The Best Keto Fathead Bagels with Almond Flour

These Keto Fathead Bagels are the best keto low-carb bagels with a crispy crust and a chewy, dense crumb. Bonus, this fathead bagel recipe makes 12 easy keto bagels that freeze very well to make-ahead your breakfast with only 3.6 grams of net carbs per bagel.

Are bagels keto-friendly?

No, a regular bagel recipe is not keto-friendly. It’s made of all-purpose flour and sugar. As a result, one bagel is very high in carbs, with about 48 grams of carbs per bagel.

However, you can make your own easy keto fathead bagels at home using this recipe.

How to make keto bagels with fathead dough?

Fathead dough is one of the easiest ways to make keto bread, keto cinnamon rolls, or pizza crust. Fathead dough is made of only 3 simple ingredients: eggs, shredded mozzarella cheese, and cream cheese.

Sometimes a keto flour like almond flour, coconut flour, or psyllium husk is added to give texture and density to fathead keto bread.

To make the best keto fathead bagels, you must add some keto flours to recreate a chewy, dense crumb similar to regular bagels.

Keto fathead bagel dough

The ingredients you need to make this keto bagel recipe with a delicious crispy crust and chewy, dense crumb are:

• Almond flour or almond meal – both work, but almond meal adds a gritty texture and darker color to bagels. I don’t recommend using almond meal for the best flavor and texture. To learn more about flours, read my guide on how to choose keto flours!
• Ground psyllium husk – you can also use whole psyllium husk, but most of the time, whole husk darkens the dough. Some brands also change the color of the dough to a blue/purple color. That’s why I recommend psyllium husk powder. This ingredient is optional, but it adds the most delicious chew to the bagel crumb, so don’t skip it!
• Shredded mozzarella – this refers to hard shredded mozzarella, not soft mozzarella that is much moister. Also, make sure you are using full-fat shredded mozzarella, or the bagels come out dry. To learn more about dairy on a keto diet, read my full keto dairy guide!
• Eggs – I recommend beating the eggs before adding them into the fathead dough. Also, make sure you add the eggs on top of the almond flour, not in direct contact with the hot melted cheese, or this would cook the eggs and create lumps. Some recipes call for egg whites only. I don’t recommend this option because the crumb wouldn’t be as moist without egg yolk. So, always use whole beaten eggs to make the best low-carb fathead bagels.
• Salt
• Baking powder – to give a little rise to the dough.

How to melt cheese for fathead dough?

Option 1: Microwave

1. First, bring the shredded mozzarella cheese and cream cheese into a large microwave-safe bowl.
2. Then, microwave by 30-second bursts on high powder.
3. Stir between each time and keep microwaving until the cheese is fully melted and well combined with the cream cheese. You want a soft, hot stringy cheese mixture with no bites of cream cheese. Usually, it takes 1 minute 30 seconds to microwave the cheese mixture for the perfect fathead dough.

On the stove

You can melt shredded mozzarella and cream cheese over the stove, over medium heat.

However, you must use a non-stick saucepan to prevent the cheese from sticking to the side and bottom of the pan.

Stir constantly with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until fully melted.

Finally, transfer the melted cheese into a large mixing bowl. Make sure the bowl is not too cold, or the cheese is going to harden fast. You would struggle to combine the dry ingredients into it.

How to form the fathead dough?

Now that you have prepared the melted cheese, stir in all the dry ingredients: baking powder, almond flour, psyllium husk, and salt.

Finally, add the beaten egg on top of the flour and start stirring with a silicone spatula.

Note that you must add the beaten eggs on top of the flour. In fact, adding the beaten eggs in direct contact with the melted cheese mixture would cook the eggs and create lumps into your fathead dough recipe.

To avoid that, always add the dry ingredients between the melted cheese mixture and beaten eggs.

Knead with your hand

It is difficult to stir the ingredients, so I recommend using your hands to create a consistent dough. Start mixing with the spatula, and when it starts to be difficult to stir, use your hands.

First, generously oil your hands with coconut oil or olive oil.

Then, squeeze and knead the dough quickly until all the ingredients are well combined and come together. The dough is going to harden as you go but might be a bit sticky. That’s normal.

Finally, when the dough is consistent, and no lumps of cheese or flour can be seen, slightly rub the dough ball with a teaspoon of oil and chill.

Or use a stand mixer or food processor

You can also add all the ingredients into a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment or a stand mixer. Both options turned out great and actually are faster to create fathead dough.

Chill the dough

Place the dough in an oiled bowl and chill 8-10 minutes until the dough is soft and not sticky.

Divide the dough

Remove the dough from the fridge and place the dough ball onto a greased piece of parchment paper. Then, divide the dough into 12 equal portions of 64 grams/2.2 oz each.

Roll each piece of dough into a ball. Then, roll each ball into a cylinder.

Finally, gather the cylinder’s extremities and pinch to stick together and form a bagel shape with a hole in the center.

Add toppings

There are many ways to decorate bagels. First, you can brush the top of each bagel with egg wash. To do so, beat 1 egg with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream or almond milk and use a pastry brush to brush the top of each bagel.

