Smoked Salmon Pizza
This smoked salmon pizza is an explosion of flavor in each bite. Crispy naan bread is topped with herbed cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, onions and everything bagel seasoning. Finish with soft eggs and chili crisp to take it over the top!
Sometimes my recipe inspirations comes from restaurants. Sometimes it’s magazines. And sometimes, there’s nothing else behind it other than I want to put a ton of my favorite ingredients all in one dish.
Like my fried goat cheese salad and shishito pepper recipe before it, this smoked salmon pizza is the last thing. It’s just everything I ever want to eat, put together into one glorious dish.
This pizza or something very similar would probably be included in my last meal on earth. Smoked salmon? Soft eggs? Fresh herbs? Chili crisp? The gang’s all here.
This salmon pizza is a great light meal for a hot day, because it’s meant to be served at room temperature or close to it. This also makes it perfect to cut into small wedges and serve as an appetizer.
Grab a strawberry mule (my drink of choice for my last supper) and let’s get into it!
What you’ll need for smoked salmon pizza recipe:
- naan bread – I use roasted garlic naan bread instead of pizza crust for this recipe. More on this below!
- cream cheese – this provides the tangy, creamy base layer for this pizza. I guess it also serves as the “sauce.” Buy some extra to make a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert.
- garlic – this adds a kick of flavor to the cream cheese.
- chives – these add a hint of onion flavor to the cream cheese, and I like to sprinkle them on top, too. They’re my fav addition to a potato cake as well.
- dill – the fresh, herbaceous flavor of dill is a classic pairing for salmon (I use this combo in my salmon sandwich, too).
- lemon juice – this adds a citrusy punch to the cream cheese that really brightens up the whole dish. Cut an extra lemon into wedges to serve with the pizzas.
- black pepper – adds a bit of spice to the cream cheese mixture.
- smoked salmon – this is the star of the show! You’ll need 8 ounces of thinly sliced smoked salmon or lox. What’s the difference? See below!
- capers – these briny, salty little bits are another classic pairing for smoked salmon. So good in my salmon pasta, too.
- red onion – this provides a little bit of crunch and a flavor that really complements the smoky salmon.
- everything bagels seasoning – tap that link to the left to make my homemade version for this smoked salmon pizza, which you can also use as a great bloody mary rim salt (don’t forget the bloody mary skewers)!
- soft cooked eggs – these are an optional topping, but add a rich, creamy texture on top of the salmon.
- chili crisp – this is a spicy, garlicky Chinese condiment that adds a kick of heat to the pizza. This is also optional.
What is the difference between smoked salmon and lox?
When you’re looking for smoked salmon at the grocery store, you may be faced with quite a few options. Some packages say “smoked salmon” (and designated “cold smoked” or hot smoked”) and other packages say “lox.”
The packages may even specify where the salmon is from (Atlantic, Norwegian, Nova (Scotia)) or may even make note of the variety (like some are made with sockeye salmon).
First things first, smoked salmon and lox are often used interchangeably (and can be for this pizza) but they’re not quite the same thing.
Smoked salmon is cured and then cold or hot smoked. This gives it a subtle smoky flavor and a firm texture. Lox is cured with sugar, salt and sometimes spices, but it is NOT smoked. Lox has a more delicate, silky texture.
You can use either lox or cold smoked salmon for this smoked salmon pizza recipe. Any variety of salmon, and from any part of the world. I don’t recommend hot smoked salmon only because it has a more flaky texture that isn’t quite as good for this particular pizza.
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Why naan bread makes an excellent pizza crust:
Don’t get me wrong. I love my recipe for homemade pizza dough, and it’s great for both the oven and the grill. But sometimes I just want something faster and easier.
Naan bread makes a great stand-in pizza crust for a lot of reasons. It’s soft and chewy, which makes it incredibly easy to work with (and so good served with kafta).
You can buy it already flavored or seasoned (I recommend the roasted garlic flavor if your store has it!), which makes the pizza highly flavored right down to the crust.
And it’s SUPER fast to crisp up in the oven, which makes it perfect for making this smoked salmon pizza recipe for a weeknight dinner or snack. I will also use naan bread for a crab rangoon pizza once in awhile.
