These Black Bean Bagels are my morning love letter to everything Tex-Mex, but keep it healthy. After snowshoeing all morning long in the deep woods of Big Bear Lake, I’m so ready for a late Sunday brunch. And nothing says you deserve this, you long-distance hiker, like coming home to my mountain cabin and putting together a spicy Tex-Mex breakfast sandwich.
Black Bean Jalapeño Bagels: My Jewish Grandmother Is Judging Me Somewhere
And not just because of who I voted for two Novembers ago, this time. These are most definitely not your Bubbe’s Bagels. But I have no issue whatsoever with culturally appropriating these bagels. I don’t really care if someone on the liberal left yells at me. I’ve about had it with that side of the aisle anyway. When did it become okay to start a riot in a church before the kids were even sent off to Sunday School? I literally can not believe this world we live in today. It’s a mad, mad world and so what if I want to drown my sorrows in a Black Bean Bagel that may or may not have me banished to the fart room by noon?
I added black beans to my Sourdough Bagels and I Regret Nothing
Amazingly, these Black Bean Bagels have a whopping 15 grams of protein and 9 grams of fiber. You will be full until dinnertime! Or perhaps so full of all that healthy, natural energy that you will feel like going on another snow hike?
Why are black beans a much-needed staple in your diet? Sure, they may occasionally send you straight to the fart room, but black beans are nutritional overachievers. They’re packed with fiber, plant-based protein, iron, magnesium, and antioxidants that support heart health, stabilize blood sugar, and keep you full longer than most so-called “health foods”
They’re affordable. They’re filling. They’ve been feeding civilizations for thousands of years. And yet—somewhere along the way—we decided they were controversial.
Which brings me to my 96-year-old Jewish grandmother, who would be deeply confused that I put black beans in a Tex-Mex bagel. Bagels are sacred. Black beans are suspicious. Tex-Mex is already pushing it. But here we are, living in a world where culinary rules are flexible, fusion is survival, and if adding black bea
ns to a bagel helps me get more fiber before noon, then Bubbe will simply have to turn up MSNBC to a shocking decibel and forgive me.
Honestly, stuffing my sourdough bagels chock full of black beans is no stranger than the world we’re living in now—where people riot inside churches, protest in sanctuaries meant for peace, and scream slogans in places that used to be reserved for reflection and quiet. If the rules of reverence can be tossed out the window, I’m pretty sure the bagel can handle a few black beans.
So yes, black beans may make some noise on the back end, but they’re doing important work on the inside. Much like common sense—still heart-healthy, still necessary, and increasingly hard to find.
Tex-Mex Meets Tradition: The Bagels My Jewish Grandmother Never Asked For
150 grams sourdough discard starter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
600 grams of bread flour
365 grams of water
1 teaspoon rice flour
1 can of black beans, drained well, pureed until fine in the blender
1/2 cup of pickled jalapenos, chopped
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 extra teaspoons of olive oil when it’s time to bake
1/2 a teaspoon of coarse sea salt
Step 1: Start the Black Bean Bagels Dough
In your mixing bowl, combine the warm (but not hot—you’re not making soup) water with your sourdough starter. Add the honey and let it sit for a minute or two so everyone gets acquainted.
Stir in the olive oil, bread flour, pureed black beans, half of the diced jalapeños, and salt. Mix just until you have a shaggy, slightly chaotic dough. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes. This is not optional. This is gluten therapy. Welcome to the science of Black Bean Bagels.
Step 2: Coil Folds (Put On the Gloves—Seriously)
After 30 minutes, put on gloves unless you enjoy jalapeño fingers and burning eyes and other body parts while your dough is resting.
Using coil folds, gently pull the dough together about 20 times until it tightens up and starts to look a little shiny and well-behaved. Add a dusting of flour as needed to keep it from sticking to your hands or bowl.
Cover and rest for another 30 minutes.
Step 3: Stretch, Fold, Repeat (Welcome to Bagel Boot Camp)
Over the next 90 minutes, perform six sets of stretch and folds, spaced every 15 minutes. If you’re thinking, “What in the sourdough cult is a stretch and fold?”—Watch this video.
On the fifth round, fold in half of your shredded cheddar. On the sixth, admire your dough like a proud parent.
After the final fold, cover the dough well and leave it on the counter to ferment overnight (about 12 hours). Go to bed. Dream of spicy high-fiber bagels.
Step 4: Cold Ferment for Maximum Flavor (Patience Is a Virtue)
After 12 hours, gently shape your dough into a ball. If it’s feeling extra wet and chaotic, add a bit more flour until it behaves.
Lightly coat the outside of the Black Bean Bagels dough with rice flour so it doesn’t glue itself to everything it touches. Place in a floured bowl, cover with a clean towel, and refrigerate for 5–12 hours.
Longer ferment = deeper sourdough flavor. This is science. Probably.
Are You Ready for Black Bean Bagels?
Step 5: Shape
Turn your Black Bean Bagels dough onto a floured cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, divide into 10 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball, then poke a hole in the center with your fingers like you’re judging it silently. Set the bagels aside to puff slightly while you bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Step 6: The Bagel Spa (a.k.a. The Jacuzzi Phase)
Once the water is boiling, drop in the bagels and boil for 1 minute total, flipping halfway through. You can cook multiple at once—just don’t overcrowd unless you enjoy fermenting chaos.
After their hot tub moment, transfer the bagels to a lightly oiled baking sheet.
Step 7: Toppings + Bake
Brush the tops with olive oil. Press in the remaining jalapeño slices, sprinkle with coarse sea salt, and add a final dramatic layer of cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden, blistered, and your stomach is growing so loud you can’t ignore it any longer.
Let these Black Bean Bagels cool slightly… if you have self-control (I do not).
So… What Now?
What do you actually do with these Tex-Mex meets high fiber breakfast masterpieces?
Obviously, you start the classic way: toasted, with a generous smear of cream cheese—because even when we’re going rogue with black beans and jalapeños, we still respect tradition. Call it Tex-Mex meets deli counter, and somehow… it works.
Feeling fancy?
Top it with smashed avocado, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a few chia seeds so you can tell yourself this is both delicious and responsible.
Or go full Hungry Mountaineer (my personal favorite):
Pile on soft scrambled eggs, a layer of spicy grated cheese, and some crispy turkey bacon. At this point, it’s less “bagel” and more “breakfast event.”
Howdy, partners… Oy vey… breakfast is served.
