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. 😖
Made these tonite with canned salmon. No parmesan, added 2Tbs Dijon instead. Never been a fan of canned fish other than for sandwiched. These were so tasty! Both kids & I loved them! So much so, that I plan on making these regularly. Even as a snack. Thank you Nagi. I’ve made approx 40 of ur recipes & loved them all.
That’s so great to hear Michele, you can freeze these too for an emergency meal – N x
These were a dream. So easy. First time I have used a salmon patties recipe without potatoes and never again. Perfect!!
I’m so glad you loved them Donna!
I think there’s a mistake with the oven temps on this recipe. 390C is 734F!
Just use C there’s no need to continue using an anachronistic system.
Oops! Put C instead of F!!😂
Thanks so much for your salmon patties recipe. Didn’t have any panko breadcrumbs so used almond meal instead. Doubled the recipe and used 1 tin of pink salmon and a couple of pieces of cooked salmon pieces. 6 people tried them and said they were the best!!
That’s awesome Maria!
I made these tonight for dinner. The family, including my five year old grandson, loved them. My only change to your original recipe was a teaspoon of mixed lemon thyme and oregano instead of dill. Only because I didn’t have any dill. Truly a very tasty simple to put together recipe, plus baked in the oven. Fantastic.
Sounds like a great substitute Ian!
Can I freeze these patties either before or after cooking?
You sure can!
Hi Nagi, thanks so much for your recipes, I’ve been trying a few of your recipes each week for the past several months and I’m loving it! I’ll be trying the salmon patties this weekend but wondering if there is a way to grate onions without crying?
Hi Jenny! Terrific to hear you’re enjoying my recipes, thanks for letting me know! Re: onion – food processor 🙂 Magic bullet, blender – anything that can blitz onion! N xx
Hi Nagi! I like your recipe for salmon patties–especially that they can be baked instead of fried. Question: after baking (and eating one or a few) can they be freezed for use later? Mine is a household of one human*, so there’s no way I can eat 12 at one time! *Other part of my household is Riley, my golden retriever and dog-boss–he loves salmon, chicken, most veggies, pasta sauce and pizza (crusts)!
Hi Nancy, Yes I have successfully frozen before!
Hi there,
I made these tonight with almond meal. Didn’t have dill – so used fresh basil and parsley. They were delicious. Will be on regular rotation! So versatile and easy to alter depending of what I have on hand. Thank you!
Awesome Anna!
WOW! Easy tasty patties.
I’m so glad you loved them Farida!
I used fresh salmon and the patties were delicious! Used dried dill. Kids loved them too!
I made the patties with fresh salmon and they were delicious. Kids are them too! Will definitely make again and try tinned salmon next time. Thanks!!
Winning Margy!!
Terrific recipe thanks for sharing. I am enjoying eating these cold.
Thank you Nagi for your recipe, I didn’t have fresh dill, used fresh parsley instead love easy recipes to follow,will be making them again, my family loved them. They were crispy and Delish!!
Hi Nagi, I used dried dill (1tspn) because I couldn’t get fresh, but I wasn’t keen on it’s flavour. What other dried herbs would go well? Other than that, they were yummy! 😁 ps I cooked them I’m my pie maker
Hi Lynda, you could use some garlic chives or regular chives – they would taste amazing!
Thankyou 🙂
I made these tonight and my husband loved them. So easy and love that they are baked.
Thanks for the recipe!
You’re so welcome Martha, I’m glad they were a hit with hubby – and how much easier is it to chuck something in the oven and let the oven do all the work!!
Where can I find the Yoghurt Slaw recipie to to with this? Thanks!
Oops… Forgot to rate!
Delicious! Made exactly as per the recipe with red salmon. The amount of salmon relative to the amount of breadcrumb mixture seemed to little when added to the bowl…but it all came together perfectly and tasted very salmony. And I love the oven baking… less messy than frying in a pan. Thanks Nagi!
I’m so glad it worked for you!! ❤️
Great recipe, very tasty
I modified it to make it very low calorie/ low carb.
Substitution#1 -> Used Cauliflower rice as suggested. Excellent Sub, you dont taste the difference
Substitution #2-> 1 egg, and 1 egg white
Substitution #3-> NO Parmesan cheese, used dijon mustard instead (~ 2tbsp)
It came out DELICIOUS!
Hi Nagi
I made this awesome meal with the puree and slaw for my meal prep for lunches this week – the divine smell of the patties coming from the oven drove us crazy – so that was our delicious lunch yesterday
thank you once again for a great recipe – this ones a keeper