Easy Smoked Salmon Dip

Dip your favorite crackers or veggies into this Easy Smoked Salmon Dip. It’s a crowd-pleasing snack that's great for a special occasion!

A special dip for special occasions

Sometimes you just have to treat yourself. This Easy Smoked Salmon Dip is the perfect snack to enjoy or impress your friends with during the holidays or when you’re celebrating.

Made with cream cheese, capers, lemon juice, and fresh herbs, there’s no way you’ll end up with leftovers. I love salmon in general, but this dip is really something special. So creamy and light, you can use enjoy this dip with crackers, veggies, or to spread on bread. 

After the finished dip chills in the fridge for an hour, it’s ready to be enjoyed! Serve it up for special occasions like the holidays or a special brunch birthday party along with more fabulous appetizers, like Radishes and Butter Crostini or Baked Brie with Fig Jam.

The best smoked salmon for dip

Smoked salmon is one of those splurges that feels so fancy. Since the salmon is going to be chopped into small pieces and mixed with cream cheese and herbs, we want to use a variety that’s light and mild. Silky smooth and brightly colored cold smoked salmon is the best choice for this dip.

There are two more kinds of salmon you might think to use: hot smoked salmon and lox. You don’t want to use hot-smoked salmon because of its flaky and smoky taste. It’ll overpower the rest of the flavors and won’t be as smooth. 

Since lox is just cured and not smoked at all, it’ll make the dip turn out completely different. Instead, save the lox salmon for bagels, cheese and meat boards, or on crostini.

If you want to learn more about the different types of smoked salmon, I talk all about it here.

Ingredients you need

You don’t need much to make this fancy salmon dip! Just a handful of easy to find ingredients:

The salmon

Cold smoked salmon is light, smooth, soft, and not overly smokey. While it’s not the most budget-friendly, it’s worth the splurge for special events. You can use store-bought smoked salmon, or leftover salmon you smoked at home.

The dairy

When you make salmon dip with cream cheese, your world changes! This recipe is made with both cream cheese and sour cream to help it taste fresh and elegant. Not heavy in the slightest, the salmon and dairy together end up in a happy marriage of bright and elevated flavors.

The flavor boosters

Dill was made for salmon and isn’t forgotten about in this recipe. Along with chives, lemon juice, and capers, this dip gets a real boost in flavor. If you can't get fresh, you can try dried herbs and/or bottled lemon juice but fresh is best!

How to make salmon dip

This smoked salmon dip recipe makes enough for parties or small get-togethers and is ready in no time:

Helpful recipe tips

Make the best salmon dip by following these helpful tips:

The right equipment

You can make this recipe using an electric mixer (handheld or standing) to beat the cream cheese and sour cream together. If you don’t have a mixer, you can make this dip using a whisk or a silicone spatula and some elbow grease.

A lot of quick smoked salmon dip recipes are made using a food processor. I tried this and didn’t like the texture at all! I achieved the ideal texture by hand chopping the ingredients and including actual chunks of salmon rather than crushing it.

Making it ahead of time

When it’s finished, the dip will need at least 1 hour in the fridge. This helps the flavors come together and improves the texture. If you really want to save time, make the dip up to 3 days ahead of time and just keep it covered in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Storing tips

Store any leftover dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing it because it will mess with the texture of the cream cheese.

It's time to cook!

Okay, friend! It's your turn to make a batch of this delish dip. When you do, leave a comment below so I can hear your thoughts!