Pillowy soft naan bread slathered with everything bagel spiced cream cheese, and generously topped with crisp spring vegetables, fresh herbs and cured (or smoked) salmon. This Spring Salmon Pizza is fast, flavorful, and absolutely fabulous!
Well, hey there friends! Happy Thursday!
Today we celebrate the imminent weekend with PIZZA!!
Because, really!? Shouldn’t we be celebrating EVERY day with pizza?
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Loaded Spring Salmon Pizza
AKA naan pizza loaded with ALL the spring things, and salmon for delicious good measure.
Let’s discuss…
Warm, toasty naan bread slathered with rich cream cheese, sprinkled with seedy, flavor-packed everything bagel spice, and lovingly topped with luxurious, delicate, thin slices of salmon, fresh herbs and cool, crisp spring vegetables.
This pizza is a sensational spring soirée for your taste buds, you guys.
The toppings are limitless (think avocado, tomatoes, caviar if your fancy) and the flavor is amazing.
But, if all that tasty pleasure wasn’t enough, I’m also declaring this pizza HEALTHY. Because with all those cool, crunchy veggies and that protein packed salmon, how could this NOT be health food?
In case you are looking at me sideways and giving me that naysayer glare, thinking, “but, what about the cream cheese?!” “And, that pillow-like pizza crust?!”
Well, to that I say, cheese and carbs ARE a part of the food pyramid. And balance is HEALTHY.
So obviously this pizza is DEFINITELY good for your diet. 😉
Now that we have covered all the good stuff, I feel like we should back it up real quick.
Don’t worry I’m not talking about twerking or anything crazy like that.
I’m talking about legit, beeeeep-beeeeep, backing it up. As in, a post rewind.
Mostly, because today’s crazy delicious recipe for salmon and cream cheese pizza with everything bagel seasoning utilizes the homemade cured salmon (aka gravlax) from Monday’s post.
Aaaaaand, a few people commented that they loved smoked salmon on that post.
While your love of smoked salmon IS all sorts of awesome, because I love smoked salmon too(!!), the gravlax from Monday is NOT the same thing as smoked salmon.
SO, I thought it might be helpful to drop a little 411 and share the difference between cured salmon and smoked salmon.
If you could care less and aren’t in the mood to get your culinary learn on, feel free to scroll down to the recipe. I promise, I won’t judge.
What is the difference between smoked salmon and cured salmon?
Without boring you TOO much, here is a SUPER SIMPLE breakdown:
Gravlax is a cured, UN-SMOKED salmon. There are 3 basic ingredients to the gravlax cure: salt, sugar and dill.
There are TWO types of smoked salmon, cold and hot.
Cold smoked salmon is cured in salt only. Then, it is rinsed and cold smoked… meaning, the smoke flavors the fish, but it does NOT cook the fish.
Hot smoked salmon is cured in only salt as well. But, then it is essentially barbequed… meaning it gets cooked ALL the way through until it is flakey.
Make sense?
Good.
That being said, on today’s pizza you can ABSOLUTELY use any kind of salmon – gravlax, cold smoked, hot smoked, poached, grilled. WHATEVER your little heart desires. Do you, people.
Notes, Tips & Tricks for Loaded Spring Salmon Pizza recipe:
- The measurement of salmon in the recipe below is approximate. Use as much, or as little as you would like.
- This pizza is highly customizable, and the toppings are limitless. Therefore in the recipe below, I didn’t include measurements, just mere suggestions. Add whatever produce is fresh, or whatever veggies you like and have on hand.
- I used homemade gravlax to make this pizza (which is SO easy to make at home)!! However, you can substitute smoked, poached, grilled, ANY type of salmon you would like for the cured salmon in this recipe.
- You can substitute flat breads for the naan, or you can use a ball of pizza dough to make one large pizza instead of 2 small pizzas. Just make sure you bake the pizza dough before assembling.
Give your pizza the fresh and fabulous treatment with this Loaded Spring Salmon Pizza.
