Upgrade Your Breakfast: Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Bagel with Sweet Bacon Topping

This post brought to you by LIBBY’S Pumpkin. All opinions are 100% mine.

By now you have seen several examples on my blog of what #PumpkinCan do in your kitchen. It is an amazingly versatile super food that doesn’t need to be limited to a certain season of the year, nor does it need to be limited to desserts or sweet breads. I’ve shown you how to make curried pumpkin dip for a mid-afternoon snack, twice-baked potatoes with pumpkin for a sensational side dish at dinner, and I’ve showcased pumpkin energy squares, which are perfect for any time of day when you need a little boost.

And today I’ve got one seriously fancy way to dress up your bagel at breakfast. I surprised my family with this on a weekday morning and it put everyone in a great mood, because it felt like such a special treat (but it was SO easy to make! They don’t need to know that!).

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Bagel with Sweet Bacon

Ingredients:

• 2 bagels, sliced into 4 halves
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1/3 cup of LIBBY’S 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1/3 cup goat cheese
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar (optional)

Begin the process by cooking your bacon. I personally cook bacon in the oven (line a baking sheet with raised edges with foil, placed no more than 8 sliced on each tray, and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes). The end result is glorious and I don’t have to stand over a stove having bacon grease leaping out of the pan onto me. Everybody wins!

While your bacon is cooking, put together the pumpkin spread for the bagel. Simply add the goat cheese, LIBBY’S 100% Pure Pumpkin and maple syrup in a bowl and mix until well-combined. I mixed it by hand, but you could also use a mixer to make faster work of it.

All that’s left to do is to toast your bagels, apply the pumpkin-cheese spread, and then sprinkle bacon on top. I personally thought adding a sprinkle of powdered sugar on as a finishing touch was awesome (it made the bacon taste sweet!) but that’s an optional step. Bon appetite!

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