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This quick and delicious Smoked Mackerel Pate recipe is a healthy snack or starter that’s made with cream cheese, lemon and horseradish. Served with bread or salad, it makes a delicious lunch too!
Smoked Mackerel Pate makes a fantastic light and healthy lunch, or an easy (but impressive) starter if you’re cooking for guests.
It’s full of flavour and it’s so fuss free you can make it in advance and simply serve.
Sometimes I serve it alongside my Smoked Salmon Canapes if I want to keep things nice and easy but a bit special.
Also – surprisingly – my children love this pate too. It’s worth giving it a try even if you think the kids may turn their noses up as it’s full of nutrients!
Why you’ll love this Mackerel Pate recipe
⭐️ Quick and easy
⭐️ Only a handful of affordable ingredients
⭐️ Packed with flavour and nutrients
How we came up with this recipe
I will always be grateful to Jamie Oliver for guiding me towards this dish.
Some time ago, on TV, he urged people who didn’t like smoked fish to try Smoked Mackerel Pate, and I did. Oh my goodness, I’ve loved it ever since!
I wanted to make sure I made it as a super simple recipe that people could recreate with ease and didn’t involve many ingredients, so for this we’re combining the smoked mackerel (flaked into pieces) with soft cheese, lemon, sea salt and pepper, and some horseradish.
Some people mix the pate up in a food processor, but I prefer the rough texture of mixing by hand.
You can do whichever you prefer, but I just mix it with a fork until it’s smooth and serve it with bread, extra lemon and cress or salad. Job done!
Mackerel Pate Ingredients Notes
- Smoked mackerel fillets – Skinless and boneless mackerel fillets are more expensive than regular fillets, but it’s worth hunting them out, otherwise you’ll have to pick bones out of the fish before mixing in. I sometimes buy the peppered version to add even more flavour.
- Cream cheese – Unflavoured cream cheese is all you need here
- Lemon – We’re just using the zest and juice here
How to make Smoked Mackerel Pate
1. Flake the smoked mackerel into small pieces and put with the other ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix together well with a fork and serve.
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days.
Can you freeze Smoked Mackerel Pate?
Yes, I’ve successfully frozen this pate lots of times.
I portion it up into small Tupperware containers like these: 200ml lunch storage containers on Amazon.
Simply freeze them until you want them. If you’re taking it as a packed lunch, just remove a portion from the freezer in the morning and it should be ready to eat by lunchtime.
Be sure it’s fully defrosted and mix thoroughly before serving, and perhaps refresh with a wedge of fresh lemon.
Top tips
What to serve with Mackerel Pate
This is perfect on bread, toast, crackers, pittas – any kind of your choice!
If you’re enjoying this as a lunch, you could accompany it with a simple salad, like my Carrot & Herb Salad, or as part of a picnic (see more picnic ideas here).
Microplane zester
My secret weapon for any recipes with citrus zest in is my microplane zester.
I know I’m a wimp but I used to hate making anything with lemon zest in before splashing out on one of these. They have SO many glowing reviews. You can buy them here on Amazon: Microplane Premium Zester.
FAQs
Yes! I mix it up by hand for ease and speed, but feel free to give it a whiz in a processor to make it a smoother consistency.
For small jobs like this I really like this Mini Chopper. It’s affordable and not a pain to get in and out of the cupboard.
Sure, I have lots. If you’re trying to introduce it a little more to beginners, I would recommend my Easy Fish Pie, Classic Tuna Pasta Salad, Salmon Burgers, my Smoked Haddock Risotto or my Homemade Fish Fingers.
I also have a Smoked Salmon Pate recipe – try that here!
Yes, it’s packed full of good stuff! Mackerel is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids because it’s an oily fish, and is high in many other vitamins and minerals.
It’s also a fantastic source of protein.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Smoked Mackerel Pate {Quick, Easy & Healthy}
Ingredients
- 180 g (6 oz) Skinless, boneless smoked mackerel fillets
- 100 g (3.5 oz) Cream cheese
- 1 Lemon, Zest and juice
- 2 tsp Horseradish sauce
- Sprinkling of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve:
- Cress, lemon wedges, more black pepper
Instructions
- Flake the smoked mackerel into small pieces and put with the other ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix together well with a fork and serve.
Did you make this recipe? Click here to let us know how it went and give it a ⭐️ rating! Your feedback helps us to make more recipes you really want.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on July 26, 2018 and updated later to make improvements.
Don’t see much smoked mackerel here in British Columbia but I had some fresh caught tuna which I had pan fried in a very curry type mixture for another dish so used this and loved it. The horseradish is the crowning magic hint of flavour ….. this is definitely a ‘ Keeeper ‘ thanks for sharing it …!!!!
Hi Peter, what a brilliant swap! Using your fresh caught tuna sounds delicious, and we love that you made it work where smoked mackerel is harder to find. We completely agree the horseradish is the magic touch. Thanks so much for sharing!
Yum, yum yum! Tasty and moreish. So easy to make
Hi Jill, yum yum yum is exactly the reaction we hope for! So pleased you found it tasty, moreish and easy to make. Thank you for taking the time to leave a lovely review!
I use fresh mackerel filets. Debone the filet pin bones using Japanese style fish tweezers and then smoke them. Be careful with the lemon. Way too much for me. Good aftertaste though.
Hi Mike, smoking your own freshly deboned mackerel sounds amazing, we bet the flavour was wonderful. Good tip on the lemon too, you can absolutely add it gradually and adjust to taste. Thanks for sharing!
I used a tin of mackerel fillets. Recipe worked well I would cut down on lemon as it was a little too lemony. Otherwise very good
So easy and just the job. A few crackers and some anchovy olives and nibbles done!
Just made this. I doubled the amounts. So glad I did. It’s delicious and there’s some in the freezer!
Hi this looks so easy so I want to make for Christmas day – would it still be nice if I made it the day before ? Trying to be super organised :))
Love all your recipes btw. You have re-ignited my enthusiasm for cooking and every recipe I have tried has turned out really well and I’ve tried a few !! My family are quite appreciative too !!
I made this for lunch but didn’t have any cream cheese so used crème fraiche. Didn’t have horseradish so used French mustard. Perfect!
Started to make this before I realised I didn’t have any cream cheese! However, I did have some creamy goats cheese which worked really well.
Anything you could substitute for horseradish or just leave out ?
I think it really needs it to balance the flavours, but you do you! 🙂