Salmon Patties – quick to prepare, golden and crispy on the outside, moist and savoury on the inside with lovely big flakes of salmon! A very easy salmon cakes recipe that can be made with either canned salmon OR fresh salmon. These are Can’t-Stop-Eating-Them good!
This canned salmon recipe will make you realise you CAN make incredible dishes using canned fish!
Salmon Patties
Good quality fresh salmon is not cheap. So if I buy fresh salmon, I like to cook it whole rather than mixing it up with other ingredients for things like salmon patties. My go-to quick salmon fillet recipes are Honey Garlic Salmon and Lemon Glazed Salmon 🙂
So I’ve always used canned salmon to make salmon cakes.
But one bite of these Salmon Patties, and any thought of compromising by using canned salmon instead of fresh will fly out the window. These taste SO GOOD!! Serve these up to anyone who has wrinkled their nose in distaste at the thought of canned salmon, and I bet you’ll change their mind.
These salmon cakes are SO GOOD whether made with canned salmon OR fresh salmon!
They’re moreish, beautifully seasoned, juicy and tender, studded with flakes of salmon, and a hint of herby freshness from dill.
These are so tasty, I’d proudly serve them up as an appetiser at a gathering! (And to all my friends reading this, don’t be surprised if that happens the next time you come over!)
BAKED Salmon Patties!
These babies are so golden and crispy on the outside, it’s almost hard to believe they’re baked. But they are, they really are.
The trick to the golden crust is to preheat the tray. This makes a difference when baking things that are low in fat, like these salmon patties.
This canned salmon recipe will make you realise you CAN make incredibly delicious food using canned fish!
Making Salmon Patties
The mixture for the Salmon Patties is pretty straight forward. I start with my usual trick to make extra tender, extra tasty patties / meatballs – grating onion over breadcrumbs. This serves two purposes –
the onion juices soaks the breadcrumbs which then expand while cooking, creating little air pockets which makes the patties more tender; and
avoids the need to precook the onion, which you have to do if you use chopped onion otherwise you end up with raw bits of onion in the patties.
Then toss in egg to bind it, parmesan for umami (food nerd word for savouriness, the 5th taste sensation), shallots / green onions / scallions (global food language inconsistencies = 🤯), garlic, dill (or other herb, dried or fresh) and canned salmon.
Give it a mix, and this is what you end up with. I know the mixture looks loose and you wonder how on earth the patties will hold together, but they do, they really do.
The egg in this recipe keeps the salmon patties from falling apart while cooking. Also, because these are baked rather than pan fried, they are handled less so this also helps.
I’ve never had Salmon Patties fall apart on me.
How to Serve Salmon Patties
As a meal – try a side of Yoghurt Slaw and Cauliflower Puree (low carb!), I’ve popped these recipes in the notes. You get freshness from the Yoghurt Slaw and low-carb creaminess from the Cauliflower Puree that’s made for smearing over each bite of the Salmon Patties.
Starter – pile onto platters with dipping sauce and pass around to share!
Burgers – make giant ones and make salmon burgers
Super tasty dinner, made from a can of salmon. Who would have though, eh?? ❤️ – Nagi x
PS You can, of course, make this with fresh salmon if you happen to be blessed with an abundant supply of them. Tell me all about it, and make me green with envy.
More patties and fritters (I love them!)
Salmon Patties recipe
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Salmon Patties
Ingredients
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (Note 1 for subs)
- 1 small onion (or 1/2 large), grated
- 1 garlic clove , finely minced
- 400 g/ 14 oz cooked fresh salmon OR canned red or pink salmon , drained (Note 2)
- 2 shallots / scallions / green onions , finely sliced
- 1/3 cup fresh dill , roughly chopped (or 1 tsp dried herbs of choice)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup parmesan , grated or shredded
- 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
Cooking:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220C/430F standard (200C fan)
- Place breadcrumbs in a bowl. Grate over onion, including juices. Mix onion into breadcrumbs, ensuring all breadcrumbs are soaked. (Note 3)
- Add remaining ingredients except salmon. Mix well.
- Add salmon. Stir through gently, leaving flakes of salmon (rather than vigorously mixing salmon into tiny pieces).
- Scoop up 1/4 cup mixture (level, packed standard ice cream scoop, see Video). Form round patties about 1.5 cm/ 2/3″ thick and set aside.
- Drizzle oil all over tray. Place in oven for 2 minutes until hot – oil will spread over tray. Tilt tray to spread if needed.
- Place patties on tray – DO NOT press down (makes them stick on tray). Spray surface with oil spray.
