We absolutely adore the classic combination of bagels and lox, but sometimes you want something a little different. Enter this Smoked Salmon Salad with capers, red onion, jalapeño, lemon, and fresh herbs! It’s light (no mayonnaise!), takes minutes to prep, and has a clean, well balanced flavor.
You can make this salmon salad ahead of time (up to 3 days in advance) or serve it immediately. It’s best on a bagel with scallion cream cheese, but you can also serve it kind of like a smoked salmon dip with crackers or crudité for scooping it all up.
Whatever the occasion, smoked salmon salad makes an easy, impressive, and delicious breakfast or brunch!
Love smoked salmon as much as we do? Be sure to check out our Cucumber & Tomato Salad and our best ever Salmon Rillettes!
Ingredient Notes
- Smoked salmon, finely chopped (totally okay to get smoked salmon trimmings at the store if you can find them — they’re usually much less expensive!)
- Red onion – for crunch and the slight bite from the onion
- Jalapeño – the spice from the jalapeño is the best part of this smoked salmon salad!
- Capers – add a brininess that works well with smoked salmon
- Scallions or chives – for a more subtle onion flavor
- Lemon zest + juice – adds acidity and brightens up the salad
- Dill – salmon, particularly smoked salmon, and dill are a match made in heaven
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt, if needed! You know we are big advocates of seasoning food well (hi, Well Seasoned over here!), but use salt sparingly in this recipe. Smoked salmon is already on the salty side, so start with a few pinches, then taste and adjust seasoning from there
How To Make Smoked Salmon Salad
This is such a simple recipe that you will be making it for breakfast all the time. Best part? It can absolutely be made ahead and served a day or two later, making entertaining for brunch a breeze!
- Finely chop smoked salmon. If the smoked salmon is cut into slices, use a sharp knife to give it rough chop into small, bite-size pieces. Place the salmon in a large mixing bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients. To this, add ¼ cup minced red onion, 1 minced jalapeño, 1 ½ Tbsp drained capers, 1 Tbsp thinly sliced scallions (or chives), the zest of 1 lemon, 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, and 1 Tbsp finely chopped dill.
- Toss with olive oil. Add 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, then stir well. Taste, then season with ¼ tsp Kosher salt, if needed, adding more as desired. Refrigerate until needed (we recommend 1 hour, if possible to help the flavors meld together), but you can absolutely serve immediately!
Expert Tips
- No need to buy the fanciest smoked salmon! When we’re hosting a bagel brunch and enjoying fish on bagels, we spend the big bucks to buy the highest quality lox (yes, there is a difference between lox and smoked salmon, check out the post linked above for detailed info!). For this recipe, however, you don’t need to break the bank. Even inexpensive Costco smoked salmon will work beautifully!
- Don’t skip the jalapeño! 100% inspired by our close friend’s salmon salad, where he adds minced jalapeño. It’s not too spicy, it adds juuuust enough heat to compliment and round out the flavors!
- Use a high quality extra virgin olive oil! While a less expensive smoked salmon will be fine, we think it’s worth the extra effort to use a higher quality evoo. That’s the only dressing for this salad, so you want it to taste great on its own.
- Be careful not to over season! Smoked salmon can be salty. Once dressing the salad and tossing all ingredients, taste and add Kosher salt very sparingly so as not to make it too salty.
- Use fresh dill! Dried dill will give this salad a completely different (and less desirable) flavor.
FAQs For Smoked Salmon Salad
- What other types of smoked fish can I use? Most thinly sliced smoked fish would work in this recipe: trout, mackerel, and whitefish. Note that some smoked fish have a much stronger, more intense flavor compared to salmon, which is very mild. Trout will be the most comparable fish, whereas mackerel and whitefish will be fishier in flavor.
- How far in advance can I make this? We recommend no more than 3 days in advance, however the smoked salmon salad benefits from an hour in the fridge before serving just to help the flavors meld together.
- I don’t like capers. What else can I substitute? Finely chopped green olives would add a similar brininess!
- Can smoked salmon salad be frozen? While smoked salmon itself can be frozen for up to 3 months, we do not recommend freezing this salad. It’s safe to do (no mayo!), but the texture will change dramatically upon thawing. It’s best enjoyed fresh.
How To Serve
How to serve smoked salmon salad: you can either enjoy this with crackers or crudité (it’s delicious with thinly sliced cucumbers or radishes!), or…. add it to a bagel!
We love to top fresh everything bagels (never toasted, unless you froze them!) with a healthy schmear of scallion cream cheese, then pile it up high with salmon salad. You just can’t beat it!
Don’t have good bagels nearby? Try piling up our smoked salmon salad onto one of these one bowl Everything Scallion Drop Biscuits instead. Yum!
We could not love this salmon salad recipe anymore! If you, like us, are a lover of all things smoked salmon, lox, nova, gravlax, etc., you absolutely must give this Smoked Salmon Salad a try! And talk about a showstopper of a dish to serve for brunch. Please let us know if you do by leaving a review and rating below!
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More smoked salmon recipes:
- Smoked Salmon Breakfast Tacos
- How To Create an Epic Bagel Board
- Baked Pita Bites with Cream Cheese, Smoked Salmon, and Dill
- Cucumber & Tomato Salad
- Cucumber Slices with Salmon
Smoked Salmon Salad (Spread or Dip)
Ingredients
- 8 oz smoked salmon or smoked salmon trimmings
- ¼ cup red onion minced, about ½ medium onion
- 1 jalapeño minced
- 1 ½ Tbsp capers drained
- 2 Tbsp scallions thinly sliced and/or chives
- 1 lemon zested, plus 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp dill finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
Instructions
- Finely chop smoked salmon. If the smoked salmon is cut into slices, use a sharp knife to give it rough chop into small, bite-size pieces. Place the salmon in a large mixing bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients. To this, add ¼ cup minced red onion, 1 minced jalapeño, 1 ½ Tbsp drained capers, 1 Tbsp thinly sliced scallions (or chives), the zest of 1 lemon, 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, and 1 Tbsp finely chopped dill.
- Toss with olive oil. Add 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, then stir well. Taste, then season with ¼ tsp Kosher salt, if needed, adding more as desired. Refrigerate until needed (we recommend 1 hour, if possible to help the flavors meld together), but you can absolutely serve immediately!
Notes
- Smoked salmon salad can be made up to 3 days in advance.
- Nutrition facts include the salmon salad only, not bagels or cream cheese.
Ridiculously delicious recipe! On constant rotation in our home. Great for on-the-go, quick snack or a full meal and doesn’t require heating! Often used as snack for kids between meals while in the car on the way to practice for extra protein. Win-win! Well-Seasoned always delivers the most thoughtful and carefully curated recipes. Thank you, Chef Ari!!!
LOL, Julie! I am quite certain this is not the same as John’s (his is probably better!), but I appreciate the vote of confidence! Worked off of muscle memory and how much I adore that salad! xo, Ari