Name: Smoked Salmon Appetizer
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4oz smoked salmon (lox); 3 english cucumbers; 3 tablespoons capers; fresh dill for garnish; 1/3 cup sour cream; 1/3 cup cream cheese, softened; 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped; 2 tablespoons fresh chive, chopped; 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped; 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice; 1 teaspoon lemon zest; 1 teaspoon garlic, minced; 1 teaspoon rice vinegar; 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste; 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Published on 11/27/23

by Erin Jensen

This Smoked Salmon Appetizer will make it look like you spent hours preparing, when in reality, these little bites of fresh salmon, light dill sauce, and robust capers only take about 30 minutes to come together. Perfect to add to an appetizer spread at your next party or gathering.

Five cucumber cups filled with dill sauce, three capers, smoked salmon, and a tiny sprig of fresh dill.

The Easiest Smoked Salmon Appetizer Recipe

There are lots of smoked salmon appetizer recipes out there, but these salmon cucumber bites truly are a show stopper from their creative assembly to every last delicious bite. This recipe is proof that all you need are a few simple ingredients to wow a crowd. If you’re looking for more salmon recipes, try out our smoked salmon dip or our reader-favorite: blackened salmon!

What You Will Need

Cucumber Cups:

smoked salmon – This might also be labeled as lox at your local grocery store.
english cucumbers – The low moisture content provides the best foundation for these appetizers.
capers – A flavor explosion of brininess, lemon, and tang.
dill – A classic herb that pairs perfectly with mild flavored salmon.

Dill Sauce:

sour cream & cream cheese – The perfect amount for smooth and creamy sauce.
fresh dill, chives, & parsley – Just the right amount of seasonings to give your sauce a depth of flavor.
lemon juice & zest – Adds brightness throughout.
garlic – A bit of heat, earthiness, and buttery flavors.
rice vinegar – Adds a slightly delicate and mild flavor.

How To Make The Best Smoked Salmon Appetizer

Start by gathering and prepping your ingredients for easy assembly.

A bowl with the dill sauce ingredients, a jar of capers, fresh dill, an english cucumber, and smoked salmon on a plate all on a counter top.

Next, in a medium sized bowl, mix together the dill sauce ingredients. For easy mixing, make sure that your cream cheese is softened or at least at room temperature before mixing. You can do this by hand or with a food processor. Once it’s fully combined, take a taste and adjust flavors as needed and set aside until later.

Now for the cucumber cups! Cut your cucumber into 1 1/4 inch tall pieces. Then scoop out the middle using a small spoon being careful not to puncture the bottom.

A spoon scooping out the middle of a 1 and 1/4 inch tall cucumber chunk, creating a mini cucumber cup.

You should end up with about 15 cucumber cups once this step is complete.

To assemble, place a small piece of salmon in a cucumber cup, followed by a dollop of dill sauce, 4-6 capers, and a tiny sprig of fresh dill garnish. Repeat these steps for each cucumber cup with the remaining ingredients.

One cucumber cup filled with dill sauce, three capers, smoked salmon, and a tiny sprig of fresh dill.

Place these little guys on a serving platter and serve immediately or cover them with plastic wrap and store them in the refrigerator until serving time.

What To Serve With Smoked Salmon Appetizer

These light and refreshing bites go with just about anything. And because they don’t leave you feeling weighted down, feel free to pair them with some classic main course without fear that your guests filled up on appetizers before the main meal. Try this appetizer out with our Smoked Turkey, Prime Rib recipe or a Crockpot Ham. Or make a full appetizer plate of finger food complete with these salmon bites plus classic deviled eggs, veggie dip, and olive tapenade.

Recipe FAQs

Quantity: This recipe makes about 15 cucumber cups, but scroll down to the recipe card to double or triple this recipe if feeding a crowd.
Dairy-Free: You can easily use dairy-free sour cream and dairy-free cream cheese to make this dairy-free.
Make Ahead: A great way to save time is to make these the night before and store them in an airtight container in the fridge to serve them the next day- I wouldn’t recommend making them more in advance than that as the cucumber may lose some of it’s crispness.
Modification: Instead of making cucumber cups you can simply serve on a large cucumber slices.

Pinterest image showing cucumber cups with the title "smoked salmon appetizer. perfect for your next holiday party".

Made these appetizers with smoked salmon and loved them?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!

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