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Salmon is a great weeknight dish but can sometimes be a bit tricky to prepare fresh. Why not make some quick, easy, and delicious salmon patties instead?
Make your own Tartar Sauce for this recipe for an extra treat. You can also try some Grilled Salmon or some poached salmon if you’re looking for salmon recipes!
Salmon Patties
Trying to cook fresh salmon can be pretty arduous, especially if you are looking for that restaurant-style, falling apart, and flakey salmon.
To make it a bit easier or just to serve as an introduction to making salmon at home, these salmon patties are a great start. Binding the fish with a bunch of delicious ingredients that stick together easily thanks to the mayo and fry up really well, you end up with a patty that tastes like fresh salmon, but with loads of crispy exteriors and brown bits as well.
Salmon Patties Ingredients
Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts, as there are a few fiddly ingredients here.
• Canned salmon or one pound of fresh, cooked salmon
• Large eggs
• Medium white onion
• Crushed saltine crackers
• Mayonnaise
• Garlic powder
• Dried dill
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Minced parsley
• Olive oil
• Salted butter
• Lemon wedges
How To Make Salmon Patties
• Drain the canned salmon and place in a medium bowl
• Add in the eggs, onion, crackers, mayo, garlic, dill, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the parsley
• Stir together until completely combined
• If the mixture is too dry, add in some of the salmon liquid
• Heat the olive oil and the butter together on medium heat in a large skillet
• Add the patties to the skillet, cooking in batches
• Fry for 7 minutes per side, until golden brown and the patties, reach 165 Fahrenheit
• Remove and place on paper towels to drain
• Serve garnished with the remaining lemon wedges and some tartar sauce
Should You Use Canned Salmon or Fresh Salmon To Make Salmon Patties?
Fresh salmon isn’t that often easy to come by unless you happen to live nearby a reputable supplier or a really great farmer’s market by the seaside. This is pretty much why most salmon pattie recipes will recommend using cans – it’s not only easier, but it’s cheaper as well.
If you do happen to have some fresh salmon on hand, you can absolutely use it instead, though. Just make sure that you fully cook it first. If you tried to use it raw, the salmon wouldn’t cook properly within the patty, and you would end up with grisly, uncooked pieces of salmon throughout your patty.
Another consideration when making salmon patties with fresh, cooked salmon is moisture. Canned salmon comes in a tin with a lot of liquid, which is usually some kind of brine or cooking liquid from preparing the salmon. This liquid is really useful to help keep things moist and help to avoid a tough texture in your salmon patty.
If you are using fresh salmon for this recipe, make sure you adjust the moisture level to ensure that everything sticks together. You might add in some extra lemon juice or mayonnaise or even just a little bit of water if it only needs that little bit of extra moisture.
Flavor Variations For Your Own Tasty Salmon Patties
This recipe makes a really standard flavor composition for salmon patties, with a focus on the natural flavor of the salmon rather than any other specific flavors.
The parsley, mayo, and garlic powder won’t really make the patties taste like those things but instead just help to amplify the taste of the salmon.
However, if you want some more specific flavors, you need to play around a little bit with the ingredients.
You could add in some various chili powders alongside some cumin and paprika and get a more Mexican flavored patty, or you could add just a touch of Garam Marsala powder, as well as some asafetida to get something resembling North Indian cuisine.
While the recipe here will give you some really delicious, simple salmon patties, always feel free to play around with the ingredients to make something that works for you.
Looking for more delicious Fish recipes? Try these out:
• Baked Salmon With Cream Cheese
• Butter Poached Lemon Garlic Tilapia Recipe
Enjoy!
Love,
Karlynn
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Salmon Patties
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 8 minutes
- Courses
- Appetizer, Main Course
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 6
- Calories
- 139
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- one 15 ounce can salmon OR one pound fresh salmon cooked and flaked
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 medium white onion peeled then grated
- 1 cup very finely crushed saltine crackers
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup parsley very finely minced divided
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 lemons sliced into wedges
Instructions
- Drain the canned salmon (reserving some of the liquid in a bowl) and place into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add in the eggs, grated onion, crushed crackers, mayonnaise, garlic, dill, lemon juice, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons parsley.
- Stir together until combined completely. If the mixture is too dry, add in some of the reserved salmon liquid until the mixture comes together and you can form it into 12 patties. The patties should be no more than 1/2 inch thick in order to cook properly.
- Heat the olive oil and the butter together on medium heat in a large skillet. Place the patties into the skillet, cooking in batches if you can’t fit them all in the pan. Add more oil and butter as needed to fry.
- Fry for 7-8 minutes per side, until golden brown and the patties reach at least 165°F in the center when tested with an instant read thermometer.
- Remove and place on paper towels to drain. Serve garnished with the remaining minced parsley and lemon wedges.
- Serve with tartar sauce if desired.
Recipe Notes
- Either salmon works well in this recipe so use whichever you prefer!
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Tammy Morris says
Is this recipe suitable for an air fryer?
Or can it be adjusted to be made in an air fryer? I’m trying to eliminate excess calories from absorbed fat from frying.
Crystal L Vadney says
Do you use pink or red salmon?
Tom Cross says
I don’t see how you can make one 15oz can of salmon stretch that far.
Karlynn Johnston says
One recipe is 6 patties, you can double and triple as you see fit!
Arlene says
Can you make this into a loaf??
Karlynn Johnston says
I have a salmon loaf recipe : https://www.thekitchenmagpie.com/salmon-loaf/