Vegan Smoked Salmon (Carrot Lox)
Get ready to completely elevate your brunch game with vegan smoked salmon on bagels. Made with carrots soaked in a smoky and savoury marinade, this recipe is simple and oh, so delicious!
Weekend brunch is something we look forward to all week long! We love switching it up between tofu scram, avo toast, pancakes, and this recipe we’re sharing today. Vegan carrot lox is our take on classic smoked salmon, a brunch food we both loved before going vegan. Carrots do an incredible job at taking on the smoky, umami, and savoury flavours of the marinade and the bright orange colour of the carrots give total smoked salmon vibes.
We’re keeping things simple with a quick boil of the carrots to soften them and give them the best texture possible. Then all you need to do is whisk up the marinade, toss in the carrots, and let the marinating magic do the rest of the work! Lemon and caper brine bring a tangy element to the marinade, while nori brings a depth of umami, and of course, what would smoked carrots be without a little liquid smoke? We really highly recommend preparing the carrots the day before you want to eat them and marinating them overnight for the fullest development of flavour, but you can definitely get away with a few hours in the fridge and still have great results.
There are so many ways to enjoy vegan smoked salmon, the classic being on a bagel with cream cheese. We also love to add tomato, cucumber, quick pickled red onions, and fresh dill, but you can add whatever you like to your bagel creation! Carrot lox makes a great addition to salads as well as piled-on crackers spread with vegan cheese for your next charcuterie board.
Have you ever tried vegan smoked salmon made from carrots?
Don’t forget to tag us in your creations – @smallkitchenbigplates
Vegan Smoked Salmon (Carrot Lox)
Get ready to completely elevate your brunch game with vegan smoked salmon on bagels. Made with carrots soaked in a smoky and savoury marinade, this recipe is simple and oh, so delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 large carrots, washed and peeled into long ribbons
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1.5 tablespoon caper brine
- 1 tablespoon capers, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/3 cup dill, finely chopped
- 1 sheet of nori, finely chopped
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- For the Bagels
- 6 fresh bagels
- Vegan cream cheese
- Quick pickled red onions
- Tomato
- Cucumber
- Fresh dill
- Flaky salt
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the ribbons of carrot to the water and boil for 5 minutes, until the carrots are soft. Remove from the heat and rinse the carrots in super cold water for a few minutes to stop the cooking process and then set aside.
- In a container with a lid, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, caper brine, capers, liquid smoke, dill, nori, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the carrots to the container and toss them well to make sure they are all completely coated in the marinade. Put the lid on the container and place it in the fridge and allow them to marinate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Slice your bagels in half cross-wise and toast them if you like. Spread cream cheese on the bottom half. Add slices of tomato and cucumber, pickled onions, or whatever toppings you like and then pile the vegan smoked salmon on top. Garnish with fresh dill and flaky salt and put the top half to close the bagel. Slice the bagel in half again and enjoy!
Notes
- All of the bagel toppings are totally optional. We like to mix and match them depending on what we’re feeling that day but our apartment fav is definitely tofutti cream cheese, carrot lox, TONS of quick pickled red onions, and fresh dill!
- This recipe isn’t just for bagels – pile the lox on crackers spread with vegan cheese (we recommend Nuts for Cheese Black Garlic) for a charcuterie showstopper or add them to a salad!
- If you can remember, try and shake the container around once or twice while the carrots are marinating to ensure the marinate absorbs into all of them. This step is completely optional but we like to do it a few hours after we put them in the fridge and then a few hours before we eat them the next morning.
- Keep the carrots marinating in the container for up to 5 days.
smallkitchenbigplates 
Had this…it’s delicious and really elevates your brunch to a new level!!
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we completely agree, a brunch must-have!!
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