Bagels have always held a special place in my heart. Growing up, I loved the cinnamon-raisin ones toasted with butter, and in University, I lived on Tim Hortons' everything bagel with cream cheese. Today, my chosen bagel topping is scrambled eggs and cheese as a breakfast sandwich.
But enough about the toppings — let's talk about the bagel itself. The foundation, if you will.
Bagels should have a shiny, slightly crunchy exterior with a chewy, dense interior. Coming in all sorts of varieties, a good bagel will be flavourful on its own and made better with your toppings of choice. And it needs to be fresh. No stale bagels for me, please.
On a mission to find the best option at everyday grocery stores, I compared bagels at Costco, No Frills, and Walmart. Here's what made the cut and what you need to avoid.
Walmart bagels
Walmart "sesame" bagel
Alyssa Wiens | Narcity
Walmart has everything you'd ever need, including bagels. The store brand –Great Value — selection was good, with all the standard options like sesame, plain, and everything bagels.
I chose the sesame seed option, but quickly realized I'd been sold a lie. As you can see in the picture, there are like three seeds on top, not enough to add any real sesame flavour.
These were not great, to be honest. I tried it plain first, and it was dry and bland. It had no real flavour, and despite eating it only one day after purchasing, it was dry and stale. After toasting it and adding some dill cream cheese and eggs, it became an acceptable vehicle for the toppings.
Price: $2.47 for six bagels (450 grams total); $0.41 each
Nutritional info: Each bagel is 210 calories, with 8 grams of protein, 42 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of fat
Rating: 5.5/10
Bottom line: It's obviously cheap, so if you're just looking for a way to enjoy your cream cheese or topping of choice, it will suffice. But is it a good bagel? Meh.
Costco bagels
Bagels on bagels at Costco
Alyssa Wiens | Narcity
Next up, Costco. I have to say off the bat that I was disappointed. Since Costco had been the clear winner in an earlier croissant comparison I did, I kind of felt they may be the frontrunner again.
However, these blueberry bagels were a let-down. The flavour just wasn't there — I could hardly discern any blueberry taste at all; it tasted very bland in general, yet somehow also too salty. Further, the bagel was dry and only became edible once I toasted it and slathered on a lot of butter. Also notable is that these bagels are larger than the other two on the list, meaning they're around 150 more calories
Price: $4.99 for eight bagels (1 kg total); $0.62 each
Nutritional info: Each bagel is 370 calories, with 13 grams of protein, 75 grams of carbohydrates, and 2.5 grams of fat
Rating: 4.5/10
Bottom line: They're big, and you get eight for $5.00, so it's a lot of bagel for not a lot of money, so that's always good. I'd be open to trying other flavours or perhaps using them as a sandwich with a lot of toppings, but for me, the flavour just wasn't there. One other small thing that docks a point is that the bagels are not pre-cut, so good luck getting two equal sides on your own!
No Frills bagels
No Frills bagels for the win!
Alyssa Wiens | Narcity
No Frills is known to be cheap, but I'll now add another accolade: best store-brand bagels. Because I'm a general fan of Loblaws' No Name products, I figured these would probably be pretty good... and they were.
I chose the "everything bagel" option, and unlike the other two, it was actually full of flavour. I also found that they were less dry (i.e., not stale) and had an overall better texture. Of all three, this bagel was good on its own, and of course, made even better with toppings on it. There was a big selection of bagels at No Frills, so I'll head back soon and try other options!
Price: $2.50 for six bagels (480 grams total); $0.42 each
Nutritional info: Each bagel is 230 calories, with 8 grams of protein, 45 grams of carbohydrates, and 2.5 grams of fat
Rating: 8/10
Bottom line: Price and nutritional information are nearly the same as Walmart's, but the flavour and freshness are much better. These were genuinely yummy, and I'd buy them again!
No Frills wins the great bagel competition. Who saw that coming?
Price-wise, all three are affordable and, if you're loading them up with toppings, any can be tasty.
But if we want to drill down based on taste and freshness, No Name brand bagels from No Frills come out on top!
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.