Smoked Salmon Bagels

These Smoked Salmon Bagels are loaded with a homemade herb cream cheese, avocado and capers. They’re easy to make and bursting with flavour!

The ULTIMATE Salmon Bagel

You ever gone into a cafe, bought a bagel and then wondered if you should take out a mortgage to pay for the thing? And then do it over and over again? 😂Yeah same. Don’t get me wrong, I love cafes, I love bagels from cafes and quite frankly I sometimes enjoy spending ridiculous amounts of money for said bagel. BUT, let’s be frank here. Cafe style salmon bagels are insanely easy to replicate at home. Here’s what you’ll need for the best salmon bagel:

• Bagels – here I use sesame bagels, but you can use any variety you like.
• Herb Cream Cheese – more on this in just a sec.
• Smoked Salmon – the piece de resistance.
• Avocado – Quite frankly I can’t remember the last bagel/sandwich/meal I had without avocado and this recipe is no exception.
• Capers – fish and capers are a match made in heaven!
• Lemon – see above.

At it’s absolute heart though all you need is smoked salmon, cream cheese and bagels. I’m just extra and I hope you are too.

Herb Cream Cheese

Did I say the smoked salmon was the piece de resistance? I really meant this is. Sure, cream cheese is great, but stuffing some herbs in is much more fun. For the herb cream cheese I use chives and parsley. Dill also works really nicely in this recipe, but it is quite a powerful herb. As such I usually leave it out of the cream cheese and just sprinkle a pinch over at the end.

Another thing going in is lemon. I tend to use lemon zest because I prefer a thicker cream cheese. However, if you prefer a smoother cream cheese you can use lemon juice. Slightly different flavours but nothing too dramatic.

Best Cream Cheese to use?

I usually go Philadelphia, but your favourite brand is fine. I also always go for full fat, just cause I’m a full fat kinda guy.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yep! In fact I encourage you to do so. It’ll give the flavours time to marry and for the herbs to completely soften through.

Homemade Salmon Bagels

As you can imagine, making salmon bagels couldn’t be easier. Just a few things to consider though:

To toast or not to toast?

Totally optionally. I actually like to toast one side on a smoking hot griddle pan to get some nice grill marks, but this is optional (I told you I’m extra!).

Subs and variations

• Red Onion – always a nice addition and can sub for the chives. Very thinly sliced, you won’t need much.
• Cucumber – another welcomed addition. Could sub for the avocado.
• Rocket/Arugula – sometimes, just sometimes, I’ll add some more green into this. And if I do it’s usually this. It’s quite ‘peppery’ so goes perfectly.

Stacking order: bottom bagel, herb cream cheese, avocado, salmon, lemon juice (optional), capers and dill, top bagel.

And there we have it! And absolutely no mortgages were taken out in the process of this recipe 🤣 I usually serve these up for a quick lunch (done in under 10mins) or a brunch if I can’t wait. Oh sod it let’s make them for breakfast for crying out loud.

If you’re looking for more similar recipes check out these beauties:

Salmon Recipes: Creamy Salmon Pasta, Honey Sriracha Salmon.

Bagel Recipes: Avocado Tuna Bagel Melts, Breakfast Quiche Stuffed Bagels, Egg in a Hole Breakfast Bagels, Pizza Bagels

Cafe Style Recipes: Smashed Avocado on Toast.

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these salmon cream cheese bagels shall we?

How to make Salmon Bagels (Full Recipe & Video)

Salmon Cream Cheese Bagels

These Smoked Salmon Bagels are loaded with a homemade herb cream cheese, avocado & capers. They're easy to make and bursting with flavour!

5 from 7 votes

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Servings (click & slide): 4

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Calories per serving: 630kcal

Author: Chris Collins

Cost per serving: £3 / $4

Cook Mode(prevent your screen from going dark)

Equipment:

• Small Mixing Bowl
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Bread Knife
• Zester (optional)

Ingredients (check list):

• ▢ 4 Bagels, halved (see notes)
• ▢ 7oz / 200g Smoked Salmon Slices
• ▢ 7oz / 200g Cream Cheese
• ▢ 2 small/medium Avocados, peeled, stoned and sliced into thin strips
• ▢ 1 Lemon
• ▢ 1 tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley
• ▢ 1 tbsp finely diced Fresh Chives
• ▢ 4 tsp Capers
• ▢ Fresh Dill, to serve (see notes)
• ▢ Cracked Black Pepper, to taste

Instructions:

• In a small mixing bowl, combine 7oz/200g cream cheese, 1 tbsp finely diced chives and parsley, a hefty pinch of cracked black pepper (to taste) and the zest of half a lemon. Alternatively, if you don't have a zester or want a smoother cream cheese you can squeeze in lemon juice (to taste).
• Evenly distribute fillings and stack in the following order: bottom bagel slice, herb cream cheese, avocado, salmon, capers, a pinch of dill then finish with top bagel slice. I also like to squeeze a little lemon juice on the salmon, but this is optional.

Quick 1 min demo!

Notes:

a) Bagel - Here I use sesame seed bagels, but you can use any variety you like. I also like to toast them by laying on a piping hot griddle pan to give them some nice grill marks. This is optional. You can also just use a toaster, or, just keep them un-toasted.

b) Dill - Dill does go gorgeously with salmon, but this is totally optional. With the same token, if you know you love dill, feel free to mix in the herbed cream cheese. It is quite a powerful herb, so just go easy.

c) Subs and Variations - Very thinly sliced red onion in this is nice and can make a sub for the chives if you don't have them. Cucumber is also a great addition and could sub for avocado.

d) Calories - per bagel using full fat cream cheese.

Your Private Notes:

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Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Salmon Cream Cheese Bagels

Amount Per Serving

Calories 630 Calories from Fat 292

% Daily Value*

Fat 32.44g50%

Saturated Fat 11.909g60%

Trans Fat 0.021g

Polyunsaturated Fat 3.364g

Monounsaturated Fat 15.058g

Cholesterol 56mg19%

Sodium 1026mg43%

Potassium 757mg22%

Carbohydrates 63.2g21%

Fiber 8.5g34%

Sugar 11.08g12%

Protein 25.21g50%

Vitamin A 822IU16%

Vitamin C 16.5mg20%

Calcium 273mg27%

Iron 5.19mg29%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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Looking for more?You'll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook 'Comfy'

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