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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
I’ve made these many times with Canned Alaskan Salmon and they are always delicious. Today I needed to use up some fresh salmon in the frig and they came out fabulous. I didn’t have red pepper so I substituted diced carrots for a little flavor and color. Perfecto. Thanks Natasha!
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoy this recipe. 🙂
Amazing, Flavorful, and Delicious!!!😍😍😍
Thank you very much for this..🙂
Thank you for the great feedback!
This is the best way to eat salmon! My husband loves it also. I don’t use leftover salmon because I’d rather roast it and make this. I follow your recipe exactly and make your tartar sauce. Thank you so much for this
It’s my pleasure, so happy to know that you love this recipe a lot!
SiX STARS. SO awesome, Natasha!!
Crosschecking my family recipe with yours is 98% the same on ALL the proportions of bread crumbs, eggs, mayo, Worcestershire sauce [and yes, Lawry’s Garlic Salt is DA BOMB]!
QUICK CHEATS–1) use canned salmon 2) use the milder diced celery and scallions instead of the tougher peppers and onions so we don’t need to saute anything first and
3) Refrigerate the unbaked mixture for 30 minutes before you make the patties and they won’t fall apart in the pan
The last tip is the best! And I will use your Ice Cream Scooper technique tonight!!
You are made of awesome!!
Sounds good, thanks for sharing that with us!
Absolutely delicious! Altered the recipe just a touch based on ingredients on hand/preference. Replaced Mayo with avocado, used 1 can of salmon and one fresh salmon fillet to equal recommended amount, and used a frozen pepper/onion blend for convenience.
This is a WINNER and we will definitely be coming back to this. Ah-mazing!
That’s wonderful! Thank you for sharing your experiment.
These salmon cakes are the absolute best! I added a little seasoned salt, liquid smoke and fresh dill to taste and my husband loves them. I’ve used fresh salmon and canned and each time they were simply sublime. Thank you!
You’re so welcome, Gale. Always happy to share these awesome recipes with you all!
This looks perfect for our leftover salmon! But I have tons for salmon leftover from a wedding reception. Can these be frozen after making patties either before or after cooking?
Hi Kathy, these can be made ahead, and frozen until ready to cook. I would cook the salmon to form the patties and then freeze them before cooking the patties. We keep them in an airtight container separated by parchment paper. Here is what one of my other readers said, “I always freeze them after cooking (initially frying them to a golden color so when I defrost and reheat in the frying pan they do not get too brown). I wrap each patty individually in saran wrap and then put it into a freezer bag. I usually take them out of the freezer in the morning of the day I intend on cooking them.” I hope that helps.
First time leaving comment and these are the best Even critic rated them five star. Thank you for sharing this
Thank you, appreciate the great feedback!
I don’t generally comment in recipe threads, but I had to for this one. I had about 5 oz leftover grilled salmon, so I made these with proportional ingredients, just as written. So good!
Thanks for sharing your experience trying out this recipe, we’re happy to know that you loved it!
These are so delicious! When you say you use Lawry’s are you talking about the seasoned salt?
Hi! So glad you enjoyed them. No, they have a Lawry’s Garlic Salt.
Once again I have made these and they were AMAZING! Had company and served these and the raved about them. Fresh salmon is the way to go, now I’m going to show a friend (another foody) who has never made Salmon patties how to make them and then we are going make Shrimp cakes! Totally hooked on your recipes! I won’t comment again on this recipe again. I think you know now how much I love these…Thank You.
P.S. I’ll let you know how the Shrimp cakes turn out. I’m making them with HOOD’S CANAL shrimp in case anyone knows about the canal, located in WASHINGTON state .
Thank you for sharing this great feedback, Susan. I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try!
I Love these so much, and these are the prefect recipe for salmon! I Attchually had already cooked salmon so, I just flaked it with a fork! I also made these with your homemade Tartar Sauce recipe! So good 😋😋
So glad you are enjoying my recipes, Brooke!
I made salmon cakes sometime during the pandemic uding leftover cooked salmon I had the previous day. I remember my fiancé and I LOVED them, and i even shared them on Instagram. However, I didn’t remember where the recipe came from until today! I had fresh salmon and really wanted to try salmon cakes again. I could recall what they looked like, and tember red pepper. So when your recipe with pictures came up I thought it might be the one. Oh my goodness, they were just as divine as the first time! This recipe will become a regular in our menu rotation, with your recipe for homemade tartar sauce. I don’t even like tartar sauce, but store bought doesn’t hold a candle to your recipe. Thanks to you and your family for sharing all of your wonderful recipes, Natasha.
Hi Jennifer! You’re very welcome. So glad you enjoy my recipes. Thank you for sharing.
Delicious! Had to use dry parsley and used chipotle mayo instead of tartar and it was fabulous! This is going to be my go to recipe for my leftover salmon!
Yum! Sounds great, Maggie. Thank you for sharing.
Can I substitute yogurt for the mayonnaise? We have someone who can’t eat mayonnaise in our family.
Hi Emily, I bet that would work! One of my readers wrote: “I made these and swapped in Greek yogurt for the mayo (I just can’t do mayo!) and they were excellent!”
I made these for dinner last night everyone loved them even my 8 year old granddaughter. The only change I made was I added 3 minced garlic cloves. We are all garlic lovers in my family. Definitely keeping this recipe.
I’m so happy it was a hit, Peggy! That’s just awesome!
Hello, I’d like to make this recipe but I don’t have enough salmon. Can I mix canned tuna, sardines or chicken to the mix?
I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe!
I have reviewed this before but just did it with a twist. I ran out of time today before I added the eggs and breadcrumbs and cooked the cakes so I added a bunch of lemon, more garlic salt and served it over lettuce as a salmon salad. It was absolutely delicious.
Hello Lisa, thanks for the great feedback. Thanks for sharing what you did with the recipe, we appreciate the added info!
These are so yummy! I’ve used canned salmon (3 6 oz cans) from costco for this on all this and it tastes great!
Oh these were so good. Served as burgers with your tartar sauce. We are all in heaven right now. Thank you Natasha. I love your recipes. You are great.
You are very welcome! I’m happy to see your good feedback and review, thank you for sharing.
These salmon cakes are excellent! I followed the recipe as written and wouldn’t change a thing about it.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Carol! Thank you for the review.
I want to make them today! I cant have the worcestershire sauce as its gluten in it, will need to substitute gluten free breadcrumbs too.