How To Make Lox (Easy Salmon Lox Recipe) | Wholesome Yum (2024)

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Table Of Contents hide

  • What Is Lox?
  • Homemade Lox Ingredients
  • How To Make Lox
  • Lox FAQs
  • Salmon Lox Storage Instructions
  • How To Eat Lox
  • Tools To Make Lox At Home
  • How To Make Lox (Easy Salmon Lox Recipe)

Smoked salmon or lox are common staples at any grocery store, but if you want the best lox, it’s time to learn how to make lox from fresh salmon at home. It’s easier than you might think! This salmon lox recipe is made with just 3 ingredients and 15 minutes prep time. After some time in the fridge, you’ll have fresh lox that tastes better than anything you could buy at the store and there are so many ways to enjoy it – I’m sharing a whole list below.

If you love salmon, try my other popular salmon recipes: basil pesto salmon, baked salmon, smoked salmon salad, salmon foil packets, or crab stuffed salmon.

What Is Lox?

Lox is simply salmon that has been cured with salt, which preserves it. The name comes from the Yiddish word for salmon, laks. And it’s delicious!

Quick salmon lox overview:

  • What does lox taste like? Lox tastes salty, salmon-y, and buttery, with a smooth texture.
  • Is it easy to make? Yes, this salmon lox recipe is very easy.
  • How much time will I need? You only need about 15 minutes of active prep time to make lox at home, but plan for 48 hours for it to cure in the fridge. You’ll need to be home to drain it every 12 hours.

How To Make Lox (Easy Salmon Lox Recipe) | Wholesome Yum (2)

Homemade Lox Ingredients

You only need a few basic ingredients to make lox at home:

  • Salmon – Choose the thick belly section, if possible (belly lox is the best kind!). You can get skin-on or skinless salmon, either will work, but skin-on will be a bit more flavorful.
  • Fresh dill – Nothing beats the aroma of fresh dill, so I don’t recommend using dried. But if you really want to, use 1/3 the amount.
  • Sea salt – You can also use kosher salt if you like. I don’t recommend using table salt.
  • White pepper – Using white pepper is best for appearance so that you don’t have specks from black pepper, but black works just fine if that’s what you have.

Some people add sugar to their lox recipes, but I don’t find it necessary at all. Salt is all you really need to cure the salmon, and the dill and white pepper add loads of flavor.

Ingredient amounts for making this salmon lox recipe are on the recipe card below.

How To Make Lox (Easy Salmon Lox Recipe) | Wholesome Yum (3)

How To Make Lox

  • Rinse salmon. Rinse under cold water and pat dry.

How To Make Lox (Easy Salmon Lox Recipe) | Wholesome Yum (4)

  • Prep salmon for curing. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and sprinkle with fresh dill, sea salt, and white pepper. Place salmon on top and sprinkle with more dill, sea salt, and white pepper.

TIP: Cover salmon generously with seasonings.It’s normal for it to look like a lot! (Measurements are on the recipe card below.)

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  • Chill. Wrap up the plastic wrap around salmon tightly, then wrap in a second layer of plastic wrap and place in a shallow baking dish…

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Top with a smaller baking dish and add metal cans on top to weigh down the salmon. Refrigerate for 36 hours, flipping over and draining every 12 hours.

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  • Rinse. Rinse salmon to remove salt and pat dry. Refrigerate again, this time uncovered, for up to 12 hours or overnight.

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  • Slice lox. Use a sharp knife to slice thinly for serving.

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Lox FAQs

Homemade sliced lox is incredibly easy to make, and most of the common questions about it center around the differences between lox vs. gravlax vs. smoked salmon. I’ve got the answers!

What kind of fish is lox?

Lox is made from salmon.

What is the difference between gravlax vs. lox?

Lox and gravlax are almost the same: both are only cured and not smoked. Gravlax typically has more spices added: sugar, salt, pepper, dill, juniper berry, citrus, and aquavit are the most common.

My easy lox recipe has just salt, white pepper, and dill, and some may call it gravlax, but I don’t think it has enough spices to qualify for that. Whatever you call it, it’s delicious!

What is the difference between lox vs. smoked salmon?

Lox is cured, but not smoked. Smoked salmon is cured but then also smoked, which gives it a different texture than lox.

What is Nova lox?

Nova lox can have two meanings. Sometimes it’s simply lox made with salmon that comes from the Nova Scotia region. It can also mean a combination of using Nova to make a specific style of smoked salmon, where the fish is cured (like this homemade lox recipe) and then lightly smoked afterward.

