The Best Gluten-Free Bagel Brands and Shops in New York

As a proud New Yorker, I’ve done my best to track down the best gluten-free options to celebrate all my city has to offer. There are the gluten-free thin crust pizza pies and greasy slices. The challah, babka and bespoke cupcakes. But now I’m going to finally tackle the final frontier: the best gluten-free bagel.

For many years, I didn’t concern myself with what bagel shops had the best gluten-free bagels because I could always get the fixings and prepare the dream bagel with lox and cream cheese for myself at home.

There are a bunch of brands now that offer gluten-free bagels, some better than others. The big players in the GF aisle have done a fair job. But now there are some truly excellent options, especially in the sourdough space, that have come about. Some of them, dare I say it, actually originate from LA!

If you are a gluten-free guy or gal in search of the perfect vehicle for your schmear, I have got you covered in this post.

First, we’ll took at some of the best over the counter brands and bakeries that ship nationwide.

Then, for those of you who are local and need a fix on the go, we’ll go over the best bagel shops with gluten-free options in New York City.

Please be warned that there are only so many GF bagels I’ve eaten in my life, and therefore, the recommendations may skew heavily in my neighborhoods. Also, unfortunately, cross-contamination is often an issue for bagel places, so if you’re celiac, you may want to cross-reference on Find Me Gluten-Free to see how CD literate each shop is.

With health and hedonism,

Phoebe

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THE BEST GLUTEN-FREE BAGEL BRANDS

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Superbloom Bakery – It feels truly sacrilegious to begin this round-up with a bakery based on Los Angeles. But damn, they make a good gluten-free bagel. Their sourdough base has a lovely flavor in addition to a perfectly doughy interior. Their loaves are incredible too! We order once a year and keep the bagels in the freezer. The togarashi flavor is wonderful if you like spicy. Their packaging is also made from plants, so you don’t have to worry too much about the impact.

Knead Love – This New York Bakery has posts at the Farmer’s Market in Union Square and Fort Greene. They are also in the sourdough game, but their bagels don’t have the pungent flavor as much as other sourdoughs. They ship nationwide as well, so if you can’t pick up a dozen locally, you can still try their incredible treats!

Modern Bread and Bagel – This NYC bagel shop ships nationwide, which is a huge win, as I have not found bagged bagels that rival these crispy, perfectly textured bagels. My partner really thought they were the real thing.

The Greater Knead – In addition to gluten-free, these bagels are also vegan! I love the shape of them – dainty with a large hole. Like Modern Bread, they come in a variety of flavors and ship nationwide. And why stop at bagels, when you can also try their pretzels?!

Pagels from Bedrock Bakers – If you want bagels that can pretty much meet anyone’s dietary restriction, the famous “Pagel” is for you! It is not only gluten-free AND vegan, but paleo! The base is mostly almond flour, so keep in mind if you have a sensitivity to nuts.

The Gluten-Free Bakery – This brand can be found at many of the Farmer’s Markets around the city. In addition to bagels, they also have lots of wonderful sandwich bread options.

Sixteen Mill – This gluten-free and refined sugar-free bakery in Brooklyn carries their products at several coffee shops and earth farmer’s markets. They make everything small batch, so pre-ordering every Wednesday is a must to buy directly from the bakery. It is now Celiac friendly too!

Canyon Bakehouse – Ok. You may have noticed that most of these recommendations are not brands you can easily find in the supermarket. I put Canyon Bakehouse on this list because you can find it most places. The bagels are just ok and certainly not as good as some of the above options. But where there is a gluten-free will to schmear, there has to be a way.

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THE BEST GLUTEN-FREE BAGELS IN NEW YORK CITY

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Unless otherwise noted, most of these bagel shops are not dedicated gluten-free facilities.

Modern Bread and Bagel (Upper West Side) – Not only is this gluten-free free bagel place a dedicated GF only zone, but it’s also Kosher! Their bagels, as mentioned above, have an incredible texture and the if you get one in shop, you can choose from an assortment of sandwiches and spreads. Don’t sleep on the egg salad on everything!

Everybody Eats (Gowanus) – This small hole in the wall is a lovely dedicated gluten-free bakery. In addition to bagels, they have lots of other options in the baked goods department, including cinnamon buns! Notable for the allergen set is that their bagels are also nut-free.

Black Seed Bagel  (Manhattan, Various) – This is one of the more popular modern bagel places that has come on the scene recently, and now has locations all over the city. Which is good news for GF bagel lovers, because they partner with Modern Bread and Bagel and carry a variety of their flavors!

Shelskys (Cobble Hill, Park Slope) – This is a legendary place for smoked fish as they make almost all their own salmon and lox in house. Good news for GF folks, they stock the brand The Greater Knead, which isn’t half bad!

Olde Brooklyn Bagel Shoppe (Prospect Heights) – This popular bagel haunt is not too far from Prospect Park. Although they aren’t a dedicated facility, they will toast your bagel in a separate GF area if you request it. The options are plain or everything, and like many of the others below on this list, it’s a store bought brand that they keep on hand.

Bagel Pub (Park Slope) – Always hopping on weekends, the addition of gluten-free bagel options at this Park Slope bagel shop means I can tag along now with my friends on Sunday, since they always seem to want to go here. They only carry plain bagels, though.

CROWD-SOURCED RECOMMENDATIONS

I haven’t personally tried the below options, but add them to your list if they are in the neighborhood and report back!

Konditori (Various) – They carry Little Northern Bakehouse (also vegan) bagels at all their locations. They also have GF muffins!

Pio Bagel (Downtown Brooklyn) – They carry GF Everything and Sesame

Lula Bagel (Crown Heights) – A lovely place with tons of fun sandwich offerings.

Bagelsmith (Williamsburg)  – They carry mini gluten-free plain, poppy and everything.

Baz Bagel ( Lower East Side) – They carry Greater Knead brand.

Zuckers Bagels & Smoked Fish (Various) – This chain carried Little Northern Bakehouse vegan GF bagels.

Orchard Grocer (Lower East Side) – This place is an all vegan deli and will toast your bagel in a dedicated celiac-safe area.

Leo’s Bagels (Fi-Di) – They carry Udi’s, so not the best in the city, but they are a good bagel shop otherwise.

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What is your favorite store bought gluten-free bagel brand or gluten-free bagel near you? I’d love to hear in the comments section! Oh, and if you’re in search of more great gluten-free baked goods, check out this round-up here or my one for new york city gluten-free pizza here!