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Learn how to make the easiest homemade vegan bagels at home today! It’s a fun and rewarding process and only requires a few easy ingredients to make. Grab your favorite vegan cream cheese and get ready to enjoy warm, delicious vegan bagels from the comfort of your own home.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s so much easier than you think! I was always so intimidated by making bagels from scratch but after making bagel bread last week, I figured it couldn’t be much more difficult and I was right! Making bagels from scratch is so simple, the first time you give it a try you’ll be so impressed!
Made with simple ingredients. As are most bread recipes, vegan bagels only require the basic ingredients: flour, yeast, water, sugar, salt, baking soda, plus any toppings you desire.
Perfect chewy texture. With a couple of simple tips, you can develop bagels with a perfect crust and chewy interior without any animal products at all!
No more checking store-bought bagel brands. Store-bought bagels can be vegan, but they aren’t always and checking labels can be confusing at times. With this easy vegan bagel recipe, you won’t need to worry about finding vegan bagels at your local grocery store again!

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

Warm water: In order to activate the yeast, it’s necessary to use warm water. For best results, the water should be 100-110 F. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it is too cold, the yeast may not activate properly.
Yeast: Active dry yeast helps rise the bagels and gives them their signature flavor and chew. There is unfortunately no possible substitute.
Sugar: Mixing a small amount of sugar in with the yeast and water gives the yeast something to feed on and helps activate the yeast. Any sugar will work – I usually use granulated white sugar.
Bread flour: This flour has a higher protein content compared to regular all-purpose flour and is a popular choice when making homemade bagels, pizza crusts, and loaf bread because it gives the bread that chewiness that makes it so good!
Baking soda: This ingredient is typically used in baking to help give the baked goods rise. When making bagels, boiling the bagels in water with baking soda improves the overall texture and appearance of the bagels by creating a darker crust on the outside of the bagel.

How to Make Vegan Bagels

Watch the process on Instagram here!

Activate the yeast. In a small bowl, stir together the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until bubbly and foamy on top.
Combine the dough ingredients in the stand mixer. To a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, combine the flour and sea salt. Next, add in the yeast mixture and fit the stand mixer with the dough attachment. Knead the dough on medium speed for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is no longer sticky to the touch.
Allow the dough to double in size. Once soft, lightly grease a large bowl with oil, then place the bagel dough into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel and place in a warm place to rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size. The timing will largely depend on how warm your home is and the level of humidity.
Cut the bagel dough into 6-8 equal pieces. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 6 or 8 even-sized pieces. If you’re looking for our Mini Everything Bagels recipe, click here! Roll each piece into a ball, then poke your thumb through the ball to form the hole in the center, rolling it in a circular motion. Use two fingers to widen the hole. I recommend making it bigger than you want it to be when the bagel is finished cooking because as the bagels puff up, the hole will become smaller.
Boil the vegan bagels. Fill a large pot with water and add stir in 1 tablespoon of sugar. Bring this mixture to a boil. Once boiling, carefully sprinkle in the baking soda. Add the bagels, a few at a time, boiling on each side for 1 minute. Remove the bagels from the boiling water using a slotted spoon and allow the excess water to drip off for a few seconds before transferring to a sheet pan.
Season the bagels, as desired. If using, sprinkle the tops of the bagels with everything bagel seasoning or similar toppings like poppy seeds or sesame seeds. For darker, more caramelized tops, brush on a mixture of nondairy milk and maple syrup before adding the seasoning.
Bake. Bake the vegan bagel dough for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the bagels are puffed up.
Cool slightly, then serve. Allow the homemade bagels to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and slathering with your favourite vegan cream cheese or vegan toppings of choice! Enjoy!

Ideas for Serving

Nothing’s better than a warm, chewy bagel topped with a generous spread of vegan cream cheese. It’s the perfect way to enjoy everything bagels for a simple, delicious breakfast.

If you’re in the mood for something more hearty, turn these bagels into a classic bagel sandwich, a twist on Pizza Toast, an Open Face Tofu Breakfast Sandwich or Spicy Tofu Avocado Toast. You could even use it as the base for a Vegan Eggs Benedict.

Or, if you’re making plain bagels, here are a few of our other favourite bagel toppings:

Vegan Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cream Cheese
Banana Bread Nut Butter Spread (or any nut butters of choice like peanut butter or almond butter)
Strawberry jelly
Vegan butter with cinnamon sugar
Herb and Garlic “Cream Cheese”
Hummus
Mashed avocado
Pesto

How to Store and Freeze Bagels

Leftover vegan bagels store best in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Before storing, ensure the bagels are completely cooled. This will prevent condensation from building up inside of the storage container and making the bagels soggy.

To freeze, spread the completely cooled bagels out on a large baking tray and flash freeze for 1 hour, or until the bagels are hard to the touch. Transfer the frozen bagels to a freezer bag or airtight freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. We like to freeze our bagels pre-sliced so we can pop them in the toaster and easily reheat from frozen. Otherwise, if frozen whole, defrost at room temperature until soft enough to safely cut before toasting.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make these vegan bagels with Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour?

Bread flour has a high gluten protein content so I don’t think gluten free flour would work at all. The bagels would likely fall apart because there would be no structure in the dough to keep them elastic and chewy. If you are gluten free, I’d recommend trying my Gluten Free Mini Bagels Recipe instead. It’s specifically designed to be made with almond flour and will suit you best.

I don’t have a stand mixer. Can I make the dough with an electric hand mixer?

If you don’t have a stand mixer, I would recommend kneading the dough by hand. Using an electric hand mixer will tangle up the dough in the mixers and likely over work the dough. Instead, mix the dough together in a regular mixing bowl with a wooden spatula, then turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knead it for about 10 minutes until the dough is soft and sticky to the touch.

How do I get a shiny crust on my bagels?

Bagels need to be boiled in a pot of boiling water with baking soda and a bit of sugar for one minute per side because this step is what gives the bagel their slightly crisp and shiny coating. This step also cooks the outer layer of the dough, making them hold their shape and brown nicely in the oven. If you want even more caramelization, prepare a vegan egg wash and brush a mixture of vegan milk and maple syrup on the tops before baking.

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