These smoked salmon bagels combine a homemade herby cream cheese with smoked salmon, avocado and a fried egg to create the ultimate savoury breakfast or brunch. Serve them on Christmas morning or just enjoy them on a slow Sunday at home and skip the expensive café.
I don’t know exactly where it came from, I think it has something to do with my mum and brother, but for me smoked salmon is synonymous with Christmas morning. There is just something special about waking up, knowing that it’s going to be a busy day, and enjoying a slow morning with a delicious breakfast that is going to start your day off right.
Breakfast recipes are some of my favourites, and these smoked salmon bagels are a go-to as they are so incredibly easy to make yet seem special. They are a hybrid of your traditional deli style smoked salmon bagel, and a breakfast bagel. Because why not have both?
The main thing to prep here is the herby cream cheese (I use a dairy free one) which only takes 5 minutes but can be prepped ahead of time if you prefer. Then it’s really just about cooking your eggs, toasting the bagels and assembling!
These salmon breakfast bagels also can be served board style where you lay out all the ingredients and people can just help themselves and make their own. This is a great option if you have a few people to feed or just have some fussy eaters.
For more savoury breakfast ideas try my bacon and egg roll or sausage and egg smash tacos. And if you love the combination of smoked salmon and herby cream cheese, you need to make these smoked salmon crostini.
Key Ingredients
You can get creative with how you serve your smoked salmon and avocado breakfast bagel but this is the base recipe and my go-to combination.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cream cheese – you want to use a spreadable cream cheese that has been allowed to soften at room temperature for the best results rather than a block style for this recipe. I am using a dairy free cream cheese to keep this recipe completely dairy free but you can use a lactose free one or regular depending on what you prefer.
- Fresh herbs – I like the combination of using parsley, chives, and dill but you can use what you prefer. Dill can be quite strong so you may like to reduce the amount and just use more parsley.
- Lemon – goes so well with salmon. I like to add it into the cream cheese and then just do an extra squeeze over everything at the end to add flavour and freshness.
- Bagels – I like the sesame seed ones but plain work too.
- Eggs – you could serve this without egg but I just think it makes it more breakfast-y and delicious. I’m frying the egg for ease but you could poach the eggs.
- Avocado – again technically optional but it just goes so well with the salmon and eggs.
- Smoked salmon – the best smoked salmon is from Tasmania, but use any brand you like.
Step-By-Step Instructions
I love sharing recipes like this because they are more guidelines rather than really specific recipes that need to be followed exactly. This smoked salmon bagel however is something that I love to eat, so this is how I do it.
Step 1: Start with the cream cheese. You can make this ahead of time if needed and keep it in the fridge. Basically you just want to finely chop up some fresh herbs and mix it through some softened cream cheese (I use a dairy free one). Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Step 2: Prep the rest of your ingredients. Fry the eggs to your liking over medium heat. I highly recommend ensuring you have a runny yolk for these bagels as that essentially creates a sauce and is so delicious.
Toast the bagels and then you can assemble.
Step 3: Assemble! Start with the cream cheese then some slices of avocado. Top with the smoked salmon and your fried egg. Give everything a season with salt, pepper and more lemon juice and then press on the top of the bagel, breaking the yolk.
Yield: This recipe is written to make 2 smoked salmon bagels but you can easily scale it depending on how many serves you’re making.
Recipe FAQs
Definitely, these bagels are super customisable! You could add sliced tomatoes, red onion, capers, cucumber or baby spinach.
This recipe is best enjoyed fresh, especially because of the runny egg. However, you can prepare the cream cheese and toast the bagels in advance, then assemble everything just before serving.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.
More savoury breakfast recipes:
Cheddar and Chive Savoury Waffles
Breakfast Potatoes with Asparagus and Egg
Smashed Avocado on Toast
Bacon and Egg Rolls
Smoked Salmon Bagel
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Herby Cream Cheese:
- 150 grams spreadable cream cheese softened (dairy-free or regular)
- 1 tablespoon EACH chopped fresh parsley, chives, and dill
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the Smoked Salmon Bagels:
- 2 sesame seed or plain bagels
- 2 eggs
- 1 small avocado sliced
- 100 grams smoked salmon
Instructions
- Make the herby cream cheese. In a small bowl, mix the softened cream cheese with the chopped parsley, chives, and dill. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Heat a small frying pan over medium heat with a light spray of cooking oil. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook until the whites are set but the yolks remain runny. If the bottoms are cooking too quickly, cover the pan with a lid to help the whites cook through evenly.
- Slice the bagels in half and toast them in a toaster or under a hot grill until golden brown.
- Spread a generous layer of the herby cream cheese onto the bottom halves of the toasted bagels. Add the sliced avocado on top of the cream cheese, followed by the smoked salmon.
- Place a fried egg on each bagel and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh dill, if desired.
- Place the top half of the bagel over the egg and gently press down to break the yolk. Enjoy immediately!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
Gauri says
Excellent