24 Tasty Ways to Serve Smoked Salmon

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Simple recipes to eat smoked salmon for any meal

Co-authored by Linda McNally and Sophie Burkholder, BA

Last Updated: December 2, 2024 Fact Checked

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Simple Pairings

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Appetizers

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Breakfast

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Lunch & Dinner

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Making Smoked Salmon

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Video

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Q&A

Smoked salmon is a great protein addition to any dish: it’s healthy, tasty, and simple to prepare. Since smoked salmon is already cooked when you bring it home from the grocery store, you can easily mix it into practically any delicious dish or party platter you wish! Explore the plentiful options below to serve and eat smoked salmon for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or for an anytime snack.

Things You Should Know

Make a simple snack by pairing smoked salmon with crackers, cream cheese, and fresh dill.
To make a smoked salmon party platter, put the fish on a serving plate with cucumbers, hard-boiled eggs, capers, onions, cream cheese, and mini bagel wedges.
Incorporate smoked salmon into your breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes with a smoked salmon omelet, smoked salmon chowder, or smoked salmon pasta.

Section 1 of 5:

Quick & Easy Smoked Salmon Pairings

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Pair smoked salmon with crackers or bread for a simple snack. Toast and butter any variety of bread, or pull out a sleeve of your favorite characters. Then, pair smoked salmon with any of these combos:
- Cream cheese and fresh dill
- Sour cream and black pepper
- Horseradish and fresh dill
- Radishes, sour cream, and grated egg yolk (after hard boiling an egg)
- Fresh lemon juice, black pepper, and fresh dill
- Soy sauce and wasabi horseradish
- Egg salad and capers
- Mozzarella, tomato, basil, and balsamic glaze

Section 2 of 5:

Smoked Salmon Appetizers

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1
Make a smoked salmon party platter. To present smoked salmon on a platter, arrange the salmon in folds or twirl each slice into a small rosette. Place an equal portion of salmon in each corner of the platter. For a small crowd of 4-6 people, you’ll want about 12 ounces (340 g) to 1 pound (0.45 kg) of salmon.^{[1]
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- For a dinner party salmon platter, add easy-boiled eggs, feta cheese, labneh, fresh veggies, lemon wedges, and marinated items like olives or artichoke hearts.
- Serve with crackers or toasted French bread!
- For a brunch salmon platter, add the same items you would put on a salmon bagel sandwich.
- Try sliced cucumbers, hard-boiled eggs, capers, tomatoes, red onions, dill, cream cheese, and mini-wedges of everything bagels.
Combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers, and hot sauce in a food processor. Add in smoked salmon, dills, and chives. Pulse the mixture until the salmon is finely chopped. Sprinkle in salt to taste and serve with crackers or bagel chips!^{[2]
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Make smoked salmon crostini. Slice a French baguette and arrange the slices on a baking sheet. Brush the bread with olive oil and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 °F (177 °C). Let the crostinis cool slightly, then spread a dollop of cream cheese on each one.^{[3]
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- Top the crostinis off with a slice of smoked salmon, everything but the bagel seasoning, onion slices, and a pinch of chives.
Make Sushi as you would normally, but replace the raw fish with smoked salmon. Other sushi fillings that taste nice with smoked salmon include sliced cucumber and avocado.^{[4]
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Make mini smoked salmon sandwiches. Cut white bread into mini rectangles or sandwiches. Use one piece of bread as the base of your sandwich, then stack fillings in this order: smoked salmon, cucumber slice, black pepper, bread, smoked salmon, cucumber, black pepper, and a final piece of bread.
- Spear these smoked salmon English tea sandwiches with some party toothpicks to make them truly fit for royalty!
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Try smoked salmon roll-ups. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface and sprinkle it with black pepper. Lay your smoked salmon pieces over the seasoning, overlapping them slightly to form a rectangular shape. Spread softened cream cheese over the salmon and sprinkle capers on top.^{[5]
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- Place cucumber or asparagus spears in the middle of the salmon rectangle.
- Slowly, use the plastic wrap to roll the salmon over until it reaches the other side and create a salmon-cream cheese spiral.
- Freeze your salmon roll for 5-10 minutes to serve it up, then slice it to your preferred thickness.
- Serve your smoked salmon roll-ups with a citrusy soy sauce or another delicious dip!
Chill a set of martini glasses and take them out of the freezer just before serving. Layer smoked salmon, avocado slices, and mozzarella in each martini glass. Top them off with black pepper and balsamic glaze.

