This recipe for bagel dogs is made with homemade bagel dough which is wrapped around hot dogs and baked to golden brown perfection. A great snack or meal that the kids will absolutely love!
My family loves to order bagel dogs at our local bagel shop. I’ve now learned to make them at home with great results! Serve your bagel dogs with baked potato wedges and glazed carrots for a complete meal.
I love recreating my favorite restaurant meals at home. This time around I made bagel dogs for the kids, and they were a huge hit! These bagel dogs can easily be reheated for a quick meal on the go.
How do you make bagel dogs?
This recipe is actually easier than it looks – a simple yeast dough is wrapped around hot dogs. The dough wrapped dogs are then briefly dipped in boiling water, brushed with egg and then baked in the oven. You can add your favorite bagel toppings such as sesame or poppy seeds, or bake them plain like I’ve done here.
Tips for bagel dogs
- The yeast needs to be dissolved in very warm water to activate it. The water should not be boiling or it will kill the yeast. I run my kitchen faucet at its warmest setting and have never had a problem.
- The rise time can be variable. For example, this recipe says the dough should rise for an hour. If it’s 85 degrees in your house it may rise quicker. Conversely, if it’s the middle of winter it will likely take longer.
- You can use whatever brand of hot dog or pre-cooked sausage that you like. I typically use either Hebrew National hot dogs or chicken apple sausages.
- Bagel dogs can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days, or you can freeze them for 2 months. I reheat my dogs in the toaster oven so that the outer crust gets crispy again. If you’re in a hurry, you can reheat them in the microwave.
- I use a deep pot like a stockpot when I boil the hot dogs; I’ve found that sometimes with a shallow pot the dogs can stick to the bottom. You’re only going to boil them for 60 seconds, a slotted spoon or handled strainer works great to transfer the dogs to the baking sheet.
Why do you have to boil bagels?
Bagels are boiled to create that characteristic chewy exterior. While it seems like extra work, it’s absolutely essential to get that bagel style flavor into the dough of your hot dogs.
This recipe makes 6 dogs, and I often double the recipe so that I can keep some hot dogs in the freezer for future meals. My kids will never turn down one of these homemade delights, and I’m guessing your kids will be the same way! That being said, adults love these bagel dogs too – how could you resist?!
More dinner options
- Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Sausage and Pepper Pasta
- Korean Beef Bowls
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
Bagel Dogs
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 6 hot dogs
- 12 cups water
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 1 egg beaten
- optional: toppings such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onion or coarse salt
Instructions
- Mix together the warm water, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes or until yeast has started to bubble.
- Add the flour, salt and butter to the yeast mixture. Place the bowl on a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix the dough on medium speed for about 5 minutes, until the dough forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems a little dry, add a bit more water (1/4 teaspoon at a time)
- Remove the ball of dough from the bowl; spray the bowl with cooking spray and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Place the bowl in a warm area until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a sheet pan with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a large pot, combine the 12 cups of water and baking soda and bring to a boil. I find a deeper pot works best to prevent the dogs from sticking to the bottom.
- Place the dough on a floured surface and divide into equal pieces. Each piece should be about 3 ounces.
- Roll each piece of dough into a rope about 10-12 inches long. Wrap the dough around each hot dog, pinching the ends of the dough together to seal. Place the hot dogs on the lined sheet pan.
- Using a slotted spoon or flat strainer, dip each hot dog into the baking soda boil for 30 seconds per side. Place each hot dog back onto the sheet pan.
- Brush the bagel dogs with the beaten egg. At this point you can add any bagel toppings if you desire. Bake until deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Notes
Little Helpers: Your kids can help measure the ingredients for the dough and shape the dough into "snakes" to wrap around the sausages.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on April 9, 2015 and was updated on April 18, 2019 with new content.
Jessica says
Those were so good! Thank you for making it look so easy. I was pleasantly surprised.
Britanee says
These were delicious. I made the dough in my bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve for 5 minutes in it before turning it on. Only recipe difference was I used vegetable oil instead of butter because I was too lazy to melt it, lol. Once the dough cycle was over I put it in a greased covered bowl for another 30 minutes and then rolled, cut and wrapped the hot dogs. There was enough dough to wrap 7 Hebrew Nationals and make 2 mini bagels. Topped with everything bagel seasoning and paired with homemade chili. Thank you for recipe, will make again.
Karen Sironi says
Thank you for mentioning the bread machine. As I do not have a dough attachment. so I can still maybe try this recipe. Too lazy today!
Michele Stempel says
I don’t want to use dairy butter in them – will margarine work instead for the dough?
Sara says
That should be fine!
Christina says
Thank you so much! I will be making these tomorrow!
Christina says
I cannot wait to make these! Question: the write up says you boil for 60 seconds, the recipe calls for 30 seconds, which is best?
Sara says
It’s 30 seconds per side for a total of 60 seconds, I just updated the recipe to make that more clear!
Jaenii says
Instead of all purpose flour, can I use bread flour? That’s all I have on hand
Sara says
That should be fine!
Lauren says
Are these freezer friendly? I’d love to make a batch and freeze them., if possible.
Sara says
Yes you can freeze them!
Shawna says
These are so delicious! My whole family loves these. Next time I’ll try to double the recipe so I have some to freeze for lunches/snacks. I used Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning, I highly recommend it!
Jerry Tater says
What would happen to this recipe if it was deep fried at about 350 ,, Would it soak up the grease, or be something like a corn dog?
Sara says
I haven’t tried these fried, I honestly can’t imagine that it would be an improvement!
Ali says
Hi there! I just wanted to leave a quick comment to say THANKS for this bagel dog recipe! I made it for the family on Sunday. As soon as my husband took a bite he said “This one’s a keeper!” 🙂
Rebecca Ryan says
Made them a few times today I decided to steam them in the oven. They came out perfect with cheese in the dog and dehydrated onion and flaked sea salt.
Christi says
These were incredible! I followed the advice from another comment and added 1 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder & poppy seeds. I also used a teaspoon of dried minced onions.I mixed the 4 ingredients and sprinkled it over the top after the egg wash. I doubled the pretzel recipe and made 6 Nathan’s dogs & 6 Johnsonville Better with Cheddar Smoked Sausage. The reviews were 50/50 but I preferred the Nathan’s. Thanks for this incredible recipe, it will definitely be used over and over. ❤
Debby says
Excellent! Everyone enjoyed making these as well as eating them. Thanks for this keeper recipe.
Tiffany says
Amazing! As a kid I loved Schwans Bagel Dogs and have been trying to find a recipe that comes close. These are amazing! I added 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of granulated onion and 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds and I used beddar with Cheddar sausages. This is the exact taste I was going for!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe ❤️
MR. CAVERLY says
Great recipe. Came out looking exactly like the picture. I was worried about building too much gluten and having at the dough be too chewy in the end, so I just hand kneaded the dough for 5 minutes instead of using the stand mixer, and the product came out great.
Taylor says
Umm AMAZING!! Like a better version of pigs in a blanket! 🙂
Beth Pierce says
What a great meal for a summer picnic, birthday party, and even a weeknight dinner! My whole family will love these!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
Such an awesome idea! My kids would LOVE these!!