Is lox raw?

Is lox cooked? Lox is not raw and is not cooked, ha! It is cured, so it is preserved and not considered raw, but not cooked with heat.

Is lox healthy?

Is lox good for you? Yes! Salmon is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, a.k.a. healthy fats!

What are lox and bagels?

Lox is a traditional topping for bagels. The typical preparation for lox and bagels includes: bagel, cream cheese, homemade lox, cucumber, red onion, tomato slices, and/or capers.

How To Make Lox (Easy Salmon Lox Recipe) | Wholesome Yum (10)

Salmon Lox Storage Instructions

How long does lox stay fresh?

Lox will stay fresh for about 5-8 days in the refrigerator.

Can you freeze lox?

Yes, you can freeze lox for 2-3 months. Store it in a freezer bag and remove all air before freezing. Let thaw in the refrigerator.

How To Make Lox (Easy Salmon Lox Recipe) | Wholesome Yum (11)

How To Eat Lox

Once you’re done curing the salmon, here are a bunch of lox recipe ideas to use it:

  • Bagels – My preference is healthy fathead bagels, but any bagel you like is great… and it’s the most popular way to serve lox! Slather with cream cheese, then top with thin cucumber slices and lox. Capers and red onions also make great additions.
  • Platters – Cured salmon is perfect on a board or platter with cheese, crackers, fresh veggies, etc.
  • Salads – Try salmon kale superfood salad, or add lox to strawberry spinach salad or over a cobb salad instead of chicken. You could also swap the tuna in a poke bowl for lox.
  • Deviled eggs – Top your bacon deviled eggs with lox for a fancier twist.
  • Cucumber BitesSmoked salmon cucumber bites are a great appetizer to make with lox as well.
  • Lox and Eggs – Stir the cured fish into scrambled eggs!

Tools To Make Lox At Home

Tap the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.

  • Baking Dishes – You’ll need two different-sized baking dishes, so that one can weigh down the other. This set looks nice and is functional.

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Recipe Card

How To Make Lox (Easy Salmon Lox Recipe) | Wholesome Yum (13)

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How To Make Lox (Easy Salmon Lox Recipe)

Learn how to make lox at home, with simple ingredients! This easy salmon lox recipe tastes perfectly salty, buttery, and smooth.

Prep: 15 minutes

Refrigerating Time: 1 day 14 hours

Total: 15 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 8 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

  1. Rinse the salmon fillet under cold water. Pat dry.

  2. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap, 2-3 times the size of the salmon. Sprinkle half of the fresh dill over the plastic, covering an area about the size of the salmon fillet. Sprinkle the same area with half of the sea salt and white pepper.

  3. Place the salmon fillet onto the salt covered plastic wrap. Sprinkle the top of the salmon with the other half of the salt, pepper, and dill. Make sure all sides of the salmon are generously covered in salt.

  4. Wrap the plastic wrap tightly around the salmon, then double wrap in a second layer of plastic wrap.

  5. Place salmon into a shallow baking dish, large enough that the salmon can lay flat. Top the salmon with a second, smaller baking dish (this is the set I use). Transfer to the fridge and place 2-3 14-oz metal cans onto the top dish, to weigh down the salmon.

  6. Refrigerate for 36 hours; every 12 hours, drain any liquid from the pan and flip the salmon over, without opening the plastic.

  7. After 36 hours, rinse the salmon to remove the surface salt. Pat dry.

  8. Return salmon to the fridge, uncovered, for at least 2 more hours, up to 12 hours or overnight.

  9. To serve, slice thinly across the short end of the lox.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 2 ounces

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories84

Fat3.7g

Protein11.5g

Total Carbs0.6g

Net Carbs0.4g

Fiber0.2g

Sugar0g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course:Appetizer

Cuisine:American

Keywords:how to make lox, lox, lox recipe, salmon lox

Calories: 84 kcal

© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We'd LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead. 🙂

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FAQs

How is lox prepared? ›

Is lox hot-smoked or cold-smoked? Neither. Made from the belly meat of a salmon, lox is actually never cooked but is, instead, cured in a salty brine mixture for several weeks. Compared to smoked salmon, lox is saltier with more of a raw texture, making it the perfect addition to a toasted bagel with cream cheese.

What is the difference between smoked salmon and lox? ›

Here's the main difference: smoked salmon is cured and then smoked, whereas lox is only cured, typically in a salt brine and typically for longer periods of time, but not smoked. Smoked salmon is preserved with a combination of salting and smoking, so the flavor can be slightly salty and slightly smoky.

