5-Ingredient Air Fryer Mini Bagels Recipe

When you're craving a chewy bagel packed with flavor and schmeared with amazing cream cheese, but you don't really feel like leaving your home and hitting up the bakery or grocery store, just whip out the air fryer and five ingredients, and in no time at all, you'll be munching on the best air fryer mini bagels you have ever tasted. These mini bagels not only are bursting with flavor, but take only 10 minutes to prepare and 12 to 15 minutes to cook in the air fryer.

"We love them on the weekends. I will make them on Sunday and they're still good for leftovers on Monday. Just store in an air-tight container," says recipe developer Stephanie Rapone who loves creating family-friendly recipes that are delicious, too.

You absolutely have to try these air fryer mini bagels one weekend for a quick breakfast or a relaxing lunch. Don't forget to have a variety of cream cheese spreads on hand to try, too.

One of the best things about this recipe is that you'll have bagels ready to munch on in no time at all. Another awesome advantage of this recipe is that it only requires five ingredients for a basic air fryer bagel. You'll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, iodized (table) salt, Greek yogurt and an egg. If you want to amp up the flavor level of your bagels, you can whip up cinnamon raisin bagels in the air fryer with ground cinnamon, granulated sugar, and raisins. Once you master this incredibly easy recipe, you can adjust and adapt to your preferences by making such varieties as chocolate chip mini air fryer bagels.

"We also make everything bagels with this recipe a lot. Just use everything seasoning on the bagel. The best part about making the bagels yourself in the air fryer is you can put the seasonings on both sides, not just the tops! Yes, it will actually stick pretty well to the bottom too. Yum!" Rapone says.

Preheat your air fryer to 280 degrees. Grab a medium-sized bowl and combine 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and ½ of a teaspoon of iodized (table) salt. Stir these ingredients with a fork. Add in 1 cup of Greek yogurt and blend it into the mixture with the fork until it yields a shaggy dough. Iodized table salt is best for the recipe because the crystals are smaller than kosher salt or sea salt, Rapone explains, and it dissolves into the dough for a more even flavor. The yogurt must be Greek because regular yogurt contains too much water and then you'll have to add in a considerable amount of flour to counteract the water, which produces a tough bagel instead of one that's delightfully chewy.

Lightly dust the counter with approximately two tablespoons of flour. Turn the dough out and knead it a few times by hand until it comes together, Rapone explains. If you are making cinnamon raisin bagels, pat the dough into a 1-inch thick round and add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, and ¼ of a cup of raisins to the top of each mini bagel dough round. Continue to knead the dough with the cinnamon, sugar, and raisins or without for approximately 15 turns until it is relatively smooth and a little sticky.

Divide the dough in half, then divide the dough in half again, then yet again, so you end up with eight evenly sized pieces. Roll each into a ½-inch thick rope and join the ends to make a circle. Beat one egg with a fork in a bowl and brush over the bagels for an egg wash.

Kneading dough is a pretty simple process, but it is easy to go too far, Rapone points out. "You don't want the flour to develop gluten. If it starts to get to a point where you stretch it out and it bounces back, you went too far," she says.

Simply push down on the dough with the heel of your hand and press outward. Fold the dough in half back toward you, then press down again. Continue pressing downward and outward with the heel of your hands to lengthen and stretch out the dough. Knead and fold the dough, rotating it halfway every so often until it's smooth.

Place the bagels in the air fryer and cook them for 12 to 15 minutes until they turn golden brown. Allow them to rest for 15 minutes before slicing them in half and enjoying every single last bite.

"These bagels have a really nice bagel-like chew in the air fryer. I think the air fryer is way easier than baking and the results are better. The inside seems to retain more moisture and stay chewier than in the oven. I have a Philips, very basic, air fryer. No digital controls or fancy settings — just one dial for temperature and one dial for time. It's great," Rapone says.

If you do not have an air fryer, you can still have mini bagels fixed at home. Prepare the recipe as we've mapped out, but preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit instead. Place the oven rack in the second position from the top and insert a piece of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on a baking sheet. Once the dough is ready and you've brushed each bagel circle with the egg wash, bake them for 25 minutes. Allow them to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing them in half.