If you’ve spent more than five minutes on TikTok lately, you’ve probably seen her. Bethenny Frankel, the undisputed queen of the "Skinnygirl" empire and unfiltered grocery hauls, is back at it. This time, she isn't just reviewing a $40 lip gloss or yelling about TJ Maxx. She’s turned the humble tub of cottage cheese into a viral sensation that actually tastes like... well, a bagel.
Honestly, I was skeptical. Most "healthy swaps" for bread end up tasting like a wet sponge or a sad, dense cloud of regret. But the Bethenny Frankel bagel cottage cheese recipe is different. It’s basically a high-protein miracle that takes about thirty minutes from "I'm hungry" to "I'm eating."
The Magic Ratio: What’s Actually in This Thing?
Forget everything you know about traditional bagel making. There is no yeast. No terrifying 4:00 AM rising times. No boiling water with barley malt. You don't even need a stand mixer.
The core of this recipe is just two main ingredients. Seriously.
You need cottage cheese and flour.
Bethenny usually leans toward all-purpose flour, but if you want that extra "bite," bread flour works even better because of the higher protein content. To get it to rise, you’ll need a healthy dose of baking powder. Without it, you’re just making a very heavy pancake.
🔗 Read more: Dating for 5 Years: Why the Five-Year Itch is Real (and How to Fix It)
The Basic Ingredient List
- 1 ¼ cups cottage cheese: Use the good stuff. Bethenny often mentions brands like Good Culture or Friendship. Full-fat gives it more soul, but low-fat works if you're watching the macros.
- 1 cup flour: All-purpose is fine. Keto flour works too if you want to go that route.
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder: This is your leavening agent.
- Pinch of salt: Because cottage cheese is already salty, go easy here.
- 1 egg (for the wash): This is non-negotiable for that golden crust.
- Everything Bagel Seasoning: Put it on everything. I mean everything.
How to Make It Without Making a Mess
First, preheat your oven to 375°F. Here is a pro tip: put your baking sheet in the oven while it preheats. When the dough hits that hot pan, it starts cooking immediately, which helps the bottom get crispy instead of soggy.
Mixing this is kinky. No, really—the dough is incredibly sticky.
If you hate the texture of cottage cheese curds, put the cheese in a blender or food processor first. Whip it until it's smooth. This is the secret to getting a "real" bread texture. If you leave the curds whole, the bagels will be a bit lumpy. Some people like that. I don't.
Once you have your smooth cheese, stir in the flour and baking powder. Don't overwork it. Just mix until it forms a shaggy ball.
Now, flour your hands. Heavily. If you don't, you will be wearing the dough for the next three hours. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Roll each part into a rope and join the ends, or just make a ball and poke your thumb through the middle. It doesn't have to be pretty. They usually look a bit "rustic" anyway.
💡 You might also like: Creative and Meaningful Will You Be My Maid of Honour Ideas That Actually Feel Personal
The Finishing Touches
Brush the tops with your beaten egg. This is what gives it that professional, shiny look. Sprinkle a mountain of Everything Bagel Seasoning on top.
Bake them for 25 to 30 minutes. You’re looking for a deep golden brown. If they look pale, leave them in. A pale bagel is a sad bagel.
Why This Works (The Nutrition Bit)
Why is everyone losing their minds over this? Protein.
A standard store-bought bagel is basically a giant ball of refined carbs. It’s delicious, sure, but it usually leads to a blood sugar crash by noon. The Bethenny Frankel bagel cottage cheese recipe flips the script. By using cottage cheese as the base, you’re looking at about 10 to 14 grams of protein per bagel, depending on your flour and cheese choices.
It’s satiating. You eat one and you actually feel full.
📖 Related: Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Waldorf: What Most People Get Wrong About This Local Staple
Texture Check
Let's be real: is it exactly like an Ess-a-Bagel from New York? No. It’s softer and more "bready." It doesn't have that extreme "pull" of a boiled bagel. But when it's toasted and slathered in more cream cheese (or more cottage cheese, if you’re hardcore), it hits the spot perfectly.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Adding too much flour: The dough is supposed to be sticky. If you keep adding flour to make it easier to handle, the bagel will turn into a brick. Use wet hands or floured hands to shape, but keep the dough itself light.
- Skipping the blender: If you want a uniform texture, blend the cheese. Whole curds can sometimes create pockets of moisture that make the bagel feel "damp" inside.
- Using old baking powder: If your baking powder has been in the pantry since the 2000s, throw it out. You need fresh stuff to get these to rise.
- Not letting them cool: These need about 15 minutes to "set" after they come out of the oven. If you cut into them immediately, the steam will make the inside feel gummy.
What to Put on Top
Bethenny is the master of the "high-low" snack. She’ll take these bagels and top them with things that feel like a "supermodel snack."
Think about shaved turkey. Not the thick-cut stuff—it has to be shaved. Add a thick slice of a room-temperature tomato (never refrigerate your tomatoes, seriously). A little Dijon mustard mixed with a spoonful of cottage cheese makes a killer spread.
Or go sweet. A little almond butter and some sliced strawberries on a plain version of this bagel is elite.
The beauty of the Bethenny Frankel bagel cottage cheese recipe is that it's a blank canvas. It’s fast, it’s cheap, and it actually lives up to the hype. If you’ve been struggling to hit your protein goals but can’t look at another chicken breast, this is your new best friend.
To get started, check your pantry for baking powder and grab a tub of full-fat cottage cheese from the store. Once you have the base recipe down, try swapping half the flour for oat flour or adding cinnamon and raisins to the dough for a breakfast twist.