For those accustomed to superior bagels, finding that perfect one can be challenging. There are several terrific bagel shops scattered across Illinois, serving up fresh, homemade doughy goodness every day. Most of these shops are family-run businesses that takes pride in their delicious bagels, available in a wide variety of flavors with a wide variety of toppings. If you're a bagel lover, you won't want to miss out on the top 9 bagel shops in Illinois for 2024!
Kaufman’s was established in 1960 and takes pride in their high-quality bagels. AOL’s Kitchen’s Best chose Kaufman’s bagels as the best in the country. This old-fashioned bakery makes and bakes their bagels in-house daily, ensuring only the freshest flavors. As one of the top 10 bakeries in the country by USA Today, Kaufman’s will not disappoint.
Since 1991, County Farm Bagels has been making fresh bagels in-house for the Winfield community. They offer a wide variety of bagel flavors such as blueberry, cheddar jalapeno, and cinnamon crunch, and provide several cream cheese flavors, as well. County Farm Bagels not only serves some of the freshest, best tasting bagels, but they are very welcoming and even know their customers by name.
If you love a gooey bagel sandwich packed full of delicious meats, cheese, fresh-cut veggies, and spreads, look no further than Chicago Bagel Authority. Since 1998, CBA has been serving up mouthwatering hot bagel sandwiches, known as “Steamwiches,” and breakfast bagels all-day. Nobody leaves Chicago Bagel Company hungry after eating a Steamwich.
Jake’s Bagels is known for their homemade steam-baked bagels, which are soft inside and out. This family business opened in 1990 and has since been a favorite deli in the local community. Here you can from over 15 bagel flavors and a wide variety of cream cheeses. They also offer seasonal flavors like cherry vanilla, pecan swirl, and pineapple coconut.
Original Bagel is a welcoming environment where families can get together and enjoy some of the finest bagels and deli items in the North Shore area. Not only are their bagels less expensive than most delis, they’re served with homemade cream cheese. Here you can get generous portions of comfort deli food from traditional family recipes.
For a cozy bakery experience, look no further than Barb City Bagels in downtown DeKalb. Their bagels are baked from scratch and come in flavors such as chocolate chip, poppy, and sourdough. Don’t miss their hand-blended cream cheeses, which are available in flavors like mixed berry, sun-dried tomato, honey walnut, and jalapeno.
Since 1983, Brobagel has been create some of Chicago’s best bagels. Their signature bagel style is soft and chewy on the inside, crunchy on the outside. Choose from bagel flavors like honey nut, beer, and cinnamon raison. They also serve bagel sandwiches with toppings such as chicken salad, bacon, sliced turkey, and chickpea salad.
A lot of dedication and sacrifice go into an Upper Crust Bagel. This family-owned business starts making their bagels just after midnight, mixing and blending the dough before sizing and shaping it. Upper Crust Bagels is known for serving top-quality kettle-boiled bagels in flavors such as pumpernickel, blueberry, and multigrain herb.
Bagel Art is known for their friendly service and warm, inviting environment. Their menu is very simple, but they offer fantastic breakfast and lunch bagel sandwiches. Favorite bagel sandwiches here include the bacon, egg, and cheddar as well as the Lox, featuring scallion cream cheese, onion, tomato, and capers.