My favorite kitchen gadget for perfect soft boiled eggs for this salmon pizza recipe:
A little shout out to the Cuisinart egg cooker (not sponsored, but affiliate link).
I actually didn’t know egg cookers even existed until I took a food styling class a few years back, and the instructor recommended this cooker for perfect, easy-to-peel soft (and hard) boiled eggs, like in my savory cottage cheese bowls.
I’m not much of a kitchen gadget person, but this appliance spoke to me, because I have NEVER had good luck with soft boiled eggs done the old fashioned way on the stove. I guess it’s just not one of my talents.
This little cooker doesn’t take up much space in my kitchen (I store it in a deep drawer with other small appliances when not in use), and it’s worth it’s weight in gold, whether I want just one soft boiled egg on top of my toast or a half dozen hard boiled eggs for shrimp deviled eggs or a breakfast charcuterie board.
It makes perfect hard boiled and soft boiled eggs EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I cannot recommend it enough!
If you don’t have this gadget, no worries. Check out this tutorial on how to soft boil an egg and you’re all set.
Ways to make this recipe your own:
- Don’t have a jar of chili crisp/crunch on hand at all times like me? Try sriracha (also great in orange chicken marinade), sambal oelek or even a few dashes of Tabasco or another hot sauce to add some heat to this pizza, if desired.
- Wolfgang Puck has a very famous smoked salmon pizza which always includes caviar. If you want to bust out some caviar for this, I certainly won’t stop you!
- Soft boiled eggs aren’t your thing? Try hard boiled eggs (sliced or chopped) or just skip the eggs altogether. Make a few extra hard boiled eggs and try my egg salad with pickles while you’re at it!
Smoked Salmon Pizza
Ingredients
- 4 pieces roasted garlic naan
- Olive oil nonstick cooking spray
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives plus additional for garnish
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill plus additional for garnish
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 8 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon or lox
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 2 teaspoons Everything Bagel Seasoning
- 4 soft boiled eggs optional
- Chili crisp or other hot sauce optional
- Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Arrange naan on 1 or 2 rimmed baking pans so that they are in an even layer without overlapping. Lightly spray both sides of naan with cooking spray. Transfer to oven and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until naan is warm and slightly crispy.
- Meanwhile, in small bowl, use a fork to stir together cream cheese, garlic, chives, dill, lemon juice and black pepper.
- Remove naan from the oven and let cool 2 minutes. Evenly spread cream cheese mixture over naan.
- Arrange smoked salmon over cream cheese mixture, and then sprinkle with red onion, capers, Everything Bagel Seasoning and additional chives and dill. Top with soft eggs and chili crisp, if desired. Cut and serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
- Don’t have a jar of chili crisp/crunch on hand at all times like me? Try sriracha(also great in orange chicken marinade), sambal oelek or even a few dashes of Tabasco or another hot sauce to add some heat to this pizza, if desired.
- Wolfgang Puck has a very famous smoked salmon pizza which always includes caviar. If you want to bust out some caviar for this, I certainly won’t stop you!
- Soft boiled eggs aren’t your thing? Try hard boiled eggs (sliced or chopped) or just skip the eggs altogether. Make a few extra hard boiled eggs and try my egg salad with pickles while you’re at it!
The minute I saw a picture of this on instagram, I knew it would be on repeat. I loved this combination and ate it several meals in a row. Lori’s recipes are always a win when I make them and this one didn’t disappoint.
I’m so glad to hear you loved this as much as I did, Veronica. It’s on repeat at my house, too!
Could this be made on puff pastry instead for a brunch?
I see no reason why not. Sounds delicious, actually!
This looks delicious! A combination of two of my favorite foods. I will be trying this soon!
As a NYC native, I can be quite critical of pizza recipes. I must say that this was one of the best I’ve found so far…. very different, but delicious.
Glad to hear that, Webster. Thanks for stopping by!
Such a fun light pizza for summer!
Lori and I may disagree on the lox – bagel concept . . . I am a personal fan of the old Parmesan cheese bagel with chive cream cheese. But, I have to say, this was an excellent pizza. I found it quite refreshingly room temperature on a hot day. Hopefully everybody else, especially my fans like it, even though it was a Lori creation this time.