This smoked cream cheese is loaded with so much flavor you'll never believe it's made with just 2 ingredients! A quick coat in my favorite dry rub and 2 hours slowly smoking in a pellet grill transforms the cream cheese into a creamy, savory appetizer your guests will love!
You Will Love This
- It requires just 2 ingredients! Cream cheese and my easy dry rub are all you need! If you don't have literally 3 minutes to throw together my dry rub - which perfectly blends the flavors of sweet and savory - you can use your favorite BBQ rub from the store as well!
- If you loved this easy smoker recipe, be sure to check out my smoked mac and cheese, 10-minute smoked salmon dip, and 5-ingredient smoked queso.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cream Cheese - Use full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor and texture. Low fat or fat-free just won't be as good.
- Easy Dry Rub - My easy dry rub is perfect for anything you want to smoke, including cream cheese! It relies on brown sugar for a hint of sweetness. Chili powder, cumin, and paprika for a little spice and smoke. And garlic powder and onion powder to tie it all together.
Instructions
Turn the pellet grill to smoke. Spread dry rub on a rimmed plate. Coat cream cheese in the dry rub, gently pressing it into the surface of the cream cheese, until the entire block is coated.
Score the top of the block of cream cheese in a cross-hatch pattern. If desired, drizzle with olive oil or spray with olive oil spray.
Transfer to a disposable aluminum pan or cast iron skillet. Turn the pellet smoker to 250 degrees and smoke for 2 hours.
Drizzle with honey and garnish with sliced green onion if desired. Serve with sliced French bread and Ritz crackers and enjoy!
Tips
- Make your own crostini! If you want to take this appetizer to the next level, try pairing it with my super easy crostini recipe! Crispy, crunchy olive oil drizzled slices of French baguette are the perfect accompaniment for this warm, creamy dip!
- Don’t forget to score the cream cheese. This step may not seem important, but it really does make a huge difference! Scoring the cream cheese opens up the block which helps make sure the smoky flavor gets to the middle of the cream cheese and that it warms through evenly.
- While you're scoring the cream cheese, it may stick to the knife along with some of the dry rub. To remedy this, you can slightly wet a sharp knife before scoring, or you can use a paper towel to clean the knife in between each slice.
- You'll know the cream cheese is done when the edges of the score lines begin to pull away from each other and the center is warm. To check if it's warm, insert a butter knife into the center for a few seconds. Carefully feel the end of the butter knife and if it's warm the cream cheese is done. If it's cold, give it a bit more time and then test again.
- If you're feeding a crowd, feel free to smoke 2-3 bricks of cream cheese at one time!
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Variations
This smoked cream cheese recipe is really like a blank canvas! You can make it sweet, savory, or a mix of both. Some of our family's favorite variations include:
- bagel seasoning
- taco seasoning
- cinnamon sugar
- crispy crumbled bacon
- seasonal jellies (cherry, marionberry, raspberry)
- pepper jelly
Serve With
- crackers
- crostini
- sliced French baguette
- carrots
- celery
- apple slices
- pita chips
- tortilla chips
What Type of Wood Chips to Use
- For this smoked cream cheese I like to use a mix of apple and hickory.
- Hickory and mesquite are traditionally used for meat as they have a strong flavor so if you're planning to use one of those, I recommend blending it with something a bit milder like apple, oak, maple, or cherry.
- This article talks a lot more in-depth about what types of wood to use and why. I highly recommend taking a look if you're undecided.
FAQ
Cream cheese will take about 2 hours or so depending on what temp you smoke it at and how smoky you want it to taste. I like to smoke it at 250 degrees for about 2 hours for the best smoky flavor and creamy texture.
Once you've smoked the cream cheese it will stay good in the fridge for 3-4 days sealed in an airtight container. I'm quite certain, however, that you likely won't have leftovers anyway!
Smoked cream cheese is done when the cross-hatch pattern has become quite visible, meaning the slices in the cream cheese have started to pull away from each other, and it's warm and creamy in the middle. To see if it's warm in the middle, carefully insert a butter knife into the center for a few seconds. Carefully feel the knife - if it's warm the cream cheese is done. If it's cold, give it some more time.
