The Absolute Best Smoked Cream Cheese

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It’s time to try the smoky snack everyone’s been talking about – smoked cream cheese! We’re sharing one of our favorite ways to season smoked cream cheese so you can start enjoying it now.

This recipe is one of our favorites to make whenever we throw parties or host visitors. It’s incredibly easy to make and can be customized to satisfy whatever craving you may have.

When we make this appetizer, we usually will smoke multiple blocks of cream cheese at a time because they go FAST. Our guests always have to make themselves walk away from the table when this is out because it is so addicting.

Smoked Cream Cheese

Picture this – a creamy block of cream cheese seasoned with your favorite sweet or savory topping and smoked to perfection right in your back yard. Sounds like a dream but all it takes is a smoker, 2 hours and a couple ingredients. 

 Shortly after purchasing our first smoker, a Pit Boss Pellet Grill, we made our first block of smoked cream cheese. Like most people, we debated on how to season smoked cream cheese. We already had everything bagel seasoning in our pantry so we figured what the heck, let’s go for it. I am so happy we did! Everything bagel seasoning is easily one of the top ways to season cream cheese. 

How To Smoke A Block Of Cream Cheese 

Everything bagel smoked cream cheese only calls for 3 ingredients – full fat cream cheese, everything bagel seasoning and olive oil. We do suggest you stick with full fat cream cheese (store brand or national brand will do.) In the future we plan to test out light cream cheeses as well as vegan cream cheese but at this time we cannot attest to how successfully they work.

Don’t have everything bagel seasoning? No problem. You really can use whatever seasoning you love. Old Bay is another one we make quite often.

When it comes to making this dish, you really only need aluminum foil and a Pit Boss Pellet Grill or smoker to work with. If you live in a neighborhood, get ready for your neighbors to be stopping by to check out what that delicious smell is.

To begin, start your smoker and set to 180 degrees. While the smoker is warming up you’ll need to prepare your cream cheese. 

Grab a piece of aluminum foil and place your cream cheese on top. Rub cream cheese will a small amount of olive oil to help it hold the seasoning. Next, season liberally with everything bagel seasoning. Again, if you are not using everything bagel seasoning that is okay! Just make sure to not over do if you are using something extremely salty like Old Bay. 

Now that your cream cheese is seasoned, it’s time to get smoking! Place the foil with cream cheese on top on the smoker and shut the lid. Let sit for 2 hours before pulling off. Now, it’s time to serve! Place your delicious appetizer on a serving platter along with crackers, veggies or pretzels.  

If you are feeding a large group, I highly suggest making more than 1 brick. This tends to go quickly. 

Common Smoking Questions 

As we are self-appointed experts in making smoked cream cheese, we figured we’d answer some of the top questions we hear when it comes to creating this amazing dish. 

How long does it take to make smoked cream cheese?  

Smoked cream cheese takes 2 hours to smoke at 180 degrees (the smoke setting on a Pit Boss). We have pulled our bricks off early when we were running short on time but for the best results, let it smoke the full time. 

Is smoked cream cheese good cold? 

ABSOLUTELY! I’ve actually used it on bagels or English Muffins the next morning. How you use it cold really just depends on how you season it while cooking.  

How do you know when smoked cream cheese is done? 

Since this is not something you have to make sure cooks all the way to enjoy, it’s really up to you. The longer you smoke the cream cheese, the more smoke flavor that it’ll obtain. As stated above, try to let it smoke the full 2 hours but know it’s okay to pull off early if needed. 

Best seasonings

You know, we have a list of ones we love and some that we’d still like to try. Everything bagel seasoning is definitely at the top of the list. Some other seasonings we love to use are cinnamon and sugar, Old Bay, taco seasoning, buffalo dip seasoning and of course, our s’mores version.

Be sure to check out some of our other smoked appetizer recipes below!

Smoked Queso Dip

Smoked Pepperoni Rolls Recipe

Cinnamon Sugar Smoked Almonds

Let us know in the comments below how this recipe turns out for you! We’d love to hear the ways you are able to customize to perfectly fit what your family loves!

Enjoy your smoked cream cheese and check out these recipes next!