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My Salmon Patties Recipe Is Crispy, Fluffy, And Affordable
These salmon patties were basically a use-what’s-in-my-pantry experiment, in the best possible way. Between my mom and grandmas, I ate a lot of patties growing up, just never with this fish. But with a couple cans of salmon staring at me, there was a first time for everything! And needless to say, this salmon patties recipe is now part of my regular healthy dinner rotation. Here’s why:
- Crispy outside, tender inside – These salmon cakes fry up with a golden, crispy crust, a fluffy, tender texture inside, and so much flavor. If you like my tuna patties and chicken patties, you’ll like these, too!
- Quick and easy – This whole recipe takes just 20 minutes from start to finish. I often turn to it for a last-minute meal on busy weeknights.
- Pantry-friendly and budget smart – My salmon patty recipe needs just 8 basic ingredients, and all except the egg are pantry staples. And using canned salmon keeps it affordable.
So if you have canned salmon and are wondering what to do with it, make these with me!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my salmon patty recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Canned Salmon – I like this brand. Make sure to get the kind without bones or skin—I learned that the hard way after my husband grabbed the wrong one and I didn’t notice until it was already in the bowl. Picking out bones was not the fun part of dinner prep! Notes on alternatives:
- Leftover cooked salmon works just as well. I usually use canned for convenience.
- If you have fresh salmon that’s uncooked, I recommend making my salmon burgers, instead of the extra step of cooking it just for these salmon patties.
- Binder – I used to make this recipe with crushed pork rinds, but now prefer these clean-ingredient, gluten-free panko breadcrumbs. Any kind of breadcrumbs, or even almond flour, will work.
- Egg – Egg substitutes can work, but the patties might be more fragile.
- Mayonnaise – Helps keep the patties juicy.
- Grated Onion – My secret ingredient that I often add to various patties (and even chicken meatballs), because it leaves them so tender and flavorful! I don’t recommend dicing the onion, which makes the salmon patties fall apart more easily.
- Seasonings – Italian seasoning, black pepper, and a touch of smoked paprika. If you don’t have dried herbs, you can swap in a tablespoon of fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill, or chives.
- Olive Oil – For frying up the patties. Avocado oil or ghee make good alternatives.
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How To Make Salmon Patties
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Mix the base. In a large bowl, whisk together the breadcrumbs (or whatever binder you’re using), mayo, egg, grated onion, and seasonings.
- Add the salmon. Gently fold in the canned salmon.
- Form the patties. Use your hands to shape the mixture into 6 patties. They’ll be a bit sticky, which is normal. Place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and pop in the fridge to firm up. (This is important, or they’ll fall apart!)
- Fry until golden. Heat olive oil in a large skillet, and fry the salmon patties until golden brown on both sides. Flip carefully so they don’t fall apart. I like to serve them with lemon wedges — a squeeze of fresh lemon juice is delicious on them!
My Recipe Tips
- Drain the canned salmon well. If there’s too much liquid left, your salmon patties won’t hold together. I usually drain the can first, then wrap in paper towels to dry off any extra moisture.
- Mix everything else before adding the salmon, then fold in the fish gently. I do this because it leaves more of the salmon pieces intact. If you dump everything together or overmix after adding the fish, it can turn to mush.
- Don’t you need salt? No, I don’t find I need any because canned salmon is already salted. (In fact, my older version of this recipe had salt and many people complained it was too salty in the comments — this is fixed now!) However, if your salmon doesn’t seem salty enough for you, you can salt it to your taste before mixing with the other ingredients.
- Want extra flavor? Sometimes I throw in garlic powder and lemon zest, or a teaspoon of Dijon mustard.
- If the salmon mixture is hard to work with to form the patties, wet your hands with water or oil. This will reduce sticking to your hands. They’ll be less sticky for frying after you refrigerate them.
- How do you prevent the salmon patties from sticking to the pan? There are 4 things to watch for:
- Make sure you have a layer of oil coating the pan. This is especially important if you use a cast iron skillet like I do — it sticks a little more easily but you get nicer browning, and the oil fixes any sticking.
- Preheat your pan well before adding the patties. In fact, this is my rule for frying just about anything.
- Give them enough time to brown on the bottom before trying to flip. Moving them too soon will make them stick.
