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These salmon cakes are crisp on the outside with tasty bites of flaked salmon – YUMM!! It’s mostly salmon which makes every bite such a treat! These salmon cakes always disappear fast and are well loved by the kids and grown ups in our family. I love that there isn’t a hint of fishiness in them.
It’s a smart way to use up leftover cooked salmon, but it’s worth the extra 10 minutes it takes to roast salmon just for this recipe. These salmon patties are THAT GOOD! p.s. You can also use well-drained packaged or canned salmon if that’s what you have on hand.
Make sure to serve with this homemade tartar sauce – it’s the easiest sauce to make, keeps well in the fridge, and once you try homemade, there’s just no going back to the store-bought muck. The same goes for these salmon cakes – they are truly delicious!
Ingredients for Salmon Cakes:
1 lb fresh salmon filet*
Garlic Salt – I use Lawry’s brand
Black Pepper
Olive Oil
1 medium onion (1 cup finely diced)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 cup Panko bread crumbs (Japanese Style crumbs)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp mayo
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
*Note: Fresh salmon is best, but it can be substituted with leftover cooked salmon, or 14-15 oz of well-drained canned salmon, or three 5 oz salmon packets. If mixture is too moist to hold the patty shape, add more bread crumbs and if it is too dry, add an extra Tablespoon of mayo.
Watch How To Make Salmon Patties:
How To Make Salmon Cakes (Salmon Patties):
1. Preheat Oven to 425˚F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silpat. Place salmon skin-side down, brush with olive oil and season with garlic salt and black pepper.
Bake uncovered for 10-15 min or just until cooked through (my thinner cut wild salmon was closer to 10 minutes). Remove from oven, cover with foil and rest ten minutes. Discard skin, flake salmon with forks, remove any bones, and cool to room temp while prepping remaining ingredients.
2. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp butter and finely diced onion and bell pepper. Saute until softened and golden (7-9 minutes) then remove from heat.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine cooled flaked salmon, sautéed onion and pepper, 1 cup bread crumbs, 2 beaten eggs, 3 Tbsp mayo, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 cup fresh parsley. Stir to combine then form into 13-14 patties. I find it’s easiest to portion the patties using a flat ice cream scoop then pressing them into 1/3 to 1/2″ thick patties.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a large pan over medium heat and once butter is done sizzling, add half of the salmon cakes and sauté 3 1/2 to 4 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through.
If salmon cakes brown too quickly, reduce heat. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate. Add remaining 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter and repeat cooking remaining salmon cakes.
I can’t get enough of those big flakes of salmon! Major Cravings for salmon cakes with homemade tartar sauce right now. Hands down, these are the best salmon cakes I’ve ever tried and they are so easy!
P.S. If you love this recipe and salmon in general, our famous baked salmon is a must try!
Salmon Cakes Recipe (Salmon Patties)

Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh salmon filet*
- Garlic Salt - I use Lawry's brand
- Black Pepper
- olive oil
- 1 medium onion, 1 cup finely diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs, Japanese Style crumbs
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 425˚F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silpat. Place salmon skin-side down, brush with olive oil and season with garlic salt and black pepper. Bake uncovered for 10-15 min or just until cooked through (my thinner cut salmon was closer to 10 min). Remove from oven, cover with foil and rest ten minutes. Discard skin, flake salmon with forks, remove any bones, and cool to room temp.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp butter and finely diced onion and bell pepper. Saute until softened and golden (7-9 minutes) then remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cooled flaked salmon, sautéed onion and pepper, 1 cup bread crumbs, 2 beaten eggs, 3 Tbsp mayo, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 cup fresh parsley. Stir to combine then form into 13-14 patties. It's easy to portion patties using a flat ice cream scoop then pressing them into 1/3 to 1/2" thick patties.
- Heat 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a large pan over medium heat and once butter is done sizzling, add half of the salmon cakes and sauté 3 1/2 to 4 min per side or until golden brown and cooked through. If salmon cakes brown too quickly, reduce heat. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate. Add remaining 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter and repeat cooking remaining salmon cakes.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Hi Natasha,
I do not have any fresh parsley, what can I substitute for it?
Hi Maly, several of our readers reported great results substituting with dill.
The recipe looks very good and I am about to try it . What if I want a substitute for the Mayo as it does not work for my Husband.
Hello Riana, how about plain Greek yogurt? I think that’s a good substitute.
Thanks , I’ll try that! 👍
Did your salmon patties today, best patty i have ever had. One question- Is it 157 cal per patty? Mine made 20 patties, so i am assuming a little less cal. Also used canned salmon, 13.5 ounces.
