Can Vegans Eat Bagels?

Bagels are one of the most popular snacks to eat because of their versatility. You can make a bagel for breakfast, lunch or even dinner, and enjoy every single bite, every time! The best thing about bagels is that you can make them your way. 

You can put whatever you like on, or in a bagel to customize it completely to your tastes. Some people love to use spreads on bagels, others prefer to eat them like sandwiches, either way...they always taste good!

As a vegan, you can always be curious about what foods are suitable for you and your diet, and which ones are not. You may be wondering: can vegans actually eat bagels?

Can Vegans Eat Bagels?

For the most part, bagels are typically made from yeast, flour, water, salt and sugar. This means that the ingredients that it takes to make a bagel have no animal products or byproducts in them, which makes them completely 100% vegan friendly, and suitable for a vegan diet and lifestyle.

However, not all bagels are made with vegan ingredients and processes, so you will need to be wary of which bagels you buy or eat, as they may not be as vegan as you think they are.

Unfortunately, as bagels become more interesting and stray further away from the ‘plain’ or ‘original’ flavor, they tend to drift into the non-vegan section. 

Luckily, if you are buying bagels from a store, then the packaging will always have an ingredient list available for you to examine before purchasing. If you are buying a bagel from your local coffeehouse, or cafe, then you may have to be a little more wary of what is in your bagel.

When purchasing a bagel on the go, you will have to check if it comes with any toppings, as these can make the vegan bagel non-vegan. For instance, one of the most popular bagel toppings is cream cheese, which is often served with salmon, which makes it unsuitable for vegans.

To avoid this, either ask for your bagel to be served plain, or inquire about dairy-free spreads that you could put on your bagel for extra flavor.

Where Can I Get A Vegan Bagel?

If you love grabbing lunch when you are out and about, then you will need to know where you can get the best vegan bagel.

Starbucks actually offers a few vegan bagel options, so you can get one when you grab your morning soy or coconut latte. These options are the plain bagel, sprouted grain, blueberry bagel or the raisin bagel. 

You can also get vegan bagels from Panera Bread. These include their plain bagels, poppy seed, walnut bagels, blueberry and cranberry bagels. Even better, Panera actually has a lot of vegan options, not just bagels. 

If you have never heard of Einstein Bros Bagels, then these are ones that you will want to take note of. Einstein Bros Bagels offer a huge selection of vegan bagels that are absolutely delicious, along with dairy free cream cheese!

Many of their classic and signature range of bagels are actually 100% vegan and dairy free for your choosing. This includes:

  • Plain
  • Poppy
  • Grain
  • Cinnamon Raisin
  • Pumpernickel
  • Sesame
  • Garlic
  • Everything bagel
  • Cranberry
  • Blue Berry
  • Potato
  • Pretzel
  • Chocolate Chip
  • French Toast
  • Whole Wheat
  • Ancient Grain
  • Power Protein
  • Apple Cinnamon

In addition to this, Dunkin’ Donuts also provide a multitude of vegan bagel options to choose from. These are the plain, poppy seed, sesame seed, salt, garlic, onion, everything bagel, and cinnamon raisin bagels. 

Conclusion

If you are wondering whether vegans can eat bagels, then the answer is yes! There are many vegan bagel options available at grocery stores, stalls, cafes and restaurants across the world.

This means that you can grab your favorite cup of coffee or hot beverage, and a delicious bagel to go when you're out running errands or on your way to work!

What kind of bagels are vegan?

While the majority of bagels are suitable for vegans, certain brands are unsuitable for consumption. As long as the bagels do not contain any animal by-products, they are safe to eat. Here are a handful of bagels that are suitable for vegans: 

  • Thomas Bagel 
  • Einstein Bros Bagels 
  • Starbucks (the majority are vegan) 
  • Panera bread (the majority are vegan) 
  • Dunkin’ Donuts (the majority are vegan) 
  • Dave’s Killer Bread 
  • Alvarado Street Bakery 
  • Ener-G 
  • Franz Bakery (some options are vegan) 

As you can see, there are many vegan options available. However, we would always recommend checking the ingredients list thoroughly before purchasing to ensure that all of the ingredients are safe for you to consume. 

What kind of bread can vegans eat?

Being vegan does not mean that you have to limit how much bread you eat. Many vegan-friendly bread options contain no animal by-products and are safe to consume. The most important thing to do is to check the ingredients, you will find that the majority of bread is safe to consume, such as: 

  • Pita 
  • Sourdough 
  • Ciabatta 
  • Bread rolls 
  • Baguette 
  • Loaf of bread 
  • Bagel 

It is worth remembering that bread such as naan, crumpets, and biscuits do use milk in the recipe and are therefore not okay to eat. In addition to this, some bread is made using honey wheat, which is also not vegan-friendly.  

Are Thomas plain bagels vegan?

Thomas’ is a popular brand of bagels that is available to purchase in the majority of American grocery stores. The majority of their bagels are vegan-friendly, but not all of them. Given this, it is always sensible to read the ingredients list before purchasing just to double-check.  

Thomas’ plain bagels are vegan friendly, along with many other options such as: 

  • Cinnamon Swirl 
  • Plain made with Whole Grain 
  • 100% Whole Wheat 
  • Cinnamon Raisin 
  • Onion 
  • Blueberry 

In addition to this, the majority of their bagel things and mini bagels are vegan-friendly too. Typically, it is the non-plain flavor bagels that have the potential to be non-vegan. 

Are New York Bagels vegan?  

The New York Bagel Co is another popular brand that is widely available to purchase in the United Kingdom.  What is great about this company is that all of their range is vegan, though we would always recommend checking the packaging just to be sure of this. Their range of bagels include: 

  • Plain 
  • Wholemeal 
  • Sesame 
  • Onion 
  • Cinnamon and Raisin 
  • Blueberry 

This is great as there are many options to choose from. With some bagel brands, it is only the plain options that are vegan. It is great that The New York Bagel Co has a wide variety of vegan-friendly options to choose from.  

Adam Smith
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