Tired of banana bread? These Banana Nut Bagels are another great way to use up overripe bananas! Spread it with maple cream cheese - so good!
For the longest time, I pretty much made savory bagels exclusively, as a base for his breakfast bagel sandwiches.
Then I started making Pumpkin Bagels , and all bets were off.
I developed this banana walnut bagels recipe on one of those occasions when we bought too many bananas, and forgot about them.
Having Roasted Red Pepper Bagels, I was inspired to design a banana bagels recipe.
After polling friends and my husband - Cinnamon or no? Nuts? If so, walnut or pecan? Etc - I had the plans in place.
I drafted up a base recipe plan, made it, and did some adjustments along the way.
... and the bagels were a huge hit!
“It’s dessert for breakfast, which is really cool.
I put it in the same category as having a doughnut for breakfast, it’s a socially acceptable way to have something sweet and fun for breakfast.
In this case, it’s not overbearingly sweet or unhealthy, it just definitely feels desserty - so I look at it as being the best of both worlds.
We usually use leftover bananas for muffins or banana bread, it’s nice to have these to add some variety to the mix.”
After a bit of tweaking, I’m happy to share the final recipe with you!
Ingredients
This recipe uses just a few basic ingredients, all of which should be easy to find in any grocery store.
A few notes about what you’ll need:
Bananas
You’ll be mashing or pureeing bananas to get 1 ½ cups of puree - I find that 3 large bananas is plenty for this.
Make sure to use VERY ripe bananas - if the peel is almost black and looking unpalatable (but not moldy!), that’s perfect.
The bananas I used when photographing this batch weren’t quite as overripe as I like, but did the trick well enough.
All Purpose Flour
I use all-purpose flour, as that’s what I tend to have on hand.
Bread flour will also work.
I wouldn’t substitute whole wheat flour for any more than about ⅓ of the flour, without adding a bit more water.
Pearl Sugar
This is an optional - but fun and tasty - ingredient.
You might remember Pearl Sugar from my Homemade Apple Turnovers Recipe - it’s a chunky, large-crystal sugar that is often used to bring a sweet crunch and visual interest to pie crusts and muffins, in addition to turnovers.
The fun thing with using it on these bagels is that it LOOKS like you used coarse salt on them, much like you would when making soft pretzels.
Trolling people with food can be fun, depending on your audience!
Somewhat related - another fantastic option is to use Maple Sugar Flakes or Maple Sugar Pebbles in place of pearl sugar!
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
Brown sugar, packed
Active Dry Yeast
Chopped Walnuts
Salt
Large Egg
... I just don’t have anything to add, as far as these ingredients go!
Toppings
These bagels are fantastic toasted and smeared with butter, but really sing when you smear them with your favourite spreads.
Cream cheese is always a classic option.
Go with plain, or dress it up a bit - mix some brown sugar or maple syrup into softened cream cheese.
See my Maple Pumpkin Bagels post for maple walnut cream cheese recipe.
Consider mixing peanut butter and cream cheese together, in whatever proportions you like!
On that note, just peanut butter - or Nutella - makes a fantastic spread for banana bagels.
How to Make Banana Nut Bagels
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is a pictorial walk through.
Measure warm water into a glass measuring cup or bowl.
Stir in yeast and the remaining brown sugar, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
In a medium bowl - or a food processor - mash bananas until smooth. Measure 1 ½ cup of the mashed banana, discard the rest.
Add about ⅔ of the brown sugar to the measured banana mash, mix well to combine. Set aside.
Pour in yeast mixture and banana-sugar mash, stir well to combine.
Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
Note: The dough should not be super sticky.
Depending on your bananas, you may need a little more flour - just add a little at a time until you have a smooth dough that isn’t aggressivly sticky.
After dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out.
We divided the mixture into 8 equally sized balls, for smallish bagels – but you can make them larger by dividing into 6 or 10 equal sized pieces.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil - with the ⅓ cup of brown sugar - while you form the bagels.
Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole. Personally, I prefer the latter.
Turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil. 2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
Drain well, place on a lined baking sheet.
Sprinkle bagels with pearl sugar, if desired.
Bake for 35-37 minutes (small) or 40-45 mins (large), until golden brown.
Let bagels cool for a few minutes before serving.
Leftovers
Best when consumed within a week or so. They’ll still be SAFE at that point, but won’t be tasting as fresh.
More Bagel Recipes
Looking for more fantastic bagels to make? Here are some great options!
Blueberry Bagels
Chai Bagels
Everything Bagels
Garden Veggie Bagels
Gluten-Free Bagels
How to Make Bagels
Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bagels
Marble Rye Bagels
Mini Bagels
Montreal Bagels
Pretzel Bagels
Pumpernickel Everything Bagels
Rainbow Bagels
Red Velvet Bagels
Roasted Garlic Asiago Bagels
Roasted Red Pepper Bagels
Rye Bagels with Caraway Seeds
Seeded Whole Wheat Flax Bagels
Smoky Cheese Bagels
Whole Wheat Spinach Bagels
... and a few seasonal / holiday options, too:
Christmas Bagels
Gingerbread Bagels
Heart Shaped Bagels
Hot Cross Bagels
Maple Pumpkin Spice Bagels
Paska Bagels
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Banana Nut Bagels
Equipment
- 2 Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Bagels:
- 3 Bananas overripe
- ½ cup Brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup warm - not hot - water
- 4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Chopped Walnuts
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Assembly:
- ⅓ cup Brown sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- Pearl sugar optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl - or a food processor - mash bananas until smooth. Measure 1 ½ cup of the mashed banana, discard the rest.
- Add about ⅔ of the brown sugar to the measured banana mash, mix well to combine. Set aside.
- Measure warm water into a glass measuring cup or bowl.
- Stir in yeast and the remaining brown sugar, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, walnuts, and salt.
- Pour in yeast mixture and banana-sugar mash, stir well to combine.
- Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
- Alternatively, use a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 7 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic.
- Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
- Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out.
- We divided the mixture into 8 equally sized balls, for smallish bagels – but you can make them larger by dividing into 6, 8, or 10 equal sized pieces.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil - with the ⅓ cup of brown sugar - while you form the bagels.
- There are two main ways of forming bagels – with roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together, or roll each lump into a smooth ball before poking a finger though.
- Once you have a hole made, stretch the ring of dough out a bit to enlarge the hole. Personally, I prefer the latter.
- Once you have all of your bagels formed, set them on a baking sheet to rise for another 10 minutes.
- Turn heat down a little, allowing water to simmer rather than boil. 2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
- Drain well, place on a lined baking sheet.
- Whisk egg together with 1 tablespoon of water, brush over the tops and sides of each bagel.Sprinkle bagels with pearl sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 35-37 minutes (small) or 40-45 mins (large), until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
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