Give Stale Bagels A Second Lease On Life With One Kitchen Tool

Bagels are an institution in some households, they're sacred, serious business. While they might not have been invented as teething rings for babies, and you could very well have opinions on the proper cream cheese to bagel ratio, these near-universally beloved breakfast bread rings likely don't have the opportunity to go stale in your home. But what if the ever-ominous march of time gets the better of you and they do? Do you have to automatically toss them? Not if you have an air fryer.

If you have an air fryer (this 5-qt. basket model from Ninja is perfect if you don't), you can make quick, crispy bagel chips out of your day- (or days-) old bagels — and it's so easy to do. Rather than slicing through the bagel side-to-side like you would to toast it or make a sandwich, you'll cut from top-to-bottom, the short way, to make little bagel discs. 

You can toss them in olive oil and seasonings, then pop them in the air fryer for a spell, flip them over, and continue air frying until they've reached your desired crispness. It's really that easy, and because they're so sturdy and dense, they're perfect for turning a dip into a whole meal.

If your bagels go stale before you get a chance to finish them or pop them in the freezer, there are many other ways you can repurpose them, like turning them into croutons. This is an especially great idea if your bagels are garlic or cheese-flavored, as it will add an extra dimension of savory, crunchy goodness to your salads. 

You could also tear up sweet bagels — blueberry, cinnamon, etc. — for use in bread pudding, or salty ones as part of a breakfast casserole. Or here's an idea — sub them in for the bread part of stuffing (and if you use a stuffing mix for meatloaf, you can make a homemade one with your stale bagels and use that).

Or you can turn them into full-size pizza bagels (as opposed to the mini Bagel Bites in the freezer aisle). Because they're going to be baked or toasted anyway, it doesn't matter if the bagels are a little hard to start with. Spoon on some pizza sauce, sprinkle cheese, add whatever toppings you like — pepperoni or sausage, veggies, even pineapple — and then bake, broil, or air fry them.