How to serve lox without bagels? ›

9 Ways to Eat Lox That Don't Require a Bagel
  1. Lox Summer Roll With Avocado-Lime Dipping Sauce. ...
  2. Loaded Everything Bagel and Lox Pizza. ...
  3. Smoked Salmon Egg Stuffed Avocados. ...
  4. Creamy Avocado Cucumber Noodles With Smoked Salmon. ...
  5. Lox and Everything Hummus. ...
  6. Lox Frittata. ...
  7. Spring Salmon Salad With Dijon Vinaigrette.
Oct 31, 2017

Why does lox taste so good? ›

To make lox, rich, fatty salmon is simply cured in salt—and typically for longer than smoked salmon—so the flavor is all salt and no smoke. The Scandinavian specialty gravlax is also similar to lox but is cured with salt, sugar, plenty of dill and sometimes other herbs and spices as opposed to simply salt.

Do lox need to be cooked? ›

Lox is never cooked; instead, it's made by curing a salmon belly fillet in salty brine, traditionally for three months. This technique gives lox its signature salty flavor. Lox is part of the famous lox bagel breakfast sandwich, although many times, smoked salmon is used instead.

Can you eat smoked lox raw? ›

Vulnerable Populations: As previously mentioned, while raw smoked salmon is generally safe for most people, certain groups are advised to avoid raw and undercooked seafood in general. For further advice about whether it is safe for you to consume this food group, we recommend consulting a healthcare professional.

Is lox healthy to eat? ›

Gradavlax and lox tend to have higher sodium levels than regular smoked salmon, so we would recommend against choosing these types if you're trying to be healthy. Of course, everything in moderation is fine!

How long does lox last in the fridge? ›

When it comes to keeping your lox fresh after opening, you're going to need to keep it refrigerated, or freeze it if you're intending to keep it long-term. When it comes to storage life for opened or fresh lox from the grocery counter, it will generally last about a week in the refrigerator.

Can you buy lox at a grocery store? ›

If you don't feel like going through the patchke of making gravlax, or don't have the time, there are also some pretty great lox varieties to be found at major supermarkets.

What pairs well with lox? ›

When I'm servings bagels and lox for dinner, in particular, I always include plenty of vegetables and salads to lighten things up. Perhaps a crisp green bean salad in the summer, kale salad in the fall, brussels sprouts salad in the winter, watercress salad in the spring.

What crackers go well with smoked salmon? ›

For a subtle and nutty flavor, try pairing smoked salmon with whole-grain crackers. If you're looking for a more traditional option, water crackers are a classic choice that won't overpower the delicate flavor of the fish.

Why do Jews like lox so much? ›

The Jewish affinity for salted or smoked fish is based on a number of factors. First, fish is considered pareve, and can be eaten in a dairy or meat meal. (Note: While fish and meat may be eaten in the same meal, they cannot be eaten together. For more on that, see Fish with Meat or Dairy.)

What is a bagel with salmon called? ›

Lox is a fillet of brined salmon, which may be smoked. Lox is frequently served on a bagel with cream cheese, and often garnished with tomato, onion, cucumber, and capers.

Which lox is not salty? ›

Comparing Lox and Nova Lox

When comparing the two, nova lox is generally considered less salty in flavor and more versatile in a variety of recipes due to its subtle flavors.

How is Nova Lox prepared? ›

Named for the salmon of Nova Scotia, nova is made via a process of both curing and smoking. The salmon is cured in salt, similarly to lox, but with less salt, for a milder flavor. After it's cured, it's then cold smoked, for a flavor combination that some call “quintessential” to the perfect bagel and lox.

Is lox processed meat? ›

From a cancer risk perspective, the American Institute for Cancer Research considers smoked and cured fish in the same category as processed meats. Though other cancer research groups are less clear on whether eating smoked and cured fish carries the same risks as eating processed meats.

What part of the salmon is used for lox? ›

Lox is a fillet (or strip) of brined salmon. Brining (preserving food with salt) is similar to curing, but takes a lot less time. Lox, which is commonly often served on bagels with cream cheese, was traditionally made from the belly of the fish.

Are lox bagels cooked? ›

The salmon is salt-cured or brined but never cooked or smoked, so it has a very silky, rich texture and translucency. Lox is the traditional topping of bagels with cream cheese and is most often served thinly sliced.

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