The Best Bagel and Lox Recipe

For mornings when you need 5 more minutes of sleep, this bagel and lox recipe is just what you need! Since all you have to do is add the toppings, it’s a quick breakfast you can prep ahead that’ll let you hit the snooze button a couple of times.

Ultra creamy from a bit of cream cheese, every bite is rich, soft, and fluffy. Red onions and cucumber add a refreshing and crunchy touch full of vitamins and minerals that’ll help you start the day on the right note. If you really need to wake up, though, you can also add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for some heat!

With sliced hard-boiled eggs for extra protein, you’ll love that you can easily add more toppings like avocado for extra flavor. Toasted or not, pull them out of the fridge right before you head out for the quickest (and yummiest) breakfast you’ve had in a while.

What Is Lox?

Lox comes from the Jewish word “laks,” referring to brined salmon. It’s found as whole fillets or thinly slices strips that are ready to be added to your favorite hot or cold recipes. In terms of flavor, it’s saltier than fresh salmon due to its preparation method.

Lox is brined (soaked in a salty or acidic solution) to extend its shelf life, which was a lot more helpful when refrigeration methods weren’t as great and transportation times were long. Today, the brine is more about the flavor.

Recipe Ingredients

A couple of veggies, salmon, and cream cheese are the perfect start to your day. Check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for full ingredient amounts.

Everything Bagels – Use your favorite kind!
Cream cheese – I prefer full-fat cream cheese, but low-fat is a good swap.
Cucumber
Eggs – Feel free to leave this out.
Smoked salmon
Red onion – White onion works too.
Capers – They add a pop of saltiness and briny goodness. Feel free to leave it out.
Fresh dill – You can leave this out.

How to Make Smoked Salmon Bagels

Making these lox bagels is all about adding the toppings. It’s easy!

Toast the bagel. Pop your Everything Bagel halves into the toaster until golden to taste. For extra richness, you can spread 1 teaspoon of butter on each halve before toasting.
Add the toppings. Spread 1 oz of cream cheese on each bagel half. Top it with 3 cucumber ribbons, 2 slices of hard-boiled egg, 1 oz of smoked salmon, and 1 tablespoon of red onion slices. Feel free to add more of any of these ingredients to taste.
Serve. Sprinkle some capers and/or fresh dill on top. This step is super optional. Serve and enjoy.

Tips & Variations

You can make your mornings as simple or as fancy as you like by swapping some of the ingredients in for this bagel and lox recipe.

Use fresh salmon. This is a great alternative to smoked salmon.
Add capers. Add 1-2 teaspoons of capers to each bagel for some salty goodness. You can also drizzle in a bit of the brine.
Use ricotta. If you’re tired of cream cheese, try ricotta instead. It’s equally creamy!
Make it spicy. Adding a sprinkle of red pepper flakes to taste can add the perfect amount of heat to wake you up in the morning.
Remove the dairy. Substituting the cream cheese for thinly sliced or mashed avocado helps you avoid dairy in the morning.
Use toasted bread. If you’re out of bagels, you can always use whatever leftover bread you’ve got on hand and toast it.
Don’t toast it. While toasted bagels are delicious, you can skip the toasting for an extra quick breakfast.

Three open bagels and lox with toppings and capers.

What Goes With Lox Bagels

These bagels can be enjoyed on their own or with a couple of other light dishes for breakfast. Try my Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats for an all-savory meal. For a mix of sweet and savory, enjoy these bagels with my Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding or Protein Overnight Oats on the side.

As for drinks, don’t forget a smoothie! My Strawberry Banana Smoothie, Tropical Mango Smoothie, and Raspberry Mango Smoothie are all great options.

Open bagel and lox with sliced cucumbers on the side.

Can Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Bagels Be Prepared in Advance?

Absolutely! You have two options depending on how far ahead you’d like to make them:

Without salmon. Assembling the bagels without the salmon allows you to prep them up to 5 days in advance. When ready to eat them, add a couple of slices of salmon and enjoy.
With salmon. If you prepare them with salmon from the get-go, you can make them up to 2 days in advance. This is because the salmon spoils faster than the rest of the ingredients in this recipe.

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