Raw vegan bagels are one of my current favourite recipes. I love how much like bagels these actually taste, because they have that satisfying slight crunch to the outride of them, with a soft a doughy centre.
The real star of the show here though, or at least the element that shows off the raw bagels in their best light, is the cream cheese. This caper and dill cashew cream cheese is tangy and delicious. All it needs is the simple topping of a little avocado, tomato and arugula. I also like to finish it off with a little black pepper.
The recipe is for 10 bagels, so the nutrition details below are for one bagel with all the toppings. In reality, you’ll probably have a little cream cheese left over, which you can use for salads or to dip veggies in.
Raw Vegan Bagels with Dill & Caper Cashew Cream Cheese
Nutrition (For one serving)
Ingredients
Raw Vegan Bagels
- 1 cup quinoa flour
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 2 tbsp psyllium powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 8 ozs zucchini (courgette) (peeled)
- ¼ cup cashews (soaked 20 mins to 1 hour)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp Irish moss gel (optional) (search 'Irish moss gel the raw chef' for method)
- 1 cup water
Cashew Cream Cheese
- 1 cup cashews (soaked 20 mins to 1 hour)
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon probiotic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- ¼ cup capers minced
- 2 tbsp fresh dill minced
Assembly
- 1 cup Arugula
- 1/2 cup Baby tomatoes
- 1 Avocado
Instructions
Raw Vegan Bagels
- Mix quinoa flour, oat flour, ground almond, psyllium powder, onion powder, garlic powder together in a large bowl.
- In a high speed blender, process the zucchini, cashews, olive oil, maple syrup, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, Irish moss gel & water until smooth and creamy.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well to combine. The mixture will thicken up after about 5 minutes. Once thickened, form into a ball and then roll into bagels, with the use of a mould if you have one. I prefer to make half bagels, so they don’t need cutting at a later stage, but you can play around with this.
- Dehydrate on a nonstick dehydrator tray for 6 to 8 hours at 115 degrees F. Take them off the nonstick sheet and dehydrate for a further 30 minutes to dry the bottoms.
- Will store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
Cashew Cream Cheese
- Blend the cashews, water and probiotics in a high speed blender until smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for 8 to 12 hours to ferment.
- Once fermented, you'll see the mixture has small air bubbles and tastes slightly sour.
- Mix in the salt, capers and dill and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Will last up to a week in the fridge.
Assembly
- Spread some caper dill cream cheese on each bagel half, then add avocado, tomatoes and rocket leaves. I like to also grind some black or white pepper on top. These can be served open faced or as a sandwich.
Video
Related:
- Irish moss gel is optional in this recipe to make it a little fluffier. For the recipe / method click here; Irish Sea Moss Gel.
- We’ve used quinoa flour in this recipe, for its light and fluffy nature. Quinoa is extremely nutritious, being high in fibre, B vitamins, magnesium and so much more. For more on the benefits of quinoa, check out 11 Proven Benefits of Quinoa.
A note of caution here, that using raw grains like oats and quinoa is not good – especially if they are not poaked/sprouted first before cooking and secondly, many people are unable to digest oats and may not know it. I didn’t know until getting tested after developing auto-immune disease from leaky gut. This can develop from eating the lectins in the grains unless they are properly prepared (even if gluten free. So,, don’t set yourself up for developing an intolerance to these gluten free grains. I used to eat raw muesli and taste cookie dough with oats and wheat all the time – I wouldn’t do it again if I’d known what I know now.
Thanks for sharing, Dee.
Omg I’m definitely making this soon. Looks so yummy! I’ll have to leave out the oats but I found lots of suggestions in the comments. I wanted to ask… Breakfast sandwich? Like English muffin style with some eggy tasting I can slather on raw mayo and mustard ? please. The only thing I miss… vegan of course, I don’t eat babies. ?
Hey Peggy, I’ve noted your request 🙂
Hi there.. I know nothing about probiotic powder..are there particular things I should look for in a probiotic powder? Things I should avoid? brands I should check out? Is there a substitute if I can’t find the correct one?
Thanks!
Hey Lisa, I’ve not found one that doesn’t work yet 🙂 However, you can see all my kit recommendations here, including probiotics.
I have always been worried about eating raw oat. I met a few people having severe gut problems after eating raw oat and millet daily for years even if they were soaked overnight before. I’m OK with sprouted grains.
What do you know about the capacity of the human body to digest raw oat flour or flakes? Is it really safe?
I’ve done done any specific research into that. I think it’s going to be a very individual thing, so everyone is going to have to see how their body reacts, along with doing the research if they’re worried. Sprouting is a great idea that makes grains more digestible.
Hi Russel,
Thanks for the recipe, it looks great.
I wonder if I could substitute some ingredients to make it on a budget.
What could I use instead of
– quinoa flour >> corn flour ?
– oat flour >>> ground oats ?
