Don't Toss That Leftover Bagel: 11 Genius Ways To Use Them Instead

In this day and age, there's no doubt that bagel lovers are thriving. With bake shops coming out with more and more adventurous flavor options, it almost seems like a crime to constantly grab a plain one. From blueberry to pumpkin spice, to a more traditional flavor like cinnamon raisin or everything bagel, if you can think of a flavor, it's probably already been created and is out there just waiting for you to grab it up. If you've watched previous seasons of "The Great British Baking Show," you may have even noticed that rainbow bagels have been growing in popularity in recent years.

There is only one true flaw with this versatile breakfast item, and that is that you may not be able to go through the entire bag of them before they reach their expiry date. Whole bagels have a typical shelf life of up to five days if they are thrown into a room-temperature cabinet, with two to three days being the typical sweet spot. Sure, there are ways to help your bagels last longer before they develops unwelcome fuzzy friends. Storing them in a paper bag, for example, can help extend the lifespan, or you can even toss them into the freezer. But to save you from having to ponder this dilemma, we have found some great ways to use up your leftover bagels before they turn into mold-ridden shambles.

They are crunchy, satisfying, and go well on top of salads — yes, croutons are a simple way to use up leftover bagels quickly. All you will need to do is slice your bagel halves into small pieces before adding a coating to them. Many recipes recommend coating the pieces in some olive oil, but if you don't have olive oil hanging around in your cabinet, there is no reason you couldn't experiment with other oils like grapeseed or even just good old butter. Once you place them on the pan, just sprinkle whatever your preferred seasoning is on top, and you're pretty much good to go. Some suggestions for seasonings include garlic, thyme, rosemary, and of course the classics, salt and pepper.

As for what you can then do with your finished croutons, think toppings for a good old soup or salad. If you are looking for some more creative uses for them, however (or perhaps soup or salad just isn't your thing), one thread on Reddit has come to the rescue. It specifically asks for crouton use ideas, with many commenters jumping in to add some interesting suggestions. From just straight up eating the croutons by themselves as a snack (simple but brilliant) to adding them to bowls of chili or using them for stuffing, you've certainly got options.

French toast is a meal that seems to always come to the rescue when there is extra bread kicking around during the early hours of the morning. While you can repurpose your stale sourdough bread into French toast, it's no shocker that you can also easily apply this idea to leftover bagels as well. 

Despite the name, French toast was not invented in France at all – the dish was actually invented somewhere between the 4th and 5th centuries by the Roman Empire. Some say the idea was then brought into the spotlight many years later by a man named Joseph French (hence the name). As the story goes, the man wasn't the best with his grammar, and so advertised it without the apostrophe that one would expect to see. What should have been French's toast then became known as French toast. When it comes to reusing your leftover bagels for the ever-popular dish, you simply need to proceed as you normally would, but swap out bread for bagels. 

If you are looking for alternatives to the plain bagel French toast, you could try using cinnamon raisin. As the dish typically already has cinnamon in the batter anyway, this flavor can pair especially well. You can also try adding berries, icing sugar, or whipped cream on top to up your bagel French toast game.

The history of bread pudding aligns perfectly with the topic at hand here. It was actually created back in the 11th century, as a way to reuse bread so that there wasn't any waste. How fitting that it was such a stellar idea that it stood the test of time and is used for the same purpose today. It is important to point out that the ingredients and method have certainly changed over time, as 11th century chefs didn't have access to the vast options of ingredients that households do today. But it still remains an interesting piece of this dish's history, and today bread pudding is endlessly customizable.

As for using up your leftover bagels in this dish, the whole process remains fairly easy. You will need to cut your bagel into slices, and then you will need to make the sauce. There are different recipes out there for sauces, but most of them involve at least eggs, vanilla, milk, and the spices and toppings of your choice. You may want to do some research to find a recipe for a flavor that appeals to you and suits your leftovers before you start — for example, cinnamon bagel bread pudding, or blueberry bagel bread pudding.

After this point, you simply need to mix the bagel pieces with the sauce and pop them into a pan. Once it comes out of the oven, you have both repurposed your extra bagels and created a little sweet treat for later.

