Vegan Carrot Lox

You won't miss the fish in this smoky, savory vegan carrot lox recipe! Piled onto bagels with all the classic fixings, it's just as good as the real thing.

Carrot Lox Bagels

I have to admit, I was skeptical when I first tried this carrot lox recipe last spring. At this point, we’re all used to the idea of vegan burgers, meatballs, and taco meat, but vegan smoked salmon still seemed like a stretch. I loved the idea of creating a vibrant veggie version of traditional lox, but would it really work?

Well, fast forward a year, and this carrot lox is now my go-to bagel topping! Thanks to a tangy, smoky marinade and a long roast with plenty of salt, the carrot lox is surprisingly similar to smoked salmon. It’s tender and a tiny bit oily, with an irresistible smoky, savory flavor. Topped onto a toasted bagel with all the classic fixings, it’s just as good as the real thing.

If you want to step out of the pancakes and eggs box for Mother’s Day (or any weekend) brunch, try this carrot lox recipe! It’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s really darn delicious. 🙂

Salt-crusted roasted carrots

How to Make Carrot Lox

This vegan smoked salmon recipe has three key steps: roasting, peeling, and marinating. Here’s how it goes:

First, roast the carrots with salt. A lot of salt. You should have a 1/4-inch layer at the bottom of your baking dish and a generous coating of salt on top of the carrots too. Don’t worry – the salt infuses the carrots with flavor as they roast, but you’ll only end up eating a small amount in the final dish.

Carrot ribbons

Then, peel them into ribbons to mimic thin sheets of smoked salmon. Allow the carrots to cool, and rub off any excess salt with your hands. Slice a long, thin strip of skin off each carrot with a knife, and then use a vegetable peeler to peel the carrots lengthwise into ribbons.

Finally, marinate! I make a bold, smoky marinade with ingredients you likely already have on hand: olive oil, rice vinegar, smoked paprika, lemon juice, and pepper (no liquid smoke here!). Toss to coat the ribbons in the marinade, and transfer them to the fridge to soak for at least 15 minutes. Stored in the marinade, the carrot lox will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.

That’s it!

Carrot Lox Marinade

Carrot Lox Serving Suggestions

When you’re ready to eat, pile the carrot lox onto toasted bagels with vegan cream cheese (or regular cream cheese, if you’re not vegan), fresh dill, chives, capers, cucumber, and thinly sliced red onion. Pickled red onions would be great here too!

If it’s just the two of us, Jack and I often enjoy these carrot lox bagels as a meal on their own. However, they’re also great for serving a crowd. Pair them with fresh fruit, a veggie crudité platter, or a salad. They’d be fantastic with any of these salad recipes:

Don’t forget the mimosas to drink! Enjoy!

Vegan Lox Bagels

More Favorite Brunch Recipes

If you love making carrot lox, try one of these plant-based brunch recipes next:

Then, find more of my best brunch recipes here and more of my favorite vegan recipes here!

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Vegan Carrot Lox

rate this recipe:
5 from 43 votes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves 4
This vegan carrot lox is just as smoky and delicious as the real thing! I recommend using large, thick carrots for this recipe, as they're easier to peel into ribbons than smaller carrots.

Ingredients

for serving:

  • bagels
  • vegan cream cheese
  • cucumber slices
  • capers
  • chives and/or dill

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 475°F and line a medium baking dish with parchment paper. Coat the bottom with about a ¼-inch layer of salt, then place the whole carrots in the dish and sprinkle with a good amount of salt (see photo). Don’t worry, you won’t be eating all this salt in the final result. Roast the carrots until easily pierced with a fork, but not mushy. The timing will depend on the size and freshness of your carrots. Check them, starting around 40 minutes - my very large carrots took 60-90 minutes. This step can be done in advance.
  • Make the marinade: In a shallow dish or small bowl, combine the olive oil, rice vinegar, paprika, lemon juice, and several grinds of freshly ground black pepper.
  • Remove the carrots from the oven and let cool. Use your hands to rub off any excess salt. Use a knife to slice a thin strip off one side of the salty skin, and then use a peeler to peel the carrot into ribbons. If your peeler get's snagged on the soft carrot, that's ok, just slice pieces as thinly as you can with a sharp knife. Place the strips in the marinade and toss to coat. Transfer to the refrigerator and marinate for 15-30 minutes.
  • Serve with bagels, cream cheese, cucumber slices, capers, chives and/or dill.
  • If you have extra carrots, cover and refrigerate them in the marinade for up to 4 days.

50 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Shelley
    12.27.2023

    5 stars
    Is 475° a typo? There’s a book named Fahrenheit 451: the temperature at which books burn. I didn’t want to catch fire to the parchment paper in my oven, so I did 425. I suspect that was too high, as my various we’re quite soft at 40 minutes even though they were very large.

  2. marty
    10.26.2023

    how far ahead can this be made?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.27.2023

      Hi Marty, I store the carrot lox in the fridge for up to about 5 days.

  3. Tracey
    10.23.2023

    Hello! First go at this, looks amazing! Peel the carrots before roasting (I think not)?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.27.2023

      Hi Tracey, you could but I don’t.

  4. Samantha
    05.20.2023

    5 stars
    So delicious! Favorite new recipe

  5. Holly
    02.20.2023

    Liquid smoke is literally just an extract of natural smoke. It zero difference to smoked paprika in regards to how healthy it is – assuming you’re avoiding it for ignorant reasons under a “health” thought process. It’s as unhealthy as vanilla extract.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.20.2023

      Hi Holly, I just don’t keep it on hand and I figure most people don’t. I’m sure it might be good here!

    • alejandra
      03.12.2023

      Why be so rude for no reason? No need to make hasty assumptions lol what a wild comment!!

      • Hwhite
        03.03.2024

        5 stars
        I agree about the unnecessary rudeness! Kudos to the host for her diplomatic response!. Now onto the lox……

  6. Terry
    01.11.2023

    5 stars
    Loved it! Easy to make. I’m never eating real lox again.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      01.13.2023

      Hi Terry, so glad you loved this!

  7. Genevieve
    08.23.2022

    I tried a sample of vegan carrot lox at a food festival and was inspired to make my own – I had seen quite a variety of recipes but decided to try this one as I thought roasting the carrots would bring out more flavour compared to boiling. I’m not sure what actual salmon lox is supposed to taste like so I don’t have much to compare it to, but I was happy with how this turned out! I did change the marinade a bit – used less oil (I didn’t want it to be too oily), and added some soy sauce and maple syrup. I also could have roasted the carrots a bit less as I did find they fell apart easily when I tried peeling them, so I didn’t get as many nice wide strips, but at least they still tasted good even if they didn’t look as pretty as the ones in the pictures!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.26.2022

      Hi Genevieve, I’m glad you enjoyed them! I think the carrot timing can vary depending on the size of your carrots. Sometimes mine fall apart too (but I think it’s better than them being too crunchy)

  8. Manon
    06.07.2022

    Hi, I was wondering if it’s possible to omit the salt altogether while roasting. Would it still come out all right?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      06.11.2022

      Hi Manon, you probably could, but it might have more of a carroty flavor vs. a lox flavor.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.