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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 realize that I am in the minority, but these were not good. The Worcestershire is just wrong for salmon. They had no texture. Next time, I will add lemon juice and celery, leave out the Worcestershire and cook the onion and bell pepper a bit less so they are so soft and sweet.
Hi Stephanie, Worcestershire is normally complementary for salmon, unless too much is used. These aren’t intended to have a crunch but if you prefer more crunchy texture, sautéing the veggies until crisp tender would work fine.
Dear Natasha,
These were excellent! I made these tonight for dinner. I had no peppers, so I substituted 2 stalks chopped celery. I made the patties using my hamburger press. They were much larger, (1 recipe made 7 large patties.) I also added chilli powder to season the salmon. My hubby, sister, and I each ate two for dinner, served with tartar and chilli sauces along with steamed peas. Delicious! Thanks for this winner of a recipe!
You are so very welcome!
Made these with salmon trimings and they turned out great. Definitely will make them again!
A great recipe and so easy to make. I used leftover salmon with an added can of tuna.
It made 14 patties and all were delicious. Your suggestion about the tartar sauce made me want to try it was delightful. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you
Delicious, added some dill instead of parsley . Dipped them in Chipotle mayo .Yummy. Thanks for the recipe
Lovely recipe! added a little grated green zuchinni, chopped celery, a pinch of Old Bay Seasoning and paprika to the outer bread crumbs.
That sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Emma!
No bread crumbs in ours … puree a few raw shrimp ! Also add dill.
Easy and healthy dinner! My picky eater ate every bite especially the tartar sauce! This recipe will be on a weekly repeat. Thank you!
You are very welcome, Natalie!
We made these last night and used the flat top start to finish, with 2 beautiful salmon filets absolutely hands down the best and our guests were so happy and thoroughly enjoyed them yay easy and tasty tasty 😋 if I could post the pics I would for sure
Hi Tommy! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m so glad they worked out and were enjoying! You can tag me on instagram or Facebook. #natashaskitchen
This recipe is a winner! I don’t even like salmon cakes (or thought I didn’t) but had leftover salmon so tried it. So delicious! Making again for friends tomorrow. Thank you for this!
Hi Paula. That’s so great to hear. Thank you for trying the recipe and for the wonderful feedback.
I am diabetic and didn’t want to use bread crumbs. I used ground almonds instead. So delicious. And my husband loved them too
That’s a great substitution, and I’m so glad it worked well!
These are excellent 👌
Your recipe turns out exactly how you say it does delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Vickie!
Can you make the salmon cake mixture up the night before cooking?
Hi Nancy! Yes, you can refrigerate them
and cook them later. Just separate them with some parchment paper.
These were delicious. This is the first time I have used a recipe to make salmon cakes. I’ve always made them like my mom had. These were so much better. Sorry mom.
Hi Teresa!
Thank you for trying the recipe! So glad you loved it.
Best I’ve ever had, also. Excellent flavor! Very easy to make. Your recipe is easy to follow. Do you have one for crab cakes?….. Also, years back I had a recipe for crab bisque that I have since lost. It was delicious. I remember that it had pimento and chives in it.🤞
Hi William! I’m so glad you loved it. We sure do have a Crab cakes recipe . You can type it into the search bar at the top of the page.
Made with canned salmon. It came out great. My family loved them.
That’s great to hear, Rosie!
I get compliments all the time when I make these. I gave someone the recipe and they used canned salmon. She said they weren’t good. Definitely use fresh salmon and follow the recipe. Delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Cathy!
So yummy even with canned salmon. I used a roasted Hatch green chili instead of bell pepper. I have I’ll try with fresh salmon when I get a chance.
Excellent recipe. Definitely recommend because it was a big hit!
Delicious! I made xtra to freeze for lunches at school