Smoked Salmon Charcuterie Board

This salmon charcuterie board offers a tasty twist on the classic charcuterie board, featuring smoked salmon, fresh veggies and and whole wheat bagels. Skip the cured meats and cheese, and create this unique high protein spread for your next brunch feast or holiday gathering. 

Perfect for feeding a crowd, this salmon charcuterie board is ideal for entertaining, as it offers a variety of flavorful and colorful foods with minimal prep and cooking required. It’s absolutely gorgeous but surprisingly easy and simple to put together. For some other great holiday charcuterie board ideas, check out my Christmas charcuterie board and Valentine’s day dessert board, and for another smoked salmon recipe, check out my smoked salmon breakfast salad.

Charcuterie boards can take your breakfast, brunch, holiday party, or next gathering to a whole new level.  They are a great choice as you can customize them based on what you’ve got on hand; fresh veggies, cheese, fruit, nuts, seeds…whatever you like. 

Jump to:

• Why you’ll love this dish
• Ingredients
• How to build the best smoked salmon charcuterie board for brunch
• Health benefits of smoked salmon
• What is the best type of smoked salmon for a charcuterie board? 
• Variations of this grazing smoked salmon board 
• Charcuterie With Smoked Salmon Tips and Tricks
• Salmon Charcuterie Board FAQs
• Smoked Salmon Charcuterie Board

Why you’ll love this dish

• Easy prep and clean up. You just need to boil a few eggs and chop up some veggies. 
• An edible centerpiece. This charcuterie board is gorgeous and loaded with visual appeal thanks to the variety of colors and textures on display.
• Packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals. It’s a classic grazing board for sampling a bit of everything. This is one of my favorite ways to eat a well-balanced meal! 
• Versatility makes it easy to create this charcuterie board. There are no rules, just some guidelines, so you can use a variety of items to your liking. 

Ingredients

This charcuterie board comes together with a handful of ingredients and the best thing about it is there is minimal cooking required. 

• 1 lb smoked salmon – smoked salmon slices are the real hero of this charcuterie board adding protein, flavor, and best of all, taste.
• Bread and crackers – whole wheat bagels are the perfect pairing for the smoked salmon, cut them in half, and allow guests to choose a bagel or crackers for their toppings. Any kind of artisanal crackers will work. If you’re serving this as an appetizer, I’d say ditch the bagels and just use crackers. 
• Seasonal veggies – I add thinly sliced heirloom tomatoes for that acidic element that cuts through the fatty salmon so nicely. Crunchy English cucumbers and thinly sliced red onions are also a great addition for color, flavor, and crunch.  
• 6 hard-boiled eggs – hard-boiled eggs provide another protein option, cut them in half too. Feel free to either boil them yourself, or purchase them already hardboiled. 
• Sprouts to add a bit of texture and extra veggies – choose any variety including broccoli or alfalfa. Microgreens would be great on your smoked salmon platter too.
• Labneh & cream cheese – labneh and cream cheese are two soft cheeses for shmearing on bagels or crackers. 
• Garnishes of choice – I used capers pickled onions as well as Everything But the Bagel Seasoning.

How to build the best smoked salmon charcuterie board for brunch

First, you’re going to want to decide on the type of board you are going to use. I always love a wooden board or a slab of marble usually reserved for a cheese board. 

Either way, it’s a solid color and won’t distract from the beautiful items on top.

Next, add the salmon and any larger items you may include like other meat products or bowls of nuts, garnishes, or dips (or anything that needs containing like olives or capers). 

Then, add the veggies and cheese. Fill in any blank spaces with fresh sprigs of thyme or rosemary, nuts, or seeds.

Make sure to put out the bagels and crackers last so they won’t get soggy. 

The most important thing when making a delicious charcuterie board is to provide a variety of items with different flavors and textures and fill in blank spaces. This makes the board look full and bountiful, thus more appetizing!

Health benefits of smoked salmon

With an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids, smoked salmon can help support both heart and brain health. Omega-3 fatty acids may also play a role in reducing inflammation in the body.

Containing 16 grams of protein in a 3 oz serving makes smoked salmon a good source of protein which supports bone health and muscle repair. This is especially important as we get older!

What is the best type of smoked salmon for a charcuterie board? 

When choosing smoked salmon for your charcuterie board, I suggest you opt for Nova Lox or a filet of smoked salmon. Here’s the lowdown on the difference between them:

Named after Nova Scotia, Nova lox salmon is made by a process that cures and smokes it.  Curing is the process of using salt while smoking uses smoke to create a distinct flavor. Nova salmon is cured using less salt which yields a milder flavored salmon. This mild-flavored salmon is then cold smoked to get the perfect flavor. 

A filet of smoked salmon would be deboned salmon that has been smoked but not cured. Since it hasn’t been cured it won’t be as salty as the Nova lox. 

Which to choose comes down to your taste buds, availability and cost constraints. I typically go with Nova smoked salmon because I can purchase a large package from Costco. Smoked salmon can be pricey, so when feeding a crowd, I love to save money by using items I can pick up at Costco!

Variations of this grazing smoked salmon board 

• Cut up a crunchy sourdough loaf instead of bagels and crackers or serve mini pitas, bagel chips, or mini bagels.
• Throw on different types of nuts or seeds for more protein and healthy fat.
• Offering a variety of fresh vegetables, a selection of black or green olives, or canned artichoke hearts is always an easy way to add more savory flavors.
• Cut up chives, chop up fresh dill, or any of your favorite fresh herbs to mix in with the labneh or cream cheese. Alternatively, flavored cream cheese is a good option. 
• Add a fancy cheese like Gruyere, put out a creamy cheese like goat cheese or brie, or try a semi-soft cheese like blue cheese.
• Prepare hummus or an olive paste for dairy-free options or place Dijon mustard in a small bowl on the side as another alternative.
• For a touch of sweetness add fresh fruit. Some great options include berries, grapes, or figs. 
• Make salmon pinwheels instead of rolling the salmon.

Charcuterie With Smoked Salmon Tips and Tricks

• Choose high quality salmon as it is the star of the show on this beautiful board. Sometimes the best options can be found at a fishmonger instead of your local grocery store, if you don’t have a Costco close by that is.
• If you are using frozen salmon be sure to remove it from the freezer first thing in the morning and place it in the fridge to thaw. About an hour or so before you serve it, take it out of the package and place it on a plate to soften and fully thaw. 
• Bite-sized pieces. Cut the cheese, fruit, veggies, and anything else you place on the charcuterie board into bite-sized pieces so your guests don’t need any cutlery to eat. 
• Aim for items that all have a vibrant color for visual appeal. Garnishing with lemon wedges adds a pop of color and is a good option to brighten the board.

Salmon Charcuterie Board FAQs

Let me know if you give this grazing board a try! I hope you and your guests love it!

Tried this recipe? Please leave a comment and/or rating, letting me know how you enjoyed it! Connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest, and never miss a post by signing up for my weekly newsletter!