My Grandma’s 3-Ingredient Breakfast Is So Simple, But So Good

There are those core memory foods that we can smell, taste, and see if we simply close our eyes and imagine ourselves back in that moment. For me, one of those foods is my Grandma Jane’s garlic bagels. When my family visited my grandparents for weekends in Connecticut, we’d wake up to the distinct aroma of garlic, warm butter, and toasty bread luring us out of bed.

Now, my grandma will be the first one to tell you she is no cook. My grandpa was a phenomenal home chef. My mother is also an outstanding home chef. Plain and simple, it just wasn’t my grandma’s thing—except for her simple, straight to the point, absolutely delicious and savory 3-ingredient garlic bagels, which were typically accompanied by several Dixie cups full of Tropicana fruit punch. Grandma’s garlic bagels are something to be celebrated, passed on, and shared. Once you try making them yourself, I think you may just feel the same.

Kim

Here’s How Grandma Made Her 3-Ingredient Garlic Bagels

Let me preface this by mentioning that Grandma Jane existed in a time where margarine was considered superior to butter. It was deemed much healthier, and majorly hyped up for being the much more easily spreadable option. The lady loved I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, and she did not skimp when it came to her bagels.

My grandma used three non-negotiable ingredients for her trademark garlic bagels: Lender’s bagels, margarine, and garlic salt. She’d pull the pre-sliced bagels apart, and then stick the frozen halves in the toaster until the edges were golden. Immediately upon removing each half from the toaster, she’d smother them with margarine and then sprinkle them very, very generously with garlic salt. You can’t go wrong with bread smothered in margarine and topped with savory salt. This was pure childhood magic.

Grandma Sherrill’s Bagels.

Nao

My Version of Grandma Jane’s Garlic Bagels

When it comes to generational family recipes, some never change a bit, and others evolve over time. Sometimes it’s because no one ever wrote anything down, leaving us to our own devices as we attempt to put together the pieces of a recipe puzzle (story of my personal and professional life). Other times, it’s due to shifts and innovations in the food world.

Grandma Jane didn’t have a stick of KerryGold butter in the refrigerator and a salt cellar full of Maldon flaky salt or Fleur de Sel on the countertop. I, however, do—so my interpretation of her garlic bagels has evolved with my time and experience in the kitchen. The most important, beautiful thing is that the core memory of that food remains the same. Each time I bite into the garlic bagel recipe below, I’m brought back to that moment on my grandma’s couch, enjoying a cozy Saturday morning with family, and the aroma and warm margarine and garlic wafting through the house.

Ingredients