Section 3 of 5:

Smoked Salmon for Breakfast

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1
Mix smoked salmon pieces into omelets or scrambled eggs. Top your smoked salmon and eggs with chives, green onions, or arugula. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.^{[6]
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- Alternatively, make poached eggs and serve them with chopped smoked salmon and greens.
Mix cream cheese, chopped green onions, fresh dill, and black pepper. Spread your cream cheese mixture onto your preferred bagel. Add smoked salmon, tomato slices, cucumber rounds, and capers.^{[7]
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Make traditional potato patties or buy some at your local store or bakery. Serve them with smoked salmon, sour cream, and dill. You can also add caviar for a touch of luxury!^{[8]
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Try a breakfast smoked salmon tart. Thaw 1 sheet of premade puff pastry and bake it according to package instructions. Let the pastry cool, then spread whipped cream cheese over the tart. Layer smoked salmon on top of the cream cheese.^{[9]
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- Sprinkle on pickled onions, dill, capers, and everything but the bagel seasoning.
- Add poached eggs to your tart to make it even more breakfast-y.
- Or, repurpose the tart for lunch or dinner by swapping the listed toppings for roasted veggies and tomatoes.
5
Make asparagus with hollandaise and smoked salmon. Cook asparagus in the microwave or roast it for 10 minutes in an oven set to 450 °F (232 °C). Pulse together 1 large egg yolk, 1.5 teaspoons (7.4 ml) lemon juice, and a pinch of cayenne pepper in a blender.^{[10]
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- Melt 4 tablespoons (56g) of butter and gradually add it to the egg mixture.
- Spread the asparagus on a serving platter and drizzle it with hollandaise sauce.
- Top with chopped smoked salmon and salt and pepper.
- You can also buy hollandaise sauce from a store instead of making it from scratch.
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Make smoked salmon eggs benedict. Cut an English muffin in half and toast it. Drape sliced smoked salmon onto the muffin and set it aside. Make hollandaise sauce using a simple recipe, like this one from Food Network, or buy a premade hollandaise sauce.^{[11]
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- Place poached eggs on top of your smoked salmon.
- Drizzle hollandaise sauce on top of your muffin and serve immediately.
Toast a slice of your preferred bread and halve a ripe avocado. Spread the avocado on the toast and top with smoked salmon. Add whatever topping you’d like, such as cucumber ribbons, red pepper flakes, or a fried egg.

Section 4 of 5:

Smoked Salmon for Lunch and Dinner

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Top the sandwich with minced onions, sour cream, and capers. You can also prepare a smoked salmon wrap by wrapping the fish with honey mustard and spinach in a large flour tortilla.^{[12]
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Toss smoked salmon pieces with pasta and Alfredo sauce. This dish pairs especially well with fettuccine, linguine, or penne pasta.^{[13]
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- Top off your smoked salmon pasta with diced tomatoes, fresh parsley, and black pepper.
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Make smoked salmon chowder. Combine butter, bacon, and a minced yellow onion in a pan, and cook them until the bacon starts to crisp and the onion softens. Add your preferred vegetables, like carrots, celery, or bell peppers.
- Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and cook for 1-2 minutes, then whisk in milk and let the mixture simmer.
- Stir in the smoked salmon and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Season your smoked salmon chowder with salt, pepper, lemon juice, dill, and hot sauce, if desired.
Make tacos and substitute your typical fish or other protein for smoked salmon. Pair with complementary fillings like dill, lemon zest, cucumbers, shallots, and salmon roe.^{[14]
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You can add smoked salmon or use it as a protein substitute in almost any salad. Make a pasta salad, four-bean salad, cucumber and tomato salad, or soba noodle salad with smoked salmon added in.
Start with a traditional fish ceviche recipe, like this one from "Bon Appetit." Replace the raw fish with chopped smoked salmon.
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Try smoked salmon risotto. Melt 3 tablespoons (40g) of butter in a large pan and fry 2 small shallots. Add 11 ounces (310 g) of carnaroli rice to the pan and toast for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.^{[15]
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- Add ¼ cup (50 ml) of white wine until it evaporates, then add 4 cups (1 L) of vegetable stock one cup at a time.
- Cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed and stir in the smoked salmon and arugula.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Follow a fish cake recipe and substitute smoked salmon for the cooked fish. Make a garden salad to serve alongside your salmon patties!
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Add smoked salmon to your loaded baked potatoes. Pierce a potato several times with a fork and microwave it for 5 minutes. Flip it over, microwave for 5 more minutes, and let it cool.^{[16]
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- Cut the potato lengthwise, top with salt and pepper, and then mash the inside with a fork.
- Top your potato with smoked salmon and your preferred toppings, like sour cream, cheddar cheese, or dill.