Until next week friends, cheers – to killing it on Thursday with salmon on PIZZA. Because why should Friday have all the fun?
XOXO
Cheyanne
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How to make Loaded Spring Salmon Pizza at home 👇
Loaded Spring Salmon Pizza
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Cured Salmon Can substitute smoked salmon
- 2 Pieces Naan Bread (or 1 pre-baked large pizza crust)
- Optional Toppings:
- 1 Avocado sliced or diced
- 1 Shallot thinly sliced
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Micro Greens
- English Cucumber thinly sliced
- Radishes thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons of Fresh Herbs Dill, Chives, Parsley
- Capers drained
- Lemon Zest
- Everything Bagel Cream Cheese
- 8 ounces Whipped Cream Cheese at room temperature
- 1 tsp Dried Minced Onion
- 1 tsp Dried Minced Garlic
- 1 tsp Toasted Sesame Seeds
- 1 tsp Caraway Seeds
- 1 tsp Dried Chopped Chives
- 1 tsp Poppy Seeds
- ½ tsp Sea Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray for easy clean up.
- While the oven is preheating, make the everything bagel flavored cream cheese*: In a small bowl mix together the cream cheese and all the seasonings. If a looser cream cheese consistency is desired, stir in milk or cream, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
- Bake the Naan: Place the pieces of naan on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the naan is golden brown and toasted.
- To Assemble: Remove naan from the oven and spread heaping ¼ cup (or more to taste) of the flavored cream cheese on top. Scatter the salmon on top of the cream cheese and top with desired garnishes. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve immediately.
This pizza looks beautiful,the colors just scream spring!
Dang I sure missed drooling over your delicious concoctions last week! My daughter and I have a Friday Pizza night but skipped it this past week as we were outta town so our plan is to enjoy 2x the pizza this week and this naan pizza with smoked salmon would sure bring some elegance to our pizza night fete!
Happy Monday, sweet friend! xoxo
You do make the most amazing pizzas! Smoked, cured or BBQ….salmon is amazing. I still haven’t tried cured salmon, but one day I will. Hope your weekend was amazing!
Hope you are having a great weekend Cheyanne! This pizza looks amazing! Need to make your homemade cured salmon and the pizza! Great photos as always!
Thanks for the education, girlfriend! I’ll take salmon any way I can get it, but I’m coming over to have some of this salmon pizza. I’m totally into that everything bagel cream cheese! Pinned! XO
This is such an amazing take on smoked salmon and cream cheese! You’ve made such a beautiful pizza with all those spring veggies and that everything bagel cream cheese is such a great idea! This would be great for brunch, appetizers, or just to eat whenever. Have a wonderful weekend Cheyanne!
Oh my goodness! Salmon and cream cheese and naan! This I should my kind of pizza. Watch out. I’d eat it all!
Well this is stunningly gorgeous! And, seriously, thank you for the lowdown on smoked salmon and gravlax. Is lox the same a gravlax? On the gravlax, is the vodka just for flavor or is it part of the curing? (Pelting you with questions like I’m Carl Sagan! haha)
So trying this – making the salmon and the pizza, because, YUM!
Your knowledge about food is astonishing, Cheyanne. I also love using naans for pizza. And this one here looks Spring-tastic and delish. This is definitely a keeper. This would surely make a wonderful weekend treat. Have a lovely weekend. 🙂
Oohhh – love the idea of baking the naan first and then spreading the cream cheese mixture, Cheyanne! Such a pretty flavorful dish! I’m such a fan of naan pizza – so easy and so good. Have a great weekend!
This is genius! And thanks for dropping some smoked salmon knowledge on us – I had no idea the difference between all three.
