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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
Thank you for this absolutely delicious recipe. My husband feels that even a restaurant couldn’t make them this good! A definite do again recipe.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Ann!
I made this recipe .. delicious.. I only made 1/2 the recipe.. I substituted red onion finely diced instead of white onion, I used Italian bread crumbs instead of Panko and I used small diced zucchini as I do not like peppers.. it was delicious. the Worcestershire gives it just that little bit of zip.. I will definitely make again . thank you.
Can you freeze some of the salmon patties after you cook them?
Hi Patricia, I haven’t tried freezing them after, but here is what one of my viewers said, “We have found that you can prep the patties in advance and freeze them, then cook them from frozen (takes a minute or so longer on each side) for an easy weeknight meal.” I hope that helps.
What I s the best way to reheat refrigerated leftover delicious! Salmon patties? Thank you!
Hi Patricia, you can gently in a lightly oiled skillet on the stove. You can even splash a little water in the skillet with the salmon, then cover it to lock in moisture and help the patties steam and prevent them from drying out.
Lovely video on how to prepare salmon cakes! Easy to follow! Cannot wait to try it! Thank you!
Fantastic. Easy & quick. The Tartar Sauce sensational. I used canned Trader Joe’s & used cheese cloth to squeeze out the canned liquid. Anyway this is now my favorite Salmon Cake!!
These were exceptionally good. I finally found a salmon recipe my husband loves.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Pamela!
Excellent recipe! My son is incredibly picky, but loves chicken nuggets and thought I would try a healthier alternative. I coated each patty with panko and served with a side of ranch and it was a hit! Thank you so much!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Elizabeth!
Terrific!!! So surprised at how good they were. Doubled the recipe as I had two pieces of salmon. Didn’t have mayo but had Miracle Whip so tried that and used Old Bay as I didn’t have paprika. This is a keeper recipe! Hubby loved them too! Said it was as good as restaurant quality!!!
I took the Salmon off the skin so I did not cook it first. I would like to make these salmon patties from the raw salmon. Have you done this yet?
Hi Irene, we used a fresh (raw) salmon filet to make this recipe, but it can be substituted for cooked.
This dish was so delicious and flavorful. It was moist yet crispy on the outside. The sautéed onions and red peppers along with the use of fresh salmon really made the difference. The family really enjoyed it. Thanks
Love it! I’ve made this recipe several times and always come back to it. Perfect meal to open my fast with during Ramadan. Thank you, Natasha!
I’ve made this recipe a few times now and it’s great! I’ve never fried them. I started out doing them in the oven with wonderful results. But now I do them in the air fryer with even better results! It’s quicker, doesn’t waste all that energy to heat up the oven & much easier to monitor. Either way I just spritz them with oil, top & bottom and they come out nice & brown!
Made this last night and it tastes very good. Nice that it uses simply ingredients that most kitchens should have. Not sure if somebody has asked this, but how many cakes per serving?
Hi Laurie! I’m glad you loved the recipe. The servings are listed at the top of the recipe card, it makes 13-14 cakes and the nutrition facts listed is per each cake.
Delish!! These held together perfectly and soooo flavorful. I made extras so we could enjoy them for lunch the next day.
No parsley so I subbed in 2T capers and used my own smoked salmon. This is an excellent recipe, would make again, would recommend to a friend!
That’s wonderful, Ray!
Just made these with some flavour changes. I had cilantro instead of parsley on hand, so I decided to make them asian inspired. Cooked my onion and pepper in sesame oil with a bit of ginger. Added dry corriander and some paprika as well. Would have done nicely with green onions in it too. Made a little sauce with mayo, soy sauce and siracha. So yummy! Thanks for the inspo, will continue to come back to this one.
Ive made these a few times and they are great! I’m planning to serve them tomorrow for a largish gathering and am wondering if I can make the patties tonight and cook them tomorrow. Will they dry out?
Hi Gisele. Yes, you can refrigerate them
and cook them tomorrow. Just separate them with some parchment paper.
Your right, they were really good. Give ya 5 stars. Thank jim
Thank you, Jim!
I used salmon that I had baked, and they were delicious! Way tastier that the canned salmon patties I’ve made in the past!
I’m so glad to hear that, Dawn!
Can this recipe be baked rather than pan fry. I am having guests for lunch and rather than standing frying – I would like to just pop in the oven.
Hi Anne! I haven’t tested it myself. One of my readers reported good results baking them in the oven but did not share baking time/temp.
Another reader baked them in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 400 and they turned out so crispy and golden.