If your bagels happen to have passed the point of being soft little pillows of joy and turned unpleasantly hard, go ahead and give stale bagels a second lease on life with an air fryer (and some elbow grease). This is both a great way to avoid waste and a bonus secret to save a little bit of cash. It's truly hard to find a downside to the bagel chip idea.

The premise here is that you are going to slice your bagels into thin pieces, but there are many ways to slice a bagel. Some cut their bagel in half, and then slice thin pieces around the circle. Others leave their bagel whole and slice lengthwise through the entire thing. This will really depend on personal preference, but keep in mind, there is no wrong way to make a bagel chip.

The next step will be to add flavoring to the chips. If you are drawing a blank on ideas for flavor pairings, head over to TikTok because that platform has some serious bangers. For example, you can toss the chips in a garlic butter mixture like you would normally add to garlic bread, and sprinkle a little parmesan on them before throwing them into the oven or air fryer. Or you can toss them in olive oil and add spices like everything bagel seasoning.

Honestly, after reading the title of this idea, it feels like a mic drop should be added for effect. This is one of those super-easy ideas that people are shocked they didn't think of sooner. Most people enjoy pizza, and most people enjoy bagels, so it's hard to imagine what could go wrong with mixing the two together. Especially if you have a hankering for this food but need a good pizza crust alternative, because that's when the concept of bagel pizza really has its time to shine.

Now, as for the bagel selection for this one, there are definitely ones that will work better for this option by pairing well with the cheese, sauce, and toppings. For example, plain or even sesame seed might be a good option, while using raisin cinnamon may ward you off from ever eating pizza bagels again. 

As for toppings, the sky is the limit as you can load up your pizza bagel however you like. You can just do the classic cheese and sauce, or go above and beyond and add some goat cheese and balsamic drizzle. This includes trying out different sauces as well, just as you might when ordering from a pizza joint. If you have leftover Alfredo sauce, for example, you could hit two birds with one stone here and use that up along with your bagel overstock. 

This idea is especially for all the garlic and cheese lovers out there. It turns out one thing you can do when left with an abundance of bagels, cheese, and garlic is to combine them into a quick and easy pull-apart garlic bread. To make this happen, you will need to first slice five or six bagels into thick pieces before tossing them in a seasoning and melted butter mixture.

For your seasonings, you can add whatever you prefer, but some ideas are Italian seasoning, parsley, and the star of the show, garlic powder. Then you will need to layer this bread and butter mixture in a Bundt pan, adding a covering of cheese between layers until full. For your cheese, you can use whatever type calls to you, such as Colby jack, cheddar, Parmesan, mozzarella, or whatever delightful cheese block can be found in your fridge. 

When taking a bite of this appetizer combo, you might be silently thanking Italy for gracing us with the wonder of garlic bread. However, garlic bread was actually an invention that came into play during the large immigration from Italy to America that took place from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Italian immigrants were familiar with a dish called bruschetta (a food of true Italian origin), which involved olive oil and tomatoes. Eventually, the ingredients for bruschetta were swapped with those more easily accessible, which snowballed into today's garlic bread — or garlic bagels, in this case.

Breadcrumbs can be one of the most helpful and versatile ingredients when used correctly. Many people immediately think about adding some sprinkles to the tops of food for added texture, such as with mac and cheese or meatloaf, but there are other ways you can use them, too. If you're working with meat, for example, a few dashes of breadcrumbs mixed in can help bind the meat together in whatever form you're imposing on it. This little trick becomes especially useful if you're trying to cook perfectly round meatballs or burgers. Breadcrumbs are also the unsung hero of chicken fingers and cheese stick cravings everywhere, as they are a great coating option. Leftover bagels — whether plain, everything, or sesame — work just as well as regular bread.

Now that you're probably dreaming of the crunch of a good crumb coating, all you will need to fulfill this dream is a blender. Simply cut your past-its-best bagel into pieces, and pop the pieces into the blender before using the pulse function. After this, you will need to bake them for a short time to crisp them up. 

Alternatively, if you don't have access to a blender, there are other ways to turn the pieces into breadcrumbs. If you cook the pieces first instead of waiting until they have already become breadcrumbs, you can get the same result by using a resealable plastic baggie and a rolling pin. Just place the crisped pieces into the bag and seal it before using the rolling pin to smash them up.

