Bagels are one of the most popular breakfast bakery items in the US and seem like they should definitely be vegan.
But, as any vegan who has checked the ingredients on a loaf bread of can tell you – sometimes items that seem like they should be vegan inexplicably have milk in them.
So, what about bagels? Are bagels vegan?
Short answer: some are and some aren’t.
In this article, we’re going to look at some of the most popular restaurant chains that specialize in bagels as well as the well-known grocery store brands to see which bagels, if any, are vegan.
To answer the core question of whether a bagel is vegan or not, we need to take a quick look at how bagels are made.
What Are Bagels Made From?
Most commonly, bagels are made from a base of flour, yeast, salt and sweetening. The flour used is typically high-gluten flour which gives bagels it’s spongy, chewy texture. This initial dough is then rolled and either boiled or steamed to seal the dough.
In addition to the core ingredients, extra flavorings and ingredients can be added to bagels. This is how we end up with popular bagel varieties like Everything and Cinnamon Raisin.
After the extra ingredients are added into the dough (or no extra ingredients if you’re a plain bagel purist), the bagels are then baked.
There are two things that separate a vegan bagel versus bagels that are not vegan:
Before the baking process a glaze of egg yolk or milk may be applied to give the bagel a shiny crust. If this glaze is added the bagel is not vegan. Thankfully for vegans everywhere, many bagels are made without this added glaze.
The second way bagels can end up not being vegan is the addition of L-Cysteine as a dough conditioner. L-Cysteine can come from both vegan and non-vegan sources and tracking down which can be easier said than done.
If you see L-Cysteine on an ingredient label you may end up having to contact the company directly to get info on the source of their L-Cysteine.
Both of these factors hold true for both bagels that come from popular morning coffee spots as well as in your local grocery store. You just have to know which ones are vegan and which ones aren’t.
But, going through over a hundred different bagels and looking through the ingredients of each one to figure out if they’re vegan or not is a lot of work.
That’s where VeggL comes in. We’ve already done all that work for you.
We’ve broken down this article into two sections: Restaurants and Grocery Store Brands. Simply find the restaurant or brand that you’re looking for and we’ll show you which varieties of bagel are vegan.
If we don’t have a particular variety listed it’s either not vegan or it may be either a new offering or a seasonal special. To get the most up to date info, you can always check out our VeggL Vegan Guides. Let us know we’re missing it and we’ll work to get it added!
Restaurants
The good news is that out of all the restaurant chains that we looked at, all of them have at least one vegan bagel on their menu.
Are Bruegger’s Bagels Vegan?
Bruegger’s Bagels are extremely vegan friendly with the majority of the bagels they offer being vegan.
In total, 15 different bagel varieties are vegan at Bruegger’s. You also have a few different options to top your bagel including grape jelly, hummus spread, strawberry jelly and peanut butter.
List of Vegan Bagels at Bruegger’s:
- Apple Cinnamon (seasonal)
- Blueberry
- Bruegger Bites
- Cinnamon Sugar
- Everything
- Garlic
- Jalapeno
- Onion
- Plain
- Poppy
- Pumpernickel
- Pumpkin (seasonal)
- Rosemary Olive Oil
- Sesame
- Sourdough
If you’d like to see all the vegan options available at Bruegger’s, check out our Bruegger’s Bagels Vegan Guide
Are Dunkin Donuts Bagels Vegan?
Almost all of the bagels offered by Dunkin are vegan. At the time of this writing only one, the White Cheddar Bagel Twist, was not vegan.
The only downside to getting a vegan bagel at Dunkin is that the only spreads available at Dunkin are cream cheese and butter. This means that you have to order your bagel plain (and toasted if you like).
List of Vegan Bagels at Dunkin:
- Plain
- Multigrain
- Cinnamon Raisin
- Everything
- Sesame
If you’d like to see all the vegan options available at Dunkin’, check out our Dunkin’ Donuts Vegan Guide
Are Einstein Bros Bagels Vegan?
Einstein has 19 different vegan varieties of bagel that they offer, second most of any of the popular restaurants that we’ve included here. This even includes a couple of their Thintastic bagels as well as their Gourmet bagels.
You can top off your bagel with a choice of three different spreads, hummus, natural peanut butter and natural strawberry jelly.
List of Vegan Bagels at Einstein Bros.
- Ancient Grain
- Cinnamon Raisin
- Cranberry, Everything
- Garlic
- Onion
- Plain
- Poppy
- Pumpernickel
- Sesame
- Blueberry
- Chocolate Chip
- French Toast
- Pretzel
- Ancient Grain Thin (Thintastic)
- Plain Thin (Thintastic)
- Whole Wheat Thin (Thintastic)
- Apple Cinnamon (Gourmet)
- Power Protein Bagel (Gourmet)
If you’d like to see all the vegan options available at Einstein Bros, check out our Einstein Bros Bagels Vegan Guide
Are Noah’s Bagels Vegan?
