These Paleo Air Fryer Bagels are so easy to make! They're boiled in water and cooked in the air fryer, giving them a crispy outer layer and chewy interior. This easy bagel recipe is Paleo, Vegan and gluten free.
My Cuisinart air fryer is my new favorite gadget! I've used it almost daily since I got it for my birthday back in August (no joke).
Recently, paleo air fryer bagels have been my go-to. They're easy to make and perfect as part of breakfast, lunch or even dinner. I've been making them into breakfast sandwiches, dipping them into warm bowls of soup and smothering them with almond milk cream cheese. All wonderful options by the way!
Easy Air Fryer Bagel Recipe
This air fryer bagel recipe has so many great qualities. For instance, this recipe is:
- paleo - made with real, whole food ingredients
- vegan - plant based and made without animal products
- grain free & gluten free - these air fryer bagels are made with almond flour and cassava flour
- dairy free - air fryer bagels without yogurt
- yeast free - they don't contain yeast, but are still fluffy and doughy
- egg free - perfect if you have an egg allergy
- can be made nut free - sub almond flour for tigernut flour
- low in added sugar
- chewy and delicious
Do you need another reason to make this gluten free air fryer bagel recipe!? 😉
Ingredients
A few simple ingredients are needed to make these air fryer vegan bagels. Here's what you need:
- tapioca flour
- cassava flour
- almond flour
- poppy seeds (optional)
- baking soda
- salt
- avocado oil (or olive oil)
- maple syrup
- apple cider vinegar
- water
How to Make Bagels in the Air Fryer
This easy air fryer bagel recipe requires boiling the bagels, then cooking them in the air fryer. This method gives the bagels a soft, chewy interior and a crispy outer skin.
The air fryer I own is the Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven Airfryer. It's one of my favorite kitchen gadgets and has 7 functions: air fry, convection bake, convection broil, bake, broil, warm, and toast. The instructions are given with this particular air fryer in mind, but any air fryer will work.
Here's the step by step process:
Make the Dough
First, make the dough for the bagels. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add in the wet ingredients. Mix first with a spatula, then use your hands to knead the dough. The dough may appear too dry, keep working it until it is fully combined. If necessary, add another tablespoon or two of water.
Next, separate the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then shape into a bagel. Note: this recipe makes four miniature bagels. If you want them to be larger, then separate the dough in half and make two bagels.
Boil the Bagels
Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. The water needs to be deep enough to fully cover the bagels; I recommend 3-4 inches deep.
Once the water is boiling, grab the bagels and place them in the water. (I find this easiest to do this with a spatula or wooden spoon.) Boil for one minute, then flip and boil another minute. The bagels will sink to the bottom at first, but should move to the top of the water before the minute is up.
Next, line the air fryer baking pan with parchment paper. Carefully remove the bagels from the water using a spatula or wooden spoon. Place the bagels on the air fryer baking pan. If using another air fryer, I recommend greasing it with some avocado oil.
Air Fry the Bagels
Place the bagels on the top rack of the air fryer. Set the temperature to 400 degrees and the function to "air fry". Cook the bagels for 5-10 minutes - keep on eye on them to make sure they don't burn. When done, the bagels will be golden brown on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use any air fryer?
Yes! Any air fryer should work for this grain free bagel recipe.
Can you toast a bagel in the air fryer?
Bagels can be toasted in the air fryer. In fact, leftovers taste best eaten this way!
Cut the bagel in half, then lay it on the air fryer rack. Set the temperature anywhere from 350-400 degrees and air fry for just a couple minutes. Keep a close eye on the bagels to make sure they don't burn.
Can these Paleo bagels be made nut free?
If you cannot have nuts, swap the almond flour for tigernut flour (measure by weight). I've made this substitution myself a few times. I find that adding in a little xanthan gum makes the dough more pliable and easier to work with. Also, the dough will require a couple more tablespoons of water to reach the right consistency.
Bagel Toppings
Some of my favorite paleo and vegan friendly bagel toppings include: almond milk cream cheese, almond butter or sunflower seed butter, jam or jelly, dairy free butter with cinnamon and lastly, mashed avocado.
More Paleo Bagel Recipes
I love making paleo bagels and have a small collection of recipes on my blog. Here are a few favorites:
Enjoy!
Print
Paleo Air Fryer Bagels (Vegan, Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 mini bagels 1x
Description
Paleo bagels made in the air fryer. Gluten free, grain free, egg free, dairy free and refined sugar free.
Ingredients
- ½ cup tapioca flour (61g)
- ⅓ cup cassava flour, spooned & leveled (52g)
- ½ cup almond flour, spooned & leveled (45g)
- 2 tsp poppy seeds (optional)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 4-5 Tbsp water
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: tapioca flour, cassava flour, almond flour, poppy seeds, baking soda and salt.
- Add in wet ingredients. Mix first with a spatula, then use your hands to knead the dough. The dough may appear too dry, keep working it until it is fully combined. If necessary, add another tablespoon or two of water.
