These naturally green bagels are the perfect way to get veggies in at breakfast or to dazzle your green-loving little one! Made with whole grains, spinach and require no boiling, they will be a healthy breakfast recipe staple.
I am not sure when the tradition started (or why it started for that matter), but for as long as I can remember….St. Patrick’s Day meant bright green bagels for breakfast. I remember as a kid, seeing my friends chow down on them during the bud ride into school. And when I became a teacher, a parent or another coworker always supplied the class with a dozen or so unnaturally-green bagels to snack on to celebrate March 17. And sometimes they came with bright green cream cheese to boot!
Now, I like to fun festive food as much as the next person. And as a mom and early childhood educator, I know these little touches are exciting to kids. However, I kind of feel like if a child is jazzed about eating something green and that food doesn’t contain a green vegetable…well, thats a missed opportunity!
I have been thinking for years about making a naturally green veggie-loaded bagel recipe for St. Patrick’s Day. And to make it happen this year, I called in my veggie-loading partner in crime, Heather Staller, from Happy Kids Kitchen.
Did you make these bagels and now you have leftover spinach? Check out How to Store Spinach (and keep it fresh all week long).
Heather has created such awesome sauce veggie-packed recipes as…
- Spinach Pesto Pizza Toast (also another fun green food for St. Patrick’s Day!)
- Rainbow Fried Rice (in case green isn’t your kid’s thing, but rainbows are the golden ticket to their heart)
- Banana-Spinach Pancake Pizza (a favorite of my 8-year-old)
Between Heather and myself, we tested and perfected this recipe so that you could load your kids up with spinach on St. Patrick’s Day morning instead of ungodly amounts of green food dye and still rank “cool mom/dad” status for keeping the food festive and fun.
And while they are fun with their naturally green color, these spinach bagels are also dang delicious! They are an awesome addition to any breakfast table or lunch box!
Tips and tricks for making spinach bagels with kids!
Did I mention that Heather also teaches kids cooking classes? She is the master at breaking down the steps of a recipe so that kids can get in on the action and help parents feel less intimidated by cooking with their kiddos.
Cooking with your children helps them to feel invested and excited about the food they are about to eat…a super helpful tricky when it comes to getting them excited about veggies.
Plus, cooking is a life skill that promotes independence and healthy eating habits.
Green spinach bagels are a great recipe to make with kids! With only a few simple ingredients and steps, little helpers of all ages will benefit from making this fun veggie-filled bread. Working with flour can get a little messy so here are some tips for making this recipe together:
- Get all the ingredients out and ready before you even ask your little one to help. Running around the kitchen trying to find the salt never makes for a calm cooking experience.
- – Reduce the mess by measuring the flour into a large bowl ahead of time. Young kids can then measure the baking powder and salt to practice scooping and leveling.
- – Add everything to the blender together, especially the spinach. Kids love to use buttons so explain how to safely use the blender then have your child do I countdown and start the blender.
- – Kids often squish dough between their fingers which can turn into a sticky situations. Knead the the dough until it forms a ball then show your child how to use the palm of her hand to push and fold the dough.
- – Divide the dough into equal pieces and talk about fractions! Even toddlers can practice counting and pointing to balls of dough.
- – Demonstrate how to form the bagel: roll a piece of dough into a long “snake”, then make a circle, and pinch the ends together. “Ok, your turn!”
Can these spinach bagels be made gluten free?
Yes! We had great success making these spinach bagels with a 1:1 gluten free flour ( like Bob’s Red Mill) as a sub for the white whole wheat flour.
Just had to add an additional 1/2 cup of the gluten free flour to the mix, since it doesn’t tend to absorb as much liquid as wheat flour.
Can I make these spinach bagels dairy-free?
We tried. And nope. No luck. Sorry folks!
Plant-based yogurts tend to carry a lot more liquid than greek yogurt and simply makes the batter too wet. Adding more flour to absorb it then makes the bagels too heavy.
Can these spinach bagels be made egg-free?
Sure! Just skip the egg wash!
And egg wash is used to seal edges together, add shine, or enhance the golden color of a baked good. As long as you won’t miss the glossy glow on your bagel, feel free to leave the egg wash off and make these beauties egg-free
Other spinach packed recipes that are going to change your breakfast game…
- Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
- Healthy Hot Chocolate (with veggies)
- Banana-Spinach Pancake Pizza
- Veggie-Loaded Chocolate Waffles
- Oatmeal Green Smoothie Waffles
Green Spinach Bagels
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (or a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour) plus more for rolling
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt no substitutions
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh baby spinach
- 1 tsp honey optional
- 1 egg, for egg wash whisked (omit for egg free)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉ degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment or grease with oil.
- Add flour, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add yogurt, spinach, and honey to a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour over the flour and mix with a spoon until a rough dough forms.
- Dust a work surface with flour, dump the dough on top of the flour, and knead until dough comes together. If dough is sticky, dust with more flour and continue to knead.
- Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 5-6 inch rope then pinch the ends together to form a ring. Place on baking pan.
- Brush egg wash over each bagel then sprinkle with salt or seasoning, if desired.
- Bake until browned and cooked through, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely before enjoying.
- Once completely cool, enjoy and store leftover in an air-tight container for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
Comments
Would these work with oat flour?
I don’t think they would. Much too heavy. But, if you need gluten free, they do work with 1:1 gf flour mix like Bob’d Red Mill. Check above in the post for how to adapt the recipe
These were so good and super easy to make!!! My 2.5 yr old helped and loves them! Such a good, quick way to get some veggies in for snack or breakfast!
We did give them a whirl with a thicker coconut yogurt as well as GF baking flour and I thought they were a success! The whole family gobbled them down this morning.
We tried these with King Arthur gluten free flour but the dough was super sticky even with the extra half cup recommended. I’m wondering if I added too much spinach which could have made it extra wet? We ended up adding a ton of extra flour to make the dough workable…is the dough supposed to be pretty sticky still? In the end, they were super dense, heavy bagles… but my whole family loved them anyway! We will definitely try again!
Hi Kay!
Did you use greek yogurt? I ask because that was the issue I ran into when I tried to use a dairy-free yogurt…it made the dough super wet and sticky. It was determined that thick Greek yogurt is the only thing that really works with this recipe. With that said, I have found some Greek yogurts can even be a bit thinner than other brands, so perhaps that? I’m glad the family enjoyed them just the same!
Hi Kay,
I helped develop the bagel recipe and did test the gluten-free version with Bob’s Red Mill flour mix. I agree with Taesha that the type of yogurt can make a difference and also the amount of spinach like you suggested. The dough should be slightly sticky but still workable when rolling into shape. Gluten-free flour also can make the bagels a little heavier than expected. If you ever have any further questions about making the bagels agin, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Heather
heather@happykidskitchen.com
Thanks for chiming in Heather!
I wanted this recipe to work so badly but even after kneading for 15+ minutes the dough was still too sticky. Maybe I’ll only add 1.5 handfuls of spinach versus the 3. I used half AP, half WW, 3 handfuls of spinach, and whole fat Greek yogurt (Mountain High, not thin at all). I’ll try again next week when I have more flour to spare.
Hi Court! Sorry to hear that they weren’t a home run. Thanks for the feedback. I think I will edit the recipe to include cups vs handfuls as I sometimes feel like my version of a handful can be very different than another person’s…and can greatly impact this delicate recipe!
Like!! Really thank you! Really Cool.
Hi. I ended up using another cup of flour to make it less sticky so my bagels were really dense. What Greek yogurt brand did you use? Thank you!
I used the Fage brand, full fat.