There’s nothing a bagel can’t fix. Hungover? Bagel. Date cancelled? Bagel. WiFi went out? BAGEL!
Sadly, not everyone can enjoy the heavenly carbohydrate delicacy that is the cream cheese-schmeared bagel. Yes, I’m looking at you, keto dieters.
An average plain bagel has about 50 grams of carbohydrates, which puts people following the keto diet in a sticky situation, considering their regimen caps them at under 50 grams of carbs a day (I wouldn’t last an hour!).
Luckily for your keto-ers, Pop Sugar recently brought to my attention that there is such a thing as keto bagels. Great Low Carb Company sells nine flavors of bagels with only 16 grams of carbs. That’s pretty cray-cray, but what blows me away is the 14 grams of fiber and 14 grams of protein in each bagel, too. That’s insane!
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Currently browsing through Keto Recipies while eating my carb loaded bagel with cream cheese 🙃
— princess kt👑 (@hello_ktree) August 7, 2019
So how do these unbelievable (really, it’s hard to believe the nutritional facts!) keto bagels taste? Let’s review.
With an average 3.4 stars on Amazon, I’m going to posit that they’re not the best. The most recent purchaser left a one-star review because her bagels were “Covered in MOLD!!!” EW!
“Don’t waste your money,” another one-star reviewer wrote. “This bagel is very tough, thin, and really lacks in any kind of flavor.”
It’s not looking good for Great Low Carb Company. But let’s carry on.
Aha! I found a five-star review: “Good Keto Bagel”
Keto is my favorite diet where you can lose 57 lbs over the course of a year and gain 58 lbs back after eating one bagel.
— Jurisdoc (@jurisdoc741) July 5, 2019
“Disclaimer: Don’t expect this to taste exactly like a bagel,” the reviewer writes. “When you are on a ketogenic meal plan it’s hard to find a bread substitute that you can eat and enjoy.”
Another five-star reviewer said the bagels are “AMAZING!”
“I find it hard to believe that these are low carb! They taste great,” they wrote.
With polarizing reviews from Amazon’s harshest critics, I took the matter into my own hands to provide you, dear Nosher reader, with a subjective taste test. I ordered the cinnamon-flavored Great Low Carb Company bagel because — total transparency — it was cheaper than the everything bagel.
Here’s what went down.
Being the cream cheese-aholic that I am, I schmeared the heck out of the untoasted, light bagel. The first bite was… okay. I sunk my teeth into the cream cheese, which, of course, was heaven on earth, but after the schmear wore off I was left with nothing but the taste of a literal sponge. Honestly, the keto bagel tastes like super old whole wheat bread that should’ve been tossed a week ago.
Scathing review aside, for someone who’s going on a keto diet, it’s not the worst thing to eat. Plus, the 16 grams of fiber is really unbelievable — though that’s probably why it tastes like moist cardboard.
If you’re looking for a low-carb breakfast fix, try it yourself, or don’t! You can always make your own bagel with our perfect recipe.
