It’s back to school season, and I can practically hear the #hotforfoodie students in the crowd groaning. September isn’t many people’s favorite season for a reason! The freedom of having fun in the sun is long gone, but that doesn’t mean you gotta stop having fun in the kitchen, peeps. I’m launching a brand new back to school series of seriously wicked recipes to have you eating your best all season long. First up on the agenda? Delicious, fun-sized, spinach dip-filled pumpernickel bagel bombs!

Ya, you read that right! The days of cold boxed cereal and toast are over, y’all. Going to school or work first thing in the morning already sucks. Might as well pair it with an A+ breakfast, right?! I love using inspiration from old recipes and turning them into brand new swanky dishes (exhibit A: my vegan thanksgiving waffles). So I took inspo from my bagel recipe and spinach dip to create these tasty AF flavor bombs!

You’re obviously gonna nosh one of these fresh out of the oven. But the best part is that they’re freezable, so you can pop one in the microwave for easy breakfasts before work or school! Keep them in your work freezer, or microwave a few before you head out the door to gym class. The recipe cranks out about 16 pumpernickel bagel bombs, so you’ll be prepared for at LEAST the whole week! When your colleagues and classmates ask what the heck the recipe for that delicious morsel is, you know where to send ’em. 😉

Make any day extra great by having pumpernickel bagel bombs for breakfast! They're the perfect grab and go meal for school or work.

COURSE Breakfast, Snack

CUISINE American

KEYWORD bagel, pumpernickel, spinach dip

PREP TIME 1 hour

COOK TIME 45 minutes

FREEZE TIME (SPINACH FILLING) 1 hour

TOTAL TIME 2 hours 45 minutes

SERVINGS 16 bagel bombs

AUTHOR Lauren Toyota

ingredients

VEGAN SPINACH DIP FILLING

1 x 340 g/12 oz tub vegan sour cream (we used Tofutti brand)

1/4 C vegan mayonnaise

1/4 C + 1 tbsp thawed frozen spinach, moisture removed and roughly chopped

1 1/2 tsp vegan vegetable broth powder or vegan vegetable soup mix

2 tbsp finely diced pickled hot cherry peppers (about 2 peppers), deseeded (add 1 tbsp with seeds for hot) OR finely diced pimentos in brine

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

BAGEL BOMB DOUGH

3 C bread flour

1 C dark rye flour

1 tbsp dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 tbsp caraway seeds

2 1/4 tsp quick rise instant yeast

1/4 C + 2 tsp fancy molasses, divided (2 tsp used Thug Kitchen for boiling)

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp fast vegan meals vegetable oil

1 1/2 C warm water (between 120°F - 130°F)

1 tsp baking soda (for boiling)

3 tbsp white sesame seeds

instructions

To make the vegan spinach dip, combine vegan sour cream, mayonnaise, chopped spinach, vegetable broth powder, hot cherry peppers (or pimentos if using), lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper in a bowl.

Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop heaping spoonfuls of spinach dip spread slightly apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet into the freezer to chill for at least 1 hour until solid.

When the spinach dip is about 15 minutes from being frozen, make the pumpernickel dough in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. In a stand mixer, add bread flour, dark rye flour, dutch-processed cocoa powder, caraway seeds, quick rise yeast, 1/4 cup of molasses, sea salt, vegetable oil and the warm water. Start the stand mixer on low and once the flour starts getting mixed in with the wet ingredients, gradually turn the speed up to medium high. The dough should come together and clean the sides of the bowl. Place a damp tea towel overtop the bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes.

If making the dough ahead, wrap the dough in lots of plastic wrap (not too tightly) and put it in the fridge in a large bowl. It will still rise in the fridge so make sure there’s some room in the bowl. When ready to use, take the dough out of the fridge and let it come down to room temperature (about 45 minutes) before continuing with the next steps.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Divide the dough in half so it’s easier to work with. You will boil and bake the bagel bombs in two batches. Knead the dough 8 to 10 times on the surface by hand until covered in flour. Divide the dough into 8 even pieces (approximately 66 g each). It's best to weigh these portions so that they all cook and bake evenly. Roll each piece of dough into a ball. Then flatten the balls with your hand using a rolling pin to gently roll them into a 3-inch flat round.

Place a frozen spinach dip disc into the center of each and pinch to seal the ends tightly, almost like a dumpling. If the filling has spread out too much during freezing, cut it into cubes/chunks and assemble them together in the dough. Place the dough balls seam side down onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

In a medium pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add baking soda and 2 teaspoons of molasses. Stir until combined and then using a slotted spoon drop two or three balls of dough into the boiling water. Boil for 30 seconds. They should get puffier and float to the surface. Remove them with the slotted spoon and place them back onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining bagel bombs.

Bake them for 20 to 22 minutes. Some filling might leak out but that’s alright and delicious! While the first batch bakes, roll out and boil the next batch of bagel bombs. Once the first batch is done, transfer the bagel bombs to a cooling rack and let them cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing as the spinach dip will be very hot! Bake the second batch of bagel bombs.

When baking your bagel bombs from frozen. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place 2 or 3 bagel bombs on parchment paper with overhang since you're going to wrap them up. Sprinkle a little water on the bagel bombs. Wrap up the bagel bombs in the parchment tightly, tucking the ends under the bagel bombs. Place this on a baking sheet. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes until the spinach filling is warm and the bread is warm and soft. You can test if the filling is warm by inserting a butter knife into the center of the bagel bombs. Touch the knife that went into the center, if it’s warm then the bagel bombs are done. If it’s cold, continue baking for another 2 to 3 minutes.

To microwave the bagel bombs from Thug Kitchen 101 frozen, heat them up uncovered for 35 to 40 seconds.

recipe notes

This is the vegetable broth powder we used. A powder works best rather than a boullion base/paste for this so that it doesn't affect the color of the filling.