Smoked salmon, cucumber & cream cheese Fast2eat

This might be the perfect no-cook hors d’oeuvre. It’s fast and easy to make, making ahead, it’s elegant, pretty, gluten-free, low carb, and best of all, eat without all the guilt!

These little cucumber and smoked salmon appetizer bites are as delicious as they are pretty.

The flavours go very well together! The combo of cucumber, Cream cheese, smoked salmon and dill is always a winner, and the addition of horseradish is perfect.

Livened up with a zingy horseradish and dill cream cheese, these simple yet fancy Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Cucumber Bites are crunchy, creamy finger food perfection!

They are the ultimate, easy party appetizer. They make a perfect light start to dinner, or any brunch, a hit at any party or holiday gathering, and they also make a really delicious, healthy, and gluten-free snack!. It offers a light and refreshing taste at any time of the year.

It’s a huge hit – the first thing to disappear. They disappear in about 2 seconds flat. No joke. You’ll want to make lots of these guys and have a huge smoked salmon appetizer platter.

And don’t worry, assembling them is much easier (and faster) than it looks. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, and they are way attractive and way delicious.

Smoked Salmon with Cucumber & Cream Cheese Fast2eat

Smoked Salmon with Cucumber & Cream Cheese Fast2eat

A classic combination of crisp cucumber rounds topped with thin slices of smoked salmon and a dollop of cream cheese flavoured with fresh dill.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 40 bites

Ingredients

  • 2 Cucumber - English - large
  • 250 g Smoked salmon - cut into bite-sized pieces

Zingy horseradish (or Wasabi) & Dill Cream Cheese Spread

  • 1 package Cream cheese - 250g/8oz - softened slightly at room temperature
  • 2 tbsp Horseradish - or Wasabi paste - more or less to taste
  • 1 tbsp Cream - Heavy or Whipping cream or evaporated milk or milk - optional
  • 3 tbsp Dill - fresh chopped- more or less to taste

Garnishing

  • Dill - Fresh (and/or Capers and/or finely chopped red onion)

Instructions

Zingy horseradish (or Wasabi) & Dill Cream Cheese Spread

  • Place softened (out of the refrigerator for about 2 hours) cream cheese, dill and horseradish (or wasabi paste) in a large bowl. Beat until well combined (a mixer really helps here). If the mixture is too stiff, add Cream (or Heavy or Whipping cream or evaporated milk or milk).
    Zingy horseradish (or Wasabi) & Dill Cream Cheese Spread Fast2eat

Assembling

  • Slice cucumbers crosswise into 1/2" wide circles.
  • Arrange on a platter as desired.
  • Spread 1 teaspoon (more or less to taste) of Zingy horseradish (or Wasabi) & Dill Cream Cheese Spread Fast2eat on top each cucumber slice, then top each slice with a bite-sized piece of smoked salmon and sprinkle with the dill sprigs e/or capers and/or finely chopped red onion.
    Smoked Salmon with Cucumber & Cream Cheese Fast2eat
  • Serve at once, or keep in the refrigerator until needed.

