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Keto fathead bagels are a great low-carb substitute for traditional bread. This recipe uses coconut flour dough and is sure to become a regular favorite.
There is a Fat Head dough craze in the low carb world. And now people are using it to make breads like bagels and rolls!
The first recipe I saw for keto Fathead bagels was a few years ago on a Reddit board.
What is Fathead Dough?
This popular low carb, gluten-free dough is made with mozzarella, cream cheese, eggs, and a low-carb flour (like almond flour or coconut flour).
The term ‘Fat Head dough’ comes from ‘Fat Head pizza’, a recipe posted on author/filmmaker/comedian Tom Naughton’s blog. The pizza is named after Naughton’s documentary ‘Fat Head’, which looks at food, nutrition and health.
The original dough recipe has been adapted for many recipes other than pizza, including low carb breads and pastries.
The fathead dough recipe shown below can be used as a keto dough for other recipes, including loaves of bread, hamburger buns, or my Keto Cinnamon Rolls.
Tips for the Best Fathead Keto Bagels
- Always weigh the flour, mozzarella cheese and cream cheese to ensure consistent results. Although there are marks on the cream cheese wrapper for each ounce, it’s not that accurate.
- I add butter because coconut flour requires more liquid. There’s also an additional egg in the batter.
- Since I’m sensitive to egg whites, I like to use two duck eggs instead of the three large chicken eggs.
- Seeds can be added to the top for flavoring as well.
In all, I made about four different versions of the coconut flour bagels. Each time, I weighed the coconut flour and mozzarella cheese to ensure consistent results.
Keto Bagels Recipe Notes
A few reasons why I prefer coconut flour in this low carb bagels recipe:
- A little bit goes a long way! It seems to expand like a sponge when absorbing the liquid, so you don’t need as much as you might with other flours. I find I use about 1/3 the amount of coconut flour when compared to recipes with almond flour.
- Coconut flour gives the bread a lighter texture.
- When I made bagels with almond flour, all I could taste were the almonds. Don’t get me wrong, I like almonds, but not as the predominant flavor in bagels. The coconut flour definitely has less of an overpowering taste.
- It’s made from finely ground, dried coconut meat and has a light but distinct coconut smell and taste.
- I think the coconut taste in coconut flour is much less obvious than the almond taste you get when baking with almond flour.
- Lastly, I like the flour best, which is ultimately why I use it to make my Fathead bagels.
Tips for Baking with Coconut Flour
Coconut flour acts differently from other flours so it cannot be substituted at a 1:1 ratio for other types of flour.
If you’re using it as a substitute in your favorite keto recipes, it may take a few attempts to learn how to swap it properly.
Other things to keep in mind when baking with coconut flour:
- It’s not wheat flour. It may look like wheat flour, but it smells, tastes and acts much differently than wheat flour.
- Very absorbent. Coconut flour soaks up liquid more than other flours do. As a result, you either need to use less flour or more liquid in a recipe for it to work.
- It has a rougher texture. In order to get the lumps out and help it blend with other dry ingredients, you should always sift before using it.
Other options for bagels
I don’t use the coconut flour pizza crust recipe to make keto bagels because it’s a bit flat. And, I rarely use flax these days. Instead, I’ll use chia seeds or psyllium husks.
If you haven’t been making your own Fathead dough because of the almond flour, you need to give this coconut flour version a try. For those sensitive to eggs, I do have an eggless recipe that uses psyllium husks.
How long can you store the bagels?
These low carb bagels can be kept at room temperature for several days. Once the bagels are completely cool, place them into an airtight plastic bag and store it in a cool, dry place.
Keep in mind that the bagels will get harder the longer you keep them.
If you need to store your bagels for longer than a few days, then skip the refrigerator and pop them directly into the freezer. If you refrigerate fathead bagels, they will quickly become hard and stale
Pre-slice each bagel before freezing and then store them in a freezer-safe, airtight bag for up to three months. Frozen bagels do not need to be thawed before toasting. .
Which Fathead dough tastes best?
The YouTube channel Highfalutin’ Low Carb compared this coconut flour bagels recipe to one made with almond flour. Check out the video to see which one is the best and why.
Enjoy this amazing recipe! And please let us know what you think of them in the comments below if you do give them a try!
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Keto Bagels – Coconut Flour Fat Head Dough
Recipe Video (Click on Image to Play)
Ingredients
- 60 grams coconut flour about 1/2 cup
- 2 teaspoons baking powder use a little more to help get a better rise
- 250 grams mozzarella cheese shredded (about 2-1/2 cups)
- 55 grams cream cheese 2 ounces
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter melted (add a bit more if needed and use unsalted to reduce sodium)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
- Mix coconut flour and baking powder in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Melt mozzarella cheese and cream cheese in microwave on high power for one minute. Stir. Place back in microwave on high for another minute. Stir.
