EPIC PIZZA BAGELS

 

Forget what you thought you knew about pizza bagels and prepare to uncontrollably drool. These pizza bagels are an absolute game changer!

Baked Chicken and Potatoes

The BEST Pizza Bagel Recipe!
Bagel pizzas are totally already a thing, and I’ve been wanting to whip up a batch for a while now. But couldn’t quite justify adding to the hundreds or recipes there already are. As such, I’ve decided to put my twist on it.

Regular Pizza Bagels
Most pizza bagels I’ve seen are simply half bagels, topped with sauce and cheese then cooked.

Don’t Go Bacon My Heart’s Pizza Bagels
Here I use the whole bagel as one. So you’ve got bagel (bottom layer) fillings (middle layer) then the top bagel with a crispy herb & parmesan crust (top layer). Essentially a face full of deliciousness, the way that pizzas and bagels should be. Kinda like a pizza bagel sandwich!

closeup shot of bagel with fillings spilling out on slate
Making Pizza Bagels
As you can imagine, turning bagels into a pizza is a fairly easy process. Here’s what you’ll need:

Pizza Bagel Ingredients
Bagels – Plain medium/large sized bagels. I don’t recommend any flavoured/seeded bagels.
Pizza Sauce – Homemade or store bought. You could even use BBQ Sauce if you’re going for that vibe!
Cheese – Always mozzarella!
Fillings – Here I use: pepperoni, peppers and onion.
Toppings – Brush the top bagel with butter, then sprinkle with parmesan and oregano. Game changer!
Can I use different fillings?
Sure! If you’re using a fair bit of veg, I recommend frying it off first. Just to get rid of some of the moisture. If you’re adding meat that needs cooking, definitely make sure you cook it before adding to the bagels (ground beef, chicken etc).

Top Tip – Ensure you dice up the fillings nice and small so they cook in the short time they’re in the oven.
To make the bagel pizzas it’s really as easy as spreading over pizza sauce on the bottom slice of bagel (photos 1&2), topping with mozzarella (photo 3), adding your toppings (photos 4&5), sprinkle a little more cheese (photo 6), plonk on the top bagel (photo 7), then brush with butter and sprinkle with parmesan and oregano (photo 8).

How to make pizza bagels – 8 step by step photos

Oven Cooked Pizza Bagels
Step away from the microwave 😂I have seen similar recipes to this suggest cooking in the microwave, but here we’re looking to get a nice crispy bagel (notably the top) so the oven is the only way.

I usually set the oven fairly low at 180C/356F, just to give the fillings a chance to cook through before the outside crisps up. Too high and the outside will burn before the inside has cooked & the cheese has melted.

Can you prep these ahead of time?
Absolutely! Just leave off the butter/parmesan/oregano, tightly wrap and store in the fridge until needed. When ready to bake, just add the topping then.

EPIC PIZZA BAGELS
Forget what you thought you knew about pizza bagels and prepare to uncontrollably drool. These pizza bagels are an absolute game changer!

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Small Pot & Brush (for butter)
Baking Tray
Ingredients (check list):
▢4 Bagels, halved
▢1 cup / 100g Mozzarella, shredded (or as needed)
▢16 slices of Pepperoni
▢3 tbsp Pizza Sauce
▢4 tbsp Mixed Peppers, finely diced
▢4 heaped tsp Onion, finely diced
▢2 tbsp Butter, melted
▢2 tbsp Parmesan (see notes)

▢1 tsp Oregano
Instructions:
Pre heat oven to 180C/356F.
Spread the bottom slice of your bagel with pizza sauce, followed by a sprinkle of mozzarella, then pepperoni, peppers and onion. Top with a pinch more mozzarella, then finish with the top slice of bagel.
Brush the top of the bagel with melted butter, then sprinkle with parmesan and oregano.
Pop bagels on a baking tray and place in the oven for 15mins, or until the parmesan goes golden crispy, the bagel is crispy and the cheese is melted.
Quick 1 min demo!
Notes:
a) Toppings/Fillings – Feel free to add any fillings you want! These are just what I like. In all cases I recommend you dice the fillings really small, just so they cook properly in short time they’re in the oven. Things like chicken, ground beef etc you’ll definitely want to pre cook.
b) Preventing Excess Moisture – I only use a small amount of veg in the bagels, just because they release moisture as they cook. Too much veg and you might end up with a slightly soggy bottom bagel. If you want to pack in more veg you can certainly do so, just fry it off beforehand to remove the water!
c) Parmesan – I recommend the dusty type of parmesan, just because it sticks the the butter easier.
d) Make Ahead – You can prep these ahead of time, cover and store in the fridge until needed. Just leave off the butter/parmesan/oregano and do that just before you pop them in the oven. I usually bring them close to room temp before baking, just so they cook through evenly.
e) Calories – using plain medium sized bagels.