Get everyones attention by serving these stunning Smoked salmon canapés with caviar at your next gathering. Easy, irresistible and fancy!
What to do with a jar of leftover salmon caviar?
My sister, Nara, and I went halves and bought a jar of salmon caviar so I could make us Tetsuya’s Japanese Dressing For Oysters. What we didn’t know was how short the caviar shelf life was once we opened the jar. The label guide advised us to consume the caviar in 4 days!
A 100gm (1.8oz) jar of salmon caviar costs us $44 (USD 32). Yes, it’s quite pricey and something that we don’t buy often but worth every cent when we do! 100gm of caviar doesn’t sound much, but it’s actually a lot of caviar, especially if we have to eat it in 4 days!
Nara and I are the only ones that eat caviar in our household. My husband, Tomasi, is not a fan of seafood and almost 2-year-old Kai is still refining his palate. However, I forgot to offer some to my kitties, Teddie and Caviar (yes, that’s his name!). I would have loved to have seen their reactions.
With 4 days to think about what else I could make using caviar, I came up with these gorgeous Smoked Salmon Canapés. I’m so happy about how they turned out. Just look at them, so delicious and fit for royalty!
These canapés look fancy and impressive, but they are so simple to make! For the smoked salmon cream, we just place smoked salmon, cream cheese, pickles, sour cream, dill, lemon and tabasco into a food processor and pulse until smooth.
Pipe or spoon the tasty salmon cream on some fancy crackers or cucumber slices for a healthy alternative. Add on some caviar on top and garnish with dill and that’s it!
We can also use the delicious smoked salmon cream as a dip with chips and veggies.
Subscribe to 3CatsFoodie’s FREE Newsletter
For the latest recipes and other fun stuff!
Salmon and fish eggs
It’s so funny how our preference for food changes throughout the years. If someone were to offer me a quality plate of smoked salmon and caviar in my early twenties, I would’ve declined. I ate none of that stuff because I considered it as ‘snotty food’. I thought it was just crap tasting pretentious food that high-class people pretended to like. However, if someone offered the plate to me now, I would’ve licked it clean!
I also feared eating raw or cured food for years. My head just wouldn’t let me get past the fact I was eating an animal that just died! So when sushi and sashimi became the coolest food trend ever, I stayed clear of it.
Thankfully, my palate has gotten sophisticated as I got older and I was more willing to experiment.
Those years wasted on not indulging in raw seafood have caught up to me because all I’m obsessed with oysters and sushi. It’s great to have refined my tastebuds, but it’s terrible on our budget!
More mouthwatering finger foods to try:
Mini Quiche Lorraine
Baked Prawn Toast on Garlic Bread
Oysters Kilpatrick
Pork & Fennel Sausage Rolls
Smoked salmon
What I love about smoked salmon is how versatile and delicious it is. Smoked salmon adds smoky, salty and savoury flavour to dishes.
A packet of smoked salmon is a little pricey, so my thrifty side would wait for a sale before purchasing a few packets to store in our fridge. That’s another thing I love about smoked salmon. It keeps well in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
Smoked salmon is relatively healthy when consumed in moderation. It’s high in omega-3 fats, a rich source of quality protein packed with vitamins and minerals, but it’s also high in sodium.
Ingredients for Smoked Salmon Canapés with Caviar
Smoked salmon – There are usually two varieties of smoked salmon in the chilled section of the supermarket. For this recipe, we want the thinly sliced salmon on a cardboard tray that looks raw.
Pickles – My favourite pickles are baby cucumbers or cornichons because they are not only cute, they’re also super tasty and crunchy. Regular pickled gherkins will work, but you would only need two or 3 depending on their size.
Cucumber and crackers – You can serve the smoked salmon dip on whatever base you like. Cucumbers or lettuce leaves are great healthy choices. Avoid crackers that are likely to go soggy or stale after a short while, if you’re planning to serve the canapés at a gathering.
How to make Smoked Salmon Canapés with Caviar
Step-by-step guide with photos
Place the cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise into a food processor and pulse until combined. Add in the dill, pickles, tabasco, lemon juice, salt and pepper, then process until combined. Lastly, add in the smoked salmon and process until smooth. Have a taste of the mixture and add more salt or pepper if needed.
Place the smoked salmon mixture into a piping bag (or use a spoon). Pipe approximately a tablespoon of the mixture onto the slices of cucumber and crackers. Place a small amount of salmon caviar on top of the mixture and garnish with dill. Serve immediately.
Leftovers – Store the smoked salmon mixture with no caviar in an airtight container and refrigerate, it’ll keep for 3 days.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Smoked salmon canapés with caviar
Ingredients
- 100 gm smoked salmon (roughly chopped) (NOTE 1)
- ⅓ cup salmon caviar
- 250 gm cream cheese (softened)
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 3 tbsp whole egg mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp finely chopped dill (extra to garnish)
- 8 pickled baby cucumbers (drained and roughly chopped) (NOTE 2)
- 1 tsp tabasco (optional)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- pinch of pepper
- 1 medium cucumber (sliced approx. 0.5cm) (NOTE 3)
- 20 crackers (NOTE 3)
Instructions
- Place the cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise into a food processor and pulse until combined. Add in the dill, pickles, tabasco, lemon juice, salt and pepper, then process until combined. Lastly, add in the smoked salmon and process until smooth. Have a taste of the mixture and add more salt or pepper if needed.
- Place the smoked salmon mixture into a piping bag (or use a spoon). Pipe approximately a tablespoon of the mixture onto the slices of cucumber and crackers. Place a small amount of salmon caviar on top of the mixture and garnish with dill. Serve immediately.