- Using hands or dough hooks, mix in beaten eggs, butter, and coconut flour mixture until a dough is formed. Dough should be a bit wet and sticky. If dry, try adding in another egg or more butter.
- Divide dough into 6 pieces and roll out each piece connecting the ends to form a bagel shape. Dough is easier to work with if hands are wet.
- Place bagels on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for about 12-16 minutes or until lightly browned. Put in low temp oven in the oven after cooled to achieve hard tack consistency
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
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Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
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Rhianna
All I can say, WOW!!!! I am new to keto and new to bread alternatives.. I tried these today not expecting much and wow! Absolute game changer!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Alicia
Excellent recipe! I didn’t add any extra butter or egg. I did use heaping teaspoons of baking powder. And hand mixed the dough. Very light bagel. Made 2 rolls out of the dough as well!
Caitlyn
Help! My eggs cook when I beat them into the batter with the butter and mozzarella cream cheese mix—- how can I avoid this without losing the melted consistency of the cheese
Lisa MarcAurele
My eggs are usually cold from the refrigerator and I’ve never had this issue. Perhaps your mix is too hot when you are adding the eggs? You do need to work quickly as it’s not easy to blend into the cheese as it cools. However, I’ve found that even if it’s not completely mixed in the bagels still come out good.
Mary
This recipe makes the very best bagels, and I used the
“everything” seasoning on them…..delicious. So I decided to make 6 inch round pizza crusts with this recipe….these came out really good! I doubled the recipe and froze a pile of them for later.
Ginger
Just wanted to let you know I found and tried this recipe a few days ago, made them, froze them and had one for breakfast this morning. They are fantastic!! Thanks so much for all the work you put in developing this recipe. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes..
Jennifer H
I just made these and they are INCREDIBLE. I actually used the recipe from your book which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. Everything I have made from it has been amazing! I happened upon it in Costco right when I was starting this whole Keto way of eating and it has been a Godsend!
Two quick questions:
1. In the book you omit the butter. I thought they were great without the butter but just curious as to why the difference in the two recipes?
2. Also in the book it says that one serving is 6g net carbs but the serving size says each serving has 5g carbs and 2g fiber which would make it 3g net carbs. Is there a typo and if so, which one is the typo…is it 6g or 3g per serving (which is one half of a whole bagel)?
Thank you!
Lisa MarcAurele
Jennifer, The typo is that the total carbs should have been 6g with fiber 2 so the net is about 4g each. Sorry about the confusion on those!
Cat
These are the best keto bagels I’ve tried! Keto breads are notoriously hit and miss but this one is pretty much no fail. I forgot to add the 2 tablespoons of melted butter and they still turned out great. They are dense enough to be considered a bagel, with an excellent crumb and easy to make, I think it took longer to bake them than to mix them. I used a bagel/donut pan (USA Pans has great nonstick pans) and topped with”everything” bagel seasoning. They were a huge hit! I’m trying the cinnamon rolls next!
Emma
Came out perfect! Dark brown on the outside, fluffy on the inside, not coconut flavored, so good. Even our daughter (5 y/o) ate it happily.
Tracy Peña-Carpenter
These are really good! I am having a problem with gauging how many ounces/grams per roll. Some are always bigger than others. I guess I can weigh total dough and divide by 6 however what is your take?
Lisa MarcAurele
There’s not a big difference so I just try to cut the dough into 6 similar size pieces before forming. You could weigh each if you want to be more accurate, but I don’t think it’s worth taking the extra time to do that.
Kathy
These turned out so good. I did use EggBeaters instead of regular eggs. Turned out great.
Jayne Hoque
Ads – I love your recipes but your ads are out of control. I cannot get rid of them and they block the recipe listings! Beyond frustrating.
Lisa MarcAurele
So sorry about that. If you can send me a screenshot of the issue, I can have someone take a look at that.
Gerri B
I love this recipe it really hits home for bread bagels
Marie
This is very tasty ! I added also hunters dried fried onions and it was delicious 😋
Thank you
Bridget
I just made these !!! They were super easy to make and smell delicious !!! About how long should they cool for before eating ??
Lisa MarcAurele
They are best left to cool for at least 30 minutes. But you can slice and toast them right away if you’re impatient.
JoDee
Actually I am hoping to get your help for my son! He has allergies to wheat, rice, soy, peanuts, and almonds! This has limited my cooking for him! My husband and another son both have celiacs but not the other allergies!! I’m trying to find recipes for him and your site seems to have the best options I have seen. For
That I’m much appreciative! Just need more assistance for him if you are able!!
