I’ve always been a fan of smokey flavors and of course, when I was not Vegan, I’d love to enjoy lox and bagels for breakfast. In the plant based world, we obviously can’t have lox, and I needed a way to get those savory flavors into my morning routine again. At first, I tried to use some liquid smoke into a vegan cream cheese, and while that was good, I just wasn’t truly satisfied with the flavors of it. It just seemed kind of fake to me.
I then stumbled upon Tofutti Brands Sour Cream. Yes, “Sour Cream.” I realized that it was shockingly more accurate to cream cheese than anything else. Oddly enough, Tofutti makes a cream cheese, but honestly, it doesn’t taste nearly as good as their Sour Cream! I then proceeded to deconstruct what makes lox and bagels so good, and it’s definitely the smokey flavors, but also the fresh dill, onion, and capers. These flavors traditionally melt together to make a perfectly balanced, savory dish.
In this video, I smoke the cream cheese with a portable smoker and pack it with all the flavor notes discussed above. I also take more creamy textures found in avocado, lay that over the bagel, and cut all the richness with some fresh sprouts.
Hope you enjoy!
Smokey Cream Cheese Bagel
Ingredients
- 1 Bagel
- 6 oz. Tofutti Brand Sour Cream
- 1 tbsp Capers
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 large Dill Sprigs
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/4 cup sprouts
- 1 radish
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Finely chop capers and dill. Place in small mixing bowl with Tofutti Sour Cream.
- Add onion powder, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, and fold together. Cover with wrap when done.
- Prepare portable smoker with wood chips. Create small hole in wrap on bowl and place smoke inside bowl. Let stand for 2 minutes, covered. Give final stir when cheese has finished smoking.
- Slice avocados and add over bagel with cream cheese. Top with sprouts, sliced radish, paprika, and nutritional yeast to finish.
