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

  • Made this for Mother’s Day 2016. Big hit! My first time to buy smoked salmon, & boy, did I wonder if it would be worth the $6; it was!!!

  • I made it today for my friends on breakfast, I couldn’t find chives, so I replaced it with green onion, and it was so delicious, with some salty biscuits was just perfect! everyone loved it, and it was the only plate that have been completely finished 😀 .. Thanks for the recipe 🙂

  • I just made your Smoked Salmon Dip, and it was wonderful. I’m so excited to be part of the Jenn family…ha!
    Thank you for your professionalism and willingness to connect with us, The Jenn Fan Club!
    Warm regards,
    Bill

  • I made this for the super bowl and I can’t get enough of it!!!! It’s incredible! I used nova lox pieces which is still smoked salmon but half the price. Used a little more salmon & lemon juice than the recipe called for to taste. I also added a bit of garlic powder and siracha to it. Omg! Yummmm! So good I had to share the recipe 🙂 thanks!

    • — Madison Schankin
    • Reply
  • I made this for a New Year’s Eve dinner and it was a hit. I don’t think anything was left at the end of the night, and we only had a total of 5 people there!

  • Absolutely delicious! Made as written, and it was a big hit with young and old(er), alike!

  • A holiday dinner would not be complete without at least one of your recipes. I made this for Christmas Dinner. I love smoked salmon so this was super easy and really good. I made it exactly as described with low-fat cream cheese and low-fat sour cream and scallions since I didn’t have access to fresh chives.

  • Very easy to make. I think I might have added a little too much fish and I can’t taste the chives. I really liked it, but beware it is addicting.

  • Loved this! Easy and delicious–it was a big hit!

  • I did a sample run on this as I needed another appetizer. It is yummy. I don’t care for capers and do not keep on hand, so I subbed in additional lemon juice as suggested. We loved it.

    • — Margaret Higgins
    • Reply

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