Lisa MarcAurele
You can find those kinds of foods in my nut-free recipes section.
Malia Leonard
They were soo good!! How do you store the leftovers? Fridge or leave them out?
Lisa MarcAurele
I keep them in the fridge or freezer.
Malia Leonard
Thank You!! I can’t wait to try other recipes.
Arlynne Alvarez
I’m on a lockdown outside the city and I can’t find mozarella. Is there any cheese substitute for Mozarella cheese? I have cheddar cheese and quick melt cheeses. Thanks!
Lisa MarcAurele
It sounds like cheddar will work too based on this Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/ketorecipes/comments/4gzn8p/can_i_substitute_the_mozzarella_in_the_fathead/
Kelliann
Has anyone tried boiling these before baking like you would a traditional bagel?? I know coconut flour absorbs differently but I’m curious to know if it would make a difference in the texture or even work at all?
Lisa MarcAurele
I’m not sure if the boiling will work, but others have left the bagels in the oven on low temp to get a similar outside texture.
Chocolette
Tried this recipe today. I added 1/8 tsp. additional baking powder and used a donut mold to bake the bagels. They turned out great. The bagels really rose and kind of looked like domed muffins with a whole in the middle but, it doesn’t matter. The taste is delicious.
Holly
I just made these today. Yummy !!! Thanks to Wes over at HighFalutin” Low carb that had a bagel battle. They were so good. I really prefer the texture of coconut flour over almond flour. Even those in the house that are not low carb loved them.
Sherry
Love these. Just made 2 batches to freeze. Great flavor. Made one batch with garlic powder on top, othe with “some of everything” sprinkle. Will try suggested method in oven on 250.
Angie
just made these, perfect! read comments & may consider adding the xanthan gum, just not sure how much to add. I enjoyed them, used 2 donut pans, as I got 9. put sesame seeds on the bottom of the pan & everything but the bagel on top!! my new breakfast go to!
Elizabeth
I made this recipe and by far is the best recipe I’ve ever had. I love the coconut flour texture more than the almond flour. This is going to be my new bread!!!! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!!!
Jana
I’ve been making these for over a year and love them!! Thank you SO much for the recipe!
Barbara Harborth
I loved this. I wish that I had put in low temp oven in the oven after they cooled to achieve hard tack consistency. I liked them better before.
Lisa MarcAurele
I’ll add that in the instructions as a reminder.
Terah
Made these today… Delicious! I didn’t have mozzarella so I used a combo of Gouda and cheddar and I used a little over 2 tablespoons of butter. The last minion baking I drizzled some more butter on top … I’d say it’s somewhere between a biscuit and bagel-yum!
Lisa
Hi Lisa!
These look amazing and I can’t can’t wait to try them! I have a question because my daughter can’t eat mazzarella cheese or egg whites. Do you have any suggestions that we may be able to try instead?
THANKS SO MUCH!!
Lisa
Lisa MarcAurele
Lisa, I haven’t made them eggless before, but I have used So Delicious coconut milk based non-dairy mozzarella shreds with success. You could try to use psyllium eggs or gelatin may work in place of just the whites.
Charlotte
Hi Lisa…i recently read today that you can sub eggs for ground flax seeds and water…not sure the ratio but you could google it! ❤
Lisa MarcAurele
Yes you can. It’s called a flax egg. You can do the same with chia and psyllium too.
Nicole
These. Are. Amazing. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
cristina kadonsky
Hi, these look so Amazing that I had to try. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but in the food processor, it never really formed, kind of liquidy. I added more coconut flour. Maybe I shouldn’t of done that it did help as far as forming the bagels but when they came out it was very very dry. Any help? I want to try again.
Lisa MarcAurele
Did you allow time for the coconut flour to absorb the liquid? I knead the dough by hand and it comes together as the liquid gets absorbed.
Lisa MarcAurele
Please check your spam folder. The free printable is delivered by email and if your email is blocking it, you may not see it.
Christine
I made these with ghee instead of regular butter; maybe added a bit more depth of flavour. At any rate these turned out very flavourful, but frankly the texture is nothing like a real bagel. Dry and grainy. But they are good topped with scrambled egg! I will try these again with a bit less coconut flour, a bit more mozzarella and bake a minute or two less (I baked 17 minutes waiting for them to brown). I am new to this Keto world so I guess I need to alter my expectations for a smooth, chewy bagel. ?
Lisa MarcAurele
Coconut flour can vary in absorption so it’s likely you just used too much.
Boog
Can whole milk shredded mozzarella be used or must it be part skim?
Lisa MarcAurele
I found the 2% worked best.