How to Eat Bagels

Heating and Slicing the Bagel

Toast your bagel if it is not fresh from the oven. Bagels taste best when they’re warm, as their insides get hard and tough once they’ve cooled off. Unless you’ve purchased a fresh-baked bagel - meaning less than six hours old - you’ll want to toast your bagel before eating it.

Place your bagel in an oven set to 375 °F (191 °C) for 4-5 minutes. Toasting your bagel before slicing it will give your bagel a crisp exterior, and moist, chewy center. Reheat your bagel in a convection or a toaster oven until your bagel is crisp and hot to the touch.

Slice and toast your bagel in a pop-up toaster for a quicker product. If you only have a pop-up toaster oven, slice your bagel before attempting to toast it. While it’s preferable to toast the bagel before slicing in order to retain the moisture of the bread, reheating a sliced bagel in a pop up toaster oven will not ruin your bagel.

Use a sharp, serrated knife to slice your bagel in half. If you want to add toppings to your bagel, cut your bagel in half horizontally. Place your bagel on a cutting board and stabilize the top of the bagel with your non-dominant hand. Use a sharp knife to make a clean slice through the side of the bagel. If you plan on eating your bagel whole and without any toppings, skip this step and eat your bagel!

Adding Toppings

Butter your bagel for a simple, tasty combo. Spread butter on the inside of a fresh-baked or freshly-reheated bagel. Use a knife to spread a thin layer - about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) - of butter evenly on both sides of your bagel, and enjoy your bagel.

Spread 2 oz of cream cheese on your bagel for a classic taste. Allow your bagel to cool for 2-3 minutes so that your cream cheese won’t get melty, and then use a knife to smear cream cheese evenly on both sides of your bagel.

Prepare an open-faced smoked salmon bagel for an elevated bagel. Transform a humble bagel with the delicious combination of sliced lox and cream cheese. Spread cream cheese on both sides of your sliced bagel, and top each half with 1 oz. of cream cheese and 1 oz. of smoked salmon. Traditional garnishes for a bagel with lox include sliced tomato, capers, lemon juice, and thin slices of red onion.

Top your bagel with peanut butter and sliced banana for a sweeter option. Spread 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of peanut butter evenly on both sides of your bagel, and top with fresh slices of banana. You can also experiment with variations on the PB&B bagel by subbing the banana for a smear of jelly or jam, or by using Nutella instead of peanut butter.

Transform your bagel into an egg sandwich. If you’re in need of a hearty breakfast, the bagel is a great vehicle for an egg sandwich. Top your bagel with fried or scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, cheese, and tomato.

Use your bagel as the bread for any sandwich. If you have a hankering for any kind of sandwich, make a bagel sandwich by layering ingredients between your sliced bagel halves. Feel free to get creative with toppings and condiments!

Finishing the Sandwich

Eat your bagel open-faced. After adding toppings to your sliced bagel, you can choose to eat your bagel open-faced, as if the bagel were two slices of toast. Any of the topping combinations listed above can be enjoyed as an open-faced bagel.

Eat your bagel like a sandwich. Once you’ve dressed your bagel, put the two halves together and eat your bagel like a sandwich. This is a great option for eating a bagel with many toppings, as the closed sandwich style helps guarantee proper bread-to-topping ratios when you take a bite. Bagel sandwiches are also great for on-the-go meals, as they’re easier to transport than open-faced bagels. Add some deli meat and veggies to your bagel for a tasty lunch.

If you are hungry for a bagel sandwich, slice the bagel vertically in half before eating it. While this step is not absolutely necessary, cutting your bagel vertically in half once you’re finished adding toppings will allow for an ideal toppings-to-crust ratio when you bite into your bagel.