Who invented pizza bagels?

I recently stumbled across a fun blog called Snack Stack, which touts itself as “an agreeably nerdy newsletter about the cultural history of snacks and other foods around the world.” Snack Stack is a one-man operation, where food and travel writer Doug Mack takes deep dives into the history of foods from candies to drinks to ready-to-eat items like Spaghetti-Os. The most recent post explored the world of pizza bagels, the mashup of two of America’s most beloved foods.

While most people would peg pizza bagels as a 1980s invention, mainly due to the success of Bagel Bites which exploded during that decade, Mack uncovers a history that goes back much farther. Although the creators of Bagel Bites claim to have invented the concept in Florida in 1982, newspaper and magazine articles and advertisements trace the idea all the way back to the 1950s in New York and surrounding areas. That makes sense because New York City was the epicenter of bagel making.

It isn’t surprising that pizza bagels have been around for 70+ years because it seems like a combination that was destined to occur. People make “pizzas” out of almost any flat, bread-like substance. College students in particular have a flair for “pizza-fying” things; I can dimly recall such creations in a dorm kitchen. While you probably don’t need a recipe to concoct a pizza bagel, there are several recipes in the EYB Library, including Pizza bagels from The Kitchn shown above.