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These salmon patties are flaky, tender and so flavorful. The crisp edges and big bites of flaked salmon are the hallmark of these salmon patties. They are the real deal! It’s no wonder these salmon cakes have been so popular (read the glowing reviews here).
This is an easy and excellent way to use leftover salmon and it is worth it to cook the salmon just for this (instructions below). For busy weeknights, you can substitute with well-drained canned salmon or the salmon in packets which you may already have in your pantry!
I hope you all love these salmon patties and the easy homemade tartar sauce that goes with them.
Watch How to Make Salmon Patties:
These salmon patties are such a treat and even folks who don’t normally like salmon enjoy this recipe. They always disappear fast!
P.S. Serve salmon cakes with this irresistible homemade tartar sauce. P.S. Once you try homemade and realize how easy it is, there’s just no going back to store-bought tartar sauce. It is so much better in every way!
⬇ Print-Friendly Salmon Patties Recipe:
Salmon Patties Recipe (VIDEO)
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh salmon filet*
- 3 Tbsp Olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp Garlic salt, I used Lawry's Brand, to taste
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper, or to taste
- 1 medium yellow onion, 1 cup, finely diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely minced
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 425˚F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner. Place salmon in the center, skin-side-down, drizzle with olive oil, and season with garlic salt and black pepper. Bake uncovered for 10-15 min (depending on thickness), or just until cooked through. Remove from oven, cover with foil, and rest for 10 min. Flake salmon with 2 forks discarding skin and any bones then set aside and cool to room temp.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat with 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Add diced onion and bell pepper and saute until golden and softened (7-9 minutes) then remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flaked salmon, sautéed pepper and onion, 1 cup bread crumbs, 2 beaten eggs, 3 Tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp garlic salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Stir to combine. Form into patties (about a heaping Tablespoonful each) and mold with your hands into 2" wide by 1/3 to 1/2" thick patties.**
- In a clean non-stick pan, heat 1 Tbsp oil and 1 Tbsp butter until hot then add salmon patties in a single layer. Saute for 3 to 4 min per side or until golden brown and cooked through. If salmon patties brown too fast, reduce heat. Remove finished patties to a paper-towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining oil, butter, and salmon cakes.
Notes
**Cook's Tip: If the salmon mixture is too dry to hold a patty shape, add an extra tablespoon of mayo and if it is too moist, add more bread crumbs. --Store Leftovers - Cool and place salmon patties in an airtight container. Refrigerate for 3 days or freeze for 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and then eat cold, or reheat in a skillet or air fryer until warmed.
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
That pretty blue serving platter can be found here. I have these in different sizes and colors. I love their bold colors and how sturdy and chip resistant Fiestaware is – meant to last a lifetime.
You can serve these for lunch, dinner, appetizers – they are so versatile and these salmon patties can even be used in sandwiches as salmon burgers, just form them a little larger. And if you LOVE salmon recipes, don’t miss our #1 of all time baked salmon recipe!
Q: Have you tried these yet? Let me know what you thought of them in a comment below.
Have a memorable and happy 4th of July!! 🙂 The 4th just happens to be my husbands birthday so if you’re on Instagram that day, feel free to flood his page with happy birthday wishes. Thanks friends!
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Can the egg be omitted? The patties look wonderful! Thank you…
Hi Frannie, I haven’t tried anything besides eggs so I can’t advise on that.
I made this for lunch, even though I missed a few things up I didn’t do it exactly the way I was supposed to step by step but it came out just as good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve made this receipe several times. We love it. This time I didn’t realize my on hand panka was herb flavored but didn’t want to go to the grocery……I didn’t like the smell or flavor the first day but next day WOW! it all melded together. We always have enough for two meals. Love your recipes!
I’m so happy it all worked out, Martha! Thank you for your lovely review!
Just made these for dinner tonight and they were SO GOOD! I used canned salmon, so I can imagine how much more amazing they’d be with fresh! I just added some dill to the patties, but kept everything else the same. This will be my go-to salmon patty recipe from now on!