I recommend brushing the top of these keto bagels with melted butter or light olive oil. This technique avoids the eggy taste in your bagels.

Finally, sprinkle and gently press sesame seeds or any bagel seasoning on top of each bagel.

 

Bake the bagels

Place the baking sheet in the center rack of a preheated oven 350F (180c).

Then, bake the bagels until the outside is golden brown and crispy. It usually takes 25 minutes to crisp.

Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack until it reaches room temperature. They will crisp with time.

How to store fathead bagels?

These fathead bagels must be chilled or frozen. In fact, the dough contains cheese and eggs, so it won’t store more than 24 hours in the pantry.

I recommend placing the keto bagels in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Otherwise, freeze and thaw the day before on the kitchen countertop at room temperature.

The next day, slice the keto bagel and bring it into a bread toaster to add crispiness.

How to serve keto bagels?

You can use these keto fathead bagels as a sweet or savory base. I always recommend slicing the bagels and toasting them in a bread toaster to add some crispy texture inside.

Then, spread or fill with some of my favorite keto toppings and food combination below:

• Cream cheese and keto chia seed jam.
• Cream cheese and smoked salmon – spread 1 tablespoon of cream cheese, pieces of smoked salmon, and serve with 1/2 cup of shredded lettuce or cucumber slices, inside the bagels or on the side.
• Butter, ham and cheese, and lettuce
• Mayonnaise, tuna, lettuce, and radish

How many carbs in keto bagels?

Each of these keto bagels weighs 64 grams/2.2 oz and contains only 3.6 grams of net carb.

In fact, on a keto diet, you don’t count total carbs, so even if one of these keto bagels contains 6.5 grams of total carbs, you must take away the 2.9 grams of fibers that are not assimilated and won’t impact your ketosis. Read more about this in my guide on how to start the keto diet.

Can I make egg-free fathead dough?

Yes, you can replace the eggs in fathead dough with an egg replacer. My favorite option is flax eggs. To replace the 2 eggs in this recipe, whisk the ingredients below into a small mixing bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes until gooey and an egg-like texture form.

• 2 tablespoons of flax meal – preferably golden flaxseed meal to avoid a bitter flavor from brown flaxseed meal.
• 1/3 cup lukewarm water – think bath temperature about 37 C/98F.

Finally, add this mixture into the recipe as an egg replacer.

Can I make nut-free keto bagels?

Yes, you can make nut-free keto bagels using this fathead bagel recipe. However, don’t use coconut flour to replace almond flour.

As I explain in my keto baking tips, you can’t replace keto flours without drastically changing their ratio. In fact, coconut flour contains 4 times more fiber than almond flour. It is a high water-absorbent flour, and you need only a tiny amount to reach the same texture as the almond flour keto-based recipe.

Instead, use the same amount of one of these flours to replace almond flour:

• Sesame seed flour
• Sunflower seed flour – watch out. This flour will turn the bagels greenish!

What’s the best cheese for fathead?

You must use hard shredded cheese to make fathead dough. You can’t use soft, fresh mozzarella that is high in moisture.

Of course, you can use other cheeses than hard shredded mozzarella, but keep in mind that different cheeses might add a strong cheese flavor to your food. That’s why I recommend mozzarella in this bagel fathead dough recipe. It doesn’t add any cheese flavor at all.

This said, if you want to make savory, cheesy bagels, other cheese options are:

• Shredded golden cheddar
• Shredded Edam or Colby cheese

Can I flavor the dough?

Yes, you can add many flavorings to this fathead bagel dough to add some sweet or savory flavor.

For sweet keto bagels, add to the dough:

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2-3 tablespoons of erythritol or 3-6 drops of liquid stevia.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or maple extract.

For savory keto bagels, add:

• 1 teaspoon dried herbs like oregano, parsley.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika, cumin, or turmeric.
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder or onion powder or both!

How to fix hard fathead dough?

If you don’t work fast or didn’t melt the shredded cheese and cream cheese long enough, it can harden very fast. This makes it difficult to knead the dry ingredient into the dough.

To fix this, microwave the dough for 15 seconds or bring the bowl with the dough over a bowl full of boiling water.

The warmth from the water bowl will transfer to the dough, gently softening the dough. It makes it easier to knead and bring together.

How to fix sticky fathead dough?

If your fathead dough is too sticky, chill the dough for 5-10 minutes in an oiled bowl.

Then, rub your hands with oil before working with fathead dough. Use a light flavor oil like light olive oil or refined coconut oil. Rub the dough ball with oil and as you go to avoid the dough sticking to your fingers.

If you still can’t work the dough properly, add some extra almond flour 1 tablespoon at a time but don’t go over 1/4 cup!

More keto bread recipes

If you miss bread on your keto diet, I have plenty of keto bread and buns recipes for you to try, including some without eggs or cheese if you prefer a dairy-free keto bread option:

Made these keto bagels? Share a comment or feedback below. I love to hear what you have to say about my recipes.

XOXO Carine