Last Updated on April 21, 2025

A Smoked Salmon Appetizer with dill and capers makes a perfect combination of flavors. They would be great for a happy hour treat. Gather up a few friends and neighbors and enjoy. Heck, you could make a light meal out of these if you want.

Jump To Contents:

Ingredients Needed To Make Smoked Salmon Appetizer with Cream Cheese

This appetizer has such an over-the-top flavor and is made with simple ingredients.

French bread baguette – A small diameter bread is best.
Extra virgin olive oil – Use a good-tasting olive oil for this recipe.
Cream cheese – The cream cheese adds so much richness to the flavor of this appetizer.
Fresh dill weed – Fresh dill weed is recommended for a pop of color and tangy flavor.
Capers – Just a few on each appetizer provides a salty goodness.
Smoked salmon – Cold-smoked salmon is the easiest kind of salmon to use for the appetizer.

Use Cold Smoked Salmon

I saw a nice package of smoked salmon on sale so I fixed MaryJo and me this great smoked salmon dill and capers appetizer that turned into half of our dinner.

The salmon I used was Ducktrap, Scottish style Spruce Point, cold-smoked Atlantic salmon.

Cold smoked salmon is smoked at a very low temperature…like 80°F. It results in salmon that is tender and moist. It is sliced really thin and usually packaged in 3 or 4-ounce sizes.

Hot smoked salmon is a dry filet with firm flesh and tastes really good, but is not a good fit for our delicate canapé.

Making the Smoked Salmon Appetizer

The baguette that I used was an Italian 5-grain bread that Publix makes. First, you slice this pretty thin and toast it.

Do it like you are in Italy, put olive oil on the bread and toast it in a skillet and you have got a crostini. Simple. Next comes the cream cheese.

I’ve seen similar smoked salmon appetizers where they mix up different ingredients in the cream cheese spread, but I keep it real simple. Just spread some plain old softened cream cheese on the crostini.

Believe me, enough flavors are running through these couple of mouthfuls to keep your taste buds entertained. You don’t need anymore.

After that, lay on a sprig of fresh dill and place a few capers on the cheese. Fold up a slice of smoked salmon and push it into the cheese.

Add a few more capers here and there…take pictures!…then eat. They are perfect to serve at room temperature.

Serve these to your guests and you’ll achieve rock star status because these are so good to eat and they look really fancy.

The nice crunch of the toasted baguette complements the softness of the cream cheese and moist salmon. The bit of saltiness from the capers and the flavor of the fresh dill make this a great smoked salmon appetizer.

Serve this salmon appetizer for any special occasion. This has got to be one of the top 10 smoked salmon appetizers there are.

Hey. Did you make this recipe? Let me know if you liked it in the comment section below. Also, drop a photo on your Instagram and tag @joeshealthymeals. I love seeing what you guys are making.

If you are into different appetizers, you may like to try these too:

Smoked Salmon Dill and Capers Appetizer

This is a real elegant looking appetizer, one that deserves a party.

4.87 from 29 votes

Print Pin Rate Save

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: smoked salmon appetizer,, smoked salmon with capers

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 5

Total Time: 15

Servings:

Calories: 130kcal

Author: Joe Boyle

Ingredients

8 pieces of baguette , thinly sliced
2 tsp . extra virgin olive oil
2 oz . cream cheese
fresh dill weed
1/4 c . drained capers
3 oz . thin sliced smoked salmon , (Ducktrap River Spruce point Scottish style smoked salmon, 4 oz. pkg)

Instructions

Heat a heavy skillet on medium heat.
Lightly brush both sides of the baguette slices with olive oil and place in the dry skillet.
Toast until the desired char is achieved, about 2 mins.
Turn and toast the second side, 2 mins.
Spread each toasted baguette with cream cheese.
Add a sprig of dill and 4 or 5 capers.
Top with a slice of smoked salmon.
Add a few more capers on each.
Serve at room temperature.

Notes

The package of smoked salmon that I used contained 7 thinly sliced pieces, approximately 4" by 5 " in size. On each baguette, I used 1/2 of a slice of salmon. I made 8 crostinis and had 3 slices of salmon left. The package, therefore, could make 6 more appetizers if desired.

Nutrition