Hello Ashley, thanks a lot for sharing. I’m glad that you loved tese patties using canned salmon. I hope you can try fresh next time as it’s so good!
These look amazing. 14 patties are way too many for the 2 of us..although I could reduce the recipe. Can these be frozen? Would love to have some on hand
Hi Kathy! I saw someone else shared this. “I make salmon cakes in large batches frequently and they are usually a close version to this recipe. I patty them up, pre-freeze on a cookie sheet, then vacuum seal them before storing them in the freezer. They are great and you can cook from frozen the same as fresh. I always cook mine on a greased cookie sheet at 400-425.” I hope that helps!
The best recipe for salmon patties I have ever made! My 88yr old father ate them until he was miserable! He said that he didn’t even like salmon, until he had your salmon patty recipe. I also made your tartar sauce, also delish! My son took the leftover sauce home and used it for dip with his chips! I recommend this recipe to everyone. If you love crab cakes then you will love these!
That’s amazing, Sherry! Thank you so much for the feedback.
I would have left a picture but I’m not the best at forming patties and they weren’t pretty, but it didn’t matter cause they were delicious! The perfect amount of each ingredient.
Hi Shiri! I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
I do not like watching a, how to video. Would much rather read it. Consider it saving time. If I find an item in the list able to flip away. Not forced to view something readable.
The written recipe with ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page. You can also click on “jump to recipe” for a short cut.
The only sub I made was green pepper since I had everything on hand. I grilled my salmon but the butcher gave me way too much for a meal so I used the leftover for this. Then I had one patty left over and the next day put that on a toasted brioche bun with lettuce and mayo. With or without the bun both were excellent. I’m always going to buy more than I need.
One of the best recipes I’ve EVER made! Just delicious! I actually prefer them cold with no tartar sauce! Just ate the last one and defrosting more salmon to make another batch. Thank you!!
Thank you so much for this wonderful review, Krista. Appreciate it!
Love these! I used Italian breadcrumbs and hot sauce instead of Worcestershire… I have friends that don’t care for salmon that love the patties. I also make extra for an English Muffin, hot mustard and salmon patty for lunch ~ yum!!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Yvonne!
We love salmon! I need to make these, my hubby will love them, been surprising him with recipes from your book 📕 💜🥰
That’s lovely! I hope you’ll both enjoy all of the recipes that you will try.
I have been making these salmon cakes for years now and they are the family favorite. They are amazeballs!!! Thanks Natasha.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I used this recipe after looking at many. I made over a dozen bun sized patties and my family ate them all. My 11 year old grandson even loved them.
Thank you for choosing our recipe. It’s great to haer that your family and grandson enjoyed them too!
Hands-down, best salmon patties I ever had getting ready to make them for the second time
I’m so glad to hear that!
I do some side catering and a frequent customer asked me to make salmon patties for her sister who was recovery from a surgery about 4 weeks ago. All I knew was they had to be delicious…I used your recipe and they were DELICIOUS! I paired it with a dill sauce & romoulade sauce, harvest carrots, slow cooked southern green beans, creamy mashed potatoes. The report back from my customer was rave reviews! Thank you.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Jennifer. I’m all smiles
Wondering if these could be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated a day before frying them?
It would still work well to pre-mold them, then cover and refrigerate until ready to cook later in the day or the next day.
I have a refrigerated package of Honey Smoked Salmon from the Honey Smoked Fish Co. Will this work?
Hi Sandy. I think it can. The flavor will be different because of the smoked flavoring.
Absolutely delicious! My family loved these so much and they turned out perfectly. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. There hasn’t been a recipe of yours I’ve tried that hasn’t been just absolutely fantastic!
Aw, thank you. I’m so glad to hear that. You’re very welcome.
Thankyou Natasha! these are absolutely beautiful and will be saving to make again next week to get more fish in our families diet!
So pleased to have stumbled across your page!
I served these with cauliflower bake and baked garlic butter beans and broccoli.
Sounds great! I’m so glad that you loved this recipe a lot.