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My Smoked Salmon Dip is quick and easy to make and great for any occasion! It’s super creamy with the best smoky, yet bright flavor. Whip it up in minutes to serve as an appetizer with crackers, crostini, or even a toasted bagel at breakfast!
This homemade version of Smoked Salmon Dip is SO much tastier than anything you can find at the store. Every bite is filled with smoked salmon, tangy cream cheese, dill, and bright lemon for perfectly balanced flavor.
It tastes amazing and I love serving it whenever we have any family get-together. Serve this as a quick protein-packed snack, enjoy it as a holiday appetizer, and/or add it to your game-day spread. You can even enjoy it for breakfast with eggs or spread over toast or a toasted bagel!
If you love salmon, then you may also like these Air Fryer Salmon Bites.
Table of Contents
Recipe Summary
- Quick & easy: This recipe is ready in just about 10 minutes, including prep time. All you have to do is add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend.
- Make ahead: A great appetizer to make in advance of a party or get-together because it keeps for 2 weeks, and tastes even better after the flavors have a chance to intensify in the fridge.
- Creamy and super tasty: One of my favorite ways to enjoy salmon. When you combine it with cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo, plus herbs and seasonings, you won’t get enough of this irresistible dip!
Ingredients Needed
This is a simple mix of ingredients that blend and complement each other for major deliciousness! Here’s everything you’ll need. Full measurements are listed further down below.
- Salmon: This recipe uses 8 ounces of smoked salmon.
- Cream cheese: Be sure to soften it to room temperature so it blends smoothly.
- Sour cream: It may have slightly more tang but you can sub with Greek yogurt for more protein and less fat, if you’d like.
- Mayonnaise: I like to use lite mayonnaise as a lower-calorie option.
- Dill: Fresh dill will have the best flavor but you can use dried dill if that is more convenient for you.
- Seasonings: Smoked paprika adds to the smokiness and black pepper adds extra flavor.
- Chives: Fresh chives add a subtle onion flavor.
- Garlic: Garlic is a welcome addition to almost any dip recipe.
- Fresh lemon juice: Balances out the strong smoky flavor with a refreshing tang.
- Garnish: For extra texture, taste and an elegant presentation, add a garnish of capers, lemon slices, chopped chives and/or fresh dill.
How To Make It
In just a matter of minutes, you’ll have a flavorful snack or appetizer ready to enjoy! Here’s how it comes together:
- Prep: Place all the ingredients into a food processor.
- Combine: Process until you get a smooth dip texture, process at 10-second increments, and use a spatula to scrape down the sides and process again.
- Transfer: Add the creamy mixture to a medium-sized bowl and garnish.
- Serve: Enjoy with crackers, crusty or toasted bread, or veggies.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tip
- High-quality salmon: Even if it’s a little more expensive, using a high-quality smoked salmon will be well worth it and give this dip the best possible flavor.
- Mincing the herbs: We recommend mincing or chopping the herbs and garlic before adding them to the food processor to ensure that they are distributed evenly throughout the dip.
- Use dried herbs: Fresh herbs are more flavorful, however, if you’d prefer to use dried herbs, add 1 tbsp instead of 1/4 cup of dill and you could use 1/4 tsp garlic powder instead of 1 garlic clove.
- Chill the dip: Smoked salmon dip is really delicious chilled for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. Also, dips, like this, that contain dairy shouldn’t be left out for more than 2 hours at room temperature. Serve it straight out of the fridge, and if it sits out for up to 2 hours, you can always cover it and put it back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before enjoying it again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Typically, smoked salmon dip recipes are made with smoked salmon, cream cheese or a combination of cream cheese and mayo, and sometimes sour cream. Then, you add in flavorings like lemon juice, fresh herbs and seasonings.
Whether you’re enjoying smoked salmon in a dip or alone, it pairs well with vegetables, bread, cheeses, eggs, dill, capers, and cucumber.
Once opened, smoked salmon should be refrigerated and consumed within 1 week.
Variations
- Lower calories: To make this lighter, substitute the cream cheese for light cream cheese and the sour cream for light sour cream or Greek yogurt, and use light mayonnaise.
- Salmon flavors: Sometimes you can find flavored smoked salmon varieties like lemon pepper or everything bagel seasoning. This would be a great way to give your dip a new flavor!
- Different herbs: Feel free to omit or swap the dill with another herb of your choice.
- Garnish: For presentation, you can add some extra pieces of salmon on the top and also sprinkle some fresh dill over the top.
Serving Suggestions
Here are tasty ideas of what to serve with this dip:
- Crackers: Any sturdy cracker will work great!
- Veggies: Fresh veggies like cucumber slices, bell pepper, radish chips, carrots and/or celery will keep this snack light and lower in carbs.
- Bread: Try this dip with crostini, slices of french baguette or even toasted sourdough!
- Bagels: A smear of this on a toasted bagel would be delicious at brunch.
- Chips: Enjoy this with a sturdy chip like pita chips or bagel chips for wonderful crunch.
Storage Recommendation
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If it hardens in the fridge, set it on the counter until it reaches room temperature. You may add some lemon juice and whip it up to loosen it again.
More Dip Recipes
- Tuscan White Bean Dip
- Baked Feta Dip
- Whipped Ricotta Cheese Dip
- Taco Dip
- Cottage Cheese Ranch Dip
- Cowboy Queso Dip
- Whipped Feta Dip
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Smoked Salmon Dip
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz Smoked salmon, use 7 oz and keep an ounce to garnish
- 8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese, full-fat or low-fat, softened at room temperature
- 1/4 cup Sour cream, or Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup Lite mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Fresh dill, chopped, or 1 tbsp dried dill
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp Chopped fresh chives
- 1 Garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- optional garnish: capers, lemon slices, chopped chives, or dill
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into a food processor.
- Process until you get a smooth dip texture, process at 10-second increments, and use a spatula to scrape down the sides and process again.
- Transfer the creamy mixture to a medium-sized bowl and garnish.
- Serve with crackers, crusty or toasted bread, or veggies.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This look delicious. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Amanda