Easy Cucumber Salmon Bites
This is the appetizer I make when people are coming over in twenty minutes and I haven’t done anything yet. No oven, no stove. Slice a cucumber, spread on some cream cheese, fold a piece of smoked salmon on top, done. I’ve never had a plate of these come back with anything left on it.
The one thing I’ve learned: cut the rounds thick, about half an inch. Thin slices get floppy and slide around when you pick them up. Pat them dry with a paper towel before the cream cheese goes on, too, or it won’t stick. And put them together close to serving time. After an hour or so the cucumber starts to weep and the bottoms get wet. A squeeze of lemon and a few crushed pink peppercorns on top are nice if you have them.
Easy cucumber salmon bites made with smoked salmon, cream cheese and fresh dill. There's no cooking at all, and they're ready in about 10 minutes. Cool and crunchy, with a salty hit from the salmon, they work for a party, a holiday spread or a light starter before dinner.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Wash the cucumbers and trim the ends. Cut them into rounds about 1/2 inch thick, then lay the rounds on paper towels and pat the tops dry so the cream cheese will stick.2 English cucumbers
- Cut the smoked salmon slices into pieces roughly the size of the cucumber rounds, about 1 1/2 inches wide.4 slices smoked salmon
- Stir the softened cream cheese until smooth. Spread about 1 teaspoon on each cucumber round, leaving a thin green border around the edge.5 oz cream cheese
- Fold or loosely roll each piece of salmon and set it on the cream cheese, pressing lightly so it stays put.
- Scatter the dill over the top, add a grind of black pepper, and finish with a few drops of lemon juice and the crushed pink peppercorns if you're using them. Serve right away, while the cucumber is still crisp.2 tablespoons fresh dill or chives, freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon pink peppercorns
Nutrition
Notes
Slice the cucumbers and prep the salmon up to a few hours ahead, but keep them separate in the fridge and assemble just before serving. A plain spoon works fine for spreading, no piping bag needed.
You might also like our Cheesy Zucchini Bites.
brought these to a baby shower and they were gone in 10 min. i mixed a little lemon zest into the cream cheese too
super easy. made them an hour early and the bottoms got a little watery like the recipe says, so def make them last minute
used chives since i didnt have dill, still great. these are going on my christmas eve menu