Are Bagels OK for Vegans?

The bagel is a popular bread roll that people often eat as a breakfast food and sandwich base. Plain, blueberry, poppyseed, and some other bagel varieties are usually safe for vegans.

An estimated 3% of Americans identify as vegan. People who follow this diet avoid all animal products, including dairy, eggs, and meat. This diet may seem simple in concept, but it can often be challenging to figure out if foods are vegan-friendly. If you eat a vegan diet, you may wonder, for instance: Are bagels vegan? 

The answer depends on a few factors, including ingredients and toppings. 

The bagel is a popular bread roll that people often eat as a breakfast food and sandwich base. 

Historians believe Jewish people living in Poland invented the bagel in the early 1600s. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Jewish immigrants brought bagels from Eastern Europe to America, at which point the bagel was viewed as an obscure ethnic food. Most early bagel bakeries were only found in Jewish neighborhoods in New York City. 

The commercialization of the bagel machine in the 1960s allowed bakers to create the rolls faster. They could also freeze bagels and distribute them to bagel shops and grocery stores across the country. These advancements led to the widespread popularity of bagels in America. 

Traditionally, people cold-ferment bagels before baking them to create a crisp crust. This crust (and the rest of the bagel) contains four basic ingredients: 

• Flour 
• Salt
• Yeast
• Water

None of these ingredients have animal products, so plain bagels are vegan-friendly. However, as bagels became trendy, bakers invented new flavors, like cinnamon-raisin, jalapeno-cheddar, and sun-dried tomato. Some of these varieties aren’t suitable for a vegan diet, so it’s essential to pay close attention to ingredients and recipes when selecting a bagel. 

If you love bagels, you can still enjoy many delicious flavors of this food on a vegan diet. Bagels with fruits and grains usually only contain plant products, so they can be a safe choice for vegans. 

The following popular bagels are usually vegan-friendly:

• Blueberry: This vegan-friendly bagel is filled with delicious blueberries, a nutritious fruit. Studies show that blueberries are a rich source of phytochemicals, which offer many health benefits. For example, eating blueberries may reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and death. 
• Cinnamon Raisin: This flavor combines cinnamon and raisins, which are dried grapes. Some bakers may also add flaxseed to these bagels to improve their taste. All of these ingredients come from plants, so a cinnamon raisin bagel is OK for vegans. 
• Plain: Bakers only use a few vegan-friendly ingredients to make this simple bagel. Plain bagel recipes usually include flour, sugar, yeast, warm water, and some plant-based oil like canola. 
• Poppyseed: This sweet seed grows on the opium poppy plant (Papaver somniferum), but don’t worry. Dried poppy seeds only have a tiny amount of opium alkaloid content, so they’re safe and legal to use in food. 
• Sesame Seed: The sesame plant (Sesamum indicum) grows this mildly spicy seed. A sesame seed bagel is a great vegan food that may lower cholesterol and blood pressure. 

Of course, while these bagels typically don’t contain animal products, you should never assume that a food is vegan. Check food labels or recipe ingredient lists to ensure that you don’t accidentally eat a non-vegan bagel. 

Vegans should avoid all bagels made with animal products, including cheese, eggs, honey, and milk. 

These bagels aren’t suitable for a vegan diet: 

• Asiago cheese: Cheese is made from the milk of lactating dairy cows, so it’s not appropriate for vegans. 
• Egg: This non-vegan bagel has egg yolks or whole eggs from chickens. Avoid this flavor unless you’ve baked it yourself using vegan eggs, which contain plant-based proteins, starches, or soy products. 
• Gluten-free: Recipes for gluten-free bagels often include eggs and dairy products like dry milk solids. Avoid this food if you’re following a strict vegan diet. 

Many people prefer to eat bagels loaded with toppings for extra flavor and nutrients. Here are a few plant-based toppings that you can use to spice up your breakfast: 

• Avocado 
• Cucumber slices 
• Hummus 
• Meat substitutes, like tofu and vegan bacon 
• Peanut butter 
• Red onions 
• Shredded carrots 
• Sliced fruits like bananas, blackberries, and strawberries 
• Spinach
• Tomato 
• Vegan cheese 
• Vegan mayonnaise 

Sticking to whole foods or clearly labeled vegan products can make it easier to ensure that you only pick vegan toppings. 

Many popular bagel toppings use animal products that don’t fit into a vegan diet. Avoid these common additives: 

• Bacon: This meat comes from pigs, so it’s something vegans should avoid. 
• Butter: Traditional butter is a non-vegan milk product (though you can use vegan butter instead). 
• Cream Cheese: Many people enjoy a bagel slathered with a thick layer of cream cheese, but it’s typically a dairy product. Fortunately, several companies also produce vegan cream cheese that you can use as a substitute. 
• Honey: This sweet food is a gray area for vegans. Strict vegans typically avoid honey, but some people who follow this diet make an exception for honey. You can decide for yourself if you want to do likewise. 
• Lox: This traditional bagel topping is made from cold-cured salmon, so you shouldn’t eat it if you’re following a vegan diet. 
• Yogurt: This dairy product is not a vegan-friendly food. 

Even if you have a clear understanding of vegan dietary restrictions, you may still find it hard to tell if a bagel is vegan. Here are a few strategies that can help: 

• Read food labels carefully and skim the ingredient list to ensure that a bagel doesn’t contain animal products.
• Ask staff about ingredients if you’re purchasing a bagel from a bakery or restaurant. 
• Bake your own homemade vegan bagels so that you have full control over the ingredient list.
• Choose fruit, vegetable, and plant-based dairy alternatives as toppings for your bagel.

By carefully selecting plant-based bagels and toppings, you can safely include this tasty breakfast food in your vegan diet.