Smoked Salmon, Avocado and Yogurt Sourdough Toast
Folded smoked salmon sits over avocado and plain yogurt on crisp sourdough, with dill, capers and lemon for a savory brunch or light lunch.
The contrast is the point: crisp bread, smooth yogurt, buttery avocado and delicate folds of smoked salmon. Keep the toppings chilled and assemble only when the bread has stopped steaming.
Capers and lemon provide the sharp finish. Taste before reaching for salt, since smoked salmon and capers are already seasoned.
Smoked Salmon, Avocado and Yogurt Sourdough Toast
- Makes
- 2 servings (1 topped toast each)
- Prep · estimate
- 12 min
- Cook · estimate
- 5 min
- Total · estimate
- 17 min
Ingredients
- 2 slices (120 g total) unseeded sourdough, about 1.5 cm / ⅝ inch thick; white or whole-grain
- 120 g plain thick Greek yogurt made with pasteurized milk
- 1 small (about 100 g flesh) ripe avocado
- 100 g ready-to-eat refrigerated smoked salmon, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp fresh dill leaves, roughly torn
- 1 tsp (5 g) capers, drained and rinsed
- 2 wedges lemon, for serving
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper, optional
Method
Keep the toppings ready
Rinse and dry the dill and lemon, and drain the rinsed capers. Keep the yogurt and smoked salmon refrigerated until the bread is ready. Follow the fish package’s handling instructions.
Toast and cool briefly
Toast both sides of the sourdough until crisp, about 3–5 minutes. Rest the slices on a rack for 1–2 minutes so they are warm rather than steaming.
Layer yogurt and avocado
Spread 60 g yogurt over each slice. Peel and thinly slice the avocado, then arrange half over each yogurt layer.
Fold the salmon on top
Divide the salmon between the two slices, folding it loosely so it does not form a flat, dense sheet. Add dill, capers and the optional pepper. Serve immediately with the lemon wedges to squeeze over at the table.
Developed for home use; not kitchen-tested by Sourdough Bench. Times are estimates; use the doneness cues in the steps.
Small things that help
- Keep the yogurt plain
- Sweetened or vanilla yogurt clashes with the fish and capers. A thick plain yogurt also stays on the bread more reliably.
- Drain the capers well
- Rinse them for a gentler salty finish, then blot dry so their brine does not run into the yogurt.
Make it your own
- Use freshly cooked salmon
- Replace the smoked salmon with 100 g freshly cooked salmon, flaked and allowed to stop steaming. Cook a fresh fillet to 63°C/145°F in its thickest part; allow additional cooking time beyond this recipe’s estimate.
- Use canned salmon
- Replace it with 100 g drained canned salmon, removing bones if preferred. Fold the flakes over the avocado gently and keep the lemon and dill.
- Leave out the avocado
- Add 80 g thin cucumber slices instead. Pat them dry before layering so the base stays thick.
Make ahead & storage
Keep salmon and yogurt at 4°C/40°F or colder and follow their opened-pack instructions. Refrigerate perishables within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 32°C/90°F. Assemble only the portions you plan to eat now; keep unused toppings separate.
Dietary notes
Pregnancy: choose the cooked alternative
For pregnancy, use the cooked or canned salmon swap. FDA advises avoiding refrigerated smoked seafood unless it is cooked as part of a dish.
Ingredients to check
Contains fish, milk and wheat. Capers and smoked salmon contribute salt; the recipe does not add extra salt.
Before you start
Does warm toast cook the smoked salmon?
No. The bread is allowed to cool slightly before assembly and does not cook the fish. Use a ready-to-eat product as labeled, or choose the cooked-salmon alternative.
Can I prepare this for a brunch buffet?
Prepare the components, keep perishable toppings chilled and assemble small batches as needed. Do not leave a finished platter at room temperature throughout a long brunch.
Can I use hot-smoked salmon?
It gives a firmer, flaky topping rather than thin folds. Follow its storage and cooking instructions; the pregnancy note about refrigerated smoked seafood still applies.
Sources & inspiration
- FDA: Storing food safely
Cold storage and handling of perishable toppings.
- FDA: Listeria and pregnancy
Guidance on refrigerated smoked seafood and cooked or canned alternatives.
- FoodSafety.gov: Safe minimum internal temperatures
Cooking temperature for the fresh-fish substitution.
Recipe writing and serving illustrations are created for Sourdough Bench. Inspiration credits identify the source of an idea; they do not imply that another author tested this recipe. How we publish.
