It’s almost All Purpose Veggies’s 2nd year anniversary! To celebrate, I'm sharing 10 different bagel stuffing ideas that will transform your plain white bagels into something fun and maybe even a little more healthy! The best part about making stuffed bagels is that they are much easier to make than they look, and once you get the hang of the shaping part, there'll be no end to how many different flavors and fillings you can start making. You'll see just what I mean soon enough, so keep reading!
1. Red Bean Paste Stuffing
This is the stuffing that started it all! The idea of stuffed bagels actually came from my trip to Japan where I visited a bakery selling bagels with all sorts of different fillings. I had one stuffed with red bean paste--and well, the rest is history.
This red bean paste stuffed matcha bagel is a healthier take on that experience - made with bread flour, almond flour, applesauce, yeast, salt, and matcha powder - it's a bagel that's lower in carbs and higher in fiber than most bagel recipes, but it's also one that stays true to that glorious stuffed aesthetic and original flavor of what I had back in my trip.
If you're interested, Tecona Bagel Works is the bakery I mentioned, and their Instagram page is here: @tecona_bagel_works . They also have their own cookbook (written in Japanese) which you can buy on Amazon!
2. Cream Cheese Stuffing
It goes without saying that bagels and cream cheese are a match made in heaven! The creamy, tangy cream cheese (I used low fat) pairs perfectly with the sweet, cinnamony pumpkin bagel dough, and the swirled filling gives you the best ratio of bread and cream cheese in every bite. Think of this bagel as the breakfast version of the pumpkin roll, and yes, it is absolutely divine.
3. Crunchy Peanut Butter
I stuffed a bagel with peanut butter! There, I said it, and I have no regrets. The crunchy & creamy peanut butter is a fun textural contrast to the chewy, somewhat heavy bagel dough, and also boosts up the protein content of this bagel from 10g to close to 30g of protein per bagel. Serve it with a dollop of strawberry jam, and you can have these bagels for breakfast and lunch!
4. Cheese (vegan cheese works, too!)
If you're a fan of pizza bagels you'll absolutely love this combo of crushed tomato bagels with a creamy cheese filling! The added shredded cheese (the picture above is actually made from vegan mozzarella) melts into a beautiful crescent-moon center after the bagel is boiled and baked. It's highly recommended that you wait for the bagels to cool before slicing to get that clean C-shaped cut, but I won't judge if you decide to tear it apart before the cheese has a chance to set 🙂
5. Diced Apples / Apple Pie Filling
Ever thought of apple pie bagels? Neither did I, until I tried stuffing my applesauce bagel dough with diced Honeycrisp apples. The sweet and tart apple pieces soften up nicely in the baking process and get all gooey with the cinnamon sugar they're coated in. It's a perfect filling and flavor combo for the fall, but also great treat to have year-round. Plus, because there are almost more apples in this bagel than bread, so it's also kind of healthy and lower in calories than traditional bagels.
6. Carrot Cake Filling
Carrot cake bagels are here, and yes, they deliver. The cream cheese filling stuffed with crushed walnuts and sweet raisins is enough to give artisan bagels a complete overhaul. These have the best of two worlds: carrot cakes and homemade bagels, and happen to be my favorite bagel of all.
7. Dried Cranberry Filling
Cranberries are sweet, tart, and almost as pretty as rubies — there’s no other way to describe the northern fruit, and just how pretty they are stuffed inside this pink cranberry bagel. Tart, chewy and a bit juicy, these beauties have the nicest fruitiness and color. I also love adding cream cheese together with the cranberries to get that creamy, chewy filling. (FULL RECIPE WILL BE AVAILALBLE SOON!)
8. Chocolate Chip Filling (Paired with Blueberry Bagels)
When you thought you had seen it all, a colorful bagel comes and stirs things up! And yes, these blueberry bagels with chocolate chip and cream cheese filling are as good as they look! I used 70% cacao chocolate chips, which have just the amount of sweet but bitter flavor to keep the blueberry bagel healthy, but also fancy. It's also THE perfect bagel to have with espresso or a strong cup of coffee.
9. Sweet Corn Filling
Here's a tribute to my southern roots! (Georgia girl here ^^). These cornbread bagels are stuffed with a sweet fresh corn and cream cheese filling, and as strange as it sounds, it WORKS. The fresh kernels of corn are crisp, sweet and pops when you bite into them, and the creamy tangy cream cheese gives you that sour cream taste that you can't miss in a truly authentic Southern Corn Casserole. Expect the unexpected! These Cornbread Bagels might just become your favorite home-baked project.
10. Pecan Pie Filling
These healthy sweet potato bagels are filled with pecan pie, but not really. The chewy sweet filling is made with pecans and dried dates moistened with molasses. It's so easy to make a bagel taste like a slice of pecan pie with this filling combo. Also, it makes things healthy and vegan-friendly. It's the bagel to make when you're craving all the comforting flavors of fall.
And more to come...
Many people might think of bagels as plain and boring, but nothing can be further from the truth. Bagel dough is actually quite versatile, and easy to customize once you know how they're made. Also, the best part of these bagel recipes is that you can make one bagel dough and stuff them with 4 different fillings! Like with my family, I made sure to leave out raisins for two of the four carrot cake bagels and added extra on mine since I'm the only one who likes them 🙂
More ideas and recipes will be posted soon! I hope these bagel stuffing ideas inspire you to make your own stuffed bagels at home, and maybe even surprise your family and friends when they slice them in half while expecting nothing inside.
Finally, thanks to all those who have been visiting my blog these last 24 months. I love posting recipes that are fun and exciting to me and always post them hoping that there'd be others who feel the same. Reading your positive feedback and comments gives me so much joy. Thank youuu!
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