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. 😖
Wow, these are truly delicious! I did add a little miso and Vietnamese mushroom powder just for fun but otherwise followed the recipe. The yogurt on top is perfect (I tried a few other toppings and it was the best!).
Yum! These are really really good! The whole family smashed them. Trying to get more fish into our diets, so these will be a regular. Lovely recipe – thanks Nagi!
I made these on the weekend (I halved the recipe as only had 210g tin of pink salmon) and they were really really good. I served with pesto couscous and silverbeet and green runner beans from the garden.
LOVE. OMG its hard to impress my wife in the kitchen. This did it! Canned pink. Made a little bowl out of it with a simple teriyaki rice and some veggies – Salmon burger on top. Huge hit. Will be coming back to this one again and again.
Hi,
I’ve loved everything I’ve cooked from your site, especially because I’m a “non-cook”, low in confidence and on a low budget which means I can’t afford mistakes with food.
I trust these will be a hit as with your other recipes but please clarify when I’m to flatten them out. The written recipe only has capitals when NOT to do so (and a helpful explanation as to why), but the video shows them being flattened.
I will rewatch the video, but for those of whom night their nails off without explicit instruction, please ease my mind with a reply.
Thank you for everything you bring to my table. xx
Nagi flattens them on the chopping board. NOT on the baking tray.
At 0:35 you can see she flattens them with the spatula !
Made these tonight using a can of tuna. Didn’t have any dill so subbed with celery salt. Forgot to grate the onion, so whacked it in the Ninja blender with the the bread crumbs and few good squirts of lemon juice. Blitzed the parmesen in the Ninja too. Served them with a ready made Thai salad, and made some homemade excellent tartare sauce. Brilliant result! Thanks Nagi.
It’s flattened on a chopping board rather than on the baking sheet.
The recipe was great, the only thing I’d say is the parmesan might be a personal choice. But definitely don’t use a strong parmesan. At first I thought I’d over salted and was confused till I realised it was the parmesan. But next time they’ll be perfect!
Amazing salmon patties, thank you so much,Nagi!
I had them with some sweetcorn aioli on the side.
Scrum Diddleyumptious!😋😋😋
These are so so good. I am prepping for our family meals in anticipation of a new little baby. They are a hit with our 2year old and I ‘timesed’ the portion by 16 to freeze plenty for lunch for her as well as a few dinners for all of us (tonight I made a roasted sweet potato and blanched snow peas and quinoa). One amendment I did make was subbing dairy free cheese to them in the same portions of the Parmesan (will be breast feeding new bub and first bun was intolerant to dairy so the odds are against me!). Anyway, these are delicious, will make many more batches as time goes on!
Your recipes are just perfect!
And so is Dozer!!
There are 3 cups of ingredients but the instructions say to make 4 patties of 1/4 cup each. What is this magic?
My family and I love this recipe.
When I don’t have salmon I use tuna and I also make a ‘healthier‘/ slightly more convenient version using oat flour (everyday oats put in a blender) instead of bread crumbs as I always have oats. This makes them a bit denser but still delicious. Thank you!
Love these salmon patties. First time I have done patties in the oven – will definitely cook them again. I found grating the onion difficult and ended up using a dicer that made it very fine and it seemed to work.
Nagi, these salmon patties are amazing!! I thought I had a great recipe but OMG these are on another level altogether!
We LOVE your work!! Thank you.
Fellow Golden Retriever lovers,
Jenny and Clive XX
I always come here for new recipes, and you never disappoint. 😁 These salmon patties are positively delectable! I served them with a garlic dipping sauce and your caesar salad. Perfect supper. Thanks again Nagi. ❤
Hi Nagi! LOVE your recipes! Will these patties hold their shape without onion? Onions are a migraine trigger for me.
Michelle, when I make meatballs or meatloaf I sometimes just moisten the breadcrumbs with a little bit of milk. I think it will do the same thing as the grated onions without adding any unwanted flavor. Sorry about the migraines!
Super tasty, yum!!! Made these GF with crushed up brown rice crackers and with Tuna – perfect for one of those “use the pantry” kinda dinners! Thank-you again Nagi!
These are a household favourite! My 11 month old really loves them too. I serve them with roasted asparagus, mashed potato, and my own sour cream sauce. They taste amazing cold the next day too! They’ve never fallen apart on me, they’re quick and easy. Highly recommend!
I made these tonight and although they were delicious I felt they were a little dry . I think next time I will add some of the salmon juice or not some much breadcrumbs
Another of my go-to recipes for workday lunches, I love the flavours. One tip, I use a quarter measuring cup and pack it quite full, they hold their shape much better.
I think the ingredients were nice, but the cooking temperature was too high and time too long. My patties came out very dry. Next time, I’ll just do a pan fry.
A keeper! I was in a hurry so I pan fried them. My husband doesn’t like canned salmon and thought my other recipes for other canned salmon patties (Old Bay, Spicy, 5 spice, Creole, Asian) were “meh” but he said these were the BEST and said I actually don’t mind eating these, they’re pretty good!” Can I use 1 Tbsp of Onion powder in lieu of grating the onion?