Cucumber Shrimp Canapes

Whether for a Sunday brunch, New Years cocktail party, or a Christmas dinner party, I love a great finger food... and canapes can be the perfect appetizer.

An easy French appetizer, canapes involve starting with a small slice of bread or cracker base - mini toasts, sliced baguette, rye bread, Melba toast, whatever.

The base is then piped with a combination of cream cheese and flavourings, and sometimes topped with a fancy garnish - a bit of cured meat, caviar, some sliced fruit or vegetables, etc.

Serve them with some white wine or sparkling wine, and you’re feeling fancy with very little effort!

The thing is, the traditional form of those hors d'oeuvres aren’t super keto friendly.

So, I swap out the bread for cucumber slices. Boom - an easy appetizer that covers several dietary needs!

Today, I’m sharing one of my other keto small bite favourites - cucumber shrimp canapes!

This one’s a slightly cheaper option, swapping out the smoked salmon in favour of flavourful marinated shrimp!

You can make the base components - the lemon herb cream cheese and the shrimp - ahead of time, keeping them chilled until you’re ready to use.

Just before serving, soften the cream cheese mixture and assemble! It’s a great way to manage time when preparing for company.

Bon appétit!

Ingredients

This easy recipe uses really simple ingredients, easily found in pretty much any grocery store.

A few notes for you:

Raw Shrimp

I used a pound of 30-40 count raw shrimp for this. I wouldn’t recommend going any smaller than that - they’re pretty much the perfect size!

If you want to go larger, you’ll want to slice your cucumber on more of a diagonal - for larger slices - and have more than a pound of shrimp.

The bigger they are, the fewer per lb!

Also, note: Pre-cooked shrimp won’t take up the marinade the same way as raw, but you COULD use them - just skip re-cooking them.

Whichever way you go, be sure the shrimp are FULLY thawed, peeled, and blotted dry before use.

Cream Cheese

To keep this recipe keto, I use a good quality, full fat cream cheese.

If carb count isn’t as much of an issue for you, feel free to use the cream cheese of your choice - lower fat, Neufchatel, or even dairy-free cream cheese, if needed!

You’ll want to start with soft, room temperature cream cheese, either way.

I recommend using brick style, rather than the spreadable kind in a tub.

The brick kind will hold its shape better when mixed with the other ingredients and piped!

Cucumber

I use English Cucumber as my substitute for the traditional pastry base when making these hors d’oeuvres.

I find they have a much better texture for this use, than garden cucumbers do.

Be sure to use cucumbers that are fresh, firm, and free of any blemishes.

Fresh Aromatics

This simple appetizer uses lemon (both as lemon juice and lemon zest), fresh herbs (Italian parsley, fresh dill, and fresh chives), as well as some fresh garlic cloves to add a TON of flavour to the cream cheese base.

Garnish

I like to have extra fresh dill on hand when making this, to use little sprigs of it as garnish.

Sometimes I’ll use capers, other times I’ll use little curls of lemon zest, using the zesting side of my Channel Knife.

Go with whatever you like!

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need::

Olive oil
Garlic Powder
Salt and Black Pepper

... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go. Super basic!

Variations

This recipe has a LOT of room to be tweaked for your personal tastes. A few ideas:

If you have a flavored cream cheese spread that you love - and that would work well with shrimp - feel free to use it in place of the plain cream cheese.

Garlic, roasted garlic, herb, herb and garlic are all good substitutions. I’ll usually skip the dill if using an herb and garlic base.

Sometimes I’ll THINLY - I mean paper thin - slice up some red onion and use it as garnish.

Sometimes I’ll add a small amount of Dijon mustard to the cream cheese mixture

If you don’t have nice looking dill sprigs for garnish, little curls of thinly sliced chives or green onion can look pretty.

How to Make Cucumber Shrimp Canapes

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:

Marinated Shrimp:

Peel and devein the shrimp, if necessary. Blot with paper towels and place in a ziplock bag.

Pour Marinade over the shrimp and chill for 20-30 minutes - NO MORE.

Strain shrimp off the marinade - you can discard the marinade - and cook over medium-low heat just until pink and cooked through.

Lemon Herb Cream Cheese:

In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese until smooth.

Combine cream cheese with the dill, chives, garlic, and lemon zest to the cream cheese. Stir well, season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Assembly:

Use a sharp knife to slice cucumbers into rounds - I like to aim for about ¼" thick, on a bit of a diagonal.

Arrange slices in a single layer on your serving plate.

Spread or pipe cream cheese mixture on the cucumber slices.

More Keto Finger Foods

Looking for more low carb finger foods to serve at your next party, or bring to a potluck? Here are a few great recipes for you!

Armadillo Eggs
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Livers
Mojito Fruit Dip with Berry Skewers
Greek Salad Skewers
Muffaletta Skewers
Pumpkin Fat Bombs
Mozzarella Sticks
Mushroom Turnovers
Pepperoni Chips
Potstickers
Sauerkraut Buns
Smoked Salmon Canapes
Stuffed Grape Leaves
Antipasto Skewers
Smoked Jalapeno Poppers

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