Bread with Cream Cheese, Salmon & Cucumber
Smoked salmon on whole wheat, cream cheese underneath, cold cucumber on top. Five minutes from counter to plate, no pan, no toaster, no timer. The full meal lands at 314 kcal and 21g of protein, and every bite has that Scandinavian open-sandwich thing going for it: salt from the fish, cool crunch from the cucumber, and something creamy tying the two together.
Smoked salmon on whole wheat, cream cheese underneath, cold cucumber on top. Five minutes from counter to plate, no pan, no toaster, no timer. The full meal lands at 314 kcal and 21g of protein, and every bite has that Scandinavian open-sandwich thing going for it: salt from the fish, cool crunch from the cucumber, and something creamy tying the two together.
Ingredients
- cucumber 0.25
- bread, whole wheat 2 slices
- cream cheese, reduced fat 2 tablespoons
- smoked salmon 2 ounces
Method
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Wash the cucumber and slice it.
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Spread the cream cheese on the slices of bread, layer the salmon on top, and finish with the cucumber slices. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve the bread on a plate.
Toast the bread first and let it cool for thirty seconds before adding the cream cheese. The warmth softens the cheese just enough for an even spread without tearing the surface, and the crunch holds up better under the weight of the salmon and cucumber.
Behind this recipe
Can I use regular cream cheese instead of reduced fat?
Regular cream cheese adds about 30 extra calories and 4g more fat per two tablespoons. The sandwich still works. The total moves from 314 to roughly 344 kcal, and if you prefer the taste, the calorie difference is small enough to absorb into a normal day.
Is whole wheat bread a problem if I'm watching my carbs?
This sandwich has 26g of carbs, almost all from the bread. A pooled analysis of 5,192 participants found that the specific number of daily carbs changed fat loss by just 16 grams per day when total calories and protein were matched. Two slices of whole wheat are not what stalls a cut. Total intake is.
Read the full evidence reviewCan I prep this ahead of time?
Keep the cucumber separate until you eat. Cucumber releases moisture over time and the bread turns soggy if they sit together for more than a couple of hours. Wrap the assembled bread (cream cheese and salmon) in foil, pack the cucumber slices in a small container, and add them right before eating.