Anything with salmon especially cured salmon makes me one happy girl. This naan bread pizza looks delicious Cheyanne. I’m drooling over here. I’ve been avoiding carbs because carbs bloat me but this recipe looks like it’s worth it. Who twerks nowadays? I surely don’t. Thanks for explained the difference between smoked salmon and cured salmon. Those capers send me over the moon! Loving this recipe 🙂
Oh pizza! It’s been far too long since I’ve had you!! As you know I’m still slowly getting to like salmon and will only eat it from one place 😉 haha But maybe at some point I’d be brave enough to try it another way – like on pizza!!
Gorgeous, Cheyanne, this would be so perfect for a spring brunch, you do the best pizza!
Thanks Chey for being a little nerdy and clarifying the things about salmon today:) This pizza does indeed sound and look fabulous. That’s not surprising though – cream cheese, gravlax, abocadoes, and many other good things. It’s like a gigantic bagel withough a hole:) Happy (almost) weekend, buddy!
Whenever I see the word “pizza” appear on your site, I KNOW it’s gonna be a GOOD day! 🙂 I’m seriously drooling over your description of this “pillowy soft naan.” Wait here a sec while I safely back away from my keyboard and grab a napkin… 😉 This pizza is a for-realsies piece of art. How do you do it? <3 So cool to learn the difference between cured & un-smoked salmon, cold smoked salmon and hot smoked salmon. Basically, if I ever have any culinary questions, I'm comin' to mah bestie! Here's to killin' it all the Thursdays with pizza! Muah. xoxo Text you soon!
I agree with Annie and Mary Ann, you have a natural talent to teach. This will be perfect for easter brunch and not just the kids table!! loving this salmon vibe you are on girl!
I’m with Annie Chey!! You’d make an amazing teacher too! Your creativity, as I’ve mentioned previously, always astounds me! And you always make the prettiest pizzas! This one is so springy and gorgeous! I love all the ingredients you’ve combined! So colorful and delicious! Happy weekend!
Your food knowledge astounds me! Have you ever thought of teaching along with blogging? You are a natural, my dear! This naan pizza looks and sounds incredible! Do you deliver? Have a great weekend, lovely! xo
Cheyanne, this is such a beautiful pizza! I LOVE cured salmon (and smoked).. heck I just love me some salmon. I’ve gotta try this one ASAP. If I could get my family on board with pizza for Easter, I’d totally have this 😉 Have a fab weekend!
Oh I love where Monday’s salmon went!! Perfect with the all the wonderful toppings and of course, everything cream cheese!! Yes please 🙂
Hooooly moly. My love of smoked salmon makes me the worst vegetarian ever and usually I feel bad about that. But not today! That pizza has me wanting to run to the store right.this.second because I need this in my life! I love that it’s kind of the flavors of a bagel with lox, because that happens to be my fave breakfast EVER! Have an awesome weekend, Cheyanne!
Yay for pizza Thursday! I’m all about pizza any day of the week, but it’s usually much needed as we near Friday. I’m LOVING your spring salmon pizza! All of my favorites are on here! I puffy heart salmon SO much, so I’m kicking myself as to why I’ve never tried it on pizza before. Such a genius idea! I’ve got to try this, and soon. Pinned, of course! Happy almost weekend, friend!
Whatever forms of salmon – hot smoked, cold smoked, gravlax, broiled, baked, bbq’d, I shall shove it in ma piehole, please and thank you 🙂 Hot smoked is more popular around here than the gralax style, but it is ALL good and thanks for the 411 girl! This one looks fresh, bright and just dang tasty. Dare on say throw an egg on there for brekky?? Pushing it too far? Maybe? Nay….bet that would be deadly 🙂 Have I had too much coffee? Maybe. Never 😉 Pinning! Have a great weekend! XO
I pretty much love salmon ALL the ways, and I also love picking up some culinary tidbits from you! This spring fresh pizza feels so right and so fun and trendy! The naan pizza base, the everything bagel spices and that combo of cream cheese and salmon and all the fun toppings – YES girl! Loving it and it’s the perfect thing to get me to the weekend! Pinned! Hope you have a fabulous one! XO
This looks amazingly delicious! I love to use flatbread to make pizza too. This is definitely a keeper.