Okay, okay, okay… smoky lox… for CAD $10 – $25 less? 10 minutes prep, 25 minutes in the oven, 2 hours marinating in the fridge, and lots of time spent gracing my plate? Yes please! This cost saving and simple vegan carrot lox is mind-blowingly tasty!
It’s Smoky
Soft
Silky
So Easy
And So Inexpensive You Can Make It Everyday!
The Cost Saving Ingredient
Carrots!
Your average, available everywhere, inexpensive, carrot!
- Washed and peeled
- Sliced as thinly as possible
- Baked for 25 minutes for a soft, pliable texture
- Marinated in a simple 5 ingredient marinade for 2 hours
- And stored in your fridge until ready to use!
When I heard of the existence of carrot lox… I was a doubter. I saw pictures; it looked similar to the classic smoked salmon lox… but carrots? Well… I needed to try it to believe it.
We came across carrot lox on a few different brunch menus and every time we tried to order it… they were sold out for the day.
We looked up recipes… and many of them call for about 1 cup of salt. Now… that salt wasn’t all ending up in the final dish; it was being used as a marinating rub to infuse the carrots with a salty ocean taste. But still… I wasn’t jumping at giving homemade lox a try.
That is until… I bought the wonderful Rachel Ama’s cookbook!
- Rachel doesn’t seem to have her smoked carrot recipe online, so pick up her cookbook for smoked carrot and many more delicious recipes! I credit Rachel for this idea of slicing, baking, and marinating the carrot in a simple smoky marinade that doesn’t require a large amount of salt.
The Smoky Marinade
Liquid smoke is the secret!
Liquid smoke is literally, smoke and water. The smoke from burning wood is captured, condensed, and filtered — creating this natural product that adds a huge smoky kick. I was hesitant to try liquid smoke, but when I did… it became a new staple in my pantry.
For more info on liquid smoke, take a look at our smoky sun-dried tomato “bacon” bits recipe. I provide more detail about this power-house condiment and show you how to make tasty sun-dried tomato bits! Our Smoky Beet Pasta and Spicy Chipotle Pulled Jackfruit are two other super tasty recipes made tastier by liquid smoke!
Recipe Cost
Approximately, CAD $2.79.
Yes… you read that right. This 450g yielding recipe… costs us… $2.79. That’s $0.62 per 100g. Compared to:
- $5.99 per 100g for smoked salmon purchased at our local grocery store. And…
- $3.33 – $3.63 per 100g for smoked salmon purchased at a wholesale store.
That results in a savings of AT LEAST $2.71/100g and $12.20 – $24.17 for this recipe!
I don’t know about you, but I’m having fancy smoky lox bagel sandwiches on the regular!
So what do you think? Are you reaching for that carrot, slicing it thin, and planning on lox in the next two hours? Let us know in the comments below if you give this a try! Make sure to send us the pictures of your easy vegan carrot lox creations on Instagram using #tastythriftytimely.
Print
Thrifty Vegan Carrot Lox Recipe – Simple & Smoky
- Total Time: 35 minutes (plus 2 hour marinating preferable)
- Yield: 450 g 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Simple vegan carrot lox! 10 minutes prep, 25 minutes in the oven, 2 hours marinating and CAD $10 – $25 saved! You need to give this a try!
Ingredients
- 450g sliced carrots (4 – 5 large carrots, sliced thin – not julienned)*
- 2 tbsp olive oil (see notes if doubling recipe)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1–2 tablespoon dulse flakes (or 2 snack sheets of nori, sliced small)
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar for a slight sweetness, optional
- 1 tbsp maple syrup for a maple smoked flavour, optional
*Fresh ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Wash, peel, and thinly slice your carrots into long strips using a mandoline, vegetable peeler, or cheese slicer. Alternatively, try and cut them by hand as thinly as you can with the width ideally being 1 inch or more (skinnier carrots absolutely work, they will just result in thinner pieces of lox).
- Lay the sliced carrots in an ovenproof casserole dish and sprinkle with salt. Cover the top of the dish with foil or lay another baking sheet across the top to allow the carrots to steam. Bake for 25 minutes until they are nice and tender and easily pierced with a fork. If the slices were thicker you may need to bake them for 35 minutes to make sure they are nice and soft and pliable.
- While the carrots bake, make the marinade. Combine all the ingredients in a shallow dish.
- Add the cooked carrots to the dish with the marinade and gently turn the carrots with a spoon or your hands to make sure they all get coated.
- Cover and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours to strengthen the flavours or preferably, overnight.
- Keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- When ready, serve with toasted bagels and our creamy dill breakfast spread. See our lox breakfast bagel, our lox bagel sandwich, and our lox crostini appetizer. Alternatively, add some smoky lox to fresh sushi or poke bowls, salads, or whatever else your heart desires!
Notes
*Cost Comparison: CAD $2.79 for 450g carrot lox vs. CAD $14.99 – $26.97 for 450g smoked salmon. That’s a savings of at least CAD $12.20 and up to CAD $24.17.
*Our recipe costs us: CAD $0.62/100g. The lowest price for smoked salmon at our local grocery store is $5.99/100g. The wholesale price ranges from roughly, $3.33/100g – $3.63/100g depending on the variety of smoked salmon. That’s a savings of at least $2.71/100g.
*This recipe makes about 450g smoky lox depending on the size of your carrots. As a reference, most grocery store smoked salmon packages are 50-150g of smoked salmon. This recipe makes 6 lox bagel sandwiches.
*To double this recipe, start by adding just one extra tablespoon of oil instead of 2. Doubling the remaining ingredients may result in enough marinade without the added oil. You can try this and adjust the amount and taste of the marinade to your liking.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Thrifty How-Tos
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nora
Love this idea! Will definitely be trying it out for our next brunch…
Kathryn Alexandre
Oh great! I’m glad it caught your eye. Let us know how you like it:)
Jaimie Smith
I love the idea of this as I have just gone plant based and one of my favorite breakfasts was salmon eggs benedict, however I’m also trying to go oil free. Is there something I could substitute for the olive oil?
Kathryn Alexandre
I’m thinking you can maybe just use water to help the marinade spread to all the carrots! Alternatively, you could increase the lemon juice and tamari to 2 tbsp each which will boost up the flavour a bit. The tamari or soy sauce will add sodium but at just two tbsp I don’t think it will be too overpowering (feel free to keep that to 1 tbsp if you are worried about the sodium increase though). Let me know if you try it and how you think it works out!
Lauren
Love this recipe! And so does everyone I serve it to. I use it as a staple recipe to accompany a sourdough bagel workshop I teach. When I put these out with the fresh bagels we bake off for lunch, everyone wants to know where the recipe came from! Thanks guys!
Kathryn Alexandre
This is amazing! Thank you so much Lauren. I’m so glad you love it and it’s been easy for you to prep in advance and serve as part of your workshop (which sounds absolutely amazing by the way)!