Breakfast just got better with homemade banana bread bagels. With crunchy walnuts, chewy bagel, and spiced banana flavor in every bite, these bagels are a perfect addition to your morning routine.
After going on a banana bread making binge lately I wanted something unique and different. I was cooking up a batch of cinnamon raisin bagels and staring at two bananas on the counter wondering if banana bagels were a thing.
Google said yes, but I couldn't find a recipe that sounded like what I wanted. I wanted a real bagel, boiled and all -but with a banana bread flavor. So I made my own recipe by modifying my bagel recipe to fit.
The results speak for themselves. We have a chewy outer shell of a bagel, soft inside crumb, large enough for toasting in the toaster, and absolutely perfect with a smear of cream cheese or peanut butter.
The banana nut flavor is subtle enough that with too many toppings you can easily miss it but if you're eating the bagel plain, you will notice that it's there.
If you've ever eaten plain bagels or some banana walnut bread then you know that each has its own distinct flavor. This bagel recipe combines the two flavors into a harmonious bite.
🥘 Ingredients
- Yeast
- Water
- Sugar
- Bananas
- Walnuts
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Bread Flour
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make banana nut bagels with these simple step-by-step instructions:
In a large mixing bowl combine the yeast, warm water, and sugar. Let rest until foamy. About 10 minutes.
Add in the mashed bananas, walnuts, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Stir in 2 cups of flour and the cinnamon.
Stir in one more cup of flour and mix until combined.
Slowly add in more flour as needed until the dough forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover to rest for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and divide into 6 balls.
Knead, roll, and shape each into a bagel and place on a baking sheet. Cover and let rest as a pot of water and 3 tablespoon of sugar come to a boil.
Drop the bagels, no more than 2 at a time into the pot of water. Boil for 1 minute (30 seconds per side).
Place boiled bagels back on baking sheet and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl whisk egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the mixture over the top of the bagels.
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown in color.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Making this banana bread bagel recipe is pretty easy, but time-consuming. The important thing to keep in mind is that the flour mixture should maintain a good wet/dry ratio and as you're kneading it, you can always knead in more flour to get a good texture.
The amount of flour you will need to use always varies as everything from the ripeness of the banana to the weather outside can have a minor effect on the end results.
You want the dough to be kneaded well enough that it's somewhat firm, not sticky and when you poke your finger at it it should instantly spring back to fill in the indent your finger made.
When shaping the dough into bagels, I use my kitchen scale to weigh the dough as a whole first, and then mentally divide by 6 so I can get each dough section as close as possible to the others without making any too large or too small.
I find that I get nicer looking bagels when I knead each dough ball into a perfect little round and shove flour covered fingers through the center as opposed to rolling out snakes of dough and coiling them around into a circle.
The dough should rest once shaped, it doesn't need to double in size but the gluten does need to relax just a tad. This is a great time to preheat a boiling pot of water. Overproofing the dough at this point could cause the bagels to look shriveled but appearances aside, they'll still taste good.
💭 FAQs
I have not personally tried using frozen bananas to make this banana bagel recipe but if you wish to, thaw them first and drain the excess liquid so that they don't make the dough too wet.
Homemade bagels are best if eaten within 2-3 days due to them not having added preservatives to prolong the shelf life. Plus, fresh bagels are always so much better, right?
More great banana recipes to try
- Banana Cornbread
- Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
- Carrot Cake Banana Bread
- Chocolate Orange Banana Bread
- Pistachio Banana Bread
- Fruity Pebbles Banana Bread
📖 Recipe
Banana Nut Bagels
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoon yeast ($0.54)
- 1 cup warm water ($0.00)
- 2 tablespoon sugar ($0.01)
- 3 bananas (about ¾-1 cup mashed) ($0.75)
- ¼ cup walnuts ($0.41)
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt ($0.15)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ($0.10)
- 4 cups bread flour, divided (may not need all) ($0.80)
Will Also Need:
- large pot of water
- 3 tablespoon sugar ($0.02)
- 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water ($0.08)
Instructions
- Mix yeast, water, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let rest 10 minutes until foamy.
- Add in mashed bananas, walnuts, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Stir in 2 cups of flour and the cinnamon.
- Stir in one more cup of flour and mix again.
- Slowly add in more flour as needed until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough ball in a greased covered bowl and let rest for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and form into 6 equal sized balls. Roll and shape into 6 bagels.
- Lay the bagels on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest as you bring a large pot of water and 3 tablespoons of sugar to a boil.
- Drop the bagels one or two at a time into the boiling water and allow to boil for 30 seconds per side for a total of 1 minute each.
- Place bagels on a baking sheet, repeat until all are boiled.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl beat 1 egg and add in 1 tablespoon of water.
- Brush the eggwash mixture over the bagels.
- Bake the bagels for 20-25 minutes or until a golden brown color.
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