Smoked Salmon Bagel Pizza Recipe

We all love smoked salmon bagels, but how about the same toppings on a pizza?  Our smoked salmon bagel pizza is super simple, a great summer weeknight meal and ready in under 30 minutes.  We even show you a way to have it ready in 15 minutes!

This pizza is perfect for picnics, tailgates or summer outdoor parties because it’s great at room temperature.  Refrigerate until about 30 minutes before serving.

Great for an easy weeknight meal, breakfast, brunch, on-the-go lunch or snack.  One of the healthiest pizzas you’ll ever try.

If using pizza dough, you cook the dough by itself and then add the smoked salmon and vegetable toppings after the pizza dough comes out of the oven.  Serve with the contrast of hot dough and cool toppings, or serve room temperature, which is my favorite way to eat our smoked salmon bagel pizza.

So why did I title this pizza with “bagel” when there’s no bagel in sight?  Because who’s ever heard of a smoked salmon pizza before?  But we’ve all heard of, and most of us love, smoked salmon bagels.

How To Make Our Smoked Salmon Bagel Pizza Recipe

I know, I know, it sounds strange to put the classic toppings of a smoked salmon bagel on a pizza.  But believe me, once you try it there’s no going back.  It’s probably the most refreshing pizza you’ve ever had!  And when you think about it, is there really much difference between a bagel and pizza crust?

Shape your pizza dough to ¼” thick and into individual 6-8” pizzas or larger 12” size.  Poke the dough all over with a fork to keep the dough from rising too much when baking.  Brush with light olive oil or canola oil.

Bake your pizza dough according to directions.  Or use store bought Naan, toasted English muffin, rye bread or a bagel for your base.

Typically, we crank the oven to 400 degrees.  Brush the pizza dough with about a teaspoon of light olive oil or canola oil and bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.

Spread the mascarpone cheese over the cooked pizza dough.  You may need to let the dough cool off a little so that the cheese doesn’t melt.  Top with tomatoes, red onion, smoked salmon, diced cucumbers and capers.  In that order.

Sometimes I’ll add arugula as well.  Arugula is good tossed with juice of a lemon, a little Extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper.  It’s the crowning topping to our smoked salmon bagel pizza.

Serve Hot Or Cold?

Serve hot or cold?  That’s your choice.  At dinnertime I like piling the ingredients on warm dough to have both hot and cold going on. 

For lunch, or dare I say breakfast, I prefer everything at room temperature.

The beauty of our Smoked Salmon Bagel Pizza Recipe is that it’s great at room temperature or hot out of the oven.  Just make sure you don’t cook the toppings.  This is one pizza where the only cooking you do is to cook the dough.

How To Shape Pizza Dough

To shape pizza dough, you want to start with room temperature dough.  Cold pizza dough won’t roll well or spread the way you want, and you will end up with a very thick crust.

If the pizza dough keeps shrinking back when you roll or try to shape it, then it’s either too cold or the gluten needs to rest.  Go do something else for 10 minutes and come back.  The dough shouldn’t be as resistant after resting for a few minutes.

The easiest way to shape the pizza dough is to lightly flour a cold surface.  If you have stone countertops, they are perfect!  Press the dough gently with your fingers, starting in the center of the dough and pushing it out on all sides.  You can do this completely by hand but will take longer than a rolling pin.

After pressing with your fingertips, use a rolling pin, continue to push the dough from the center out on all sides until you get the shape you want.  Stop before rolling over the outer edge of the pizza.

I’ll be writing a post strictly on How To Shape Pizza Dough with other methods as well.  Join our mailing list for notification of the post.

What To Serve With Our Smoked Salmon Pizza

It’s a meal in itself if you add the arugula.  Otherwise a simple green salad works well.

What’s The Difference Between Smoked Salmon And Lox?

Smoked salmon is, well, smoked for preservation and is referred to as Nova (after Nova Scotia).  Lox is salt cured and for that reason resonates with people who like things very salty.  In the United States Nova smoked salmon is sometimes mislabeled as lox.

Make Ahead Directions

You can shape the dough and bake the crusts several hours before serving.

The pizza can be completely assembled and refrigerated ahead of time (minus the tomatoes which need to be placed on the pizza just before serving).  Bring to room temperature before serving.  About 30 minutes.  Don’t leave out longer than 3 hours.

Acme Smoked Fish company recommends the 3 hour rule, along with suggestions to eat by the “Best By” date.  They also say that once opened, the smoked salmon should be refrigerated and consumed within 5 days.  Otherwise follow the instructions on your package.

Substitute Ingredients

Pizza Dough – You can use any flatbread like Naan (read package for heating directions), a toasted English muffin, bagel or rye bread, a pan grilled tortilla or use an opened pita pocket, perfect for on-the-go sandwich.

Mascarpone cheese – of course you can use cream cheese if you like.  It is less expensive.  But I love the creamy, slightly sweet mascarpone cheese on our smoked salmon bagel pizza, it’s a real differentiator.

Smoked Salmon – you can substitute with lox.  Or for those that don’t care for smoked salmon (you know who you are) you can use prosciutto or even deli ham.  Especially good if you are making small individual pizzas and then can cater to several different tastes.

Cucumber, capers, red onion, tomatoes – these are my favorite toppings for smoked salmon bagel pizza, but they are all optional and there are several other toppings that would work as well.

Try thinly sliced radish, avocado, caviar or salmon roe, even grapefruit. (I will have a post soon on an open-faced bagel recipe inspired by a local Atlanta restaurant).

Dill – Dill adds a nice, slight flavor and beautiful color.  You can use chopped chives which will give another onion flavor layer or chopped fresh parsley which always brings a fresh pop to anything.

How To Take Our Smoked Salmon Bagel Pizza On-The-Go

Use a pita pocket in lieu of dough and make this into a sandwich instead of a pizza.  Or keep the pita together and just fold over like a taco.  Put it in a paper cone to make it even easier to eat on-the-go.

You’ll want to keep the smoked salmon bagel pizza refrigerated if not eating within 3 hours.  Certainly if you will be outside in a hot environment then keep in a cooler. 

If eating on-the-go then you may want to dice the toppings instead of slicing so that it’s easier to eat and you aren’t having to gnaw with your teeth to cut through the smoked salmon or long sliced onion.