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    Home » Recipes » Potluck and Party Food

    Smoked Salmon Canapes

    Published: Jan 29, 2023

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    Jump to Recipe - Jump to Video

    These delicious smoked salmon canapes are full of flavour, easy to make, and sure to be a hit with your guests. They're also low carb and gluten free!

    A plate of keto smoked salmon canapes with piped flavoured cream cheese on cucumber slices.

    New Years Eve may be over, but I still have a bit of a backlog of fancy hors d'oeuvres and great finger food recipes that have yet to be posted across my 3 blogs. Whoops!

    Today’s recipe is my low carb and gluten free version of an easy french appetizer - cream cheese canapes.

    Canapes are a simple appetizer: little bites consisting of a bread or pastry base - usually a cut up slice of bread, rye bread triangles, mini toasts, and/or Melba toast - topped with ... something.

    Cheese, meats, a spread, a fancy piece of vegetable or herb, a combination of the any of those... they can be pretty free form.

    They just have to be a small bite, really.

    You’ll generally see them at special occasions, often as passed hors d’oeuvres at a cocktail party, or served in the hours before a dinner party - or even Christmas dinner, or a special Sunday brunch. (Like Easter).

    I’ve always loved smoked salmon canapés, in particular - the combination of cream cheese and salmon makes for a perfect bite, with great contrasts in textures and flavours.

    My salmon canapes recipe is a more diet friendly - and allergy friendly! - version of traditional fish canapés.

    Rather than use a bread base, I use cucumber slices.

    Topped off with a flavourful cream cheese mixture and some smoked salmon, it’s not only an easy appetizer, it’s the perfect appetizer when dealing with gluten allergies and a need for lower carb alternatives.

    I love it when a recipe is tasty for all, while also being inclusive of an individual’s dietary needs, and keto finger foods are a great way to do that!

    This may be a ridiculously easy to make, but serve it up with a nice white wine - or sparking wine - and it feels a lot fancier than it has any right to be!

    Bon appétit!

    A plate of smoked salmon canapes on cucumber slices.

    Ingredients

    This recipe uses only a few simple ingredients that should be easy to find at most grocery stores. A few notes for you:

    Smoked Salmon

    While hot-smoked salmon - like my Hot Smoked Sockeye Salmon Recipe is fantastic, you’re going to want to use cold-smoked salmon fillets for this.

    Hot smoked salmon is a cooked salmon, with the expected flaky texture. It could definitely be tasty on a canape, but not really as elegant.

    Cold smoked salmon is cured, rather than cooked. This gives it a completely different texture - silky and pliable, rather than flaky.

    You can generally find good quality smoked salmon on cards or in fancy boxes in the fish section of larger grocery stores.

    Cream Cheese

    I like to use a full fat cream cheese - plain cream cheese - softened to room temperature so it’s easy to mix - and pipe.

    While crème fraîche is popular for salmon appetizers, it’s not really sturdy and won’t really hold its shape if piped.

    So, aside from Neufchatel (generally higher carb), there aren’t really any good substitutions for the cream cheese in this recipe, IMHO.

    Fresh Herbs

    I use both fresh dill and fresh chives, both in the flavored cream cheese and sometimes some additional fresh dill sprigs as garnish.

    If you have to substitute dried, I’d go with half as much, and let the cream cheese chill before using, to let the flavour come out more.

    Everything Else

    Rounding out the recipe, you will need:

    English Cucumbers
    Fresh garlic cloves
    Lemon zest
    Salt and black pepper

    Optionally, consider having some lemon slices, capers, or dill for garnish.

    A plate of keto smoked salmon canapes with piped flavoured cream cheese on cucumber slices.

    How to Make Smoked Salmon Canapes

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

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

    Blot slices with a paper towel to remove excess moisture (this will help prevent the cheese from sliding right off!), set aside.

    A 5 part image showing the cucumber being sliced, blotted, and arranged on a large white serving plate.

    Prepare your flavour ingredients - press the garlic, zest the lemon, chop the dill and chives, etc.

    A 5 part image showing the lemon zest, dill, garlic, and chives being prepared.

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

    Add dill, chives, garlic, and lemon zest to the cream cheese.

    Stir well to combine cream cheese with the added ingredients, then, season with salt and pepper, to taste.

    A 5 part image showing 2 bricks of cream cheese being beaten, the flavour ingredients being added and beaten in.

    If you’ll be piping the cream cheese onto the canapes, spoon it into a pastry bag. I like to use one that’s been set with a coupler and star tip.

    A 2 part image showing the flavoured cream cheese being spooned into a pastry bag that has a star tip attached.

    Spread or pipe cream cheese mixture on the cucumber slices, arranging on the serving plate as you go.

    A 5 part image showing a swirls of cream cheese being piped onto cucumber slices.

    Separate smoked salmon into slices, slice into long salmon slices.

    Place a piece of salmon on top of the cream cheese topped cucumber slices.

    A 5 part image showing smoked salmon being cut into ribbons and arranged on the cream cheese topped cucumber slices.

    Top with capers and/or a small sprig of fresh dill, serve immediately.

    A plate of baby dill, lemon slices, and capers, for garnish.

    Note: You can make the cream cheese mixture ahead of time - and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.

    Just know that room temperature cream cheese - or even warmer - is going to be a lot easier to work with, so you’ll want to heat it up a bit before piping it out.

    A plate of smoked salmon canapes on 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 more ideas for you!

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

    A plate of keto smoked salmon canapes with piped flavoured cream cheese on cucumber slices.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you post it to Bluesky, be sure to tag us - @CelebrationGen. We're also on Pinterest, so you can save all your favourite recipes to a board!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    ... and hey, if you love the recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and comment! (Sharing the post on social media is always appreciated, too!)

    A plate of keto smoked salmon canapes with piped flavoured cream cheese on cucumber slices.

    A plate of keto smoked salmon canapes with piped flavoured cream cheese on cucumber slices.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 4 votes

    Smoked Salmon Canapes

    These smoked salmon canapes are full of flavour, easy to make, and sure to be a hit with your guests. They're also low carb and gluten free!
    Prep Time15 minutes mins
    Total Time15 minutes mins
    Course: Appetizer, Snack
    Cuisine: French
    Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free
    Servings: 40 Canapes
    Calories: 44kcal

    Equipment

    • Disposable pastry bags

    Ingredients

    • 2 English Cucumbers
    • 16 oz Cream cheese room temperature
    • ¼ cup Fresh dill chopped
    • 2 tablespoon Fresh chives finely chopped
    • 2 Garlic cloves pressed or finely minced
    • Zest of 1 lemon
    • Salt and pepper
    • 2 packs smoked salmon ~11-12 oz total
    • Capers optional
    • Additional dill for garnish

    Instructions

    • Use a sharp knife to slice cucumbers into rounds - I like to aim for about ¼" thick, on a bit of a diagonal. Set aside.
    • Beat softened cream cheese until smooth.
    • Add dill, chives, garlic, and lemon zest to the cream cheese. Stir well to combine, season with salt and pepper, to taste.
    • Spread or pipe cream cheese mixture on the cucumber slices.
    • Separate smoked salmon into slices, slice into long ribbons. Arrange smoked salmon on the cream cheese topped cucumber slices..
    • Top with capers and/or additional dill, serve immediately.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 44kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 44mg | Potassium: 42mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 198IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 0.1mg

    A plate of smoked salmon canapes on cucumber slices.

    A plate of smoked salmon canapes on cucumber slices.

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