Smoked Cream Cheese
How to Smoke Cream Cheese – This easy Traeger smoker recipe uses a bit of brown sugar and a handful of spices to make spicy, sweet, smoky, and tangy smoked cream cheese as a crowd-pleasing party dip or spread!
Why We Love This Smoked Cream Cheese Recipe
We love using our electric Traeger smoker for recipes other than just main dish proteins. This Smoked Cream Cheese recipe makes a fabulous and unique dip or spread for parties and snacks!
Here we coat a block of rich and tangy cream cheese with a combination of brown sugar and earthy and bold spices. The flavor is irresistibly deep and savory, with just the right hint of sweetness and a creamy texture. Prep is easy and takes only a few minutes, and the coated cheese smokes in just about an hour. This is a dip that tastes amazing and seems super impressive but is basically effortless to make.
Serve this easy appetizer warm with crunchy crackers and/or veggies, or use the smoky cream cheese dip as a spread on bread and other dishes. You won’t believe how fast it will disappear!
Ingredients You Need
- Cream cheese – a block of full-fat cream cheese
- Light brown sugar – the sweetness balances out the bold spices
- Ancho chili powder – a mild spice that has just a light kick of heat, but feel free to omit
- Paprika – smoked paprika is perfect for this recipe
- Dried thyme – adds a nice warm, earthy flavor
- Garlic powder – for a dash of savoriness
- Salt and pepper – we use a generous amount here to really punch up all of the spices
We love this combination of smoky spices with a touch of sweetness, but feel free to mix up the dry rub for the cream cheese with any herbs and spices you like!
How to Smoke Cream Cheese
Preheat an electric smoker to 200°F. Add your favorite wood pellets to the smoker (like hickory, mesquite, or cherry wood pellets.)
Set out a shallow dish and measure the sugar, herbs, and spices into the dish. Mix the dry rub seasoning well and shake out into a thin layer.
Open the block of cream cheese. Use a sharp knife to cut a crosshatch pattern on the top of the cream cheese block. Make sure the knife only goes down into the cream cheese about ¼ inch.
Gently press the block of cream cheese into the spice rub on all sides so it’s fully coated.
The spice rub not only flavors the cream cheese but also acts as a wrapper to hold it together, so coat it well.
Place the cream cheese on a small baking pan with the cross-hatch side up.
Then place on the smoker and close the lid. Smoke the cream cheese for one hour to develop smoky flavor.
Get the Complete (Printable) Traeger Smoked Cream Cheese Recipe + Video Below. Enjoy!
Carefully move the cream cheese block to a serving platter.
Pro Tip: It will be very soft so move it carefully with a large flat spatula.
Serving Suggestions
Serve warm with your favorite dippers! The soft, creamy cheese is incredible with crunchy crackers… And the smoky spices make it great with all kinds of flavors of crackers, from super mild water crackers, to earthy whole wheat crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips, bagel chips, graham crackers, nilla wafers, and even apple slices!
This low-carb smoked cream cheese recipe is perfect for gluten-free snackers, too! Serve with crisp fresh veggies like bell pepper slices, carrot sticks, celery sticks, thick cucumber slices, or any of your favorite sturdy vegetables.
It’s also scrumptious to use as a spread on warm pieces of sliced baguette or hunks of crusty bread. Or on savory sandwiches where you’d typically enjoy plain cream cheese! Try it on thick-sliced turkey or chicken sandwiches, on a low carb bell pepper sandwich, or on these summer garden hot dogs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Don’t have a smoker? No problem! You can bake this cream cheese recipe as well! Same time and temperature.
We like to eat freshly-smoked cream cheese while warm. It’s soft and slightly gooey, and the heat just feels right with the warm smoky spices.
That being said, this dip is still absolutely delicious served cold if that’s what you prefer! Let the block of cream cheese cool completely at room temperature before chilling in the fridge. I suggest letting it sit on the countertop for several minutes before serving, to soften it up a bit for scooping.
You can reheat it in the smoker, oven, or even in the microwave. Warm smoked cream cheese in the smoker or oven for 10-15 minutes at 200°F. To reheat in the microwave, warm the cheese in short 5-second bursts at 50% power.
Cool the cream cheese at room temperature, then transfer it to an airtight container. Smoked cream cheese will keep well for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Sure! Instead of making the rub from scratch, use your favorite bbq rub, taco seasoning, cajun seasoning, bagel seasoning, ranch seasoning, or any other spice blend you like.
Looking for More Delicious Dips & Spreads? Be Sure to Try:
- Smoked Salmon Dip
- Whipped Cottage Cheese Dip
- Best Pimento Cheese
- Creamy Sausage Cheese Dip
- Smoked Queso Dip
Smoked Cream Cheese Recipe + Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounce cream cheese in block form
- 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat an electric smoker to 200°F. Add your favorite wood pellets to the smoker.
- Set out a shallow dish. Measure the sugar, herbs, and spices into the dish. Mix the dry rub seasoning well and shake out into a thin layer.
- Open the block of cream cheese. Cut a cross-hatch pattern in the top of the cream cheese. Make sure the knife only goes down into the cream cheese about ¼ inch.
- Gently press the block of cream cheese into the spice rub on all sides so it's fully coated. The spice rub not only flavors the cream cheese, but it also acts as a wrapper to hold the cream cheese together, so coat it well.
- Place the cream cheese on a small baking tray with the cross-hatch side up. Then place on the smoker and close the lid. Smoke the cream cheese for one hour.
- Carefully move the cream cheese block to a serving platter. (It will be very soft so move it carefully with a large flat spatula.) Arrange crackers, sliced bread, or cut vegetables around the cream cheese and serve warm!
This smoked cream cheese is so incredibly flavorful! So good!
Wow, this cheese spread was everything and more that I wanted it to be! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!
We also make our smoked cream cheese with the Spicy Jalapeno or Honey Jalapeno tub cream cheese. Just scoop out of the tub and roll into a ball, then roll in the spices and smoke as per the recipe.
Soooo good!
can you use the smoke cream cheese for cheesecake, looking for anther way to make cheesecake