Flavors Tried: Plain, Everything, Garlic Parm, Jalapeno Cheddar, Bacon, Pizza
Price: $15 for 6 bagels (plus shipping)
Nutrition Facts for Plain Bagel: 200 Calories, 0g Fat, 34g Carbs, 15g Protein
I kept seeing Buff Bagels pop up on Instagram, and they always looked so good. I mean, look at the photo above. Those look like authentic bagels.
When I looked into what Buff Bagels are, I learned that they are essentially 2-ingredient bagels with some unique flavor twists. If you’re somehow unfamiliar, 2-ingredient bagels are a very popular recipe that combines Greek yogurt with self-rising flour to create quick & easy bagels.
Naturally, these bagels are higher in protein, and they taste pretty darn good considering they’re made with Greek yogurt. I happen to make them fairly often, and I have a recipe for them on my blog, so I wasn’t sure if Buff Bagels would be worth it for me.
Ultimately I decided to give Buff Bagels a try for 3 reasons:
- They’re a small woman-owned company that is worth supporting.
- They’re based in Buffalo, and I have a soft spot in my heart for NY bagels as someone who grew up in New York.
- The bagels look far better than any bagel I’ve made at home, and the flavors all sound great.
Nutritionally, each bagel varies a bit, but you’ll find them all between 200 and 250 calories with 15 to 20 grams of protein. To give you a good sense of the macros, here’s the savory pack which includes plain, everything, and garlic parm.
15 grams of protein is great for a bagel, especially considering that they are comparable in size to a regular bagel and roughly the same calories as a regular bagel as well.
Buff Bagel Taste and Texture
You can’t expect a high-protein bagel to be as delicious as an authentic NY-style bagel, but these are seriously impressive.
The bagels look to have that beautiful crispy crust that true New York bagels have, but looks are a bit deceiving While they look beautifully golden on the outside, the texture is much more similar to store-bought bagels you’d find at the grocery store.
The crust of the bagel does give it a little extra chew, but it’s much closer to the prepackaged bagels (like Thomas brand) that are on the bready side rather than sporting that crispy crust.
I’ve made 2-ingredient bagels more times than I could count, and never once did I produce a bagel that looks as authentic as Buff Bagels. I mean, from top to bottom they look nearly perfect, and that was true for every single bagel I tried.
The interior of these bagels is where you’ll notice a true difference between these and “real” bagels. First and foremost, Buff Bagels are refrigerated, so they’re naturally going to be firmer than a regular bagel.
Secondly, the high protein content means that these bagels will be denser than a regular bagel, which you can tell by the photo above.
If you were hoping to eat these bagels plain, you’re not going to find much enjoyment here. If you bite into them right out of the fridge, they’re going to be very firm.
But once you toast these up, they soften beautifully and become quite close to a regular bagel. Yes, these are still noticeably denser than a regular fluffy bagel, but they are not dry or tough in the slightest.
Once toasted up and dressed up with some toppings, this creates one incredible breakfast sandwich. I am now on day 8 in a row of having a Buff Bagel breakfast sandwich for breakfast, and I have loved every single one.
The texture is different from a regular bagel, but not in an off-putting way. The flavor, on the other hand, is absolutely spot on. These bagels smell incredible once toasted, and the seasonings they use are perfect.
I only tried 6 flavors, but I did not have a single flavor that I didn’t love. And considering I’m a bit of a bagel snob coming from NY, that is pretty telling.
Best Buff Bagel Flavors
Buff Bagels offers lots of fun flavors, and they rotate out limited edition flavors as well. I decided to buy their two savory packs and did not try any of the sweet flavors, but I figured the savory flavors would give me a good sense of which bagels to recommend (or not).
Between the Savory Pack and the Supreme Pack, here is how I rank the flavors I tried.
6. Pizza
Ranking this at 6 doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, it just means that I liked the other flavors more. If you want to make high-protein pizza bagels, then this one would be perfect for you. Or I can see this making an amazing lunch sandwich.
For me, I like using bagels for breakfast sandwiches, and the tomato & cheese mixture just isn’t my favorite for an egg sandwich. In terms of flavor, I think they nailed it, but it’s not the flavor I’d be running out to buy again.
But to their credit, they packed the seasoning on top of this one, and it was still delicious.
5. Bacon
This one should be called “bacon cheddar” because I was not expecting it to be topped with cheese, but I’m not mad about it.
The beauty of this particular flavor is that because bacon and cheese are already included, you can just throw an egg on there and have a complete breakfast sandwich, which is exactly what I did.
My only knock on this one is that bacon bits can be really hit or miss, and every once in a while you get a chewy bacon piece. That’s not Buff Bagel’s fault, that’s just the nature of bacon bits.
4. Plain
Sometimes you just want a plain bagel, and Buff Bagels delivers. Not much to say here other than this is exactly what you want it to be!
3. Garlic Parm
Just like the pizza flavor, there is a ton of seasoning on this one, and the flavor does not disappoint. Prepare to be floored by the smells coming out of your kitchen when you toast this one up, because it was heavenly.
I don’t particularly love parmesan cheese, but the garlic & parm combination of this one is perfect.
2. Everything
When I make my own 2-ingredient bagels, I almost always use everything seasoning, but they have never come out as good as these. Chalk it up to Buff Bagels being from NY and having access to authentic bagel seasoning, because this is even better than the Trader Joe’s everything seasoning that I typically use.
This bagel has the perfect amount of seasoning, and it’s truly as close to an everything bagel as you could hope for.
1. Jalapeno Cheddar
The jalapeno in this bagel is not overpowering, and it won’t light your mouth on fire, but it’s just enough to give this bagel a nice little kick of flavor and heat.
What really brings this one over the top is the shredded cheddar cheese. While the bacon flavor also features cheddar on top, the way this one toasted up was unexpectedly amazing. The cheese on top crisped up and added a crunch to this bagel that took it to the next level.
Conclusion: Are Buff Bagels Worth It?
This wouldn’t be a fair and honest review if we didn’t talk about price.
These bagels are shipped cold and meant to be refrigerated, they’re hand-rolled, and they come from a small company.
When you take all of these factors into account, you have to expect they’re going to be pricey.
Each 6-pack of bagels costs $15, and shipping will vary based on where you’re located, but it was $15 for me. Since I bought 2 packs of bagels, that means each bagel cost me $3.75.
Yes, that’s expensive.
As with all high-protein products out there, you can’t compare them 1:1 to their non-protein counterparts. If you buy a pack of bagels from the grocery store, of course they’re going to be significantly cheaper. Something like this is better compared to a protein bar since the macros are comparable, and while these are still more expensive, it makes it an easier pill to swallow when viewed through that lens.
Being as this is a small woman-owned company, I am more than happy to support them. My bagels came with a handwritten thank you note, and it’s so obvious that they care about the product they are making.
Buff Bagels are 100% worth trying. If you’ve made Greek yogurt bagels before, you know exactly what to expect, but these are somehow elevated and closer to real-deal bagels than any version I’ve ever made myself.
I consider myself a decent baker, and I enjoy the bagels I make at home, but they have found a way to elevate these beyond anything I am capable of.
View these as a treat and not a permanent replacement for your daily bagels, and you won’t be disappointed.
