Easy Smoked Salmon Dip (Ready in 10 Minutes!)

Name: Easy Smoked Salmon Dip
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 8 oz cream cheese (softened); 3 tbsp sour cream; 6 oz hot smoked salmon; 1 Tbsp fresh dill (chopped); 1 Tbsp fresh parsley (chopped); 1 Tbsp capers (chopped); Zest of 1 lemon; 1 tsp Worcestershire; Salt & pepper (to taste); Sliced baguette (grilled or toasted); Crackers

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This easy smoked salmon dip is impressive and totally unfussy. It’s creamy, smoky, fresh, and tastes like you’ve just stepped off a plane in the Pacific Northwest. We love using it as a spread on top of crostini (toasted or grilled slices of baguette) or as a dip with crackers.

What Makes This Dip So Special

Simple but feels fancy. This dip is so simple and made with ingredients you can find at most local grocery stores. Despite how easy it is to make, it tastes and feels like something you’d order at your favorite upscale seafood restaurant.
Hot smoked salmon. We use hot smoked salmon instead of cold smoked or salt brined salmon because its flaky texture makes it the perfect addition to a creamy spread.
Fresh ingredients. We use fresh lemon zest and juice in this recipe, along with fresh herbs to bring brightness and balance.

Hand holding a slice of toasted baguette with easy smoked salmon dip spread on top. In the background is the rest of the dip and more baguette slices.

Hot Smoked Salmon vs. Cold Smoked Salmon

The main difference between hot and cold smoked salmon is the temperature and length of time of the salt-brine and the smoke. To make smoked salmon, the salmon is first salt-cured to help with preservation. The longer it is salt-cured, the saltier it tastes. Cold smoked salmon is often cured for at least a day, whereas hot smoked salmon is cured for less time, resulting in a less salty flavor.

Cold smoked salmon is smoked at a relatively low temperature, typically below 80°F, for anywhere between 8 to 24 hours. The lower temperature gives it a lightly smoky flavor. It’s silky and has a texture like lox or gravlax (lox is sometimes smoked but not always). Hot smoked salmon is smoked at a higher temperature, usually around 150°F, for a shorter period of time. It has a bolder smoke flavor than cold smoked salmon, and the texture is flaky, firm, and similar to traditionally cooked salmon.

Close up of hot smoked salmon flaked on a plate.

Ingredients in This Easy Smoked Salmon Dip

Cream cheese – cream cheese to provides a creamy element.
Sour cream – sour cream adds some tang and smooth texture to the dip.
Hot smoked salmon – we love the smoky flavor and flaky texture of hot smoked salmon.
Fresh herbs – fresh dill and parsley balance out the smoky richness of the salmon.
Capers – capers are salty, briny, and wonderful with salmon.
Lemon zest – the citrus notes of lemon zest brighten up the flavor of the fish.
Worcestershire sauce – this gives the dip an extra pop of umami.
Salt and pepper – depending on the saltiness of your salmon, you may not need much salt.

How to Make This Easy Smoked Salmon Dip

Using a whisk, a handheld electric beater, or a stand mixer, whip the cream cheese and the sour cream together.
Mix in the herbs, the capers, the worcestershire sauce, and the lemon zest until they’re fully combined with the cream cheese and sour cream.

Ingredients for the smoked salmon dip (minus the salmon) in a bowl.

Add the smoked salmon and mix it in. You can do this with a spoon if you want larger pieces of the salmon, or you can use a whisk, beater, or stand mixer if you want the salmon to be more integrated into the dip (this is our preferred method).

A bowl with ingredients for the dip, including the hot smoked salmon on top.

Spread the smoked salmon spread onto slices of toasted baguette or crackers.

Our Tips for Making This Dip

Rachel and Emily from Cooking with Conks

Make sure your sour cream and cream cheese are softened. They won’t mix in or blend together if they’re too cold.
Use hot smoked salmon instead of cold smoked. Cold smoked salmon, like Nova lox, has a silky texture instead of a flaky one like hot smoked salmon. For this dip, you want to use flaky, hot smoked salmon so that it can mix into the dip more easily.

Reserve some whole capers, herbs, and salmon for the top. Doing this not only looks pretty, but lets your guests know what is in the dip before they eat it.
Use an electric beater or stand mixer to mix the smoked salmon into the dip. This will break the salmon up into small pieces and make sure it’s fully incorporated into the dip so that each bite tastes like smoked salmon.

Storage and Serving Suggestions

If you and your guests can manage to leave some of this dip behind instead of eating it all at once, store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days.

We like to serve this easy salmon dip in a bowl with some crostini or crackers. It’s a great appetizer to share with friends and family at potlucks, holiday parties, or even game day gatherings. Pair it with sparkling water, a crisp white wine, or your favorite IPA.

FAQs: Easy Smoked Salmon Dip

We don’t recommend using cold smoked salmon, like Nova lox, for this dip because it doesn’t flake or mix in the same way. Cold smoked salmon tends to be silkier and softer in texture, making it harder to mix with the cream cheese and other ingredients. Hot smoked salmon is flakier and dryer and has the texture of traditionally cooked salmon. This makes it the perfect protein mix-in.

Sure! We love salmon in this dip, but hot smoked trout or another flaky smoked fish would be excellent. You could also use traditionally cooked salmon (baked, grilled, etc.), or even cedar planked salmon.

We like to serve this in a bowl with some crostini (toasted or grilled baguette slices) or crackers on which to spread the dip. It would also be good to spread on top of fresh celery or other vegetables. It’s a nice cold appetizer to share and would pair deliciously with a crisp white wine or sparking water.

Ingredients

Easy Smoked Salmon Dip

8 oz cream cheese softened
3 tbsp sour cream
6 oz hot smoked salmon
1 Tbsp fresh dill chopped
1 Tbsp fresh parsley chopped
1 Tbsp capers chopped
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp Worcestershire
Salt & pepper to taste

Optional Dippers

Sliced baguette grilled or toasted
Crackers

Instructions

Using a whisk, a handheld electric beater, or a stand mixer, whip the cream cheese and the sour cream together.
8 oz cream cheese, 3 tbsp sour cream
Mix in the herbs, the capers, the worcestershire sauce, and the lemon zest until they’re fully combined with the cream cheese and sour cream.
1 Tbsp fresh dill, 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, 1 Tbsp capers, 1 tsp Worcestershire, Zest of 1 lemon
Add the smoked salmon and mix it in. You can do this with a spoon if you want larger pieces of the salmon, or you can use a whisk, beater, or stand mixer if you want the salmon to be more integrated into the dip (this is our preferred method). Tip (optional): leave about 1 tablespoon of salmon out of the mixture to garnish on top.
6 oz hot smoked salmon, Salt & pepper
Garnish the dip with extra smoked salmon (if you left some out), fresh dill, and lemon zest, if desired. Spread the easy smoked salmon dip onto slices of toasted baguette or crackers.
Sliced baguette, Crackers

Final Thoughts

If you’ve always wanted to take that trip to Seattle for the seafood but it’s just not in your budget this year, make this easy smoked salmon dip instead! It may not come with a view of the Space Needle, but it does come with enough salmon flavor to make you think you’re in the Pacific Northwest, even if only for a second. We’d love to hear from you if you make this dip, so leave us a comment below or tag us on Instagram!