Open up pretty much any refrigerator, and you’ll probably find a jar of capers in the door. Let’s see if this sounds familiar: You buy them for a recipe once and then they sit there, quietly simmering in their own brine until they eventually go bad and get thrown away. Unless you own a Brooklyn bagel shop, it can be hard to find daily uses for capers. That’s where we come in. From fish fillets to salad kits, there are all sorts of meals capers can bring to life with their slight bitterness and tasty tang. If you’re creative, we’re confident you can get through a whole jar of those little pickled flower buds (yep, that’s what capers are). This list of what to eat with capers is a great place to start.
- C. Worthy & Co. Blackened Salmon
-
The most obvious answer to the what-to-eat-with-capers conundrum seems to be fish. You’ll find capers in many fish dishes you can make at home and we all know they go extremely well with smoked fish (we’ll get to that in a second). C. Worthy & Co. Blackened Salmon is preseasoned and incredibly easy to enjoy—just toss it in the oven and serve. But before you dig in, sprinkle some capers on top to add some little pops of extra flavor. This fish is great on its own, but it’s next level when you’re looking for what to eat capers with.
Read the full ranking of the best pre-seasoned fish fillets
- Authentic Seafood of Patagonia Latitude 45 Atlantic Salmon
-
To make the ultimate bagel and lox, you need the best bagels, the best cream cheese, and the best smoked salmon, sure. But you can really bring this classic breakfast to the next level with sliced tomatoes, paper-thin red onions, and, yes, a sprinkle of capers. The briny, pickled flavor cuts through the richness of the smoked fish and luscious cream cheese in just the right way. And this Latitude 45 Atlantic Salmon is perfect. According to Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling, it’s “extremely silky and gorgeously rich. It melts in your mouth. It’s not too fishy. It’s not too salty.” When you’re looking for what to eat with capers, this is the stuff.
Read the full ranking of the best smoked salmon
- Ducktrap Smoked Trout Fillets
-
If salmon isn’t your thing but you still want the bagel and lox experience, grab Ducktrack Smoked Trout Fillets instead. Or, if you’re looking beyond breakfast, Justine pointed out that these would be great simply served on a platter as an appetizer with some crackers, créme fraîche, and capers for a party or the ultimate girl dinner. However you choose to enjoy this smoked trout, capers will only make it better.
Read the full ranking of the best smoked trout
- Earthbound Farm Organic Classic Caesar Salad Kit
-
I have bad news for you if you thought we had finally gotten away from the fishy theme on our journey to find what to eat with capers. Anchovies snuck their way into our salad through the caesar dressing. That’s not a bad thing, just a warning is all! In my defense, the caesar dressing really works wonders with our capers here, so it’s worth continuing with the fishiness. Whether you take them straight out of the jar or fry them in oil first, capers add a wonderful bit of tangy saltiness to this already delicious salad kit salad kit, which comes with a perfect caesar dressing that Sporked senior writer Jordan Myrick called “tangy, creamy, salty, peppery, and umami without being too fishy.”
Read the full ranking of the best caesar salad kits
- Bianco DiNapoli Whole Peeled Organic
-
Bring out a can of Bianco DiNapoli Whole Peeled tomatoes to pair with our capers and whip up a puttanesca to round out our list of what to eat capers with. Cook up your capers with olives, garlic, chile flakes, and Bianco DiNapoli canned tomatoes (the best canned tomatoes you can buy) to create a salty sauce with robust flavor. When you’re looking for what to eat with capers, tomatoes are always a safe bet.
Read the full ranking of the best canned tomatoes
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!