My Blini with Fat Free Greek Yogurt, Salmon Roe and Chives are such elegant little bites of heaven and can really be lightened up by the use of alternative ingredients. If I have a health conscious group at my home, I substitute lakanto monk fruit for the sugar, use fat free Fage Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, skim milk instead of whole, and I also use a light butter. The taste is the same and your guests will get the same fabulous experience. I have learned to do a lot of substitutions when I cook, and when I find great ingredients and good substitutions; I will share them with you here on the blog. You can really cut back on saturated fats and sugar when preparing food with a couple of good subs.
You can make these blinis in advance and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve, or you can make these up to a day ahead and refrigerate them. Just reheat in a 350-degree oven for about 5 minutes and you are ready to go. Then, you are ready to top them with yogurt or sour cream, salmon roe or caviar and a couple of chives.
Caviar is the traditional topping on blini but it is definitely not in everyone’s budget. A really good substitute is a reasonably priced salmon roe. I have an abundance of great supermarkets in my area and I can easily source a good one but if you can’t, you’ll find all kinds of options online.
Another tip: if you are rushed and want to pull this together really fast, some supermarkets sell premade Blinis in their cheese department (Gelson’s Market in California and Whole Foods) and they are really good. You can also purchase French Blinis online at Amazon. Talk about an easy way to prepare an elegant appetizer! Keep a box in the refrigerator, heat them up when you are ready to assemble your starter and you are set for a gourmet appetizer or a great nibble with a cocktail. I always have them on hand. Easy, fast and delicious. Then, this recipe just becomes an assembled appetizer.
Serve the blinis on a large platter. They are great warm or at room temperature so they are perfect on a buffet.
If you are looking for other healthier, appetizer options, check out some of these recipes. All are delicious and easy to make.
Blini with Fat Free Greek Yogurt, Salmon Roe & Chives
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp. All-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. Buckwheat flour
- 1 Tsp. Sugar (or Lakanto sweetener)
- 1/8 Tsp. Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- 1/4 Cup Whole milk (or skim milk)
- 1 Large egg, separated
- 2 Tbsp. Unsalted butter, melted plus more for cooking (or Land O’Lakes Lite Butter)
- Fat-Free Fage Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream)
- Fresh Chives
- Salmon Roe (or Caviar)
Instructions
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat about 1/2 tablespoon of butter over medium heat until hot. Working in batches, spoon one tablespoon of the batter into the skillet and cook until bubbly and dry on top, about 1 minute. Flip the blini over and cook until golden on the bottom, about 45 seconds more. Transfer the blini to a serving platter and repeat with the remaining batter. These are supposed to be small, appetizer size pancakes, so don’t use more than about a tablespoon of batter.
- Serve the blini topped with the Greek yogurt or sour cream and top that with a little salmon roe and two small pieces of cut chives.