Smoked cream cheese does still need to be refrigerated after it’s cooked. Simply place it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
The flavor of the smoked cream cheese will vary depending on what type of wood pellets you use and what you top it with! Coating it in my easy dry rub recipe is going to give you that classic pellet smoker flavor, while the honey and green onions had a bit of sweetness and a bite.
Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating
- Make-Ahead: While I do prefer this smoked cream cheese straight from the pellet grill, it can be made ahead of time and reheated! You can reheat it in a 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or until warmed through.
- Storage: Store leftover smoked cream cheese in an airtight container or wrapped in aluminum foil/plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat the smoked cream cheese in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes or until warmed through. I don't recommend reheating it in the smoker as it will take a long time to heat up and can potentially dry out.
More Easy Appetizer Recipes
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Smoked Cream Cheese
This smoked cream cheese is loaded with so much flavor you'll never believe it's made with just 2 ingredients! A quick coat in my favorite dry rub and 2 hours slowly smoking in a pellet grill transforms the cream cheese into a creamy, savory appetizer your guests will love!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Pellet Grill
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 8 oz. block cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons easy dry rub
Optional
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- thinly sliced green onion
Instructions
- Turn pellet grill to smoke.
- Spread dry rub on a rimmed plate.
- Coat cream cheese in the dry rub, gently pressing it into the surface of the cream cheese, until the entire block is coated.
- Score the top of the block of cream cheese in a cross-hatch pattern.
- If desired, drizzle with olive oil or spray with olive oil spray.
- Transfer to a disposable aluminum pan.
- Smoke at 250 degrees for 2 hours.
- Drizzle with honey and garnish with sliced green onion if desired. Serve with sliced French bread and Ritz crackers and enjoy!
Notes
- Make your own crostini! If you want to take this appetizer to the next level, try pairing it with my super easy crostini recipe! Crispy, crunchy olive oil drizzled slices of French baguette are the perfect accompaniment for this warm, creamy dip!
- Don’t forget to score the cream cheese. This step may not seem important, but it really does make a huge difference! Scoring the cream cheese opens up the block which helps make sure the smoky flavor gets to the middle of the cream cheese and that it warms through evenly.
- While you're scoring the cream cheese, it may stick to the knife along with some of the dry rub. To remedy this, you can slightly wet a sharp knife before scoring, or you can use a paper towel to clean the knife in between each slice.
- You'll know the cream cheese is done when the edges of the score lines begin to pull away from each other and the center is warm. To check if it's warm, insert a butter knife into the center for a few seconds. Carefully feel the end of the butter knife and if it's warm the cream cheese is done. If it's cold, give it a bit more time and then test again.
- If you're feeding a crowd, feel free to smoke 2-3 bricks of cream cheese at one time!
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 103
- Sugar: 1.1 g
- Sodium: 89.5 mg
- Fat: 9.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.3 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 1.9 g
- Cholesterol: 28.7 mg
Keywords: cream cheese appetizer
Susan Cairns Hatcher
Is there another way to smoke the cream cheese if you do not have a pellet grill?
Kylie
I do think that you can smoke cream cheese without with a regular grill and some soaked woodchips, but I am not an expert in this field unfortunately!
Jackie Moore
Love this smoked cream cheese! I’m new to this process. I see you can smoke 2 blocks at a time. Could I use different rubs on each and still smoke together, or would the flavors commingle? Thanks for your help!
★★★★★
Kylie
No you should definitely try two different rubs - I think that would be amazing!!
Poppy
When you do your variation with pepper jelly, do you smoke the cheese with the pepper jelly on it? Or do you add the pepper jelly after smoking?
Kylie
I like to add the pepper jelly after smoking the cream cheese. Great question, Poppy!
Elsie S. Stewart
I tried this recipe and it's really good. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to try the recipe.
★★★★★
Sharon
Such an easy and delicious recipe! We will be making this again and again!
★★★★★