Bagels are a popular choice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner around the world. The dough is boiled before baking, giving it a kind of crusty exterior which makes them especially delicious with cream cheese or butter.
The main ingredients are typically flour (often wheat), yeast, salt, and malt (which can be replaced by sugar).
Other ingredients are water and more yeast.
It’s debatable whether bagels are paleo due to some added ingredients which are not strictly paleo approved: malt and sugars.
So there are 2 ways that we could consider: either bagels are paleo because they don’t contain “bad” ingredients since they are naturally low in carbs, or bagels are not paleo because some ingredients are not strictly paleo approved.
Why Are Bagels Not Paleo Friendly?
There are a lot of different types of bagels, but they are all prepared from fairly similar ingredients with just one or two differences.
When looking at the ingredients label, malt and sugars are clearly not paleo friendly since they are high-carb. But since bagels are low in carbs themselves, you could argue that bagel is paleo.
In my opinion, I would say no to bagels being paleo because there are other alternatives to eating a gluten free product without grains which are higher in protein, such as an omelet.
If you’re not convinced yet, here are some more reasons why you should avoid bagels: they contain bleached white flour, yeast , and unknown additives. These are the questions that are on the minds of many people who are transitioning to a Paleo diet. The first step is to look at what foods are excluded from this diet, which are all processed carbohydrates including refined sugar, sugary drinks and alcohol. Grains are also eliminated including wheat, rice, oats and any products containing these grains. So are bagels paleo? No because they are made with flour which is strictly not allowed in Paleo eating unless it is the whole-wheat or sprouted version.
Bagels are classified as breads so you should also avoid them if you are following low carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins Diet or South Beach Diet. Generally speaking though there are other types of foods offered by these programs that should be eaten in place of bagels such as eggs, bacon, sausage, chicken and fish. There are some Paleo bagel recipes that are made with almond flour or coconut flour which are allowed on the Paleo diet but they are not as popular as the wheat based versions.
If you are looking for a nutritious breakfast to start your day, there are many other options that are paleo friendly including eggs, bacon, fruit and nuts. So the answer to the question are bagels paleo? is no, they are not allowed in this diet and there are many other healthy breakfast options available.
Estelle Russo
Paleo Lover
Hi there! My name is Estelle and I am a Paleo Lover! I like helping other people learn about the health benefits of the paleo diet.
