Smoked Salmon Bagels, a tasty smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel recipe that’s quick and easy but doesn’t sacrifice flavor. Ready in just 10-minutes!
Love smoked salmon? Love toasty bagels? Combine them into a simple snack or easy meal with this smoked salmon lox and cream cheese-topped bagel recipe! Topping with fresh vegetables, capers, and seasoning, this 10-minute meal is big on flavor but not on time.
👉 Ready to learn how to make smoked salmon bagels? Let’s do it!
🥯 Ingredients
- Bagels: Our favorite bagels are everything bagels, but onion, poppyseed, and whole wheat bagels are also great choices
- Cheese: Cream cheese is your go-to, but also try out spreadable cheeses like brie and taleggio for a fun twist
- Smoked salmon: Cured smoked salmon is our choice, but smoked trout or other fish is also delicious
- Toppings: Sliced red onions, cucumbers, radishes, and capers are our faves, but the possibilities are endless
- Seasonings: Flaky sea salt and ground black pepper add flavor and texture; other seasoning like everything bagel seasoning are also great additions
- Recommended tools: toaster or toaster oven, knife, cutting board
🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Toast bagel and spread cheese
The first step to making smoked salmon bagels is to the toast the bagel until it is crispy and brown. You can do this by cutting the bagel in half and either toasting it in a toaster or toaster oven, or placing the bagel facedown on a hot pan until it is toasted.
Once done toasting, spread the cream cheese over the bagel while it is still warm so the cheese is melted and spreads more easily.
2️⃣ Step Two: Add bagel toppings
Once the bagel is toasted and the cream cheese is added, top the bagel with pieces of smoked salmon lox. Then add very thinly sliced red onion, sliced cucumbers, and add a few capers on top.
Then garnish the bagel with fresh dill leaves and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Then serve and enjoy
🌿 Variations and ideas for serving
Here are a few of the variations we’ve tried and more ideas to fuel your next bagel night feast:
- Layer 1: Spread. Plain cream cheese, flavored cream cheese (onion and chive was good!), brie, taleggio, yogurt. Vegan options include hummus, baba ganoush, flavored olive oil, chimichurri, etc.
- Layer 2: Protein. Smoked salmon, lox, cooked flaked salmon, smoked trout (loved this!), caviar (fancy!), runny egg. Vegan: grilled or pickled veggies like eggplant or zucchini, sun dried tomatoes.
- Layer 3: All the fixings! Our favorites are radishes, cucumbers, capers, arugula, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Also, do not forget the fresh herbs like dill, basil or thyme!
🧊 How to store
- Refrigerator storage: We highly suggest making each bagel to order as you need it, so we suggest storing each individual ingredient separately until ready to serve
- Freezer storage: We do not recommend freezing this recipe, though you could freeze the bagels and thaw before serving.
♻️ Sustainable salmon buying tips
When choosing smoked salmon, we follow the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch recommendation to purchase farmed Atlantic salmon first due to its lower environmental impact compared to other salmon species, and to protect wild salmon populations.
🍞 More toast and bagel recipes
Want more easy toast and bagel recipes? We’ve got you covered:
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Smoked Salmon Bagels
Ingredients
- 1 whole bagel
- 1 ounce cream cheese
- 2 ounces smoked salmon lox
- ¼ cup red onion, sliced thin
- ¼ whole cucumber, sliced thin
- ½ teaspoon capers
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Optional: sliced radishes, arugula, seasonings
Instructions
- Toast bagel and spread cheese: Cut bagel in half and toast in the toaster or on a hot pan until the bread begins to become crisp and brown. Then while the bagel is still hot, spread the cream cheese on each bagel half.
- Add bagel toppings: After the cheese had been spread, place smoked salmon lox onto the bagel halves. Then top with sliced red onion, sliced cucumbers, and sprinkle with capers. Then sprinkle with sprigs of fresh dill, salt, and pepper before serving.
Recipe Notes
- What type of bagel? We love everything bagels with smoked salmon and cream cheese, but our other favorites are whole wheat and onion bagels. However, give this a try with your favorite bagels flavors and let us know how it goes.
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