– cashews soaked >> almonds ? buckwheat ?
Thanks for your help
Hi Asherah, yes I think any of those substitutions would work.
Buckwheat might be a bit dry, so you might need to add a little extra water.
Hello Russell,
Amazing recipe! For the cream cheese , is there another nut I can use in place of the cashews?
Glad you like it 🙂 Sure, you could use macadamias or almonds. I’d want to peel the almonds.
Wonderful recipe. made for my family for sunday brunch and they adored them!
Lovely! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Ashley.
Hi Russell, Thanks for the recipe. For the cashew cream cheese, the warm place means how many degrees of the room temperature (around 30 celcius)?
Yes, around that or above is great. We put it on top of the dehydrator as it’s a slightly warmer place and will ferment quicker.
Are the cashews soaked?
I would always recommend soaking nuts, yes.
Hi…thks for the recipe.. kindly how long should stay in warm place the cashew cheese?
Hey Christine, 8 to 12 hours (it’s in the recipe 🙂 )
So, very lovely, what a recipe and meal idea. Truly very beautiful! Thank you!
Thanks, Kathy
Hi there, this looks awesome but im allergic to nuts, can I replace the cashews with young coconut meat or sunflower seeds? I want to get to as close to the flavour and texture of your bagels as possible. Thanks.
Hey Bonnie, sunflower seeds might be a little bitter and slightly heavier, so I would try a mix of those and coconut meat. It would need to tested to give you a definitive answer to making such a change though. Let me know how you get on.
When we make almond milk, we save the pulp and freeze it. Since water is added to this recipe, is it necessary to dehydrate that pulp before I use it? Thanks!
No, I would use wet and just reduce the amount of water a little.
Hi there, I wish for to subscribe for this webpage to obtain newest updates, therefore where can i do it please help.
For the almond pulp flour, do I just grind up raw almonds? Should they be peeled or can they have the skins on them. Or, do I use dehydrated and ground almond pulp? Or, can you use any of these? Thank you for the help!
Dehydrated and ground almond pulp is great. You can actually buy raw almond flour now though, so it’s even easier 🙂
i am allergic to garlic. What can I substitute?
You can just leave that one out.
thanks for the swift reply
Dear Russell,
I enjoy reading your recipes and the passion you share with your readers. Thank you for that!
The bagels look SO good, how long do they keep fresh?
Have a wonderful day,
Sandra
They’ll be good for several days in the fridge.
Hi! Russell
This recipe looks just so good. I am going away for a few days so I thought these would be good for my husband to have on hand for quick and easy snacks-meals.
BUT I did not have all the ingredients to make and I don’t have a car today and I live 1/2 hr from nearest shop ( by car). So keen was I to try out this recipe-I improved with 2 ingredients: replaced the zuchini with pumpkin squash and the maple syrup with cocout nectar. The dough rolled really easily and shaped into a bagel, easy as- much easier to handle than regular wheat dough (I used to bake bread, no longer – gluten etc). This dough tasted fine, not sure of the flavor I am looking for anyway, whether with zuchini or not? Also what am I looking for, to know that they are dehydrated enough-besides the 6-8 hours? I have not had much exposure to bagels. Is it the same type of texture or what?
Thanks Russell, looking forward to your advice.
JO
Hi Jo,
The substitutions you made sound fine, in terms of flavour.
The texture you’re looking for is still spongy inside, but dry on the outside.
Hope that helps!
Love your food, Russell. How many bagels did this recipe make?
It’ll make about 8 bagel halves in the size shown in the pic
Hi there! I love this recipe and can’t wait to try it. A few questions: Can I grind raw quinoa and oats to make the flour, or do I need to use sprouted/dehydrated quinoa?
Also, how many bagels does this recipe make?
Thank you
Yes, you can grind up the raw quinoa and oats to make the flour, but soaked and dehydrated would be even better.
This will make around 8 halves in the size we did for the pic.
It looks so great and delicious. And versatile to have it on the go.
Thanks a lot for your recipes, courses and inspiration.
Thanks, Mirela 🙂
Hi! It looks great, I would love to try but I need to avoid gluten, even from oats. What can I use instead? And in what quantity?
I would omit the oat and cover the lost volume in equal amounts of quinoa and almond meal (ground almonds). That’ll do it.
Oats, as a grain, does not contain gluten. Instead of gluten, oats contain a protein called avenins. Oats can be contaminated if processed in a plant that also process wheat, barley and rye. You can get pure gluten free oats.
Is there something else that can be used instead of cashews in the bagel recipe?
Sure. Anything with fat, really. I would suggest pine nuts, tahini or almond butter 🙂 If using nut butter in place of cashews, I’d do like 2 tbsp.
Hi there Russell,
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It looks and sounds delicious!
I need to cater for gluten free. What would you use instead of oat flour?
Many thanks!
Giulia
I would omit the oat and cover the lost volume in equal amounts of quinoa and almond meal (ground almonds). That’ll do it.
