Smoked Salmon Dip
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Make your holiday gatherings special with this easy smoked salmon dip—perfect with crackers and cocktails or as part of a brunch buffet with bagels. Bonus: it can be made ahead for stress-free entertaining!
If you’re ever in need of a festive and elegant dish for a party, this smoked salmon dip is sure to save the day. You can serve it with crackers and cocktails, or use it as a delicious spread on a brunch buffet with bagels and all the fixings. Even my husband, a true-blue New Yorker and self-proclaimed expert on all things smoked fish, gives it a big thumbs up. Plus, it’s super easy to make—you’ll love how quickly you can check it off your holiday to-do list! Another great thing about this dip is that it can be made a few days in advance and refrigerated.
What You’ll Need To Make Smoked Salmon Dip
- Cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise: This trio creates a rich and creamy base for the dip with a nice balance of tanginess.
- Fresh lemon juice: Brightens the flavors and adds acidity.
- Capers: Bring a briny, savory note that pairs well with seafood.
- Tabasco: Adds a hint of heat and depth to the dip.
- Smoked salmon: This product is made by curing salmon fillets and then smoking them, resulting in a rich, silky texture with a distinct flavor. You can typically find it in the seafood section of the supermarket, packaged and ready to use.
- Fresh chopped dill and chives: These herbs add freshness and a mild onion flavor, enhancing the dip’s overall taste.
- Salt: Enhances all the flavors to bring the dip together.
- Bagel chips or crackers: Perfect for serving, providing a crunchy contrast to the creamy dip.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Tabasco and capers in the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse to blend.
Add the smoked salmon, chives, and dill.
Pulse until the salmon is finely chopped.
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, and serve.
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Smoked Salmon Dip
Make your holiday gatherings special with this easy smoked salmon dip—perfect with crackers and cocktails or as part of a brunch buffet with bagels. Bonus: it can be made ahead for stress-free entertaining!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- ¼ teaspoon Tasbasco
- 4 ounces smoked salmon, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
- Salt, to taste
- Bagel chips or crackers, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers, and Tabasco in a food processor fitted with the metal blade; pulse until blended. Add the salmon, dill and chives and pulse, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until the salmon is finely chopped. Taste and add salt, if necessary (I usually add about ¼ teaspoon, but it depends on the saltiness of the smoked salmon). Serve as a dip with crackers or bagel chips, or as a spread with bagels.
- Make ahead: This dip can be made a few days ahead of time. However, it gets quite firm in the fridge so let it sit out at room temperature before serving, otherwise it will be hard to scoop.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Serving size: 3 tablespoons
- Calories: 144
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 1 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 237 mg
- Cholesterol: 33 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Tabasco sauce. Does it have to be that for spiciness or will Sriracha work as well? I’ll trust your answer here as with the capers question below – I don’t like them but it sounds like they do add to the recipe without standing out so they will be included in my dip! Thanks!
Sure Josh, you could use Sriracha if you prefer.
I’ve made this dip with hot smoked salmon too. Works either way and totally delicious!
I made this dip and love it. It’s also a good way to use up a serving of salmon that’s left over from dinner (therefore grilled or poached, instead of smoked)… which is what I did.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! I don’t care for dill. Is there something I could substitute? Or is there enough flavor to just leave the dill out?
Hi Melinda, you could try replacing the dill with tarragon. Let me know how it turns out!
This am making for my guest Christmas Day Yum!
Question: can you use just shrimp or just crabmeat? Are any other changes necessary? Thanks,
Hi Joanne, Unfortunately, I don’t think shrimp or crabmeat would work well in this recipe. The smoked salmon adds so much flavor; I think it’d be bland without it. Sorry!
Can you make this ahead of time and how long does it keep? I would like to make this Christmas Eve morning but not serve it until 11:00 am on Christmas Day?
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Hi Lisa, Welcome to the site! It’s perfectly fine to make it a day (or even two) ahead of time. Just let it sit out at room temp before serving because it gets very stiff in the fridge.
This looks totally yummy, but I don’t’ like capers…will the flavor be changed a lot if I leave them out?
Hi Carol, It’s fine to leave them out; you might just add a bit more lemon juice. For what it’s worth, I don’t care for capers either — you really can’t taste them in this dip, but they add a nice tanginess.
Thanks! Gonna have to make this then for Christmas as my mother really loves smoked salmon!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve been agonizing over choosing an appetizer to take to a holiday party today, and I have almost every ingredient on this list already. Perfect solution! Happy holidays!
Do you think dried chives and dried dill would be an acceptable substitute for the fresh versions?
Hi Annie, It’s fine to use dried dill (use about 1/3 of the amount) but I wouldn’t use dried chives — if you don’t have fresh, it’s really fine to leave them out.
You can use the green part of spring onions, (or young scallions, same thing) finely chopped.
I loved this recipe for my keto diet!