You will love our smoked salmon dip recipe. It’s creamy and absolutely delicious. This salmon dip is lovely served with thick kettle chips, crackers, sliced bread, and spread onto bagels.
Watch the video
⭐️ If you love seafood dips, try our easy crab dip recipe, you can serve it hot or cold.
3 Reasons we love this smoked salmon dip
- This dip is almost too delicious, thanks to smoked salmon, fresh lemon, and herbs. It’s nearly impossible to stop going in for more.
- It’s perfect with chips, crackers, sliced bread, and bagels. Serve as an appetizer or for brunch with bagels.
- You can make it ahead of time! This dip made with salmon and cream cheese keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
We both love this recipe for smoked salmon dip. It’s straightforward to put together and lasts for a few days in the fridge, making it perfect for preparing ahead of time. Serve this in the evening as a dip or in the morning as a spread for toast or bagels.
Key ingredients for salmon dip
The base of our easy dip is made with softened cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise. These make our dip outrageously creamy and delicious. I like setting my cream cheese out beforehand so it warms up a bit before making the dip. Also, if we have it, homemade mayonnaise takes this to a new level.
We use smoked salmon. We have used hot smoked salmon in our video and love how it adds a smoky flavor to our dip. If you are sensitive to smoky flavors, you can use a 50-50 blend of hot smoked salmon and cold smoked salmon (or use cured salmon like gravlax). You can also skip the hot smoked salmon altogether and only use cold smoked or cured salmon.
What’s the difference between hot smoked salmon and cold smoked salmon?
Hot smoked salmon has a firm, flaky texture and a strong, smoky flavor. It is cured in salt brine and then smoked at a high temperature for several hours. It is often sold in fillets. We use hot smoked salmon to make the dip in our recipe video.
Cold smoked salmon has a silky, smooth texture and a mild, delicate flavor. It is cured in salt for several days and then smoked at a low temperature for a few hours. Lox or gravlax is cured only, not smoked.
The flavor of the dip is completely up to you. Use hot smoked, cold smoked, or cured salmon in our salmon dip recipe below:
- Hot smoked salmon dip: Hugely flavorful with a delicious smoky taste. The smoke is balanced against the creamy dip, fresh lemon, and herbs. If you love hot smoked salmon, like we do, this is your option!
- Cold smoked salmon or cured salmon dip: Milder in flavor and more smooth and creamy.
- A blend of the two: Blending hot smoked and cold smoked salmon is also an option, which will reduce the smokiness, without getting rid of it altogether.
Recipe overview. How to make the best smoked salmon dip in 3 easy steps
- Beat cream cheese until soft and creamy. Then mix in sour cream, mayo, and fresh ingredients like shallot and lemon juice.
- Flake in the salmon and mix until combined.
- Fold in fresh chives and dill, and then serve!
How long does salmon dip last in the fridge?
Our smoked salmon dip will last up to 4 days in the fridge. We recommend storing it in an airtight container. Stir the dip well before serving, and consider letting it sit out for 20 minutes to warm up so it is dippable and spreadable.
Can you freeze salmon dip?
We do not recommend freezing salmon dip. While the dip is safe to freeze and eat after thawing, the texture of our dip will be different and likely separated.
Smoked Salmon Dip (Quick & Easy)
- PREP
- TOTAL
Our amazing smoked salmon dip is lovely served with thick kettle chips, crackers, sliced bread, and spread onto bagels.
Use hot smoked salmon, as we do in the video, for the most flavorful, smoky dip. To tone down the smoked flavor, use a 50-50 blend of hot smoked and cold smoked salmon (or use cured salmon like gravlax). Or, for a more mild, creamy dip, use all cold smoked salmon (or cured salmon) in the recipe. If you use cold smoked or cured salmon, finely chop the salmon into tiny bits before mixing into the dip.
Use a stand mixer or large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer for the most creamy and whipped texture.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
8 ounces hot smoked salmon
1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened, see notes
1/2 cup (120 grams) sour cream
1/2 cup (120 grams) mayonnaise, try homemade mayo
Heaped tablespoon minced shallot, from half a small shallot
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or Pickapeppa sauce
5 twists fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
Directions
1In a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat cream cheese on medium-low speed until creamy, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
2Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, then add the sour cream, mayonnaise, shallots, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and salt. Mix on low speed until blended.
3Flake in the salmon (do not use the skin). Mix on low speed until blended. If using cold smoked or cured salmon, finely chop the salmon before adding to the dip.
4Scrape the bowl’s sides and bottom, then scatter over the chives and dill. Mix in on the lowest speed so the herbs don’t bruise. Remove from the mixer and serve with a few extra herbs sprinkled on top.
5We love this salmon dip served immediately, but it is even better after a night in the refrigerator. This salmon dip keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Hot smoked salmon vs. cold smoked salmon: Hot smoked salmon is smoked at a high temperature, while cold smoked salmon is cured in salt for several days. Hot smoked salmon has a firm and flaky texture and is usually sold in 4 to 8 ounces fillets. On the other hand, cold smoked salmon has a silky and delicate texture and is sold sliced, similar to gravlax.
- Softened cream cheese: For best results, use room-temperature cream cheese to ensure it mixes well.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
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This was really good! I was looking for a way to use up the hot smoked salmon I had from Costco so this recipe was perfect. We ate the dip with everything bagel chips and enjoyed every bite. Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed the dip. We really appreciate you taking the time to come back and leave a review 🙂
We love smoked salmon dip and have made it over many years (we only use wild salmon.) Today, you changed us forever. Your dip is creamy and so delicious — mine was on the dry side but still delicious. From now on, your recipe takes first place in our kitchen. It was absolutely delicious. We’re going for your crab dip next. My husband, a Marylander who thrives on fish asked what I did to our dip. I said it was Joanne and Adams fault! He looked puzzled and said let’s just keep making this one….it’s a keeper. Thank you for your wonderful website…we love it and make a lot of your scrumptious dishes. Thank you for all you’re hard work in making these videos for everybody.
What a nice thing to say. We are so glad you loved the recipe. Both Joanne and I grew up in Maryland. Small world 🙂
I’m not familiar with making dishes using salmon but does the salmon need to be cooked first? This looks delicious and can’t wait to try it. Thank you
Hi Patti, you are going to love this recipe because we call for smoked salmon which is fully cooked and should be available at your local grocery store. It comes together in minutes and doesn’t require cooking 🙂