Everything Bagel Seasoning Uses: Breads, Crusts, Eggs, Fries and More

Everything bagel seasoning is the everything bagel topping in a shaker: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced garlic and onion, and sea salt.¹ You get crunch, savory flavor and salt in one shake, and that makes it handy well past the bagel: on bread, eggs and fries, mixed into breading, or pressed on as a crust for salmon. The one thing to plan around is the salt. On the Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel label, sea salt flakes come second, right after white sesame seeds.² Go light on salt in the rest of the dish.

Quick guide

1. On bread, rolls and croissants

This is its home turf. Brush the dough with egg wash, egg white or water so the seeds stick, sprinkle on the seasoning, and bake. It works on sandwich bread, dinner rolls, hamburger and hot dog buns, breadsticks, pretzels and croissants. Katzer notes that poppy seeds turn nutty as they bake.⁴

For homemade hamburger buns, it can replace plain sesame seeds outright. Sesame is already the main ingredient in the Trader Joe’s version.²

2. As a crust for fish and chicken

The Spice House’s everything salmon recipe brushes salmon fillets with a Dijon mustard and maple syrup glaze, presses the glazed side into everything bagel seasoning, and sears it seasoned side down over medium-high heat. Then it finishes in the oven until the fish hits 145°F. The recipe warns not to burn the crust, and suggests patting the fish dry and pressing the glaze on so the seasoning sticks.³

Chicken cutlets or pork chops work the same way. Cook to the federal safe minimum internal temperatures: 165°F for all poultry; 145°F with a 3-minute rest for pork chops; 145°F for fin fish.⁵

We found no source on the temperature where the blend burns, so follow the recipe’s caution and keep the heat at medium-high, not full blast.³

3. In breading for fried foods

Everything bagel seasoning adds crunch and savory flavor to the breading on chicken strips, pork chops, fish or catfish nuggets, whether you deep-fry, pan-fry or air-fry them.

Ratio (Method): Start with about 2 tablespoons of seasoning per cup of panko or flour, and cut back the salt in the breading.

4. On eggs

Sprinkle it over fried eggs, scrambled eggs, omelets or deviled eggs. Add it near the end so the seeds stay crisp and the dried garlic doesn’t scorch in a hot pan.

5. On hot dogs

Brush the outside of the buns with a little butter or water and roll them in the seasoning before toasting, or sprinkle it on a finished hot dog like any other topping. It gives a mild sausage some crunch and savory punch.

6. On fries and potatoes

Toss hot fries, potato wedges or roast potatoes with the seasoning as soon as they come out of the fryer or oven, while they’re still oily enough to hold it. The blend already has salt in it,² so taste before you add more.

7. In butter for vegetables

Stir the seasoning into softened butter and melt it over roasted Brussels sprouts, beets, squash, green beans or baked potatoes.

Ratio (Method): Start with about 1 tablespoon of seasoning per 4 tablespoons (½ stick) of softened butter. Taste and adjust.

8. On salads and slaws

Sprinkle it over a green salad, a cucumber or tomato salad, or coleslaw right before serving, so the seeds stay crunchy. You’ll sometimes read that it adds “seeds and nuts” to a salad, but there are no nuts in the standard formula or on the Trader Joe’s label.¹² Stir it into a vinaigrette and the seeds soften over time.

9. On avocado toast, cream cheese and dips

The obvious one. Put it on avocado toast, on a bagel or toast with cream cheese, or stir it into sour cream or cream cheese for a dip.

Make your own

Chowhound suggests just stirring the components together to taste.² Making your own lets you control the salt, which matters if you use a lot of it. See the everything bagel seasoning profile for what goes in.

Safety

Sesame allergy. Sesame is one of the nine major food allergens in the US.⁶ The FDA advises checking the label every time you buy a food product, since some manufacturers have started adding sesame to products that didn’t contain it before.⁷ If you’re cooking for a guest with a sesame allergy, leave this seasoning off entirely.

Poppy seeds. Poppy seeds carry traces of opium alkaloids. Katzer puts the content at about 50 ppm, too low for any drug effect, but notes that morphine can show up in urine after heavy consumption.⁴ The European Union caps opium alkaloids at 20 mg/kg in poppy seeds sold to consumers and 1.5 mg/kg in bakery products containing poppy seeds.⁸

Salt. Salt is a main ingredient.² We found no published sodium figure per serving for any blend, so check the nutrition panel on your jar.

What isn’t known

• No sodium figure per teaspoon for any blend in the sources we checked.
• No source on the temperature where the blend scorches.

Related

• Everything bagel seasoning, the full profile
• Sesame seeds, black sesame seeds and sesame seeds substitute
• Poppy seeds and poppy seeds substitute
• Garlic powder and onion powder
• Other seed-and-salt toppings: gomasio, furikake, dukkah uses, zaatar uses