Noah’s Bagels has 21 different varieties of vegan bagel. This was the most of any of the restaurant chains that we looked at. They have the same three spreads available to you as Einstein – hummus, natural peanut butter and natural strawberry jelly.
If you’re not familiar with Noah’s Bagels, then chances are you live on the east coast. Noah’s is a California based bagel chain that is a sister company to Einstein Bagels (good reason why they both top the list of vegan choices with their bagels).
List of vegan bagels at Noah’s Bagels:
- Ancient Grain
- Blueberry
- Chocolate Chip
- Cinnamon Raisin
- Everything
- French Toast
- Garlic
- Onion
- Peppercorn Potato
- Plain
- Poppyseed
- Pretzel
- Pumpernickel
- Salt
- Sesame Seed
- Sourdough
- Whole Wheat Sesame
- Apple Cinnamon
- Potato Roll
- Protein Power Bagel
If you’d like to see all the vegan options available at Noah’s Bagel, check out our Noah’s Bagels Vegan Guide
Are Panera Bread Bagels Vegan?
Panera Bread has a total of 8 different varieties of bagel and half of those are vegan. Unfortunately, like Dunkin, they do not have any vegan spreads that you can use to top of your bagel so you’ll have to order it plain.
List of vegan bagels at Panera:
- Plain
- Everything
- Blueberry
- Sesame
If you’d like to see all the vegan options available at Panera, check out our Panera Bread Vegan Guide
Are Starbucks Bagels Vegan?
Maybe surprising to some, but Starbucks actually has less variety in the bagel selection than almost any of the restaurants listed here. They also have the least number of vegan choices when it comes to their bagels – just three.
They do however have something not offered by any of the other locations: Avocado Spread. Yes, please! You can usually also find packaged Justin’s Hazelnut Butter or Classic Almond Butter as well.
List of vegan bagels at Starbucks:
- Plain
- Sprouted Grain
- Multigrain
If you’d like to see all the vegan options available at Starbucks (including a massive array of Starbucks drinks), check out our Starbucks Vegan Guide
Are Tim Horton’s Bagel Vegan?
Canadian-based Tim Horton’s has 7 different varieties of bagel that are vegan.
List of vegan bagels at Tim Horton’s:
- Caramel Apple
- 12 Grain Bagel
- Blueberry
- Cinnamon Raisin
- Everything
- Plain
- Pretzel-Style Bagel
Grocery Store Brands
Coffee chains aren’t the only place you can pick up vegan bagels.
Many of the most popular brands of bagel found in grocery stores like Kroger and Aldi have many vegan options. In fact, I’d say the majority of the bagels you’ll come across in the grocery store are vegan.
Now, though, you won’t need to check the ingredients of every package in the store. We’ve compiled all of them in a handy-dandy easy to reference list. Enjoy!
Are Dave’s Killer Bagels Vegan?
All of Dave’s Killer Bread products, not just their bagels, are vegan except one. (Dave’s Honey Oats & Flax bread contains organic honey) Their bagels are not only vegan, they are also Non-GMO verified and Certified Organic.
They have 4 different types of bagel. As a side note, these are the bagels of choice in our house, particularly the Cinnamon Raisin.
Dave’s Killer Bread vegan bagels:
- Epic Everything
- Cinnamon Raisin Remix
- Boomin’ Berry
- Plain Awesome
Are Sara Lee Bagels Vegan?
Sara Lee, one of the most recognized brands in bread and frozen desserts, has eight different vegan varieties of their bagels.
- Blueberry
- Cinnamon Raisin
- Everything
- Onion
- Plain
- Toaster Size Blueberry
- Toaster Size Cinnamon Raisin
- Toaster Size Plain
Are Thomas Bagels Vegan?
Thomas Bagels has the most varieties of vegan bagels of all the grocery store brands that we looked at. This includes their regular bagels, bagel thins and mini bagels.
Thomas Bagels vegan bagels (regular):
- 100% Whole Wheat
- Blueberry
- Cinnamon Swirl
- Cinnamon Raisin
- Everything
- Onion
- Plain,
- Plain Made With Whole Grain
Bagel Thins:
- 100% Whole Wheat
- Cinnamon Raisin
- Everything
- Plain
Mini Bagels:
- 100% Whole Wheat
- Blueberry
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon
- Cinnamon Raisin
- Plain
- Plain Made With Whole Grains
Are Trader Joe’s Bagels Vegan?
Trader Joe’s is a popular grocery store with a very loyal following that carries many of it’s own brands throughout their store. Two Trader Joe’s brand bagels are vegan.
- Plain
- Whole Wheat
Final Thoughts
Not ALL bagels are vegan, however many bagels are vegan! You just need to know where to look and what to look for. Which restaurants, which brands and which varieties.
There is no need to memorize all this information though! If you’re a frequent bagel buyer, just bookmark this page and use it as a quick guide to get the info you need!
Disclaimer: We are at VeggL do everything in our power to make sure the information that we provide is 100% accurate. However, sometimes items and ingredients can change. We are not responsible for any inaccurate or out-of-date information provided on VeggL.
