Meet your new favorite spring appetizer: a creamy, herb-blended smoked trout dip inspired by green goddess dressing. It’s lighter and brighter than your typical smoked fish dip, with a beautiful pale green color that makes it as pretty as it is delicious.
I love a good smoked fish dip — it’s one of my favorite items to order at my local seafood spot, perfect alongside some homemade potato chips or crostini, and a raw fish dish like tuna crudo or salmon crudo. But it can easily tip into dense and heavy, weighed down by too much cream cheese.
This smoked trout dip is my lighter, springier answer to that. Blending fresh herbs directly into the sour cream-crème fraîche base keeps things vibrant and creamy, and swapping crème fraîche for cream cheese adds tang without the heaviness. Smoked trout adds savory depth and just enough heft to make it feel substantial. It’s perfect for Easter, Passover, or any spring gathering that calls for a beautiful, crowd-pleasing appetizer.
👩🏽🍳 Tips for Success
key details before we dive into the cooking!
- Chill before serving. A minimum 30-minute chill allows the flavors to meld and marinate.
- Seek out good-quality smoked trout. I have plenty of tips in my ingredient notes, but the trout is the star here, so shop accordingly!
- Do not over-season. Smoked trout is naturally quite salty, so you likely won’t need any extra salt here.
- Serve alongside potato chips, crudités, crostini, crispy focaccia, bagels, or even matzo!
Looking for more spring appetizer ideas? Try my vibrant avocado green goddess dressing, refreshing butter lettuce salad, or sour cream and chive dip.
Ingredient Notes
How to Shop for Smoked Trout
After trying several different varieties of smoked trout at the grocery store, I’ve compiled my top recommendations:
- Ducktrap Smoked Trout: Ducktrap trout comes in fillets, so you’ll need to remove their skin and any small bones. Some recipes say you don’t need to remove the bones, but I find them large enough that they’re worth removing. They are very savory, smoky, and salty, ideal for this dip. You likely won’t need any additional salt.
- Fishwife Smoked Trout: Fishwife’s tinned fish is expensive, but this is the only tinned smoked trout with enough flavor and texture to balance the creaminess of the base. Cole’s, for example, was delicious on its own, but unfortunately, it watered down the dip. This is also a good option if you’re looking for something a bit less salty!
- Got a smoker? Make your own smoked trout!
Crème Fraîche Provides a Light and Creamy Texture
I find cream cheese a bit too dense here; crème fraîche is mild and creamy, with just enough tang to balance out the sour cream. It’s incredibly easy to make your own crème fraîche, too!
Play Around with Herbs
Dill, parsley, and chives are some of my favorite spring herbs, but basil would be great too. After washing the herbs, make sure to squeeze out any excess liquid!
For a full list of ingredients and their quantities, please refer to the recipe card.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1 – In a food processor, combine sour cream, crème fraîche, and herbs.
Step 2 – Pulse until mixture is pale green and herbs are finely chopped, about 30 seconds.
TIP: Do not over-process, as the sour cream can get too runny.
Step 3 – If using trout fillets, peel away the skin and remove any drier outer pieces (like the darker orange-red exterior in this photo — they’re a great chef’s treat!).
Sift through the remaining fillet to remove any pin bones, then break into bite-sized pieces.
Step 4 – Fold the trout into the dip, along with a pinch of chopped capers, lemon juice, shallot, and half the chives.
Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. Taste for seasonings, then top with chives and enjoy!
TIP: Using tinned trout? Drain of any excess oil before adding to the dip.
Recipe FAQs
The only canned trout I recommend using is Fishwife. It’s meaty enough to prevent the dip from getting too runny or diluted in flavor. Make sure to drain the tin of any excess oil!
Yes! But make sure you use a smoked fish with a similar texture; it should be somewhat dry and flaky.
You can still make this without a food processor, but it won’t have that green color. Just finely chop the herbs, then mix with the sour cream base and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Yes! You can enjoy the full dip for 2 – 3 days, but if serving to guests, I’d make it up to one day ahead of time. Just before serving, garnish with a bit more chives.
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Creamy Herb Smoked Trout Dip
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup crème fraîche
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped parsley
- 3 tablespoons roughly chopped dill
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot, from about 1 small shallot
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon finely minced chives, divided
- 3 – 4 ounces smoked trout, measured after removing skin and bones; see notes
For serving:
- Potato Chips, Crudités, or Crackers
Instructions
- Make the base: In a food processor, combine ½ cup sour cream, ½ cup crème fraîche, ⅓ cup roughly chopped parsley, and 3 tablespoons roughly chopped dill. Pulse until light green and creamy, about 30 seconds.
- Mix: Transfer to a small bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot, a pinch of chopped capers, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and ½ tablespoon finely minced chives.
- Flake the fish: If using trout fillets: Carefully peel away the skin off of a fillet of smoked trout. Break the fish into large pieces and remove any pin bones. Remove any tough or hard exterior pieces of the fish (these will be darker orange). Break the remaining fish into bite-sized pieces. In total, you should be left with 3 – 4 ounces smoked trout. If using tinned trout: Drain the trout of excess oil. In total, you should be left with 3 – 4 ounces smoked trout. Fold the fish into the bowl, then cover and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
- Serve: Remove from the fridge and taste for seasoning, adding the remaining capers if desired. Garnish with the remaining ½ tablespoon finely minced chives and serve with Potato Chips, Crudités, or Crackers.
Video
Notes
- The only canned trout I recommend using is Fishwife, as it’s meaty enough to prevent the dip from getting too runny or diluted in flavor. Otherwise, I recommend a dry smoked fish fillet, such as Ducktrap brand.
- You’ll need about 3 – 4 ounces of meat for this dip, after removing any bones or skin (about 1 fillet smoked trout or 2 cans tinned fish).You can also use smoked salmon or another smoked fish, as long as it’s dry and flaky.
- Smoked trout is quite salty, so you will likely not need to add any salt for seasoning. If the dip feels too salty, you can always add a bit more sour cream or crème fraîche.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