Section 5 of 5:

Making Smoked Salmon

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1
Use a smoker to smoke salmon the traditional way. Mix your brine ingredients and place them into a glass bowl with your fish. Cover the bowl and place it into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.^{[17]
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- Briefly rinse the fish under cold running water and pat it dry. Place it on a cooling rack, skin side down, to dry for 2-4 hours.
- Slick your fish’s skin with oil and smoke the salmon until it reaches an internal temperature of 130 °F (54 °C) to 150 °F (66 °C). Baste it every hour with maple syrup or honey.
- Remove your salmon from the smoker and let it rest on a cooling rack for one hour before placing it in the fridge.
- For the brine, prepare about 1 quart of cool water for every 5 pounds (2.3 kg) of fish. Add ⅓ cup (96g) of high-quality salt and 1 cup (200g) of brown sugar.
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If you don’t have a smoker, cold-smoke your salmon. Cure your salmon with a salt and sugar mixture. Soak your salmon in cold water and let it dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours.^{[18]
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- Place two aluminum foil sheets inside a pot and allow some foil to hang over the edge. Add a thin layer of wood chips to the pot.
- Place the salmon skin-side down on a round cake rack that fits inside your pot. Bring the sides of the foil up and pinch the ends together to create a tent.
- Place a lid over the top of the pot and place it on the stove. Let it cook on medium-high for five minutes, then medium for 25 minutes.
- After cooling slightly, wrap the salmon in plastic and aluminum foil. Keep the smoked salmon in the fridge for 24 hours before slicing and serving it.

Community Q&A

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We've received a large smoked salmon (2 lb) as a present. I'd like to serve it for dinner. What should I serve with it?

Michele

Top Answerer

Smoked salmon has a strong flavor and is best served as an appetizer, not a main course. However, if you did want to make a main course, try a nice smoked salmon quiche. You could also make a smoked salmon mousse, or serve the smoked salmon sliced thin and wrapped around a steak. It goes great in scrambled eggs (add some dill or chives), or pancakes topped with sour cream, smoked salmon and chives.

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Can I brown smoked salmon in oil and serve it?

Community Answer

You could; however, smoked salmon is most commonly enjoyed served naked and chilled. Try pairing it with crackers or a bagel, capers, red onions, and cream cheese. Ram (non-smoked) salmon can be browned in oil and served -- just make sure the salmon is cooked pink throughout with no red to assure it's fully up to temperature.

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Can I reheat smoked salmon, and how?

Michele

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Most smoked salmon is cold-smoked, and therefore should be served cold. You can take slices and heat them in the microwave or in a fry pan.

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Read the packaging on your smoked salmon to see if it needs to be refrigerated. If so, it’ll keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks before opening it. After unsealing, it will last for about 1 week in the fridge.

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Allow smoked salmon to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Peeling the skin off is optional.

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The recommended size of a smoked salmon serving is approximately 2–3 ounces (57–85 g) per person.

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