Hi Sherry, yes that is per patty. I’m glad you enjoyed these patties!
I found your recipe while looking to jazz up a food I eat often, salmon.
I’m going to try this out to see if the wife might like the fish more than she currently does.
BTW, nice site and community it seems. Bookmarked.
Thank you
Sounds good, Eric. I hope this becomes your new favorite!
Delicious! 😋 Is it possible to freeze the salmon cakes? If yes, is it when they are cooked through?
Amélie, Montréal
Hi Amelie, I bet that could work. I would cook the salmon to form the patties and then freeze before cooking the patties. We keep them in an airtight container separated by parchment paper. I hope that helps you.
I usually never comment on recipes even if they’re good but these salmon cakes were divine. Absolutely one of the most delicious recipes I have ever made. I followed the recipe exactly along with the tartar sauce. This is something a high end restaurant would serve. Beautifully done. Thank you.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
This has replaced my go to recipe for salmon cakes that I was raised on. I’m from Maryland & Old Bay is naturally in our cakes but this 1 literally takes the cake. The flavor profile is amazing & I love everything about it especially the fresh salmon. #1. Can is ok but fresh is outta this world. Thank you so very much.
Fresh is always best 😉 Thank you for this wonderful feedback, Eric!
From Australia .. we always make salmon cakes with mashed potato, onion, parsley at our place but definitely willing to give this one a go.
Sounds good too, thanks for sharing that with us. I hope you love our version too, Christine!
Great taste. Easy recipe. I’ll be making these again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Was the best salmon cakes I’ve cooked. Will recommend this to anyone. Thanks
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Hi. Just came across this recipe. Can the salmon cakes be made and kept in the fridge then cooked the next day?
Hi Jessica, Yes, these can be made ahead, just refrigerate until ready to cook.
These were a hit. After my first batch I added some chopped dill into the recipe since my husband loves it along with some Dijon mustard. Quick recipe that even my kids loved.
So nice to know that, Dee! Thank you for sharing that with us. I’m glad you liked this recipe!
Hi Natasha, do you think it’d be possible to make the patties the day before, and leave in fridge till ready to fry? Would that make the panko soggy you think?
Hi Kate, that should work just fine. The breading on the patties will crisp up on the skillet.
What temp and how long to bake and what temp and how long to air fry? Thanks!
Hi Courtney, I haven’t tried this on an air fryer but others commented and shared this “I opted for the air fryer instead of frying and they were perfect! I prefer a lumpier Salmon patty so I kept the pieces a bit larger. Definitely, will make again:)” I hope that helps!
Thank you! Trying them tonight!
I followed the recipe step by step and the Salmon cakes turned absolutely right and absolutely testy. And it was so easy to make.
I did and the dipping tartar sauce that really turned in a great addition to the cakes.
Hi Diana, so nice to know that! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback with us. So great to hear that you enjoyed these salmon cakes!
Great recipe. I used chile olive oil (Whole Foods) to bake the salmon, and added a dash in the mixture. Kept the salmon flakes largish. Instead of a classic tartar sauce (love your recipe for that too!), I mixed sour cream, mayo, sweet relish, minced shallots, Worstershire, salt pepper. It was all delicious.
Nice one, Denise! Thank you so much for sharing some tips with us.
We love this recipe. It’s now in our regular dinner rotation. The only thing I do differently is bake the patties for 15 minutes instead of frying them. I put a little mayo on top of the patties and broil them for a couple minutes so the tops brown. I actually compared a few fried vs baked and my husband agreed it was hard to tell the difference.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m so glad you enjoeyd this recipe, Linda!
I followed the recipe itself exactly. It’s delicious. The fresh salmon is a must for the exquisite flavor. However, I made these on a griddle with a little olive oil. It’s very efficient with little to no spatter and you can make a larger number at one time. We also used a creamy homemade sriracha mayo to dip in addition to tartar sauce. Very impressive for guests! Thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
I cut the recipe in half to use up some leftover salmon. I used regular Italian bread crumbs (I had them on hand) instead of Panko and omitted the parsley (I didn’t have any). Turned out really tasty. I’d definitely make these again. These would be good as a sandwich!
I bet this would be great as a sandwich! Thank you for sharing this awesome review with me, Mike!
Fantastic recipe! Didn’t modify a thing and combined it with the homemade tartar sauce. Beautiful way to use leftover salmon (my family doesn’t eat salmon the next day)
I made larger cakes and they were also wonderful in salmon burgers with asian slaw.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review