Salmon Dip Recipe

Our salmon dip recipe will help you make a delicious crowd pleaser in just 20 minutes.

Rich in flavor and nutrients, this salmon dip serves phenomenally well with bread, chips, fresh vegetables, or practically anything else that comes to mind. It can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge, so you won’t have to worry about what side to have with your pasta or meat.

If you love it, we have this side featuring raw, soft, rich salmon that can be eaten as-is or with bread sticks. We think you should try it.

Is Salmon Dip Healthy?

Yes, our salmon dip is a healthy snack.

The dip’s main ingredient is salmon, which is dense in protein and rich in brain-healthy unsaturated fats — omega 3s, 6s, and oleic acid. It is served with carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, and celery sticks, all adding their own vitamins, minerals, and fiber to the meal.

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We also like to serve the dip with toasted bread, which should give you about 7.5 g of carbohydrates in each serving.

Nonetheless, a large serving of this dip can be high in calories, saturated fats, and sodium. We reduced the amount of cheese, mayo, and salt to a reasonable level, and tried to keep our recommended portion size small. Each portion now contains only 229 calories, 2.8 g of saturated fats, and 280 mg of sodium. These numbers make it easier for you to adhere to the USDA’s healthy eating guidelines.

Main Ingredients

Our salmon dip calls for fresh salmon, dill, mayo, cream cheese, milk, celery, onion, cucumber, bell pepper, carrot, bread, lemon juice, capers, and ground pepper.

1. Can I Use Frozen or Smoked Salmon for This Recipe?

Unlike other salmon dip recipes, ours uses fresh or frozen salmon instead of smoked salmon. While it’s undeniably tasty, smoked salmon is high in sodium and should be saved for other dishes, in our opinion.

To save on money, try looking for salmon trimmings instead of a whole filet. It’ll all be thrown into the food processor anyway.

2. Poaching Water

We poach the fish in a pot of water and aromatics. We use the basics — celery, dill, and onion — which lend the fish complementing aromas.

Once finished, let the fish cool down in a bowl and blend/mash it into fine bits. Keep the water in the fridge or freezer — it’ll make a flavorful stock base for soup or ramen noodles.

3. Cheese, Mayonnaise, and Seasonings

Next, we mix the fish with cream cheese, mayo, lemon juice, chopped dill, and pepper. We also top it with some canned capers, which are already salty so we needn’t add any salt.

To make this dip even better, you can try cheddar or mozzarella in place of cream cheese. Their stretchy texture will give your dip a whole different character.

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4. Vegetables and Bread

We serve this cold dip with crisp, juicy vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, celery, and bell peppers. Feel free to add your favorite vegetable to the mix.

Diversity is key for a flavorful meal, so we also include some bread. We cut our baguette into thin slices and air-fried them. They just make the best accompaniment for any dip.

Storing and Freezing the Leftover

Because our salmon dip contains cheese and mayonnaise, it’s suggested that you only keep it in the fridge. Products containing eggs and dairy don’t thaw properly after being frozen.

To safely store the dip, place each portion into a small bowl/container and cover it nicely with plastic wrap or a tight-fitting lid. Keep it all in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. The veggies can be stored in the same manner.

Since this dip is basically cooked seafood, you will want to consume it all within 4 days. Our recipe makes just 4 servings, so that really shouldn’t be difficult.

While the dip and vegetables can be served cold, you may want to reheat the baguette so it becomes crispy again. We suggest wrapping the whole baguette in plastic wrap, and only slicing and baking it when you want to serve. Reheating it multiple times will turn the bread unpleasantly hard rather than merely crispy.

What to Serve With

Anything crunchy goes phenomenally well with our salmon dip. Besides fresh vegetables and crispy breadsticks, we tend to like crackers or chips.

If there’s leftover salmon, we recommend making salmon burgers. They are super quick to make.

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If you’re not fond of the second or third serving of this dip as a snack, turn it into a main course by mixing it with cooked pasta. It can also make for a nice sandwich filling for tomorrow’s lunch along with some lettuce and thinly shaved carrots.

For more ideas, have a look at our quick salmon recipes.

Salmon Dip Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Our salmon dip recipe makes a delicious snack to enjoy with friends and family. It's always a crowd-pleaser and takes just 20 minutes.

- by Tuyet Pham, Luna Regina, 2022-06-14

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• cook TIME 15 mins
• prep TIME 5 mins
• total TIME 20 mins

• COURSE Side Dish
• CUISINE Global
• SERVINGS
  4

  servings
• CALORIES 229 kcal

INGREDIENTS

1x2x3x

• 10 oz skinless boneless salmon
• 5 oz celery (cut into sticks, separate 1 oz for cooking)
• 4 oz cucumber (cut into sticks)
• 4 oz red bell pepper (cut into sticks)
• 2 oz French baguette (sliced on a bias)
• 4 oz carrot (cut into sticks)
• 2 oz onion
• 1 oz cream cheese
• 0.5 oz dill (save 1 tbsp chopped)
• 2 cups water
• 0.25 oz canned caper (rinsed)
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Image instructions

1

Add 2 cups of water to a pot along with 4 oz celery, 2 oz onion, and 0.5 oz dill (save 1 tbsp for later). Bring it to a boil.

2

Add 10 oz skinless boneless salmon and cook for about 3 minutes. Scoop it out once finished and set it aside in a bowl to cool for about 5 minutes. Cut the veggies into fingers if you haven’t already.

3

Add the cooked salmon to a food processor and blend until it all turns flaky. If you want to avoid the food processor, mash the salmon with a fork.

4

Mix salmon with 1 oz cream cheese, 2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise, 2 tbsp milk, 1 tbsp dill you saved earlier, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

5

To serve, cook the baguette in a preheated oven or an air fryer at 375°F for about 2-3 minutes or until crisp.

6

Add 0.25 oz capers on top of the dip, and serve it with crispy baguette slices and vegetable sticks (4 oz each of celery, carrot, cucumber, and bell peppers).

NUTRITION

Nutrition Facts

Salmon Dip Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 229Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Fat 11g

17%

Saturated Fat 3g

19%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 1g

Cholesterol 71mg

24%

Sodium 281mg

12%

Potassium 597mg

17%

Carbohydrate 14g

5%

Fiber 2g

8%

Sugar 4g

4%

Protein 17g

34%

Vitamin A 5797IU

116%

Vitamin C 40mg

48%

Calcium 50mg

5%

Iron 1mg

6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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