Smoked Cream Cheese

I’ve been kind of quiet on this blog, mostly just dealing with a backlog of new recipes for my other food blogs.

With the big game day looming, it’s a busy time for food bloggers!

That said, today’s recipe is the perfect party appetizer for the Super Bowl parties: Smoked Cream Cheese!

Any form of cream cheese dip (Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Dip , Dill Pickle Cream Cheese Dip) or cream cheese appetizers in general (Hot Smoked Bacon Jalapeno Poppers, Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pretzels, Smoked Cheese Balls, Air Fryer Cream Cheese Wontons, Air Fryer Jalapeno Poppers) are always a bit hit, and this smoked cream cheese recipe is no exception!

This incredibly easy appetizer takes a plain brick of cream cheese, dresses it up with a tasty coating, then smokes it at a low temperature, infusing it with SO much flavor!

It’s a simple process, but it really takes that seasoned brick of creamy cheese to the next level - your taste buds will thank you!

That said, this tasty appetizer needs a big caveat:

You are going to want to make an extra brick or two, beyond what you think you’re going to need.

I guarantee you’ll never see a block of cream cheese disappear faster, than when you take one of these out of the smoker!

There’s a fair amount of waiting involved in smoking it - and it DOES store well in the fridge - so it’s best just to make some extra upfront.

Anyway, let’s get to it...

Ingredients

This smoked cream cheese recipe takes only 2 simple ingredients - 3 if you’re counting the cooking spray!

You’ll have no problem finding the 2 ingredients in any grocery store, assuming you don’t already have them on hand - we usually do!

That said, I have a few notes for you:

Cream Cheese

This recipe starts out with an 8-ounce block of cream cheese.

I’ve only ever made this with a block of full-fat cream cheese - Usually Philadelphia Cream Cheese - I’m not sure if a low-fat cream cheese like Neufchatel would work.

I think there’s a good chance that the lower fat content could lead to a dryer, possibly crumbly finished product.

Some day, we’ll experiment with it... but if you try it out first, be sure to comment below and let us know how it went!

Dry Rub, Etc

We tend to make this two main ways:

First off - the most common preparation for smoked cream cheese - we’ll use my Smoky Dry Rub.

Yes, it’s originally intended for wings, but its smoky, spicy flavors are FABULOUS for smoked cream cheese as well!

That said, you can use your favorite BBQ Rub.

This post is less of a set recipe, and more of a technique that is SUPER customizable to your tastes.

The other main way we’ll do this is using Everything Bagel Seasoning.

I’m way too cheap to buy the stuff, though, so I just throw some together when making this absolutely perfect appetizer.

The amounts given in my Everything Bagel Chicken recipe makes enough for about 2 bricks of cream cheese.

Equipment & Supplies

Aside from the actual ingredients, there are a few supplies you’ll need, as well as 1 piece of equipment:

A Smoker... or Not

First off, you’ll want a smoker. There are all kinds of different options - Electric Smoker, Pellet Smoker, Charcoal Smoker, Big Green Egg, Propane Smoker, Traeger Grill ...

Whatever you like to smoke foods in will work fine - so long as you can maintain a fairly low temperature.

No smoker?

You can smoke cream cheese on pretty much any kind of grill (Gas Grill, Propane Grill, Charcoal Grill, or Pellet Grill - there’s a note about that in the recipe.

Wood Chips or Pellets

Use whatever type of pellets / chips are recommended for your smoker. If you’re using a grill as a smoker, I recommend using chips.

Wood pellets and chips come in a variety of flavors to choose from. As a general idea:

Apple Wood Chips or Apple Wood Pellets, Cherry Wood Chips - or Cherry Wood Pellets , Maple Wood Chips - or Maple Wood Pellets, and Pecan Wood Chips - or Pecan Wood Pellets are all relatively “neutral” flavors.

That is to say, they’ll give your smoked cream cheese a SMOKE flavor, but it won’t necessarily be in-your-face with the specific wood flavour.

Hickory Wood Chips - or Hickory Wood Pellets, Mesquite Wood Chips - or Mesquite Wood Pellets, and Oak Wood Chips - or Oak Wood Pellets all impart more of the flavor of the specific wood.

It can be fun to play with flavor combos, between the more robust flavors of wood, and your seasoning choice.

We tend to use Jack Daniel's Bourbon Barrel Wood Chips ( Also available as Jack Daniel's Wood Pellets), as we love the flavor of it.

You can also buy wood chips made from barrels that had previously been use to age spirits:

Rum Barrel Wood Chips
Apple & Rum Barrel Wood Chips
Maple & Bourbon Barrel Wood Chips
Scotch Barrel Wood Chips

... are all great options!

Aluminum Foil

Finally, you’ll need some aluminum foil - or a small disposable foil pan.

I like to fashion my own small trays out of foil (shown below in the visual walk-through), but a small pie plate, etc is another good option.

I tend to keep each brick of cream cheese on its own tray / in its own pan.

That said, as long as you leave plenty of room between each brick - for the smoke to flow around them - you can definitely smoke multiple bricks on one pan.

Variations

Cream cheese is such a neutral base, you can do all kinds of smoked cream cheese variations.

Have some fun with trying out some different flavors, even starting with a seasoned cream cheese!

Try rolling your cream cheese in your favorite seasonings, like Taco Seasoning, Cajun Seasoning or Ranch Seasoning.

