The perfect easy brunch item - scallion cream cheese with just 3 ingredients! This is a delicious condiment to have on hand for weekday breakfasts, or turn it into a bigger spread and make your own smoked salmon charcuterie board! Add some Cajun bacon candy or a ham and cheese quiche for a perfect start to the day.
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Ok, this is TRULY one of those recipes that is so much more than the sum of its parts. I love having little breakfast things on hand for weekday breakfasts (looking at you, cookie dough energy bites!), and a yummy flavored cream cheese spread to go with some storebought bagels is a verrrrryyyyyy nice gift to your future self if you add it to your meal prep routine every other week or so.
Think: deli-style cream cheese with scallions, fluffy because we start with whipped cream cheese, spread over a (buttered first! treat yourself!) toasty bagel, steaming coffee, yep yep yep let's elevate our breakfasts, please and thank you.
Ingredients
- Cream Cheese Choice: The only thing to note here is that whipped cream cheese is WAY easier to stir straight from the fridge, and I love the fluffy texture. If you prefer regular cream cheese, go for that!
- Scallions: I use two scallions for this amount of cream cheese, and find that gives a nice oniony bite without straight mouthfuls of onions - a bit much for breakfast. If you're super into scallions or your green onions are very thin, use 3 or 4. I cut them lengthwise, then thinly slice them to make little bits of scallion that mix evenly throughout the cream cheese.
See the recipe card below for full ingredient list and quantities.
How to Make Scallion Cream Cheese
Step 1: Add the cream cheese, scallions, salt, and lemon zest to a large bowl.
Step 2: Stir the cream cheese mixture together until it's nice and smooth, then taste and add more salt if needed.
And that's IT: truly a 10-minute or less recipe. Don't worry if the scallion flavor isn't very strong; it will get stronger as it sits although you can serve this right away and it is absolutely delicious.
Pro Tips and FAQ
RIGHT?! I truly think it's the flavor combo here of creamy, nearly sweet cream cheese (though not sweetened) with the sharp bite of scallions and a little extra salt for flavor. The lemon zest is a huge flavor boost in this recipe, but honestly not mandatory - you can skip it if you aren't into lemon.
Anything you want! The classic serving is to make yourself a very cute scallion cream cheese bagel, but I love this with crackers for dunking or stirred into hot pasta with some fresh herbs and grilled shrimp. Trust: SO.GOOD.
Ok, this is a question that might start fights, so I'm going to diplomatically state that any bagel you love is the best. BUT, a sesame bagel is really really really good toasted with this cream cheese. Other front runners are plain, onion, cheese, and everything bagels - all the savory options!
Serving Suggestions
I love this with bagels, but you can amp it up by making a little (or big!) smoked salmon charcuterie board! I also think this cream cheese spread on bread to make cucumber sandwiches using homemade focaccia would be a DELIGHT, and this scooped on top of some cast iron skillet salmon would give ~bagel and lox~ vibes without the bagel.
Make-Ahead and Leftover Storage
- Make-Ahead: This cream cheese can be made in advance and kept in the fridge up to a week. If you can, let it sit for about 20 minutes after you make it to let the lemon zest and scallion flavor start to flavor all of the cream cheese.
- Leftovers can be kept covered in the fridge for a week (or longer, dairy is very good at telling you when it's bad) and used for breakfast all week long!
I hope you love this, and let me know what else you end up doing with it! The scallion + citrus flavor combo is just wonderful on all sorts of things - bagels are just the beginning.
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
Recipe
Scallion Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whipped cream cheese (see note)
- 2 scallions thinly sliced (halved first if large)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 lemon zested (about 2 teaspoons lemon zest)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Stir to combine until well-mixed. Taste, and add more salt to your preference.
- Serve immediately on bagels (or however you like!) or let sit for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. The scallion flavor will intensify as the cream cheese sits. YUM.
This scallion cream cheese is rich, creamy, and packed with fresh oniony goodness—perfect for bagels, sandwiches, or dips!
Love a good and easy cream cheese recipe and this one fits the bill!
This is a great spread for crackers and or a morning bagel!
Made this for brunch, and the lemon zest really brightens the flavor. It spread so easily on a warm bagel—definitely adding this to my breakfast rotation!
This is so simple and easy, and it was PERFECT on my bagels for breakfast. Om nom nom.