Store-Bought Gluten-Free Bagel Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

If you have Celiac disease or are gluten-intolerant, you know just how frustrating it is to leave behind some of your favorite foods, simply because there aren't any comparable gluten-free alternatives. One common food that gluten-free people have to sacrifice is bagels. Now, I'm incredibly passionate about finding a good gluten-free bagel — it's one of my all-time favorite foods. I already did a roundup of the worst to best gluten-free bagels in New York City, so diving into the store-bought bagel brands just had to be next.

Generally speaking, store-bought bagels are a different breed when compared to fresh bakery bagels, gluten-free or not. They tend to be a bit softer and not as large, so they're friendlier for a small toaster. However, that doesn't mean that store-bought bagels don't still taste great. When I used to be able to eat gluten, I always had a few bagels from the grocery store on hand since they're easy to throw cream cheese on or make a breakfast sandwich out of. However, once I became gluten-free, I stopped stocking them.

For this taste test, I decided to get all of the popular gluten-free bagel brands that I see in local grocery stores. I tried them all plain and untoasted, so I could get a sense of the overall texture, chewing consistency, and taste. I also focused on the size of the bagel — as that can be one of the biggest pitfalls of a gluten-free alternative.

Before I opened the package for the BFree bagels, I was very hopeful. They looked like they would be a nice size and taste great. However, when I opened the bag, the first bagel on top had already completely fallen apart. I used the bagel underneath to taste test, which hadn't fallen apart — yet. It was very soft to touch, which already deducted points there. Bagels should be nice and sturdy. As I bit into it, the strangest sensation occurred. It almost felt like I was biting into sand. The bagel just kind of broke instantly between my teeth, and crumbled apart.

Once I chewed, it actually wasn't as bad as the sensation of that first bite. It wasn't like the bagel continued to disintegrate in my mouth, but it wasn't a super full-feeling bagel, either. The flavor wasn't noticeable at all, which is actually a good sign for a more neutral plain bagel; however, I still couldn't get past the initial texture issue to be able to enjoy the taste. 

I did notice an odd aftertaste once I swallowed, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly. Looking at the ingredients list, these bagels contain many of the same ingredients as the other bagels that I tried, so I'm not quite sure why this wasn't a success.

Carbonaut is a company that makes low-carbohydrate products, and it has many gluten-free baked goods, as well. To be completely fair, we all know that most low-carb varieties will never taste as good as the full-carb option. However, I was definitely interested in trying these out, especially for people who are gluten-free but are also watching their carbohydrate intake. This is common for those who also have diabetes, issues with blood sugar, or are focusing on weight loss — all of which can be a struggle if you are also eating gluten-free.

Overall, I thought they were fine for a low-carb option. They are the smallest bagels out of the entire roundup that I got; however, that's to be expected with only two grams of net carbs. The bagel did sort of dissolve in my mouth as I chewed, which is a huge turnoff in the bagel world. It was also a bit dry, lacking that moist chewiness in the center. 

I will say that the taste of this bagel was actually enjoyable. It was simple and bagel-like, with no signs of a fake sugar taste or odd flavors that stuck out — which is definitely a win for both low-carbohydrate and gluten-free alternatives.

Udi's is a brand that is seen in the freezer section of most grocery stores. The Udi's gluten-free bagels are medium size and have a darker, more baked-looking appearance than many of the other bagels I reviewed. They had a strong and enjoyable fresh-baked smell, which I thought was interesting. Strangely, however, the bagel felt dry and grainy when I touched it with my fingers.

I thought that this bagel had a nice full texture when I bit into it, and it felt fairly substantial. However, as you get a few chews into the bite, things start to change. There was a certain grainy texture that I could actually feel on my tongue, and that's something that I dislike the most about gluten-free products. This is how I usually feel about Udi's regular bread, as well. Overall, it felt like the bagel started to quickly disintegrate in my mouth, and by the time I swallowed, there was no substantial texture left. The taste of the bagel was nice and neutral, so that was definitely a plus. But I feel like the issues with the texture overtook the positives of the flavor.

O'Doughs bagel thins are another gluten-free alternative that's aiming to be a bit low-carbohydrate by being smaller. Besides being thin, these bagels were also small in diameter. This could be a good option for someone who is trying to not eat that many carbohydrates in one sitting. By touching the bagel, it felt incredibly moist and soft. Usually for bagels, I prefer the outside to be sturdy and not that moist, and I want the inside to be soft and fluffy.

As I bit into the bagel, I definitely enjoyed the fluffy texture. It wasn't grainy at all, which is something that can happen with gluten-free bread products, as mentioned. It was pretty enjoyable, and I felt like I was just eating a nicely made bagel flat. I actually think that this bagel is great for a sandwich, that way you are getting more substantial nutrients from eating it. I don't think that the bagel alone could satisfy you very much, and it would be a bit boring with cream cheese or butter because of the lack of volume. 

