Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Spread

A great smoked salmon cream cheese is one of those things that’s incredibly easy to make at home, and better than anything store-bought. This smoked salmon cream cheese spread recipe takes five minutes, uses just a few ingredients, and works just as well as a dip for crackers and vegetables as it does spread on a bagel. Here’s everything you need to know.

Why Homemade Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Is Worth Making

One benefit of having lived for years in Brooklyn, New York: the bagels. Another benefit: the smoked salmon cream cheese to spread on it.

New York bagels are famously good — chewy and dense, with a glossy outer shell from being boiled before baking. The really good New York bagels are so good (they say it’s the New York water) that they get shipped around the world. Great. But let’s turn the spotlight to the other half of the New York bagel experience: the cream cheeses.

Walk into any bagel shop in New York, and you’ll likely see a refrigerator case filled with fluffy tubs of every kind of cream cheese you could imagine: plain, scallion, vegetable, cinnamon raisin, even vegan tofu cream cheese. But one cream cheese outranks them all: smoked salmon cream cheese spread.

What to Know About This Homemade Recipe

Fluffy and pink, accented with bright herbs, and with a perfect flavor balance of salty salmon and mild cream cheese tang, this smoked salmon cream cheese is the ultimate schmear. This homemade version is the result of testing and retesting until it was truly New York bagel-worthy. This smoked salmon cream cheese recipe is:

• Quick and easy: This takes less than five minutes to make with a food processor
• Only uses a few ingredients: You just need cream cheese, smoked salmon, and fresh herbs.
• Versatile: This works just as well as a salmon dip or bagel spread
• Yields about a cup (enough for about six bagels) and keeps well in the refrigerator for up to a week

Want more smoked salmon recipes? You’ll love this creamy smoked salmon pasta — a 20-minute dinner that uses the same package of fish — and smoked salmon smørrebrød, an open-faced Danish sandwich that takes five minutes to assemble. And for a full overview of what you can do with smoked and fresh salmon, the essential salmon recipes guide covers the whole range.

Ingredients for Salmon Cream Cheese Spread

This recipe calls only for a few basic ingredients:

• Cream cheese: Use an 8-ounce block of full-fat cream cheese. I prefer Philadelphia brand for its smoothness and balanced flavor. Let it sit at room temperature for at 20 minutes before you start so it blends smoothly.
• Smoked salmon: Standard cold-smoked salmon — not lox — works best here. I prefer regular smoked salmon over delicate, fatty lox because it holds up better in the food processor. Wild smoked salmon has the brightest pink color, and gives the cream cheese the best look.
• Thin-sliced scallions: a fresh herb note to round out the flavors and add a gentle bite

You do not need to add any salt because of the saltiness of the smoked salmon, but taste it before serving just in case you want to adjust the seasoning.

Substitutions, Additions, and Ingredient Notes

Fresh herbs: A tablespoon or so of minced dill would taste very good folded into the salmon cream cheese. You can also just use dill to garnish. Or perhaps no dill at all! Minced chives would be a more mild substitute for the scallions.

Lemon juice: If you want a little more acid “zing” to brighten the brininess of the smoked salmon, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Which smoked salmon to use: I prefer to use wild Alaskan smoked salmon, which has a vivid pink color and stands up well against the blades of a food processor. If that’s not available, choose any good-quality cold-smoked salmon. You can use lox for this recipe, but I don’t recommend it; fatty, more tender lox tends to dissolve into the cream cheese.

And don’t worry about an exact two-ounce weight for the smoked salmon. Just eyeball half of a standard four-ounce package. It will taste great. Err on the side of a little more than less.

How to Make Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Spread

This salmon cream cheese recipe comes together in less time than it takes to place a bagel order. The method is straightforward. The only real variable is texture — how smooth or chunky you want the finished spread — which you can control with the food processor.

Step 1: Pulse the softened cream cheese and smoked salmon in a food processor until the mixture is about two-thirds blended. Aim for small, visible pieces of salmon remaining throughout.

Step 2: Add the herbs. Scrape down the bowl, add the scallions and dill (if using), and pulse again until just combined. Taste, and add a small pinch of salt only if needed, but smoked salmon is typically salty enough on its own.

Step 3: Serve. Transfer to a bowl, garnish with fresh dill or extra scallion slices, and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.

Troubleshooting and Pro Tips

No food processor? Just finely chop the salmon, make sure the cream cheese is well softened, and mix everything together with a spoon or sturdy spatula. The texture will be more chunky, which is not a bad thing!

Want a looser dip consistency? Stir in a tablespoon (or even a little less) of sour cream or crème fraîche. It lightens the texture and enhances the tang without taking the flavors into left field.

How to Serve Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese

The most obvious answer is on a bagel. Poppy, sesame, and plain are my top picks. Spread generously, and add sliced cucumbers, sliced tomato, a few capers, and a thin slice of red onion if you like for a full smoked salmon cream cheese bagel breakfast. A properly hard-boiled egg, crumbled or sliced on top, is another classic addition.

Beyond bagels, this spread makes a great appetizer. Serve it in a small bowl with crackers, bagel chips, or as part of a fresh crudité platter. You can also use it for English smoked salmon tea sandwiches or piped onto thin cucumber rounds and garnished with dill as a canapé.

Make-Ahead and Storage Directions

Smoked salmon cream cheese keeps well for about a week in the refrigerator, stored in an airtight container. In fact, it improves after a day in the refrigerator as the flavors settle and meld.

Do not freeze. Cream cheese breaks down in the freezer, and the texture will be grainy and separated when thawed.

F.A.Q.s

More Breakfast Recipes: Let’s talk breakfast! This spread is a natural choice for a breakfast or brunch table. More of my favorite breakfast recipes: Sheet pan blueberry pancakes and challah French toast are both make-ahead-friendly. The Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins — the famous recipe from the legendary Boston department store — are always a crowd-pleaser.

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review and rating in the comments!

Why You Can Trust This Recipe: These recipes were developed and tested from scratch by Lisa Ruland, a Culinary Institute of America graduate (baking & pastry valedictorian, with special coursework in chocolate and confections), Level 2 WSET-Certified Wine Professional (With Honors), and professional pastry chef and food writer/recipe developer who has worked for some of NYC’s top bakeries, and written for national food publications, including Bon Appétit, Saveur, Taste, Eater, Food52, and more. Lisa is a winner of the prestigious IACP Award for Unpeeled Journal, and is a former judge of the IACP cookbooks competition. Lisa is committed to providing accurate, trustworthy culinary guidance based on years of hands-on experience in professional and home kitchens. Learn more about Lisa’s background and expertise.