Want to boost the smoke flavor? Add some smoked seasonings to whatever you’re rolling it in.

Some of my favourite ingredients to bring a bit of smokiness include Smoked Paprika, Smoked Sea Salt, and Smoked Serrano Powder.

You can bring a bit of flair to the presentation by drizzling Hot Honey or spooning some Pepper Jelly on top of the block of cream cheese, just before serving.

Of course, you can always expand beyond savory flavors, and try a dessert version!

Try coating your cheese in finely crushed Graham Cracker Crumbs, Chocolate Cookie Crumbs, or Biscoff Cookie Crumbs.

You could even run some Nilla Wafers through a food processor.

Top the finished cream cheese with some homemade or canned pie filling for a quick “smoked cheesecake” type dessert.

Cherry Pie Filling, Apple Pie Filling, Strawberry Pie Filling, Blueberry Pie Filling, and Peach Pie Filling all go surprisingly well with the smoky flavor of the cream cheese!

Need a gluten free coating option for your sweet smoked cream cheese?

Use some Almond meal , cashew meal, walnut meal, hazelnut meal, or - my fav! - pistachio meal are all fantastic choices for a gluten free “cheesecake crust” type rub.

I’ll usually sweeten nut flour / nut meal up with a little granulated or brown sugar before rolling the cheese in it.

How to Smoke Cream Cheese

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through.

At least an hour before smoking – but ideally overnight – soak your wood chips in water.

Measure your seasoning of choice into a shallow dish.

Remove foil from cream cheese, place in dish, and turn to coat the entire surface area with the seasoning. You’ll want to press it into the brick of cream cheese, so it adheres well.

At this point, you can wrap it in plastic wrap and chill it to smoke later, or proceed with smoking:

Smoking Cream Cheese

Preheat your smoker to 200 F.
.
Note: While it’s pretty standard to fill your smoker’s water pan with hot water, we did NOT - opting to dry smoke.

Get your smoker going and the smoke... stabilized.

You don’t want to put the cream cheese in during the initial strong white smoke, you want the lower intensity, almost wispy smoke for this.

Heavy white smoke tends to cause a lot of soot, in our experience. Sooty cream cheese is not tasty cream cheese!

Note: If you don’t have a smoker, you can smoke cream cheese on a normal charcoal grill: we’ll toss about 1 big handful of wood chips right on the coals, adding more about every 20 minutes.

Whichever way you smoke them, keep an eye on them and remove them when you're happy with the degree of smoking.

Take a large piece of foil and fashion a small rimmed baking sheet out of it. Make one for each brick of cream cheese you will be smoking.

Alternately, you can use a small disposable aluminum pan - like a foil pie plate.

Place your block of cream cheese on the foil tray, spray with a bit of cooking spray - this will help the smoke “cling” to the cream cheese.

Use a sharp knife to carefully score the top of the cream cheese block with a crisscross pattern. I aim to cut about ½" down.

The score marks allow the smoke to permeate a bit further down into the cheese.

Repeat the process for each brick of cheese you’re smoking.

I like to keep the different rub flavours on separate pans.

Multiple bricks of the same flavor can be smoked on the same pan, just be sure to leave plenty of room between each.

Better air flow for the smoke = the best flavor.

Your cook time will vary wildly based on your smoker and your preferences.

We like to check on them right around the 1 hour mark. For our smoker, we use 2 big handfuls of wood chips at a time, adding more chips after about 30 minutes.

Serving Smoked Cream Cheese

Serve your smoked cream cheese creation hot, or cool to room temperature and chill in an airtight container until use.
We like to serve it hot, with a good selection of our favorite crackers - usually Ritz Crackers, Bacon Dippers, Stoned Wheat Thins, Vinta, and/or Sociables for those who can handle gluten.

For those of us who need gluten free options, I like to use Rice Crackers, Mary's Gone Crackers, and Schar Entertainment Crackers.

Tortilla chips, bagel chips, pita chips, and apple slices are some nice non-cracker accompaniments.

Sometimes we’ll top ours with thinly sliced green onions right before serving - especially when I do the “Everything Bagel” coating.

Whatever you serve your smoked cream cheese with, be sure to have a cheese knife on hand, for easier serving!

Enjoy!

More Grilling & Smoker Recipes!

Looking for an excuse to fire up the grill? I've got you...

Apple Chicken Burgers with Basil & Gouda
Armadillo Eggs
Smoked Cheese Balls
Chicken Souvlaki
Smoked Chicken Breast
Cold Smoked Mayo
Cold Smoked Potato Salad
Crispy Smoked Chicken Wings
Smoked French Fries
Crunchy Smoked Bacon
Grilled Jambalaya Skewers
Hop Marinated Chicken & Vegetable Skewers
Hoppy IPA BBQ Sauce
How to Cook Corn on the Cob
Hot Smoked Salmon
Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
Montreal Smoked Meat
Montreal Steak Spice & Marinade
Moroccan Spiced Lamb Burgers
Replica Diana Sauce
Smoked Mac and Cheese
Spinach Feta Salmon Burgers
Tandoori Spiced Chicken Burgers with Mango
Vegetarian Chorizo Burgers with Grilled Poblano & Cilantro Pesto

Also be sure to check out our recipe sections for Grilling Recipes and more Smoked Food Recipes.

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