How much cream cheese is necessary for the ideal bagel experience?
In a survey of nine bagel shops around the United States, pros are slathering on an average of 0.62 ounces of cream cheese per ounce of bagel. That’s roughly 6 tablespoons on an average-sized bagel served sandwich-style. But there are differences across bagel styles and regions.
New York-style bagel shops tend to follow a heavier ratio of cream cheese to bagel, at 0.67-to-1, slathering on about 4 ounces per bagel — that’s one-quarter of a pound.
One bagel shop in California’s Bay Area slaps 3 ounces of cream cheese on its 4.4-ounce bagels.