This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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
The salmon cakes came out great, but the homemade tarter sauce is killer!!!! I screwed up the recipe (slightly) and it was still fantastic!!!! Now I can make it whenever I cook any type of seafood and its a good dip too! I may add a little taragon vinegar next time🤔THANKS!
Glad you loved it, Eddie! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Made this with leftover salmon from the night before and it was AMAZING!! Just the right flavor with the red peppers too! I made the tarter sauce as linked in this recipe and the combination was. perfect!
I’m glad you loved it, Wendy! Thank you for sharing with us.
My whole family loves these and they are super easy to make and contains ingredients (except for buying the salmon) that we have around the house or in our garden. Also, I like that you don’t need to use a lot of oil when you fry them. I use gluten free bread crumbs but otherwise don’t change the recipe.
I might cook half the batch in our air fryer the next time I make some and see how they come out.
I thought I read that you would like photos- I took one for you but don’t know how to upload to your site.
Hello Ellen, thank you for sharing your experience trying this recipe. We appreciate your comments and feedback. As for uploading some photos, you may share them on our Facebook page and group, others will be happy to see them too!
Thanks, excellent recipe Natasha! We live in Alaska and I’m always looking for new ways to fix salmon. All of us loved it! This recipe will definitely be in our meal rotation.
That’s wonderful, Ann! Thank you for trying my recipe.
This is so great! We used salmon that we’d baked 2 days earlier. The patties are so delicate; they feel like they’ll fall apart. But we added a 3rd egg, and were careful, and it worked out fine. Great recipe!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Your recipe is absolutely delicious! I used wild red sockeye canned salmon and substituted the onion with scallions.
I’ve tried other recipes but yours is the best. I no longer have to search again.
Thank you so much Natasha!
You’re very welcome! Thank you for the feedback, Marsha!
I have used this recipe so many times, I almost know it by heart!
Best ever!!!
So glad you love it, Frances!
Delicious! I made as directed with leftover cooked salmon filet and also added in about 1/4 cup leftover steamed white basmati rice to the mix. Squeezed a little lemon juice over top of the fried salmon cakes and served with a homemade aioli. This is a keeper!!❤️
I’m so glad you loved it, Lisa! 🙂
Felt like I needed to leave a review because I make these all the time and adore this recipe! It’s a household favourite.
I never have garlic salt so just use garlic powder and salt to taste.
Thanks for the great dinner idea
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jessica!
Left over salmon led me to this recipe. Very glad – easy and delicious!
That’s wonderful, Marianne! Thank you for trying my recipe. I’m glad it was enjoyed.
I have been making these for wedding showers, birthday parties, and this year I am bringing them as an appetizer for Thanksgiving requested by my brother in law. Everyone loves them and I always make your hommade tartar sauce with them. It’s a must!
also forgot to mention.. I love making these in a mini version (bite/ two-bite sized) as an appetizer. perfect for a party.
That’s wonderful! Thanks for sharing. Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
This is close to my family recipe. the main difference is that we eliminate the parsley and replace it with capers. Yummy!
These are the best! Every time I serve them to friends, they DEMAND I share the recipe
That’s wonderful, Frances! Thank you for sharing.
Very easy to make and so delicious. Both my kids loved them – winner of a recipe!!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Tasty and light. The salmon cakes were flavorful and the family loved them. I will be making them again.
That is the best when the family love what we moms make. That’s so great!
I can’t wait to try out these salmon cakes. The recipe is very close to what my mom used to make the 1960’s! It was always a family favorite, even with the canned salmon.
Aww, that’s the best! I’m so glad you found my recipe, Kathryn! I hope you love it! We look forward to your feedback!
This is the best salmon cake recipe I’ve ever made and tasted. I was looking for this recipe this morning (I left a comment on the wrong creators recipe… once I looked again and realized some of the ingredients were missing…. I kept scrolling till I found yours. I’ve been making this now for the past 5 years I think? It is amazing every single time! Thank you, Natasha 🙏🏽
Wow so happy to know that this has been your go-to recipe! That makes me really happy, thanks a lot for your good comments.
Thank you for sharing this great recipe! Followed your recipe to the T and they could not have been better. I made my homemade tartar sauce that we love and went perfectly with this salmon. 🧡
I love that! Thank you for trying my recipe. So glad it was enjoyed.
Used fresh picked onion and sweet peppers. It made the most flavorful salmon cakes I’ve made.
Great to hear that you enjoyed the recipe!
These turned out great! Followed the recipe except I switched out butter for margarine & instead of pan frying the cakes, I put them in our air fryer oven on 375 on each side for 5 minutes.
My brother & sister both said they reminded them (as well as myself) of our favorite breakfast our mom would make… scrambled eggs & lox, including the onion.
There are a few left over, going to pack them to freeze for a fast lunch or dinner. Forgot all about serving with Tartar sauce but cocktail with a squeeze of lemon works perfectly, too!
Hello Iris, thanks for sharing your experience trying out this recipe. You can try this with tartar sauce next time, we’d love to know which version you liked best!