Overall, these bagel thins don't compare to a real, bakery-made bagel. However, it's a nice alternative that has a pleasant taste and nice consistency.

Whole Foods 365 has many gluten-free products, and I personally feel like it deserves more credit. I've always appreciated this brand because the prices are some of the lowest in the gluten-free market, and the quality of the products tends to be great, as well. With the 365 gluten-free bread being my go-to sandwich bread, I was definitely excited to taste its gluten-free bagel.

The Whole Foods 365 gluten-free bagels are a great size — and are actually the same exact size as its gluten-filled counterpart. The bagel also feels sturdy. I would easily be tricked that this was just a regular bagel by the look and feel. As I bit into it, I was still super pleased. It felt nice and full, just how a bagel should. The flavor of this bagel was nice, as well. It's ever-so-slightly sweet, but it still feels neutral and plain tasting. The only negative aspect of this bagel was that, as I chewed each bite, it did start to disintegrate a bit, not keeping the same sturdy and chewy texture as the very first chew.

The Canyon Bakehouse gluten-free bagels are a medium size, almost exactly the same as Udi's. It felt nice and sturdy, on par with regular, gluten-filled bagels. I'm admittedly not a fan of the taste of Canyon Bakehouse's regular bread, so I was a bit hesitant to try out the bagels. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by my overall experience. This bagel felt incredibly full when I bit into it, and it didn't melt at all as I chewed. It was nice to see the texture stay consistently sturdy from the first chew to the last, which I wasn't able to say for a lot of the other brands. 

The one thing that I wasn't a fan of for the Canyon Bakehouse gluten-free bagel was the taste. At first, it tasted like a completely normal bagel. It was enjoyable even, with a neutral and pleasant flavor. However, there's an aftertaste on the back of the tongue, once you swallow, that can't be ignored. It's an odd flavor that I'm not accustomed to noticing while eating a bagel. It was somewhat nutty and almost chemical-like. It could potentially be from the organic cane sugar vinegar that's in the ingredients; however, there's no way to be sure.

Schär is one of my all-time favorite brands for all things gluten-free. It's a company that I can depend on, knowing that the food will taste as close to the original, gluten-filled versions as possible. The bagel was a solid size, definitely in the larger category of what I've tried. However, the bagel did feel a little bit soft to touch, which was slightly disappointing. As I bit into it, it did have a nice strong consistency; however, I do wish it could have had a harder exterior so that it could feel closer to a normal bagel as I held it.

That said, when chewed through each bite, I thought that this was one of the most substantially textured gluten-free bagels that I've tried. The flavor was incredibly pleasant, as well. It had a very strong wheat flavor, which probably came from the buckwheat flour that the bagels are made with. This gluten-free flour tends to have a nice nutty and earthy flavor, and I feel like that shined through with this bagel. The aftertaste is slightly sweet, which makes the bagel taste a bit more decadent. 

I think this is a perfect bagel for a nice thick cream cheese spread. It would balance the sweet flavor of the bagel, and the bagel is also sturdy enough to hold a substantial amount of cream cheese.

Little Northern Bakehouse gluten-free bagels completely blew me away. Just by looking at the packaging compared to the other bagels in my roundup, I could see that these were much bigger than every other bagel. When I took it out of the packaging, I was impressed that the bagel looked like a high-quality, gluten-filled bagel that you'd get at a bakery. It was nice and sturdy, almost like you could throw it on some ice and hit it like a hockey puck. As someone from New York City, that's exactly how I like my bagels.

When I bit into the gluten-free bagel for a taste, I was in bagel heaven. It's perfectly thick and dense, even when bitten into, on par to how a bagel should be. It didn't disintegrate or have any sort of melting feel as I chewed, and instead I could feel the dough scraping against my tongue as I swallowed. It may sound odd, but that specific sensation after you chew a bagel, and it's still so thick in texture that you feel it go all the way down to your stomach — that's the sign of a great bagel.

The taste was nice and plain, again on par with how a bagel should be. It had a slight burnt flavor to it, which gave the effect that it just came straight out of the oven. I absolutely loved this Little Northern Bakehouse bagel and will definitely be ordering more to have on hand.

When choosing which gluten-free bagels off the market to try, my choices were quite easy. There isn't an overwhelming number of brands out there, and the ones that I focused on are those that are often seen in your local grocery store. When taste testing them, I chose to try them plain. By also keeping them untoasted and without any sort of distracting toppings, I could focus on the texture, taste, size, and overall impression of the bagel completely by itself. I also tried each bagel one right after the other — and in some cases, took bites back and forth to compare certain aspects of the bagels. After I thoroughly tasted each one and took down specific notes, it was clear to me how I would rank these store-bought gluten-free bagels.