Mini Smoked Salmon Hash Brown Cups

Smoked salmon hash brown cups on a platter with everything bagel seasoning on the side.

Smoked Salmon Hash Brown Cups, at a Glance

⏰ Time: 30 minutes
🍽️ Makes: 24 cups
🛒 Key Ingredients: Frozen tater tots, smoked salmon, Boursin cheese, everything bagel seasoning
💃 Perfect For: Holiday brunch spreads, Christmas morning grazing, make-ahead entertaining, parties of any kind!

Why These Hash Brown Cups Work So Well

Brunch flavors in a party-ready format. Everything bagel seasoning, hash browns, creamy cheese, and smoked salmon give you boujee bagel and lox vibes in one gorgeous little bite.
Impressive, with very little fuss. They look beautifully elegant, but only take 30 minutes.
Prep-ahead friendly. Bake the cups and make the filling ahead of time, then assemble when you’re ready to go.
Guaranteed crowd-pleasers. Crispy, creamy, salty, zingy, fresh – the combination is always a winner, and they disappear at parties.

They’re basically like if bagels and lox, crispy hash browns, and weekend brunch had a baby, and I think you’ll love them as much as I do.

And if you do, I think you’ll enjoy these make-ahead smoked salmon cucumber bites, and easy baked salmon sushi cups too.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients for smoked salmon hash brown cups laid out and labelled.

Smoked salmon. Regular cold-smoked salmon is what I’m using here – I actually love using smoked salmon trimmings for these – it’s much cheaper, and absolutely fine to use for a little bite like this. You could also use hot smoked salmon, smoked trout, cooked shrimp, or crab meat.
Frozen tater tots. These lovely little mini hash brown bites (you might know them as potato gems) work perfectly to form the mini cups. You can use regularhashbrowns if you can’t find them – you’ll just need to do the first cook out of the pan, then tear them into smaller pieces to press into the cups.
Boursin cheese. This lovely, garlicky, herby soft cheese is like a better, thicker version of cream cheese. If you can’t find it, regular cream cheese will work – garlic and herb flavored is even better. Or, use whippedcottagecheese, ricotta, or creamy whipped feta.
Everything bagel seasoning. This is what gives these cups that brunchy, bagel vibe. It’s super easy to make yourself if you can’t find it (try this recipe for easy everything bagel seasoning). Or, just use a little sea salt and sesame seeds.

Step-by-Step: How to Make the Cups

This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the cups, the full recipe with ingredient quantities is at the bottom of the page for you.

Arrange two tater tots in each of your mini muffin holes.

Teaspoon pressing tater tots into cups in muffin pan.

Bake until softened, then press into little hash brown cups.

Sprinkle a little everything bagel seasoning into each cup, then pop into the oven to get lovely and golden.

Mix the Boursin with Greek yogurt, black pepper, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Once the hash brown cups look golden and crispy around the edges, remove them from the oven.

Hash brown cups on a plate, filling being piped inside.

Arrange the cups on a serving platter, then fill with the whipped Boursin (either spoon or pipe it in).

Arrange the smoked salmon on top, then sprinkle over more everything bagel seasoning, fresh chives, lemon zest, and a slither of pickled red onion, or capers if you like.

Smoked Salmon Hash Brown Cups FAQs

Can I make the hash brown cups ahead of time?

You can! There are a couple of ways to get ahead with this recipe:

The hash brown cups themselves can be baked up to 24 hours ahead of time – just store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Crisp them up the next day in the air fryer or oven (3 minutes at 400°F/200°C in the air fryer and 6 or so minutes in the oven at the same temperature).

The whipped Boursin filling can be made up to 3 days ahead of time, then stored in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble.

I can’t find Boursin – what else could I use?

Regular cream cheese, or garlic and herb flavored cream cheese, is perfect, or you could use ricotta, whippedcottagecheese, or whippedfeta (try this creamy whipped feta dip) instead.

What can I use instead of tater tots?

Tater tots are also called potato tots, potato gems, or hash brown bites, so double-check they’re not listed under those names at your grocery store first.

If you can’t find them at all, you can use regular hash browns. Cook them for 10 minutes on a regular sheet pan first, to soften, then tear them into small pieces and press them into your mini muffin pan to form the cups.

What’s the best smoked salmon to use in these hash brown cups?

