Bagels substitutes
Bagels substitutes — 7 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Pretzel roll or pretzel bun
1 roll for every bagel
For a breakfast sandwich, a pretzel roll is the closest thing to a bagel because it is also boiled or dipped before baking, so it has real chew; use one roll per bagel. English muffins are the easiest supermarket swap and toast up sturdy enough for eggs and cheese. For a lox platter, thick slices of a dense sourdough or rye, toasted, hold cream cheese and fish better than any soft roll. Nothing soft and fluffy works here, because a bagel's whole job is to resist being squashed.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- What changes —
- different taste, similar texture
- Best for —
- breakfast sandwiches
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of bagels | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretzel roll or pretzel bunbreakfast sandwiches | 1 roll per bagelTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | English muffinsegg sandwiches | 1 muffin per half bagel, or 2 muffins per bagelYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Bialycream cheese | Same amountTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Dense sourdough or rye, cut thick and toastedlox platters | 1 thick slice per bagel halfYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Ciabatta or kaiser rollsandwiches | 1 roll per bagelYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Challah or brioche rollsweet toppings | 1 roll per bagelYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 7 | Pita bread or flatbreadquick breakfast | 1 pita per bagelYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Pretzel roll or pretzel bun
different taste, similar texture
Pretzel rolls are made from a stiff, low-hydration dough that is dipped in an alkaline bath before baking, which is the same trick a bagel's boiling water performs. The chew and the shiny, leathery skin are genuinely close.
- Best for
- breakfast sandwiches, lox and cream cheese, sandwiches you want to hold together, toasting
It tastes maltier and more mineral than a plain bagel and the crust is darker, so butter and cream cheese read a little saltier on it. Split it horizontally and toast the cut faces, or it will feel too thick in the hand.
English muffins
different taste and texture
Split and toasted, English muffins give you the two flat, sturdy, slightly chewy faces a bagel sandwich needs, and the nooks catch butter well.
- Best for
- egg sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, toast with cream cheese, mini pizzas
Far less dense, so a whole muffin is roughly half the bread of a bagel and a filling stack will feel loose. They are also blander with no malt sweetness. Toast them harder than you think to stop wet toppings soaking through.
Bialy
similar taste, different texture
A bialy is the bagel's cousin from the same Ashkenazi bakery tradition, but it is baked rather than boiled and has a dimple of cooked onion and poppy seed in the middle instead of a hole.
- Best for
- cream cheese, smoked fish, onion-forward sandwiches, eating plain and warm
Noticeably softer and drier with a floury, papery crust rather than a shiny chewy one, and the baked onion pushes the flavor savory. It stales fast, so use it the day you buy it. Best swap if you want the same bakery flavor family and do not care about chew.
Dense sourdough or rye, cut thick and toasted
different taste and texture
Cut slices a full inch thick from a tight-crumbed sourdough boule or a deli rye and toast them well. The sour tang plays the role that a bagel's long fermentation plays.
- Best for
- lox platters, smoked fish, cream cheese and tomato, open-faced sandwiches
It is more sour and more open-crumbed, so juices from tomato and onion will run through instead of sitting on top. Rye in particular is the traditional partner for smoked fish, so this often tastes better than a bagel rather than worse.
Ciabatta or kaiser roll
different taste and texture
A crusty white roll split and lightly toasted. The kaiser is the closer of the two because its crumb is tighter.
- Best for
- sandwiches, burgers, hot fillings
The crumb is airy and the crust shatters rather than chews, so the sandwich compresses under your hand in a way a bagel never does. It works, but nobody will mistake it for a bagel.
Challah or brioche roll
different taste and texture
An enriched, eggy roll. Both are made from bread dough but enriched with egg, fat and sugar, which is the opposite of what a bagel is.
- Best for
- sweet toppings, jam and butter, French toast
This is the least-bad swap only if sweet is what you want. It is soft, cakey and clearly sweet, and it turns to mush within minutes under cream cheese, tomato or anything wet. Do not use it for a lox platter.
Pita bread or flatbread
different taste and texture
Split a thick pita into two rounds and toast until it crisps at the edges.
- Best for
- quick breakfast, cream cheese, bagel-chip style crisps
There is no chew at all and very little flavor, so this is purely a vehicle. Its real strength is bagel chips: brush with oil, salt and sesame or poppy seed, and bake at 350F until snapping crisp.
Questions
5 questionsCan I just leave the bagel out?
If it is a sandwich, no, you need something to hold the filling. But if you are making a lox platter or a spread, you can absolutely serve the fish, cream cheese, onion, tomato and capers with any toasted bread or even cucumber rounds and lose nothing important. The bagel is the vehicle, not the point.
What is the difference between a bagel and a bialy?
A bagel is boiled then baked and has a hole. A bialy is only baked and has a dimple filled with cooked onion and poppy seed instead. That boil is why a bagel is chewy and shiny and a bialy is soft and floury. They are not interchangeable in texture, but they come from the same Ashkenazi bakery tradition and are used the same way.
Can I use regular sandwich bread instead of a bagel?
For a plain breakfast sandwich, yes, if you toast it firmly. Anything wetter than butter will soak straight through untoasted sliced bread, and it will collapse under a full lox stack. Double-toast it or use two slices.
What can I use instead of a bagel for eggs Benedict or a breakfast sandwich?
An English muffin is the standard and is genuinely better for Benedict, since that is what the dish was built on. For a heavier sausage or egg-and-cheese sandwich, a pretzel roll holds up best.
Is a water bagel different from a regular bagel?
Water bagel is just the older name for the traditional style, boiled in plain water rather than made from an egg-enriched dough. Almost every bagel sold today is a water bagel, so if a recipe calls for one, an ordinary plain bagel is what you want.
Tips for substituting bagels
5 tips- For bagel chips with no bagels, day-old sourdough or pita is better than fresh bread. Slice thin, brush with olive oil, dust with sesame, poppy, dried garlic, dried onion and flaky salt, and bake at 325F for 15 to 20 minutes until they snap.
- Whatever you swap in, toast the cut face until it is properly golden before it meets cream cheese or fish. A bagel resists sogginess because it is dense; every substitute needs toasting to earn that resistance.
- If you are making bagels rather than replacing them, the boil is not optional and bread flour is the minimum. A tablespoon of malt syrup or honey in the boiling water is what produces the shiny, faintly sweet skin.
- Stale bagels are better than fresh ones for anything that gets cut up, so if you have hard old bagels, use them for chips, croutons, bread pudding or stuffing rather than throwing them out.
- Freeze bagels sliced, not whole. A frozen whole bagel is almost impossible to cut safely, and pre-sliced halves go straight from freezer to toaster.