- Use a thin turner. This is my favorite because it’s so small and thin, but I used this one for the pictures and it also works well.
- Chilling the patties before cooking is crucial. You need at least 30 minutes to let them firm up, but you can also form them the day before and keep in the fridge overnight before you cook them.
- Grab your largest skillet. With my 12-inch cast iron pan, I can fit all 6 patties in one batch! If your skillet is smaller, you’ll need to cook in 2 batches, and I recommend adding more oil for the 2nd batch.
- Want to bake these instead? They’ll take about 15 minutes at 400 degrees F. They don’t get crispy on the outside that way, though, and I’d recommend broiling for a couple minutes at the end to at least get some browning.
Salmon Patties
By
My salmon patties recipe is fast, crispy, and affordable, with canned salmon and pantry staples. A perfect easy dinner, lunch, or appetizer!
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the breadcrumbs (or binder of your choice), mayonnaise, egg, grated onion, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
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Add the canned salmon and fold in gently. Be careful not to over-mix.
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Using your hands, form mixture into 6 1/2-inch thick patties and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. The patties will be wet and sticky. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the salmon patties to the skillet without touching each other, and cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip carefully and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until browned on the other side.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 salmon patty
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you to help you get crispy, golden patties, prevent them from falling apart when frying, notes about salt, optional add-ins for extra flavor, and a variation for baking them.
- Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
- Meal prep: Since this salmon patty recipe needs to chill in the fridge anyway, I often form them the day before! Just keep refrigerated for 1-2 days before cooking.
- Reheat: I usually reheat in a hot skillet over medium-low heat, or pop them in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes.
- Freeze: You can freeze these salmon patties cooked or uncooked. I line squares of parchment paper between them to prevent sticking.
- Note on nutrition info: The numbers I have here are based on gluten-free breadcrumbs, which is what I use most often now. My original recipe had pork rinds, which you can definitely use for a low carb option (0.5g net carbs per serving). To see the full numbers, you can customize this recipe by swapping the ingredient in my Wholesome Yum App.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Salmon Patties
Serving Ideas
These salmon patties are so versatile — I’ve served them for dinner, for lunch, as an appetizer, and even as a snack. Try them like this:
- Dips – My fave with these is garlic aioli (pictured above), but tartar sauce or tzatziki sauce also pairs well.
- Wraps – Wrap a salmon patty in a lettuce wrap or on your favorite bun with a little mayo (or pick from my sauces above), tomatoes, and red onions.
- Salads – Sometimes I serve these over artichoke salad or spring salad for lunch. In the summer, they make a lovely light dinner alongside my cauliflower potato salad or tomato cucumber avocado salad.
- Bowls – Serve them over a base of rice or cauliflower rice, and load up with fresh toppings. The ones from my salmon bowls work well.
- Vegetables – To keep it super simple, just roast asparagus or cauliflower in the oven to serve on the side.
176 Comments
Laura
0Quick, easy to follow and delish! I used frozen (defrosted) salmon and chopped it roughly, forgot the onion, and added some Old Bay seasoning. Thank you!
Lynn Rooks
0Recipe is cooking now, I added some bay seasoning with Italian. Looks great! Thanks. Husband will appreciate the Mayo!
Deb P.
0These were excellent! Thanks, Maya! I buy a large tub of pre-ground pork rinds and keep them in the freezer to pull out and thaw in the morning so I always have some around. My husband doesn’t like fish and told me when he was growing up he remembers seeing the red can of salmon on the counter and knew what was coming so he’d talk one of his friends into inviting him to eat at their house. He loved these so much he asked me to make them again! I’m happy because I really liked them too. I told him his parents probably caught on and would just set the can out and then make steaks while he was at his friends. LOL.
Cheri
0These were fantastic! Mine were dry because I was cooking without the recipe in front of me and forgot the mayo, oops! But I made some dill sauce for them which made up for it. I will definitely be making these again.
Linda
0Can these be cooked in an air fryer? I just received one for Christmas and would like to try it out on these
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Linda, Yes, that should work for you.
Nicole
0I made this today and it was amazing. They hold together well and the pork rinds add great flavor. I used more pork rinds from the bag than I expected, but that’s personal expectations. A little Frank’s Red Hot sauce and Swiss chard and dinner was yummy and within keto guidelines!