I’m using cold-smoked salmon here – but hot-smoked salmon is great too, as is smoked trout. Sometimes you can find ‘smoked salmon trimmings‘ at the store, which are the off-cuts of smoked salmon and tend to be cheaper – they still work very well in these bites.

Cooked shrimp, or crab meat works well too, or crispy bacon, chorizo, sausagemeat, or prosciutto is lovely if your guests aren’t keen on seafood.

How do I keep the hash brown cups crispy?

You want to make sure the cups look deeply golden all the way around before you remove them from the oven, then let them cool a little (5 or 10 minutes) before filling them.

Filling them too early or removing them from the oven too early can cause the base to soften and fall apart.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @Zageer on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.

Meet your new brunch-meets-party obsession – mini crispy hash brown cups, with creamy Boursin, silky smoked salmon, and everything bagel seasoning. Perfect for festive brunch spreads, or when you want a party appetizer that feels totally acceptable to eat for breakfast. You’ll need a mini muffin pan for this recipe – I use this one I picked up from Amazon. Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 30 mins

Servings: 24 cups

Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

For the hash brown cups –

48 frozen tater tots, (small frozen shredded potato bites, also called potato gems or hash brown bites)
Olive oil spray
Everything bagel seasoning

For the whipped Boursin filling –

1 box of Boursin, (5.3oz/150g)
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt, or ricotta, whipped cottage cheese, sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Zest of 1/2 a lemon, use the other half as a garnish
Black pepper

For the topping –

3.5 – 4 oz 100 – 120g smoked salmon, sliced into strips
Everything bagel seasoning
A handful of fresh chives, finely sliced (or use fresh dill)
Lemon zest, use the remainder of the zest from the Boursin filling
Pickled red onion, or capers, optional

Equipment

Mini muffin pan (I use a 24-cup mini muffin pan I picked up from Amazon)

Method

Bake the tater tots. Heat your oven to 400°F (200°C fan) and lightly grease a mini muffin pan with the olive oil spray (you can also rub the pan with oil or butter using parchment paper). Arrange 2 frozen tater tots in each hole (they don’t have to fit perfectly at this point). Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, until they’ve softened but they’re not crispy.
Form the tots into cups. Remove the pan from the oven, then use the back of a teaspoon to press the tots into little cup shapes, pushing the potato up the sides and pressing down to form a base. Sprinkle the bottom of each cup with a little everything bagel seasoning.
Bake the cups again until crispy. Pop the mini muffin pan back into the oven for 15 minutes, until the cups are gorgeously golden and crispy around the edges. Remove from the oven, and let them cool in the pan for about five minutes before gently removing them.
Make the whipped Boursin. While the hash brown cups bake, add the Boursin cheese, two tablespoons of Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, half the lemon zest, and a good grind of black pepper to a bowl. Mix until soft and fluffy. I like to transfer the mixture to a piping bag at this point for easy assembly, but you can also just spoon the mixture into the cups.
Assemble the cups. Arrange the crispy hash brown cups on a serving platter. Either pipe or spoon in enough of the whipped Boursin to fill the cups, then top with a couple of slices of smoked salmon. Finish by scattering the cups with everything bagel seasoning, fresh chives, the remaining lemon zest, and a little piece of pickled red onion or a couple of capers if you’re using them. Serve right away.

Nutrition

Serving: 3cups
Calories: 260kcal
Carbohydrates: 16g
Protein: 10g
Fat: 18g
Saturated Fat: 7g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g
Cholesterol: 35mg
Sodium: 620mg
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 1g

Notes

PREP AHEAD: You can bake the hash brown cups a day in advance. Store them in the fridge, then re-crisp them in the oven or air fryer before filling. 3 minutes at 400°F (200°C) in the air fryer will work well, and go for 5 to 6 minutes in the oven at 400°F (200°C). The whipped Boursin will keep well for up to 3 days, stored in the fridge. It’s best to assemble the bites when you’re ready to serve. INGREDIENT NOTES: If you can’t find tater tots, you can use regular hash browns. Cook them for 10 minutes out of the pan first, then break them up and pack them into the muffin pan to make the cups. You won’t need as many – allow roughly one-third of a regular-sized hash brown per cup. SUBSTITUTIONS: Swap the smoked salmon for hot smoked salmon, cooked shrimp, crab meat, or smoked trout. I also love adding a little drizzle of chili crisp oil for a bit of heat. If you can’t find Boursin, use regular cream cheese, or garlic and herb flavored cream cheese. You could also use ricotta or whipped cottage cheese.