Homemade Healthy Bagels

5 from 9 ratings

These homemade healthy bagels are delicious and satisfying and have the same properties of a real New York City bagel–they’re dense, chewy, and delicious. If you’ve been wondering how to make wheat bagels, you’re going to love this recipe and making your own budget-friendly bagels at home!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Resting time & prep:45

Total Time1 20

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: skinny bagels, wheat bagels

Servings: bagels

Calories: 113kcal

Author: Becca Ludlum

Equipment

Ninja Foodi
Silpat Mat
Metal Pan for Oven

Ingredients

1 package instant yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup warm water divided
1 tsp salt
2.5 cups whole wheat flour
cornmeal for dusting the counter
olive oil olive or avocado for coating the inner liner of your pot.
1 eggs

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

How to make wheat bagels in the Ninja Foodi:

Allow dough to rise:
Mix your instant yeast with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of warm water. Loosely cover and set it to the side for a few minutes. You'll be looking for some bubbles at the top to know it's ready–it should take about five minutes. 1 package instant yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 cup warm water
Mix together salt and flour. After you notice the yeast beginning to bubble, add it to the salt and flour mixture along with the rest of your warm water. 1 tsp salt, 2.5 cups whole wheat flour
Place your dough on a floured surface and knead it for a few minutes. You’re looking for it to stop sticking to your hands. If it’s super sticky, add a little more flour.
Add the olive oil (or generously spray the olive oil to the inner liner of your pot. olive oil
Place your dough inside the pot. Rub the dough on the bottom of the pot so both the top and bottom are coated with a bit of oil. Place a light towel on top of the dough to help it rise.
Turn your Foodi to dehydrate and set the temp to 105 degrees. Set a timer and allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes.
Form bagels and allow to rise again:
While the dough is rising, get your toppings ready and place some cornmeal on the counter. cornmeal
After 30 minutes, pull your dough out of the pot and place it on your counter. Quickly fill up your Foodi about halfway, set your pressure cooker for 5 minutes and then press start. Allow the water to boil while you're forming the bagels. This will take about 20 minutes total so you can save significant time by starting this step as soon as the dough is out of the pot.
Divide your dough up into 6, 8, or 10 pieces (nutrition calculated based on 10 bagels)
Shape the bagels into circles by rolling out thin strips and securing them at the ends or by making a round ball and poking a hole through the middle.
Place the wheat bagels on the counter and put a thin towel over them. Allow them to rest for 15 minutes or so.
Boil the bagels:
After the water comes to pressure, press sauté and allow the water to boil.
Place a few bagels at a time into the boiling water, and allow them to boil for 3 minutes, then flip and allow to cook for 2-3 more minutes. When they’re done, pull them out with big tongs that can cover the entire bagel (using small ones might make your bagels break in half).
Place them on a drying rack while you boil the rest of the bagels.
Pro Tip: If you're making multiple types of homemade bagels, boil the plain ones first and then the seasoned ones. For example, cinnamon raisin bagel dough will make the water taste of cinnamon. Boil your plain bagels first, then the cinnamon raisin ones.
Top the bagels:
Mix up your egg and add 2 tablespoons of water. Brush the mixture onto your bagels to help the toppings stick. I brush both sides, because I hate sitting down to eat a bagel and being sad that only one side has flavor. Don't you? 1 eggs
Dip your wheat bagels into the toppings. Like I said above, change your life and put your toppings on BOTH sides.
I brush with egg, then dip into seasoning, roll in seasoning, and then use a spoon to make sure everything is coated.
Tip: If you are allergic to eggs, water will work fine for this step. I'd recommend brushing one at a time with water, then topping.
Bake the bagels:
Once your bagels are topped, use your air fryer rack inside the Foodi and place 2-3 bagels at a time on the rack. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through. Keep checking to make sure they don’t brown too much.
Let your bagels cool. If you don't plan on eating these right away, you’re going to want to freeze them for freshness, as they have no preservatives in them. Freeze the wheat bagels individually so they don’t stick together.

How to make Instant Pot bagels:

You can use the Instant Pot or any other electric pressure cooker to warm the dough to help it rise and then boil the bagels. You'll need either an air fryer or an oven to bake the bagels after you boil them. You could also use a Mealthy CrispLid with your electric pressure cooker.
Allow dough to rise: Set your Instant Pot to the normal yogurt setting, or use the keep warm function.
Form bagels and allow to rise again: No changes need to be made to this step.
Boil the bagels: No changes needed.
Top the bagels: No changes needed.
Bake the bagels: Bake at 350º for 4-5 minutes, then flip and bake for 4-5 more minutes. If you have a convection oven, take advantage of that feature!

How to make wheat bagels using the stove/oven:

Using your stove to boil the bagels and your oven to bake them is a great way to make these skinny bagels. You won't miss a thing if you want to do it this way.
Allow dough to rise: Place your dough in a large bowl and cover with a thin towel. Allow to rise for 30 minutes. If you can get your oven warm for a few minutes and let the bowl of dough rise in there that's best. Just set the oven to turn on for 2-3 minutes, then turn it off.
Form bagels and allow to rise again: No changes need to be made to this step.
Boil the bagels: Boil the bagels in a large pot on the stove. The rest of the instructions for this step are the same no matter what cooking method you use.
Top the bagels: No changes needed.
Bake the bagels: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the bagels on a baking sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes, then flip and bake for 4-5 more minutes. If you have a convection oven, take advantage of that feature!

Video

Notes

Nutrition information is calculated based on this recipe making 10 bagels.

Healthy eating plans:

21 Day Fix Container Counts:

One of these whole wheat bagels counts as one yellow container. If you add honey, raisins, or other sweeteners or fruits to your bagel dough, you’ll want to add that into your counts.

Weight Watchers points:

When dividing this recipe to make 10 bagels, each bagel counts as 3 points on the 2025 & 2023 Plans, Blue, Green, and Purple plans. If you add honey, raisins, or other sweeteners or fruits to your dough, make sure to recalculate the points on the Weight Watchers website.

Nutrition