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!

smoked salmon dip on platter with bagel chips

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

smoked salmon dip ingredients
  • 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.

cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, Tabasco and capers in the bowl of a food processor

Pulse to blend.

blended mixture

Add the smoked salmon, chives, and dill.

smoked salmon, chives, and dill added to food processor

Pulse until the salmon is finely chopped.

smoked salmon dip in food processor

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, and serve.

smoked salmon dip on platter with bagel chips

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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!

Servings: 2 cups
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 15 Minutes

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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

Powered by Edamam

  • 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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Comments

  • Delicious! Made this for the first time for a party last night. Followed all measurements except used a 6oz pkg hot smoked salmon from Trader Joes. Shredded the salmon by hand and folded in along with the chives, dill and coarsely chopped capers to give it more texture.

    • — TessMarie1999 on December 10, 2023
    • Reply
  • Absolutely divine! – thank you! 🙂

    • — Catherine on December 1, 2023
    • Reply
  • Can this be frozen?

    • — Greta Macpherson on November 28, 2023
    • Reply
    • Unfortunately, I don’t think this would freeze well — sorry!

      • — Jenn on November 28, 2023
      • Reply
  • Can you make this with creme fraiche instead of cream cheese? Thanks.

    • — Fran Beacham on November 14, 2023
    • Reply
    • Unfortunately that won’t work – sorry!

      • — Jenn on November 17, 2023
      • Reply
  • Wonderful! 5 stars!

    • — Mari Loftus John on November 13, 2023
    • Reply
  • Sorry, but this recipe turned out badly. There is no need to add all this mayonnaise and sour cream, it completely ruined the taste and the texture (not to mention some beautiful smoked salmon!). I would not recommend this at all.

    • — Elisabeth Faure on September 27, 2023
    • Reply
  • Excellent recipe. Made it without capers & added more salmon. I never knew the meaning of selfish until I made this dip!! YUM-MAY!!!!

    • — Bobette Morgan on September 23, 2023
    • Reply
  • I did make this recipe and it turned out great, thank you for sharing this recipe. The only change I made, was to substitute the sour cream with plain greek yogurt ( only because I didn’t have sour cream) but it was nevertheless, delicious, I’ll be making it again very soon.

    • — Paula on September 18, 2023
    • Reply
  • Hi! Can this be made without the Tobasco? I cannot tolerate spicy foods. Thanks!

    • — Sonya on September 1, 2023
    • Reply
    • Sure!

      • — Jenn on September 1, 2023
      • Reply
  • Although I love smoked salmon, I was actually looking for a salmon dip recipe to use up some baked sockeye when I found this one. It was still absolutely delicious! BTW, I have never been disappointed in any of the recipes I’ve tried from your website. I will make this again with smoked salmon but could not tell whether the product you use is cold-smoked or hot-smoked as I imagine that would change the texture a bit.

    • — Marcia on August 4, 2023
    • Reply
    • Glad you enjoyed this! The salmon I use is cold-smoked. 🙂

      • — Jenn on August 4, 2023
      • Reply

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