Notes

English cucumbers have flavourless soft skin that is easy on the digestion. Therefore, they do not need to be peeled. Their pretty green skin makes the colour of these little salmon appetizers attractive. If you decide to use the garden cucumber variety with the thick skin, peel them. The thick skin gives a bitter flavour will take away from the cream cheese filling.
Play around with it:
  • You can leave the wasabi/horseradish and/or dill out of the cream cheese if you want a more subtle bite.
  • I think a little dash of lemon zest and/or finely chopped red onion, and/or chives would be lovely, too.
  • You can also whip some cream cheese with black pepper, onion flakes, garlic flakes, poppy seeds, and/or sesame seeds.
  • Or use sour cream or Greek yogourt instead of cream cheese.
  • Small pieces of smoked trout would be a good substitute for the salmon.
The smoked salmon doesn't have to be cooked. It is cold smoked, which gives it its unique texture.
You can cut the cucumbers and make the filling a day ahead for prep. Make ahead, but not assemble them.
  • Slice the cucumbers and keep them in a resealable bag.
  • You can prepare the cream cheese mixture a few days in advance. Make them and put it into a pastry bag or plastic bag, whichever you will use for piping it onto the cucumbers.
  • Cut smoked salmon into bite-sized pieces. Keep them chilled in an airtight container.
You can do these steps one or two days in advance. A few hours (1- 4 hours, but not much longer or the cucumbers will make the cream cheese spread soggy) before your guests arrive, pipe the cream cheese spread onto the cucumbers, top with Salmon and garnish with the dill.
Use fresh dill, not dried dill. The fresh dill really gives cream cheese mixture a vibrant flavour. The dried herbs will not taste as appetizing. The finely chopped fresh dill also makes a lovely little garnish.
Wasabi and horseradish are commonly recommended as substitutes for each other due to their similar flavour profiles. Many people assume that Wasabi is a type of green horseradish since it tastes like horseradish and has the same nasal-clearing power. An error in translation years ago led people to believe the wasabi root and the horseradish root was the same; wasabi has been falsely labelled “Japanese horseradish.”
Horseradish is a cultivated plant of the mustard family, having small white flowers; the pungent root of this plant, ground and used as a condiment and medicine; the condiment itself, sometimes moistened with vinegar or mixed with ground beets. It is easy to grow and not expensive.
Wasabi is an Asian plant of the mustard family, the pungent, greenish root of this plant. The root can be grated, smashed up into a paste and used as a condiment. It has a very strong flavour. It’s more readily available as an ingredient to use in condiments that require that special spicy zing. Its hotness is more like hot mustard or horseradish than chilli pepper because it irritates the nose more than the tongue. It isn't easy to grow and very, very expensive.
The odds are that you have never actually tasted the genuine Wasabi rhizome, as it’s a rarity outside of Japan. Most of the wasabi paste served outside of Japan (or even in Japan) is a mixture of horseradish, mustard and green food colouring. It’s referred to as “western wasabi.” Some brands of wasabi paste do contain real wasabi (check the label). 95% of the Horseradish powder on the market doesn’t have real wasabi in it.
Because of its similar flavour profile, horseradish is a common replacement for the fresh wasabi plant. Concerning their flavours, both products are hot and tangy. Both have that “punch-you-in-the-nose heat,” While they are very similar, the flavours are not identical since wasabi has a much more complex and herbaceous flavour than that of horseradish. You can use horseradish as a 1:1 substitute for wasabi.
Play around with it:
  • You can leave the wasabi/horseradish and/or dill out of the cream cheese if you want a more subtle bite.
  • I think a little dash of lemon zest and/or finely chopped red onion, and/or chives would be lovely, too.
  • You can also whip some cream cheese with black pepper, onion flakes, garlic flakes, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds.
  • Or use sour cream or Greek yogourt instead of cream cheese.

To properly prepare your recipe, you may need to use the conversion tables to accurately convert the weight, volume, length, and temperature of all the necessary ingredients. These Fast2eat conversion tables will allow you to ensure that your recipe turns out perfectly and that all measurements are precise and accurate.

Disclosure: “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Purchases made using these links don’t cost any extra and provide Fast2eat with a few pennies to keep the lights on.”

Nutrition

Calories: 30kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.

Latest recipes

Read bread-making further information in my book:


Hungry for more? A new post and recipe every Friday!


Once you make my recipes, I would love to see your creations, so please let me know! Leave a comment below, take a photo and tag it on your preferred Social Media with hashtag #Fast2eat.

All text and photographs on Fast2eat are copyright protected. You are welcome to share my recipes and photos through social media as long as you prominently link back to the original post. You do not need to ask my permission to link to content published here, but you DO need my permission to publish my recipes and photos. Please do not use any material from this site without obtaining prior permission. If you’d like to post this recipe on your site, please link back to this post. And remember, when you adapt my recipe, please acknowledge the source with “adapted from…” designating the source with the link of my recipe.

Thanks for reading and sharing.


Got a question or feedback? Please comment below! That way, other readers will be able to see the answers to your question and will benefit from your feedback. Scroll down, and you will find the comment form.

Get in Touch! 

I look forward to hearing from you in the comments.

1 thought on “Smoked salmon, cucumber & cream cheese Fast2eat”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Scroll to Top