use traditional mozzarella, in all my recipes I state to use “Pre shredded/grated cheese mozzarella”. Otherwise your mozzarella dough will be too wet and sticky.
15 minutes is far too long for these in the oven. Its more like 10-12 minutes at 400 °F so they don’t burn on the bottom. No, my oven does not run hot.
Can these be frozen for future use?
Yes, keto bagels can be cooked, cooled then frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To defrost, leave a bagel covered on your kitchen bench at room temperature for an hour, or use the defrost setting on your microwave.
Odd. Followed recipe exact and there was only enough for 3 bagels! When I divided into 6 the rounds were TINY!
I love these bagels. I make them often into buns and I get 4 nice size ones. They don’t rise much I wonder if that is because I don’t do bagels?
Hi Wendi, the bagels don’t tend to rise much either, they puff up (and sometimes deflate). Always check your baking powder, if it is near its “best by” date, then use a fresh pack and you might see a difference.
Looks great!!!! I’m going to try this