Teri
0How much almond flour to substitute for the pork rinds? Same quantity?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Teri, Yes the same quantity.
Cat
0Love it!!!
James long
0I didn’t have pork rinds so used crushed ritz crackers. also added 1/2 tablespoon mustard. And added old Bay instead of Italian seasoning. The result was really good and can be attributed to your basic recipe and I was lucky that I didn’t damage it by adding my spin on it. Will make it again, but with the changes. Thanks for making your recipe available.
ReneMarie
0I can’t tell if it turned out because the salt overpowered the taste. I will try again w/o the salt. It borderlines on inedible unless you smother it with tartar sauce.
Shay
0I didn’t use any salt and they turned out delicious. The pork rinds added enough salt to make them very flavorful.
Robin
0This was absolutely delicious. Love the creativity with the pork rinds. Only suggestion would be to eliminate the sea salt (or cut it in half at minimum). The pork rinds I used provided ample salt flavor. 5 stars!!
Brenda Alexander
0Very light and delicious and I will eat the salt also.
Stacy S
0Great recipe but I’ll leave out the additional salt next time. Now imagine these over an egg with some keto hollandaise sauce.
Sky Paxton
0Just like the salmon patties we had as kids but much healthier. No taste sacrifice on this. Good job. Will have a couple of times a month.
Yvette
0These were delicious. We had them last week and I’m making them for dinner tonight. Thank you!
Cathy P
0I use Carbquik instead of pork rinds or Almond Flour because it has a smoother texture. If you want to add a kick of flavor, leave out the mayonnaise and add yellow mustard. We also like to add finely chopped bell pepper. If we have it, my husband liked to add hot peppers to his patties. We also make what I like to call hot coleslaw, but if you prefer, you can call it fired mustard cabbage. An old restaurant that had been in business for years used to serve this with salmon patties. We loved it so much that I asked the owner for the recipe. He said it is just fried cabbage with some yellow mustard added to the oil. He didn’t give me the exact measurements, but told me not to be stingy with the mustard. The mustard and oil doesn’t combine easily, but it will be fine if you stir the cabbage around thoroughly to coat with both once the oil is heated. I mix them in my smaller bender first, but they can still separate. You also need to fry about 6 to 8 slices of bacon. Chop and set them aside to add once the cabbage starts to cook. You can add the mustard to the bacon grease instead of adding with olive oil, but I prefer to use olive oil so I can use the blender to mix the oil and mustard. I haven’t ever measured, so I can’t give you exact measurements, but I estimate it is approximately 2 Tablespoons mustard to 1/2 oil. Put the oil mixture in a deep skillet or dutch oven, and heat it before adding about 4 to 6 cups of roughly chopped cabbage. Stir thoroughly until the cabbage is coated with heated oil mixture. Add the chopped bacon and cook until the cabbage is starting to have a yellow tint and is getting tender and the bacon is reheated. It is the perfect paring with salmon patties and other types of fish.
Scott
0Fantastic!! Personally I do not like fish..but my family does. I made this tonight and I was the bell of the ball to them!! I did substitute, parm crips, for pork rinds. The 30 min trip through the fridge is MAJOR do not skip this. That is the difference between mushy “Pattie’s that fall apart and soils “you’re the best cook in the world, dad!”
Thanks
Toni
0I have a can of salmon but it’s salted. Also the pork rinds are salted. Does anyone recommend cutting out the salt completely in the recipe or reducing the salt?
Stacy
0I absolutely recommend skipping the salt. Mine were a bit too salty for my taste so I paired them with unseasoned fried eggs and keto hollandaise.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Toni, Feel free to omit the salt if you wish.
Carla @ Foodie Digital
0Since my husband started eating a keto diet its been a challenge to find recipes the whole family can eat (and loves). I’ve come back to this recipe three times in the last month… the patties are that good! We leave out the pork rinds and serve them with a mayo+hot sauce dip.
Lu
0Delicious! I used leftover home-smoked salmon and used 1/2 c almond flour instead of the pork rinds. I look forward to having leftover salmon again
Linds
0Good but way to salty. Will use half the amount of salt next time.