Great! Thank you Amy 🙂
Looks nice, but almost nothing you post in the way of recipes or ideas works for a person on a Paleo diet.
You might try to totally cut out the carbs and focus on meat, veggies and other things such as nuts or you’ll leaving out a huge number of eaters who might become readers if you added them to your focus.
Hey Victoria,
Thanks for your comments.
What you’re suggesting would be to completely change the type of food that I make, and to alienate a large section of my plant-based current audience, to serve a Paleo audience.
Not to mention that I don’t eat Paleo myself, because I don’t feel like eating large amounts of animal protein every day is the way I want to go, for a number of reasons.
I love what you said! And yes just Keep as you are, lovable !
Bravo Russel!!!!
Well said.!
“Totally cut out carbs” and focus on among other things “veggies, nuts”? Plant foods have carbs, Victoria. They store energy (carbons) in water (hydration) = Carbohydrates. So many folks say “Paleo” “no or low carb” etc. with zero idea what they terms they use mean.
Victoria, have you read The Raw Chefs profile, he is raw/ plant based. Don’t you think it is a bit arrogant of you to ask him to change just for you. Why should he change what he believes is best for him. Instead of asking him to change wouldnt be easier for you to find a chef to follow more suiting to your lifestyle. Or if you like his creations, you could tweak them to meet your needs. Or hire a personal chef to do it for you. There is so many lifestyle websites thanks to the Internet, to choses from to meet your needs or lifestyle. Respect others, if you want people to respect you and you lifestyle choices.
Maybe you haven’t looked at many recipes yet but I’m vegan paleo & raw suits me to a T. Certainly this one has oats but you can always adjust that with more seeds or nuts .
Wow- You read my mind !! I was going to challenge you to make raw BAGEL’S !! Thank you Russell, will give them a try 🙂
Awesome! Let me know how they go 🙂
Great recipe Russel! I’m not clear on the psyllium powder… am I correct in assuming that it’s powdered husk? Anyway, I’m going to try it tonight. <3
Yes, exactly. If you cannot find the powder, then just powder up the husk in your Vitamix or a coffee grinder 🙂
These look great! Think I could substitute the quinoa and oat flour for more almond flour? My son is diabetic and we are managing through low carb diet.
I think you could do almond flour, ground almonds and like 2 tbsp coconut flour in there to bind it all up. See how that goes 🙂
There are two ingredients I have not heard of what is psyllium powder and courgette?
Haha. Cultural difference there. Courgette is zucchini and psyllium powder is the same as psyllium husk, which you can easily get from health food stores – possibly in the supplement isle. Just powder it up in your blender or coffee grinder and then you’ve got powder, if you can’t buy it that way, that is.
What are courgettes?
Zucchini with a British accent 🙂
Oh what a beautiful post! Will be making this awesome recipe very soon, love your serving suggestion and recipe for the Caper Dill Cream Cheese. How lovely, I often use your recipe for the caramelized onions that you shared as one of your pizza toppings, I think those would compliment your bagels nicely as a sub for the avocado(?) I certainly will cherish this recipe, as I miss bagels very much. So glad to hear you found these to store well. That’s a big plus. Love your gorgeous photography and place setting, so inviting, so beautiful. Thank you.
Thanks, Kathy 🙂 Caramelised onions on here would be sooo good! I’m going to try that myself.
They look absolutely delicious and they look like if they were baked. I’ve been looking for a bagel and cream cheese recipe for the longest.
Thanks a bunch for all your delicious recipes!
Thanks, Annette!
This sounds so great! I will have to try it! Just
FYI my husband absolutely loves your macadamia
nut feta/cream cheese recipe. He’s not too into
the raw food except for the occasional green
smoothies but he does like the nut cheeses.
Thanks for all you do!
Love that! 🙂
Can I use this recipe to teach to a raw class I am teaching? I have been experimenting with this concept by tring to convert some kosher bagel recipes but this is the best.
Thanks again.
Rita
Hey Rita, you’re free to show people how to make these in your class, I would just ask that you credit any recipe to the person that wrote it when you’re teaching and sharing.
Handsome AND gracious.. that Natasha is a lucky gal!
🙂
These look amazing!
Thanks, Brandy.
Hello there,
This bagels look great. I will try them… but please, how to prepare quinoa flour… Should I just blended sprouted and dehydrated quinoa? For how long should I sprouted it?
Thank you,
Diana
Yup, exactly. Sprouted just until a tail emerges.
Oh my word, they look super yummy …. will definately be making these on the weekend!!
Thanks x
Thanks, Sue…enjoy! 🙂
Sounds great but is there anything I can substitute for the yeast which is not allowed on my diet?
Thank you
The yeast is a non active one, so it doesn’t affect candida or feed bad bacteria in the gut. If you want to omit it, that’s fine. You don’t need to replace it with anything.