24 Bagel Toppings for an Easy Brunch Party

Hosting a holiday brunch or festive breakfast? Need a quick and easy dinner? Serve a buffet with a variety of bagels and bagel toppings to mix and match.

When you offer an array of bagel toppings, you provide your breakfast guests with the chance to recreate their favorite combinations without the expense of going out to eat.

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Do you enjoy going out for bagels with friends and family? Wish it wasn’t so expensive to load on the schmears and toppings?

Good thing you can easily and inexpensively serve fun bagel toppings along with your favorite bagels at home — without breaking the budget!

Why Do This

Bagel toppings make breakfast feel special. When you offer a range of spreads, schmears, and other toppings, the humble bagel goes to another level. Some folks like them plain with butter or simple with a smear of cream cheese. Offering a few options makes everyone’s bagel feel special.

There’s something for everyone with bagels. Bagel toppings range from sweet to savory, allowing you to accommodate everyone’s preferences and dietary requirements. You can even grab a few gluten-free bagels to make sure everyone can indulge.

It’s an easy affordable breakfast for guests. Serving bagels and bagel toppings makes for a super easy breakfast or brunch when you’d prefer visiting with your guests rather than fussing over food in the kitchen. Shop wisely and it can be super budget-friendly to boot.

Ingredients

You don’t need to serve all 24 bagel toppings. Pick and choose from this list below to offer variety, but be sure to shop the kitchen first and use what you have to save money.

Consider some of the following bagel toppings to serve:

1. plain, Sweet Cream Cheese, and flavored cream cheese
2. nut and seed butter
3. softened butter, including plain, garlic butter, and honey butter
4. assorted jams
5. honey
6. Nutella or hazelnut spread
7. English pickle
8. sliced vegetables – Think thinly sliced tomato, cucumbers, and red onion as well as shredded carrot
9. smoked salmon
10. chicken salad
11. tuna salad
12. fried eggs
13. egg salad
14. hard cooked eggs
15. sliced avocado or guacamole
16. cooked bacon
17. cooked breakfast sausage
18. sliced ham or turkey
19. sliced cheeses, such as cheddar, jack, or swiss
20. fresh fruit – hulled and sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, blueberries, or thinly sliced apples or pear
21. Everything seasoning
22. chocolate chips or chocolate shavings
23. chopped nuts or seeds
24. chopped fresh herbs such as basil, cilantro, or chives

You’ll also need fresh bagels and beverages for a more complete breakfast. Check out our 40+ Easy Brunch Ideas & Recipes to make it easy.

Money-saving tip: If you buy the bagels from a dedicated bagel shop, they may throw in the flavored cream cheese for free. Check with your bakery before you buy or prep the cream cheese as it may save you some money and effort!

Remember you can freeze bagels if you have too many after the meal is over.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here’s how you can serve your bagel toppings:

• Place the bagels in a large basket or serving tray.
• Place the spreads in individual ramekins.
• Place the solid toppings like meats, cheeses, vegetables, and fruits on serving platters.
• Allow diners to mix and match the spread and toppings according to their preferences.

Recommended combinations: Encourage your guests to try any or all of these tasty combos:

• nut butter, honey, and sliced banana
• green onion cream cheese, Everything seasoning, sliced tomato, sliced cucumber, and sliced red onion
• strawberry cream cheese, chocolate shavings, sliced strawberries
• spiced cream cheese, jam, and sliced banana

FAQs