This smoked salmon dip is a creamy blend of chopped smoked salmon, lemon and dill that is an easy yet elegant party snack! Serve this smoked salmon appetizer with crostini, cucumbers and crackers and sit back and wait for the complements to pour in!
Need a quick appetizer? This salmon dip is ready in just 5 minutes and looks so impressive. It’s also great smeared onto a bagel for a breakfast treat. Serve this dip alongside other favorites such as baked chicken wings and cowboy caviar for an amazing party!
I happen to LOVE smoked salmon, and believe it or not, my kids do too. While smoked salmon is perfect on a bagel for breakfast, I think it’s even better in dip form! This smoked salmon dip is a light and creamy base chock full of chopped salmon. It’s ready in minutes and is always a welcome offering at any gathering.
This dip is one of my favorite appetizer recipes. If you want more delicious appetizer recipes, check out my cheese ball bites, hot spinach dip and pigs in a blanket.
Table of Contents
Smoked Salmon Dip Ingredients
To make this smoked salmon dip you will need cream cheese, sour cream, salt, black pepper, lemon zest, fresh dill, fresh chives and smoked salmon. You may want lemon slices, more dill and chives for garnish.
How Do You Make Smoked Salmon Dip?
When you make this smoked salmon dip recipe, start by placing cream cheese, sour cream, herbs and spices in a medium bowl. Stir them together until smooth. Add your salmon to the bowl, then fold the salmon gently into the cream cheese mixture. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for later use. Garnish with lemon, chives and dill before before serving.
Tips For The Perfect Dip
- Make sure your cream cheese is very soft so that you don’t end up with lumps in your smoked salmon dip. I often microwave the cream cheese in 15 second increments until soft to speed up the process.
- Fresh herbs are really best in this dip. I do not recommend substituting dried herbs.
- Serve smoked salmon dip with sliced bread, breadsticks, bagel chips, crackers, cucumbers or other fresh veggies.
- You can use a food processor to blend the cream cheese mixture. Simply remove the mixture from the processor when blended and fold in the salmon.
- If you’re planning to make the dip in advance, let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving so that it’s soft enough to scoop up.
Quick Tip
Look for high quality smoked salmon. I find that wild caught salmon often tastes better than farmed salmon. It should say on the package where the salmon is sourced.
Recipe FAQs
Smoked salmon dip consists of a cream cheese and sour cream base, along with flavorings including lemon, herbs and of course, chopped salmon.
I like to use a hearty cracker with this dip, such as a wheat cracker, or crackers with seeds such as everything bagel crackers. Water crackers are also a great choice.
Smoked salmon can have a salty and rich flavor. It pairs well with fresh herbs and lemon to offset the richness of the salmon, and is also great with creamy ingredients.
Salmon dip lasts in an airtight container in a refrigerator up to 3 days.
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Smoked Salmon Dip Variations
While this smoked salmon recipe is delicious as-is, you can absolutely change up the ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Seafood: You can use other types of smoked seafood instead of salmon, including cod, whitefish, oysters or trout. Freshly cooked diced shrimp are also a great option.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add some veggies into the dip such as finely shredded carrot or minced cucumber.
- Flavorings: Amp up the flavor by adding capers, minced shallot or chopped olives. Keep in mind capers and olives can be quite salty, so if you add them to the dip, reduce the salt to taste.
- Lemon: You can mix a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice for a bright, citrus flavor.
- Brunch: Serve this dip as part of brunch with bagels, onions, tomato slices and cucumber slices.
Once you try this dip, you’ll find yourself making it on a regular basis. It takes minutes to prepare, and is elegant enough to serve at a party, with familiar flavors that everyone loves.
More Fabulous Dip Recipes
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Bacon Ranch Dip
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Smoked Salmon Dip
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
- 6 ounces smoked salmon coarsely chopped
- lemon slices, dill and chives for garnish optional
Instructions
- Place the cream cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, lemon zest, dill and chives in a bowl. Stir until smooth.
- Add the smoked salmon to the bowl and gently fold until incorporated.
- Garnish with lemon slices, dill and chives if desired. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for later use.
Notes
- Look for high quality smoked salmon. I find that wild caught salmon often tastes better than farmed salmon. It should say on the package where the salmon is sourced.
- Make sure your cream cheese is very soft so that you don’t end up with lumps in your dip. I often microwave the cream cheese in 15 second increments until soft to speed up the process.
- This dip will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving.
I wonder how this would be with red onion and capers like bagels and lox version… I’m eager to try it for my neighborhood Christmas party soon
I think those would be great additions, hope you enjoy!
This salmon dip is a party appetizer winner! Everyone loved it and was asking for the recipe.
What a great idea for a smoked salmon dip. Will be a great appetizer for the holidays.
I used dairy-free cream cheese and plain almond milk yogurt and it turned our perfectly! Loved that I could still enjoy this with some simple swaps for dairy-free ingredients.
I Just tried this recipe and my family loved it. It was so easy and the flavors were fantastic.
I love smoke salmon and make it often will be giving this a try. I just bought some today to smoke in my new Masterbuilt! thansk