The one-pan bagel trick is both a trend on social media and a great way to use up any leftover bagels that you might have. Those who enjoy a good omelet or egg sandwich will be especially drawn to this hack. Plus, if you are hosting any friends or family for breakfast, it's sure to leave them impressed (while also filling their bellies). If the fact that the word 'trick' has been used to describe this one has you worried about whether this will work or not, rest assured that many have tried it and claim that it does work well. 

All you're going to need for this is a pan, at least one bagel, some eggs, and the toppings of your choice. Then you will need to place the bagels face down into the hot pan, and pour whisked eggs both around the bagel (until it pools in the entire bottom of the pan) and through the middle bagel holes. The idea is that the pan then makes the bagel crispy while also cooking the eggs at the same time. Eventually, you should be able to flip the entire egg-bagel ensemble over and fold over the sides. 

At this point, you can add whatever toppings you wish, such as cheese, tomatoes, ham, prosciutto, or pickles. Lastly, the bagel slices are placed on top of each other like a bagel sandwich. With minimal effort, you've got a delicious and aesthetically pleasing bagel sandwich.

If the word cinnamon perked you up back when we were talking about French toast, then this idea might work well for you. Cinnamon sugar bites certainly land on the more dessert end of the bagel use spectrum, but there really isn't any harm in treating yourself. Plus, you don't need to just eat the bites by themselves. The sky is the limit for tempting dipping sauces that would work well with these, including icing, homemade brown sugar drizzle, or even caramel sauce. 

Procedure-wise, there are a few different ways you can create these bites. One method is to cut a stale bagel into pieces, but not fully cut through the entire thickness of the bagel. In this scenario, there would be a thin strip of bagel on the bottom still holding the pieces together, while a cinnamon-sugar butter is then spread over the top and in the creases with a pastry brush. They would then be cooked before being tossed in the cinnamon sugar. Alternatively, you can also skip this part and fully cut the bagel into pieces, and then toss them in the butter and cinnamon sugar before cooking. Whichever method you use, the good news is that the final product looks and smells enticing.

Grilled cheese is just a simple no-brainer for when you're trying to use up any leftover bread item, including bagels. The only problem that you might have run into if you've ever tried this in the past is that the cheese very quickly oozes out into the pan if preparations are not taken in advance. Some recipes claim that the secret here is to scoop out some of the filling in the middle of the bagel. This provides a little moat that catches the melted cheese within the bagel.

It is important to mention that this scooping of the bagel is a bit controversial. Many feel that scooping out the inside parts of the bagel is just a big waste of food, while others believe this lowers calories while making the final product crispier (no matter what the bagel is being used for). If scooping your bagel is not for you, then there are other methods you can use. 

One idea is to use the rounded side of the bagel (that you would normally place directly on the skillet) as the inside. This would mean that the flat edges are facing out. While this might look a bit inside out, it works really well with bagels that have seeds on the exterior, like poppy seed or sesame seed bagels. This is because the seeds stick to the cheese and help hold it in place when cooking — plus they won't burn in the heat of the pan like they might do on the outside.

To finish off the list, we have saved the sweetest idea for last. It's hard to go wrong when ice cream is involved in anything, including bagel ice cream sandwiches. An additional plus here is that bagels become less saturated and soggy than traditional ice cream sandwich cookie ends. However, take caution in your selection of bagel for this one. Unless the result you're aiming for is onion bagel ice cream sandwiches, you will want to keep this in mind when trying out this idea. Otherwise, you might get quite a mouthful of unusual flavor pairings. 

The good news is that you can use whatever flavor of ice cream you prefer for this. All you will need to do is cut the bagel in half and pop a couple of scoops inside. Whether you add any additional toppings to spruce it up a bit is totally up to you, but sprinkles, chocolate, or caramel drizzle might add some texture or additional flavor. If you do decide to add loose toppings to it, though, you will want to smoosh them into the ice cream just so that when that pesky gravity kicks in, they don't all fall out. When you put the other half of the bagel on top, you will also want to squeeze the sides together as well for the same reason.