if you are in need of a fall breakfast that is high in protein and delicious then these high protein apple crisp bagels are for you! fluffy, chewy bagels filled with pieces of apple, lightly sweetened, and finished off with an apple crisp topping.
A few months ago I shared my recipe for High Protein Bagels and you guys have loved them (just as much as me)! I seriously have had these for breakfast everyday since May. So, seeing how much everyone loved the everything bagel style I wanted to make a fall version. Every fall I see bagel places creating these crazy bagels and I thought a high protein apple crisp bagel is just what we all need. They are just as easy to make as the original version and so so delicious.
the ingredients
- Vital Wheat Gluten: this will add protein and texture into our high protein bagel. Vital wheat gluten is not just great for making seitan with, it is great for adding into breads and cakes. I do not have a substitute for this, as it is where most of the protein is coming from.
- Bread Flour/All Purpose Flour: to balance out the vital wheat gluten and make sure this actually comes out like bread and not seitan we are going to use all purpose or bread flour. Either work fine for this recipe I just prefer bread flour in general so that is what I use. *Since more of you had made this recipe now we have been told that oat flour, wheat, and spelt works great too!
- Baking Powder: this will be our leavening agent to give the bagel nice fluff and chew.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: this helps to make the baking powder rise better because acid plus baking powder creates a chemical reaction. You can try using white vinegar or lemon juice in its place if you need to. *Since more of you have made this recipe someone had let me know they used seltzer water in place and it came out great.
- Water: used to help create our dough. When I made my recipe I actually used my leftover vegan whey from my maple cream cheese recipe which is what you see in the picture.
- Salt: will add flavor to the bagel and balance out sweetness
- Agave: will add a light sweetness to the bagel. You can also use maple syrup or any sweetener you like.
- Vegan Butter: used in our apple crisp topping to create little bits of the crisp topping. You can also use coconut oil.
- Organic Brown Sugar: used to create sweetness in the crisp topping. You can also use coconut sugar or organic sugar. In the US sugar may be processed with bone char so to ensure it is vegan friendly use organic sugar.
- Oats: a typical ingredient in a crisp, adds texture.
- Apple: you will chop these up into small pieces and add them right into the bagel. I like to use either Granny Smith, Fiji, or McIntosh.
apple crisp topping
The apple crisp topping is very easy to make and is only 3 ingredients! Oats, organic brown sugar, and vegan butter. All you need to do is mix the oats and brown sugar together. Then, you will break the cold vegan butter up with a fork or you can crumble it with your hands (my preferred method). Now you can just put it to the side and we will use it later on in the recipe.
how to make the bagel dough
The best part of this recipe is there is no rise time and no kneading required! You will first mix the dry ingredients: vital wheat gluten, flour, baking powder, and salt. Once it is mixed up you will then add in the water, apple cider vinegar, and agave. Now you just need to use a spoon to mix it all together until it forms a dough ball. Finally, you will add in those chopped up apples and do your best to fold and mix in the apples. Some pieces may pop out and that is okay you can just stick them back onto the bagels once they are formed. Then, you will have your easy bagel dough that is ready in about 5 minutes!
tips for forming the bagels
The bagel dough is very soft and should be extremely easy to work with. If you have made my original high protein bagel recipe you will know that, that recipe creates a single serving only 1 bagel. However, this recipe creates 2 bagels. So, divide the dough into 2 equal balls. Then, you can take your finger and make a hold in the middle and just carefully stretch it out to make a bagel shape. Repeat with the other dough ball and then either place in your air fryer or on a lined baking sheet depending on how you are cooking it. Finally, before baking you will evenly divide and sprinkle the apple crisp topping on both of the bagels.
cooking the bagels
When it comes time to finally cook these bagels you have two options: air frying or baking. I normally opt for the air fryer if I want to eat these immediately because it cooks faster. However, if you are making them ahead of time baking is also a great option. You truly can’t go wrong with either method and I have done both time and time again. One thing I have learned about baking I find they help each other have a nicer rise if you bake them a little bit close to one another and then you can pull them apart.
why are these so high in protein?
Just like with the original high protein bagel recipe this one follows a very similar formula of using vital wheat gluten. Vital wheat gluten is the protein found in bread and it has 120 calories and 23g of plant protein per ¼ cup (30g). My recipe uses 40g of vital wheat gluten giving these bagels 30.7g protein. The remaining protein is coming from the flour, apples, and oats to bring to 36.4g protein per bagel. These also come out to be 399 calories. *If you decide to use the leftover whey from making the vegan cream cheese the macros will be slightly different: 416 calories and 38.4g plant protein (the rise in protein is due to the vegan whey). However, either way to have delicious high protein apple crisp bagels that packs in this much protein is truly a dream come true for me.
more breakfast recipes
need more help? check out these recipes!
