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Raising six kids on a teacher’s salary, my parents were always cooking on a budget. Being Catholic, with the requirement back then of meatless Fridays, Lent or not, this meant that we ate a lot of tuna macaroni salad and fried fish.
My mother often made tuna patties for us, and less frequently, because they were more expensive, salmon patties.
For several years, my father and I tried to talk my mother into making these salmon cakes again for us. For some unfathomable reason, she refused, even going as far as to claim that she never made salmon cakes in the first place.
After a while, we gave up and made our own version of the recipe.
How to Make Salmon Patties
Salmon patties, or salmon cakes, are wonderfully easy to make. You make salmon patties with just a base of canned salmon, shredded bread (or breadcrumbs or even saltines), chopped onion, and egg to bind it all into patties, and then these salmon cakes are quickly fried.
In this easy salmon patties recipe, we dress up the salmon cakes with garlic, dill, bell pepper, paprika, lemon zest, and lemon juice. You could also add parsley, Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, or cilantro. Feel free to improvise and make these salmon cakes your own!
What to Serve with These Salmon Patties
Salmon patties can be served with a wedge of lemon, or a dollop of mayonnaise or tartar sauce. Round out your meal with a simple side salad or a scoop of coleslaw.
Storing and Freezing Salmon Patties
Once cooked, leftover patties can be stored in the fridge for up to three days. Eat them cold, or warm them up briefly in a skillet over low heat or in the microwave.
Salmon patties also freeze well. Wrap them in plastic and foil, and defrost them in the fridge before reheating.
Love Fish Cakes? Try These Recipes!
- Tuna Patties
- Fresh Salmon Cakes with Spicy Mayo
- Classic Crab Cakes
- Fish Cakes with Tarragon Mayo
- Shrimp Cakes
Salmon Patties Recipe
If the mixture is too wet to form patties, add a little more shredded bread (not the crusts) to the mixture. If too dry, add a tablespoon of water.
Ingredients
- 1 (14.75 ounce) can salmon, drained of all but 2 tablespoons of the can liquid, flaked
- 1 large slice bread (crust removed), shredded (1 cup, 50 g)
- 3 tablespoons chopped green onion, including the green parts
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 3 tablespoons minced green bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Several turns of freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Method
1 Mix patty ingredients: In a large bowl, gently mix together the salmon (including 2 tablespoons of the can liquid), bread, green onion, garlic, dill, bell pepper, flour, egg, paprika, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
2 Form into 8 patties, each about 1/2 inch thick.
3 Brown in skillet: Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Cook the patties until nicely browned on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
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Baked Salmon Cakes from Gina of SkinnyTaste
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Salmon Patties
These were easy to make. Most items on hand in the pantry. Quick appetizer or dinner and would freeze well. Most importantly they were awesome. My husband was wild about them. I did bump up the seasoning according to his preference and I used mayonnaise in place of healthier olive oil. He said “make them again!” So Mr Italian loved them!
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I made these tonight and I look forward to making them again and again! Steamed artichokes were the side and I really liked the salmon patties dipped in Cholula hot sauce Thank you for this delicious recipe.
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You are very welcome Carrie, I’m so glad you liked the salmon patties! Great idea to serve them with steamed artichokes on the side. And I love the idea of dipping the patties in Cholua.
In a tight I have used mackerel. It’s a little stronger than tuna but it does the trick when you don’t have salmon or tuna
I thought from the intro that these would have left over mashed potatoes? Could mashed potato be used instead of the crumbs?
Hi Cheryl,
You can use mashed potatoes, but they tend to be a lot more delicate and prone to crumbling apart in the skillet. Our cod fish cake recipe calls for mashed baked russet potatoes (not leftover mashed potatoes), but you could use it as a guide. I also prefer to bake (or air fry) cakes made with leftover mashed potato. 400 degrees for about 20 minutes in a conventional oven is good.
Absolutely Delicious. In fact we had them tonight. I made 4 big ones I even have one leftover for a sandwich.
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Wonderful Ellen, I’m so glad you liked them!