Everything Bagel Seasoning substitute

Best substitute

Homemade Everything Blend

Use about ⅓ cup for every 1 tbsp each white sesame, black sesame, poppy seeds, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion + 1 to 2 tsp coarse salt

Best for bagels and bread rolls

Close match

The genuine article, and one of the easiest blends in cooking to make from scratch.

Other everything bagel seasoning substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Sesame Seeds Plus Coarse Salt Plus Garlic Powder
Close match
Use 1 tbsp everything seasoning for every 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds + ½ tsp coarse salt + ¼ tsp garlic powder
The three-ingredient emergency version for a kitchen with no poppy seeds and no dried onion.
What changes
Best for
avocado toast, eggs, salads and roasted vegetables, a bagel you are eating right now
Gets you crunch, salt and garlic, which is three of the four jobs. What is missing is the dried onion, which is the sweetest and most distinctive part of the real blend, so the result tastes sharper and less rounded and more simply of sesame. Sprinkle the garlic powder on last and lightly, because unlike minced garlic it will go pasty and can taste harsh on a wet surface. Toast the sesame seeds if you have three spare minutes, since untoasted seeds taste raw and slightly bitter here.
3Furikake
Different taste
Use the same amount
The Japanese rice topping, which is also a coarse sesame-and-seaweed sprinkle designed for exactly this kind of finishing job.
What changes
Best for
eggs and rice, avocado toast, salmon and tuna, roasted vegetables, popcorn
Structurally a very good match, because it is built on sesame seeds and coarse salt and it delivers the same satisfying crunch. The flavour goes in a clearly different direction: seaweed and dried fish umami instead of toasted garlic and onion, so avocado toast made with furikake tastes savoury and oceanic rather than bagel-shop garlicky. On eggs, fish and rice that is often an improvement. On a bagel with cream cheese it will taste wrong to anyone expecting the original.
4Za'atar
Different taste
Use the same amount and add a pinch of coarse salt
A Middle Eastern blend that also leads with sesame seeds, so the texture reads similarly on top of bread.
What changes
Best for
flatbread and pita, labneh, yoghurt and cream cheese, roasted vegetables, chicken, olive oil dipping
Sesame seeds give the same crunch and the same nutty top note, and it is an excellent thing to put on bread. The difference is unmistakable though: za'atar brings dried thyme or oregano and the sour, fruity tang of sumac, so the result tastes herbal and lemony instead of garlicky and oniony. Some za'atar is already salted and some is not, so taste before adding more salt. Choose this when you are happy to make a different, good thing rather than an imitation.
5Poppy Seeds Plus Dried Minced Onion Plus Salt
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 tbsp everything seasoning for every 1 tsp poppy seeds + 1 tsp dried minced onion + ½ tsp coarse salt
The version for anyone avoiding sesame, which is a common allergy and the one ingredient the blend is usually built around.
What changes
Best for
sesame-free baking, bagels and rolls, potatoes and roasted vegetables, chicken salad
Genuinely workable, and the dried onion carries more of the recognisable everything-bagel flavour than most people assume. What changes is the crunch and the nuttiness: poppy seeds are much smaller and crunch finer, so the topping feels grittier rather than toasty, and without sesame there is no rich roasted note. Adding a tablespoon of hulled sunflower seeds or hemp seeds, chopped coarsely, restores some of the body if sesame is off the table.
6Toasted Breadcrumbs Plus Garlic, Onion and Salt
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 tbsp everything seasoning for every 1 tbsp coarse toasted breadcrumbs + ¼ tsp garlic powder + ¼ tsp onion powder + pinch salt
A no-seed option that focuses on the crunch, for cooks with no seeds of any kind in the house.
What changes
Best for
topping casseroles and gratins, salads, roasted vegetables, pasta
This is the least faithful option on the list and it is worth being straight about that: it will not taste like everything bagel seasoning, because none of the flavour compounds are the same. What it does supply is the coarse savoury crunch, which is the reason the seasoning is on many dishes in the first place. Toast the crumbs in a little oil or butter with the garlic and onion powder so they carry flavour rather than sitting on top as dust. Useless on anything wet, since crumbs go soft within minutes.

What is Everything Bagel Seasoning?

Everything Bagel Seasoning is Everything bagel seasoning is a coarse topping blend of white and black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion and coarse salt, sold as everything but the bagel seasoning and often shortened to EBTB.

Cooking tips

Use dried minced or granulated garlic and onion, never powder, in any homemade version. The visible pieces are what toast into sweet crunchy specks, while powder turns to paste on a moist surface and tastes bitter when it browns.
Toast your sesame seeds. Two or three minutes in a dry pan until they smell nutty is the single biggest upgrade you can make, and it is why homemade blends often taste better than the jar.
This blend burns easily. On bread and pastry, bake at 400F or below, and if a recipe goes hotter, add the seasoning in the last few minutes or brush the top with a little water or egg wash so the seeds stick and stay put rather than scorching.
It is salty, so count it as seasoning. On smoked salmon, feta, cured meat or an already-seasoned dish, use a blend with less salt or sprinkle less, or the dish tips over quickly.
The seeds go rancid faster than most spices because of their oil content. Six months in a cool dark cupboard is realistic, and if the blend smells like old paint or crayons, the sesame and poppy seeds have turned and it will make food taste bitter.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is in everything bagel seasoning?

White sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion and coarse salt. That is the whole list in most versions, sometimes with caraway seeds added, which is a nod to the older New York bagel style. Because there is nothing obscure in it, this is one of the few blends where making your own is faster than a trip to the shop, and the homemade version usually tastes better because the seeds are fresher.

Can I use garlic powder and onion powder instead of the minced kind?

You can, but expect a real drop in quality, and use less. Powder has a much larger surface area, so it tastes stronger and sharper, it dissolves on contact with anything moist and turns the topping into a gritty paste, and it scorches into bitterness in the oven where minced pieces would toast sweetly. Use about half as much powder as the recipe calls for in minced, and add it at the end rather than baking it on.

Can I just leave everything bagel seasoning out?

Yes, in almost every case, because it is a topping rather than a structural ingredient. Nothing will fail to set, rise or bind. What you lose is crunch, salt on the surface and aroma, which on something like avocado toast or a cream cheese bagel is most of the appeal. If you skip it, at minimum add flaky salt, and ideally add any toasted seed you have on hand for texture.

Is everything bagel seasoning the same as everything but the bagel seasoning?

Yes, they are the same product under two names, and EBTB is the common shorthand. The wording just distinguishes the seasoning from the bagel itself. Recipes use the phrases interchangeably, and the salt level is the main thing that varies between brands and homemade versions, so taste yours before deciding how heavily to season.

Which single ingredient matters most if I only have one?

Dried minced onion. It contributes the sweet, toasty, unmistakably bagel-shop aroma, and it is the ingredient people miss most when it is absent. Sesame seeds come second because they supply the crunch and the nutty richness. Poppy seeds and black sesame contribute mostly looks and a slight textural grit, so if you are short, drop those first.

Related substitutes

More seasonings substitutes

Everything Bagel Seasoning substitute

Other everything bagel seasoning substitutes

2Sesame Seeds Plus Coarse Salt Plus Garlic Powder

3Furikake

4Za'atar

5Poppy Seeds Plus Dried Minced Onion Plus Salt

6Toasted Breadcrumbs Plus Garlic, Onion and Salt