Make these bagel bites over the weekend for a grab-and-go breakfast during the week. Just pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds to reheat and enjoy!
Have you tried the Bantam Bagels at Starbucks? I had them for the first time last week and LOVED them, but I figured I could make a lighter (and cheaper) version at home. I also wanted to try out a new flavor of Alouette Cheese–Toasted Everything. The perfect combo!
How To STuff Your Bagels
For the filling, you could use any flavor of Alouette that you like, or spice up some regular lite cream cheese. It will all come out to the same points and similar macros either way.
I went with a classic “everything” flavor here, but try getting creative with what you can add to the cheese: chopped veggies, chopped meat. You could even go for a sweet version by mixing the cheese with berries or jam. Just make sure you adjust the points in your WW tracker or on MyFitnessPal if you do this.
Do notice that the bagels rise around the cheese as it bakes, so there is a lot of room there for all of your add-ins.
Making The Bites
Of course, you could make these easier by using the Insta-famous 2-ingredient Dough. I really like making my own, simple dough that doesn’t require greek yogurt. Just a classic flour, yeast, and warm water combo.
This dough is about the easiest thing to make if you have a stand mixer. You could also use a hand mixer to get the dough started, then knead by hand for a while until you get a really smooth and springy dough.
After you let the dough rise for about 30 minutes, you can cut it into 12 equal portions. I cut mine in two four pieces, then roll each of those four into a small log. Cut each log into thirds, and you’ll have yourself 12 portions of dough.
Take a piece and flatten it a bit. Then, scoop in 2 tsp of your cheese.
Pinch the edges of the dough around the cheese until it makes a ball.
Keep pinching until all edges are smooth. You can roll it around in your hand or on your cutting board to get the smoothest ball shape.
At this point, you let them rest for a few minutes as you get your water/baking soda mixture boiling. This might seem like a lot of steps, but it’s actually quite easy. You could skip this step and add them straight into the oven, but boiling them is what gives them the bagel-like chew. Totally up to you!
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though. So I’ll see it there!
Stuffed Bagel Bites
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp instant rise yeast
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup water, warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds
- 24 tsp Alouette or reduced-fat cream cheese
- optional add-ins chopped veggie, cooked and chopped meats (extra points and calories, berries, jam, etc.
- 6 cups water
- 1 tbsp baking soda
Instructions
- In a stand mixer (you could also use a hand mixer or only your hands, though that might take a bit longer), knead first 5 ingredients for 1-2 minutes, or until the dough is very smooth.
- Let dough rest, covered, for about 30 minutes. It should double in size.
- Cut risen dough in fourths. Roll each piece of dough into a log and cut into thirds. This will create 12 servings. Preheat oven to 400.
- Take a piece of portioned dough and flatten it a bit with your fingers. Add 2 tsp of cheese to the center, then pinch all ends together to make a ball. Just know that if you plan on adding veggies and/or meat, your stuffing mixture will be about 1-2 tbsp. Roll the ball in your hands on on your cutting board to make sure there are no gaps.
- Let dough balls rest while you boil your water and baking soda. Once boiling, drop balls into the water and cook for 1 minute, flipping them half-way through. Drain and place on greased baking sheet.
- Add desired seasonings to the top of each ball. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before you bite in!
I want to try theses but I cannot locate the Alouette toasted everything spreadable cheese in any of my local stores. Do you have another flavor that you could recommend? I’m located in Florida so maybe that flavor of cheese is not available here yet.
Honestly, ANY of their flavors would be great with these! I can usually find the garlic and herb flavor just about everywhere, so you could try that. But definitely try whatever flavor looks good to you! You can top with bites with granulated garlic or onion instead of the Everything seasoning to match whatever flavor you end up using. Let me know how it goes!
These are soooo good! The first time I made a double batch and did half with strawberry cream cheese and half with everything bagel seasoning on top and garden veggie cream cheese inside. This time I found some pumpkin spice cream cheese so I have a double batch in the oven stuffed with it right now. The dough was super sticky last time so I kneaded in a bit more flour this time to make it easier to work with. Even with the sticky mess last time they were totally worth it. I froze them before and just reheated in the microwave or air fryer and they reheat great. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Sounds amazing! Glad you liked it!
Good to know you were able to make it work for you! You’re very welcome. 🙂
These look amazing – I’m excited to make them!
Do you foresee any issues if I “knead” the dough in my bread maker on dough setting? Trying to save time and multitask here 🙂
Thanks!
I don’t think that would be a problem. Let me know how it goes!
I made these on Sunday as part of meal prep for the week. I found your website through another member of WW. First, I was so surprised at how easy they actually were to assemble! I also added roasted broccoli to mine along with the spinach and artichoke flavor of Allouette cheese. If people are on WW, make sure to scan as I found some differ in points. Anyway, these are so so delicious!!! I’ve been having 2 each morning with scrambled eggs. Thank you so much for the recipe and cannot wait to try some more of your recipes!!!
So much easier to assemble and handle than regular bagels and i love that the cream cheese is already in them. Next time will make a double batch for sure. Kids and i love them! Not sure if there are going to any left for the husband by the time he comes back from work 😬
Glad you like them! You’re reminding me that I need to make these again. It has been too long!
Do you store them in the refrigerator or freezer? Maybe you already stated that and I read over it. Also, just want to let you know I’m a big fan of ALL of your recipes!
Sorry for the late reply, Abby. I store in the refrigerator, but I bet you could freeze them!