- Separate the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then shape into a bagel.
Boil the Bagels
- Fill a pot with water, 3-4 inches deep. Bring it to a boil.
- Line the air fryer baking pan with parchment paper, set aside*
- Once boiling, grab the bagels and place them in the water. Boil for one minute, then flip and boil another minute. (The bagels will sink to the bottom at first, but should move to the top of the water before the minute is up.)
- Carefully remove the bagels from the water using a spatula or wooden spoon. Place the bagels on the parchment-lined air fryer baking pan.
- Optional: add extra poppy seeds and flaked salt on the boiled bagels.
Air Fry the Bagels
- Place the bagels on the top rack of the air fryer. Set the temperature to 400 degrees and the function to "air fry". Cook the bagels for 5-10 minutes - keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn. When done, the bagels will be golden brown on top.
Notes
The instructions for this recipe are given for the Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven Airfryer
* You may also cook the bagels in the air fryer basket, just be sure to grease the basket so the bagels don't stick.
Katie
These air fryer bagels are a family favorite - hope you love them as much as we do!
Jamie
Any substitution suggestions for almond flour? I can’t do almonds or coconut. Thanks!
Katie
Yes, tigernut flour works but you have to add a little more water to the dough.
Rosa
Can I toast them int he oven if I don't have an air fryer?
Katie
Baking them in the oven would work but I don't know the exact bake time.
Chanel Osborne
BEST BAGELS EVER! I’ve made these a few times now and they don’t disappoint!! Great recipe
Katie
So glad you like them! Thank you for the review 🙂
Hannah
Just made these with tigernut flour and they are amazing!!! Having been on the AIP for almost a year now, I was SO excited to see a recipe that worked for me! They taste like a real bagel! And they’re so easy to make! Thanks so much for your wonderful recipes! It’s made AIP much more fun!
Katie
Thank you Hannah 🙂 I'm so glad that you liked them with tigernut flour!
Mithril
So I used the tigernut flour substitution and have just pulled what I could out of the water. It’s just gloppy slop. 🙁 At the 4 Tbsp water it was too crumbly to shape, so I added another Tbsp. approximately and then the dough was pretty soft. Did you have anything like that happen?
Katie
I didn't have that issue. Did you really work the dough before adding extra water? Also, what brand of tigernut flour did you use?
Sarah
Perfect grain free bagels! These are AMAZING! I like to add sesame seeds on top as another option.
Katie
Thank you for the review! I'm so glad you like them 🙂
Amanda
Can I use 1 to 1 flour
Katie
You should be able to swap the cassava flour for a gluten free blend or all purpose flour. Be sure to substitute by weight (given in grams). I don't recommend swapping the almond flour for anything but tigernut though.
Janell
Made 1 batch forgot apple cider vinegar... still worked but did not puff up as much as it probably would have. Only realized mistake while making 2nd batch but was already doing a variation adding cinnamon. So couldn't do a straight comparison. But cinnamon ones did puff up a bit more.
Katie
The apple cider vinegar definitely helps with the rise. I hope you liked them anyway! 🙂
Lisa
I can't have sugar what can I substitute for maple syrup?
Katie
You can swap it for honey if that's okay or just omit it completely.
Stephanie
How much do you have to work/knead the dough? Mine didn’t come out quite right… but I didn’t really knead it bc with 4 tablespoons of water- it pretty much came together with the spatula…
Katie
I typically knead the dough for about one minute.
paiseatsplants
Made these last night and subbed out the almond flour for NAMASTE brand GF flour for my moms sensitivity. Just read the comments and will add tigernut flour to the grocery list for next time.
My partner and I are looking for a fluffy GF VEGAN bagel recipe and this is the first we tried. This was a great first try for us.
Although they were a bit too dense for our liking, they'll be great cut and toasted on the cast iron with some brined tofu and sliced cukes, tomatoes, and avo.
The baking soda flavor was a bit too prominent and we're thinking of using baking powder instead as well as adding some active dry yeast and letting them rise.
Thanks for the recipe!
Katie
So glad they still turned out using the Namaste gluten free flour. Thank you for this well thought out comment and for leaving a starred review 🙂
Sara
Can these be frozen please? I’d love to make them ahead of time for my breakfasts
Katie
You can freeze them! Make sure they've cooled completely, then store them in a tightly sealed bag in the freezer. You can leave them whole or slice them in half.
Sarah
Could you substitute the almond flour for cashew flour?
Katie
That should work, but I don't have much experience with cashew flour so can't say for sure.
Jean-Marc Beaudoin
Can I use only almond flour?
Katie
No, it won't work for this recipe.
madeline
can you bake these in the oven?
Katie
You should be able to, but I've only baked these in the air fryer. I have a recipe for poppy seed bagels that is similar and baked in the oven. You can check that out HERE.
Haley
My dough fell apart in the water. Do you know why this happened?
Katie
If you changed some ingredients or didn't use exact quantities then that could be the case. Also, letting them boil for too long can cause issues.