Breakfast Recipes
high protein apple crisp bagels faq
- Is this recipe soy free? Yes.
- Is this recipe nut free? Yes.
- Is this recipe gluten free? No, and unfortunately there isn’t a substitute for the vital wheat gluten in this recipe.
- How long do these last? Up to 3 days on the counter or in the fridge. You can reheat in an air fryer or toaster.
- Can I freeze them? Yes. I would slice them in half before freezing and then pop in a toaster to warm up again.
- Can I bake them? Yes, please see the recipe notes.
- Do I have to use apples? You can swap in a different fruit like blueberries, strawberries, peaches, pears – any hard and sturdy fruit for baking.
ORDER MY COOKBOOK
Looking for more delicious vegan comfort recipes? Order my cookbook Plantiful: Over 75 Vibrant Vegan Comfort Foods! Filled with all types of recipe from bites, breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, desserts and more! Available on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, IndieBound, Walmart, also available in stores.
Sharing direct links to recipes and pictures is highly encouraged, please do not copy and paste my recipes or share my pictures without permission. I work very hard on my blog and don’t want to see my recipes popping up anywhere. Thank you so much.
High Protein Apple Crisp Bagel
Equipment
Ingredients
Crisp Topping
- 3 tablespoons rolled oats
- ½ tablespoon vegan butter cold
- Scant 1 tablespoon organic brown sugar
Bagel
- ½ cup + 2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten
- ½ cup + 1 teaspoon all purpose or bread flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- Scant 2 teaspoons agave
- ½ small apple about 60g, chopped
Instructions
- In a bowl combine the crisp toppings and use your hands or the back of a fork to create little clumps with the vegan butter.
- In a bowl combine the flour, vital wheat gluten, baking powder, and salt. Then add in the apple cider vinegar, agave, and water. Mix together until you get a sticky, dough ball. Fold in the chopped apples.
- Divide the dough into 2 dough balls. Use the back of a utensil or your finger to make a hole in the center and carefully spread into a bagel shape. This isn’t a typical bread dough so do not worry if it feels very soft and the shape isn’t smooth.
- Divide and sprinkle the crisp topping evenly between the two bagels.
- To air fry: air fry at 350°F for 17 to 20 minutes until golden brown. To bake: bake at 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. *Everyones air fryer and oven work differently so you may need to adjust cooking time and temp.
- Once it is done baking allow it to cool for ideally at least 15 minutes to set in the middle. However, if you are hungry or in a rush I have cut it in half 1 to 2 minutes right after it comes out, it may just be a little doughy and steamy (which I personally don’t mind). Then add any spread you like and enjoy.
Notes
- If I am in a rush or just very hungry I will air fry it at 390°F for 13 to 15 minutes.
- Nutrition facts are based on my gram measurements put into Cronometer. Yours may vary, they are to help you get an idea.
- You can use any type of apple I prefer either Granny Smith, Fiji, or McIntosh. I don’t peel them but if you want to peel it you can.
Lorrie
These look great! I plan on making them this weekend. So when you calculate the macros wouldn’t the 38 grams of protein be split between the 4 bagels for 9.5 g protein? I am new to figuring the macros in recipes out. Thanks!
plantifullybased
Hi Lorrie! So glad you want to make them! The 38g of protein is the protein if you are planning on using the leftover vegan whey from the vegan cream cheese otherwise it is 36g per bagel as is with water. The protein content of the whole dough before dividing it into any bagels is 72.8g protein (76.8 for the whey version). So, divided by 4 that would be 18.2 (19.2 for the whey version) per bagel. If you are planning on taking the dough and dividing into 8 mini bagels (which I don’t suggest doing that because they will just be very small) thenn you would have 9.1g protein (9.6g) per bagel. Does that make sense now? If not, let me know!
Hannah
Saw these on YouTube and made them literally 10 mins later. Absolutely delicious. I stewed my apples briefly to soften before adding them to the dough. Definitely will be a staple recipe for me! Finally a high protein treat that is actually high in protein 😋
plantifullybased
Hi Hannah! oh yay I am so so glad you enjoyed them. Thank you so much for trying the recipe!