- Bake 15 minutes. Flip, spray surface with oil spray, bake 5 minutes.
- Serve with sour cream or yoghurt on the side for dipping / dolloping, and extra fresh dill if desired.
- I served mine with cauliflower puree and Yoghurt Slaw – healthy side options! (Note 3)
Recipe Notes:
- Low carb – 1 cup of raw cauliflower rice
- Guten free – 1 cup crushed rice crackers or almond meal in place of the breadcrumbs.
Nutrition Information:
Salmon Patties originally published February 2019, updated for housekeeping matters in March 2019. No change to recipe.
LIFE OF DOZER
In my pre-Dozer life, I was hooning around in a little 2 seater convertible. I had to give up my little zippy car not only because he grew out of it, but also because he didn’t like the wind in his eyes.🙄
So I reluctantly upsized to a 4WD. Then he grew even more – his head smooshes on the ceiling of the car, smearing it with filth.
I am not getting another damn car for this damn dog. 😖
The Salmon patties recipe is AWESOME! Thank you Nagi for another amazing recipe. Also tried the suggested cauliflower puree which was also a success 🙂
can I make it dairy free and omit the cheese?
I made them tonight without the Parmesan. I used nutritional yeast and some of the liquid from the can instead.
They were delicious. The whole family devoured them and wanted more.
Loved this recipe,will be my go to from now on
Made these last night. I didn’t have any green onion or fresh dill. I’m sure that would add to the taste. But they were delicious anyway. I cooked them in the air fryer, but on bake, not air fry, since my oven is currently being repaired. I will make them again.
If I were to double the recipe, could I cook half right away and bake the rest of the mixture the following evening, or would it get too soggy? Thank you!
This was delicious! I love crunchy salmon patties. I had a bunch of firecracker salmon left over so I used that. Didn’t have a lot of dill so used what I had. The flavor was out of this world and did I mention they were crunchy on both sides. Loved the suggestion of added oil to the pan and heat it up then place the flattened patties and put back in the oven. This is a keeper.
How much cauliflower?
Have made this several times for my family. This is great!
I’ve made these salmon patties a couple of times now, and they’re wonderful. I make a little preserved lemon and dill remoulade to go with them. But I was wondering, could I make this into a salmon loaf? And if so, what adjustments would I need to make? Thanks for sharing this recipe. It’s now my go-to recipe for salmon patties.
This recipe is awesome, I’ve made these three times now and I’m addicted. I’ve been throwing in chopped up cherry tomatoes and just realized I make the patties twice as large as indicated in the recipe. Throw a slice of cheddar on top when you serve/reheat, add a dollop of mayo and sprinkle with nutritional yeast.
Absolutely delicious! I made them with canned pink salmon and making them again now with leftover cooked salmon. My only note would be to check the canned salmon as while the little bones were fine I also found there were vertebrae bones which I probably should have removed first time round. But you live and learn! Replaced the Parmesan with nutritional yeast as well due to dairy allergies in the family and that worked well too.
The vertebrae are fine to eat. When I was growing up, canned salmon was an inexpensive entree. My mom made salmon patties similar to these fairly frequently. She always saved the bones for me when she found out I viewed them as a real treat. But leave them in, they’re a real boost to your calcium intake!
Amazing. I did add a tiny bit of chilli. I was afraid these would fall apart, how wrong I was. Doing again.
Forgot to add with aioli sauce.
These were very good. I didn’t think that they would be crispy enough being baked but they were. I mixed everything together instead of separate and had peas, broccoli rice, and tomato salad with it.
This is a great salmon pattie recipe. I tried them with Greek yoghurt, and I also tried them with sour cream. But my favourite was with tartare sauce!
Haha – me too!!
Made them tonight – Had them with Potatoes Dauphinoise, Salad & Tartare Sauce!! Probably didn’t “need” the tartare sauce but…. it was delicious
Another dinner winner. Such an easy recipe. I used lemon & herb flavoured Panko breadcrumbs, which added to the flavour. Topped it off with sour cream. Delicious. Thanks Nagi xx
I topped the salmon patties with the yogurt coleslaw mix and a bun and it was quite tasty. Who knew I’d like salmon patties?!? 😉
Hi Nagi,
Glad Dozer is doing well now.
I have your Brownies baking at the moment and am making your baked salmon patties tonight. Can I make the mixture earlier and a bake later.
You are the most amazing lady.
You know I hate fish unless it battered. It’s a texture thing. These however looked like I could give it a try . They turned out really good. Nice and crispy and the sour cream helped too. I even ate the leftovers cold on a salad for dinner the next night.