Smoked Salmon Crostini

Name: Smoked Salmon Crostini
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 baguette, cut into ½ inch slices; 1 tbsp avocado oil (ideally in a spray bottle); 1 clove garlic (optional); 8 oz cream cheese; 2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced; ½ red onion, thinly sliced; ¼ cup capers, drained; 6 oz smoked salmon; 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (optional); 1 tbsp Everything Bagel Seasoning or sesame seeds (optional); Balsamic glaze (optional)

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This Smoked Salmon Crostini is one of the easiest but most delicious and beautiful appetizers you can make! It's just like your favorite lox bagel but in a crostini form! The recipe comes together in about 20 minutes and it's so easy to make! It's a great finger food, sure to impress at any party or gathering, and perfect for any smoked salmon fan!

Crostini with cream cheese, smoked salmon, cucumber slices, capers, and red onion on a large white serving plate sprinkled with sesame seeds.

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Why You'll Love This Smoked Salmon Crostini
Ingredients
Variations and Substitutions
Step-by-Step Instructions
Storing and Serving
More Smoked Salmon Recipes
FAQs
Other Crostini Recipes
📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Smoked Salmon Crostini

Lox bagel but as a crostini - These little bites have all the classic flavors of a smoked salmon bagel we all know and love. Cream cheese, crisp cucumber, briny capers, crispy red onion, and smoked salmon. You can even add some Everything Bagel Seasoning! The crispy crostini is brushed

Easy but impressive - This is one of the easiest and most simple appetizers you can make but with all the different colors, flavors, and textures, it's sure to impress your guests! It's a great finger food for any party or family gathering.

7 ingredients and 20 minutes - The whole dish comes together in just 20 minutes and you only need 7 ingredients! It's an appetizer you can whip up last minute just before your guests arrive and it's totally foolproof!

Crostini with cream cheese, smoked salmon, cucumber slices, capers, and red onion sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Ingredients

Baguette - I like using multigrain sourdough baguette but any baguette you like works! Slice it into about ½-inch slices.
Cream cheese - Like a classic lox bagel, this crostini has classic cream cheese. My favorite flavors for this are cream cheese with fresh herbs and garlic but any cream cheese works. Use dairy-free cream cheese if needed.
Smoked salmon - Plain cold smoked salmon without any flavors is best here. You can use lox as well but I find it has less smoky flavor. Gravlax is cured in salt and won't have any smoked flavor.
Cucumber - I like using small Persian cucumbers because the small slices fit the crostini perfectly. If you're using a large English cucumber, slice your cucumber coins in half to make them fit better.
Red onion - Thinly sliced red onion adds a little bit of bite and more flavor to the crostini. You can soak the sliced red onion in cold water while you prep the rest of the ingredients to remove some of its bite.
Capers - This is a classic in any lox or smoked salmon sandwich. I like using capers in brine. If you have capers jarred in salt, rinse them with water before using to remove some of the salt.
Balsamic glaze - This one is optional but so good! Add a drizzle of balsamic glaze (not balsamic vinegar!) to the crostini right before serving. It has the classic tangy flavor of balsamic vinegar but it's sweeter and much thicker. A little goes a long way.
Toasted sesame seeds - These are totally optional but to give the crostini even more lox bagel flavor, sprinkle them with toasted sesame seeds or some Homemade Everything Bagel Seasoning!

Variations and Substitutions

Sourdough bread - You can always turn this from an appetizer to lunch! Serve it on a slice of toasted sourdough bread and enjoy it for lunch or as a light dinner.
Grill the bread - You can cut the baguette into thick slices and grill it instead of toasting it in the oven. It creates beautiful grill marks and adds a light smoky flavor. This will also technically make this a bruschetta!
Garlic - Brush a clove of garlic on one side of each crostini right after you take them out of the oven. The residual heat cooks the garlic a slightly and it adds an amazing flavor!
Fresh dill - I recommend adding a little bit of fresh dill to the crostinis for flavor and freshness. Fresh chives work as well. You can use dried dill if you don't have fresh.
Different soft cheese - If you don't want to use regular cream cheese made with cow's milk, you can use soft goat cheese or any dairy-free cream cheese.
A different onion - If you don't have red onion, shallots or spring onions are also great options.

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Step-by-Step Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F (190C).
Lay sliced baguette on a large baking sheet and spray with cooking oil.
Toast them in the oven for 10 minutes.
Take the baguette out of the oven and rub it on the top side with a clove of garlic while it’s still hot (optional).

baguette slices laid out on a baking sheet before and after toasting in the oven.

Allow the baguette to cool for a few minutes.
Spread cream cheese on each slice.
Add 2-3 small cucumber slices, thinly sliced red onion, and capers on each crostini.
Top with smoked salmon and sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning or sesame seeds if desired. You can also drizzle the crostini lightly with balsamic glaze.
Serve immediately and enjoy!

Toasted baguette slices on a large white plate topped with cream cheese, cucumber, red onion, capers, and smoked salmon.

Storing and Serving

This is an appetizer that tastes the best right after you make it so I don't recommend making it ahead of time. The toasted baguette will lose its crispiness as it sits with the cream cheese but if needed, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two. If you're stacking the crostini, place parchment paper or aluminum foil in between the slices to make sure they don't stick together.

More Smoked Salmon Recipes

If you have a lot of smoked salmon and need more recipes to try, I have a few I know you will love! This Smoked Salmon Egg Sandwich is perfect for breakfast and this Smoked Salmon Wrap is my new favorite meal for lunch to eat on the go. I also have a Smoked Salmon Pasta Salad that can be served for lunch or dinner and a Smoked Salmon Dip that's a great appetizer for any gathering or the holidays!

FAQs

How do I quickly defrost smoked salmon?

Submerge the whole unopened package of frozen smoked salmon in cold water for 15 minutes or hold it under running cold water. Don't run hot water over the salmon as this could cook it or not defrost it properly. I don't recommend defrosting salmon at room temperature because the thinner parts of the salmon will defrost much faster and could spoil.

What's the difference between smoked salmon, lox, and gravlax?

Cold smoked salmon is what you need for this recipe and it's the easiest to find at most grocery stores in the frozen section. Lox is similar in flavor but may not always be smoked. Gravlax is salmon cured in salt and more raw, often with alcohol like vodka or gin, and herbs. It doesn't have any smoky flavor. Hot smoked salmon is smoked at higher temperatures and has a texture similar to cooked salmon.

Three crostinis with cream cheese, smoked salmon, cucumber slices, capers, and red onion sprinkled with sesame seeds on a small white plate.

Other Crostini Recipes

If you like this recipe and want to check out other crostini or bruschetta flavors, try any of the four recipes below! They're tried and true and so good! To see all the latest ones, head over to Appetizers.