How to Build the Perfect Bagel Board
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We only ever break the fast with one thing: bagels, schmear, and lox. It’s all about building the perfect bagel. Everyone has their own strategy—I scoop out both sides of the bagel and then rip it into pieces to make four different open-faced sandwiches. (Same as how I like my toast!) This gives me the most variety and the perfect ratio of flavors in every bite.
I’ll always have one that’s cream cheese, lox, tomatoes, onion, and capers (and sometimes cucumber). Then I’ll do white fish salad and cream cheese together (it’s so delicious). Salmon salad and cream cheese together are also incredible. I pile both tuna and egg salads on the last piece.
I look forward to this delicious meal all day (for obvious reasons) and I always host! Here are my top tips for building the perfect bagel spread that everyone will love.
Get a variety of bagels (and bialys, if you’re into it): Plain, everything, onion, salt, or your other faves
Schmears & salads: Plain cream cheese, scallion cream cheese, egg salad, tuna salad, white fish salad, salmon salad, lox
Thinly sliced veggies: Tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, avocado, radishes
For extra crunch: Romaine or little gem leaves cut off the stem
Add herbs and flavor: Chopped dill, scallions, lemon wedges, capers, cornichons
In pinch bowls: Everything but the bagel spice mix, flaky sea salt
If you have time, I also like to make a few simple salads to add to the bagel board to add extra crunch and veggies. Here are a few of my faves:
The easiest way to serve these to a crowd is to load everything onto a big cutting board so everyone can build their perfect bagel. I love using Sophistiplate for this meal. It saves me from a mess later and has a more elevated look than paper plates. To make clean-up even easier, line your cutting board with parchment paper before you set everything down. All these tips make hosting a breeze.
