Smoked Trout substitute

Best substitute

Hot-smoked salmon

Use the same amount by weight as the smoked trout you are replacing

Best for dips and pates

Close match

Hot-smoked salmon is the best substitute for smoked trout and swaps 1:1, being oilier and a little sweeter but behaving identically in a dip, a pate or a salad. Smoked mackerel also swaps 1:1 and is easier to find, though it is far stronger and needs extra lemon and creme fraiche to keep the dish balanced. Smoked whitefish is the closest match of all if a deli near you carries it. Cold-smoked salmon or gravlax will do at a push, but it is silky rather than flaky, so chop it finely and add a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika to make up the missing smoke.

Other smoked trout substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Smoked mackerel
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The cheapest and most widely stocked hot-smoked oily fish, and the correct answer in British and Northern European recipes.
What changes
Best for
pates, dips, salads, kedgeree, potato salad, toast
Same flaky texture, much bigger flavour: oilier, smokier and considerably more assertive, so a delicate trout dip becomes a robust mackerel one. Balance it with an extra squeeze of lemon, a spoonful more creme fraiche or yoghurt, and a little horseradish. Peel the skin and scrape away the dark flesh underneath for a milder result.
3Smoked whitefish
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The deli-counter classic behind whitefish salad, and the nearest thing to smoked trout in flavour.
What changes
Best for
salads, dips, bagels and brunch, pates, canapes
Very close indeed: mild, clean, properly smoky and flaky. It tends to be drier and saltier than smoked trout, so add an extra spoonful of mayonnaise or creme fraiche when you mix it and taste before salting. Pick it over carefully, because whitefish carries plenty of small bones.
4Cold-smoked salmon, lox or gravlax
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, finely chopped, plus ¼ tsp smoked paprika per 200g
The fridge-staple option, right on salt and salmon flavour and wrong on texture.
What changes
Best for
dips, pates, canapes, scrambled eggs, pasta
Cold-smoked fish is raw-textured and silky, so it will not flake at all; chop it fine instead and expect a smoother, looser mixture. It is also more salt-forward and much less smoky, especially gravlax, which is cured rather than smoked, hence the smoked paprika. On a blini or a board where slices matter, the two are not visually interchangeable.
5Tinned smoked trout, smoked sprats or smoked oysters
Close match
Use the same amount by drained weight
The cupboard version, and genuinely good in a pate.
What changes
Best for
pates, dips, toast, pasta, salads
Drain them well and pat them dry, because the packing oil will loosen a dip. Sprats are smaller, saltier and much more intensely smoked; smoked oysters are sweeter and mineral and will pull the dish in a different direction, so use them at about two-thirds quantity.
6Poached or baked trout plus smoked paprika
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight, plus ¼ tsp smoked paprika or 2 drops liquid smoke per 200g
The honest last resort when no smoked fish is available at all.
What changes
Best for
dips, pates, salads, fishcakes
This gets you flaky cooked trout with a smoky seasoning, which is not the same as smoked trout: the smoke sits on the surface rather than running through the flesh, and the fish is milder and much less salty, so add a good pinch of salt. Be very sparing with liquid smoke, which turns acrid fast.

What is Smoked Trout?

Smoked Trout is Smoked trout is trout fillet that has been brined and then hot-smoked until fully cooked, so it comes out firm, dry to the touch and ready to break into flakes, unlike the silky sliceable cold-smoked salmon it is often confused with.

Cooking tips

Peel the skin off and scrape away the darker flesh just beneath it before flaking. That is where the strongest, oiliest flavour concentrates, and removing it gives you a cleaner-tasting dip.
Flake it with your fingers rather than a fork. You will feel the pin bones as you go, which is the fastest way to get them all out, and you keep the flakes large instead of shredding them to paste.
It is already cooked, so it goes in at the very end. Fold it through warm pasta, scrambled eggs or a potato salad off the heat, and it will warm through without turning dry and stringy.
Smoked trout is salted as part of the smoking process, so season the dish last. A pate made with cream cheese, lemon and horseradish usually needs no added salt at all.
Its natural partners are acid and heat: lemon, horseradish, dill, capers, pickled onion, a little Dijon. If a smoked trout dish tastes flat and heavy, it is nearly always short of lemon rather than short of salt.

Frequently asked questions

Is smoked trout the same as smoked salmon?

No, and the difference matters for cooking. Most smoked trout is hot-smoked, which means it is cooked through, firm and flaky. Most smoked salmon sold in slices is cold-smoked, which means it is raw-textured, silky and sliceable. Hot-smoked salmon, sold as chunks rather than slices, is the true equivalent of smoked trout and swaps for it perfectly.

Can I use smoked trout instead of lox on a bagel?

You can, but it will not drape. Flake it over the cream cheese instead of trying to lay slices, and it works very well with capers, red onion and plenty of lemon. If you want the classic sliced look, buy cold-smoked salmon or gravlax.

Can I just leave the smoked trout out?

Not from a dip or pate, where it is the entire point. In a salad or a pasta you can drop it and replace the smoke and salt with something else smoky and savoury, such as crisp bacon or a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika plus a few chopped capers, though the dish becomes a different one rather than a version of the original.

Is smoked trout ready to eat?

Hot-smoked trout is cooked and ready to eat straight from the packet. Keep it refrigerated, use it within a few days of opening, and if a packet says cold-smoked, treat it like smoked salmon and keep it cold right up to serving.

How much smoked trout do I need for a pate?

Roughly 200g of smoked trout to 150g of cream cheese or creme fraiche makes enough pate for four to six people as a starter, with a squeeze of lemon, a teaspoon of horseradish and chopped dill. As a plate of fish rather than a pate, allow about 75g per person.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Smoked Trout substitute

Other smoked trout substitutes

2Smoked mackerel

3Smoked whitefish

4Cold-smoked salmon, lox or gravlax

5Tinned smoked trout, smoked sprats or smoked oysters

6Poached or baked trout plus smoked paprika