This Salmon Patties Recipe makes flaky, tender, and flavorful fritters with crisp edges and plenty of flaked salmon, the hallmark of the very best salmon patties. These are so easy to make with leftover cooked salmon or canned salmon and work great as an appetizer, side, or main dish.
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Each week, my whole family gathers at my mom’s house for Sunday night dinner, potluck style. I love to bring easy-to-transport appetizers and sides, like my Jalapeno Poppers, Stuffed Mushrooms, and Grape Jelly Meatballs, that make it easy for a crowd of people to feast!
These Salmon Patties are perfect for our family meals since they travel well, stay crispy, and can be served using just your fingers (ok, you could also use a serving utensil, but that’s extra dishes!).
Easy Salmon Patties Recipe
My whole family loves to eat these easy salmon patties, especially served with my Homemade Tartar Sauce, and I love how easy it is to make!
If you’re looking to start with fresh salmon, you’ll love our Salmon Cakes Recipe, but this recipe for salmon patties is a smart way to make a quick batch on busy weeknights with either leftover cooked salmon or well-drained, canned salmon (or even salmon packets) which you may already have in your pantry.
These are such a treat, and even folks who don’t usually like salmon enjoy this recipe. They always disappear fast and are even faster to make.
How to Make Salmon Patties
- Cook the Veggies – Saute the onion and bell pepper in a pan for 7-9 minutes and then remove from heat.
- Mix the Patties – Mix salmon, peppers and onions, bread crumbs, egg, mayo, Worcestershire, garlic salt, pepper, and parsley in a large bowl. Then, use a heaping Tablespoon to measure the mixture and your hands to form patties.
- Cook the Patties – Melt oil and butter in a clean skillet, and place the salmon patties into the skillet in one layer, sauteeing each side for 3-4 minutes until browned. Place cooked patties on a paper-towel-lined plate, and then serve, garnished with fresh parsley.
How to Serve Salmon Patties
You can also serve these salmon patties for lunch, dinner or appetizers – they are versatile and can even be served in Hamburger Buns as salmon burgers, simply form them a little larger in step 3. They also pair well with these dishes:
- Strawberry Salad with Honey Vinaigrette
- Tomato Cucumber Mozzarella Salad
- Macaroni Salad
- Avocado Corn Salad
- Smashed Potato Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Oven Roasted Broccoli
Make-Ahead
Cool any leftover salmon patties and store them in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
- To Refrigerate: place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: freeze for up to 3 months
- To Reheat: Thaw overnight in the fridge. You can eat the patty cold or reheat in a skillet or air fryer until heated through
This recipe for Salmon Patties will soon become your favorite appetizer or main dish. The crispy outside and moist, flavorful inside work perfectly with my homemade tartar sauce. Try this easy recipe today!
More Easy Salmon Recipes
Once you have tried this Salmon Patties recipe, check out some of my Best Salmon Recipes.
- Baked Salmon Recipe
- Honey Glazed Salmon
- Air Fryer Salmon
- Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon
- Teriyaki Salmon
- Tuscan Salmon
- Pan Seared Salmon with Lemon Butter
Easy Salmon Patties Recipe
Ingredients
- 14-15 oz canned salmon or salmon in packets, well drained
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, 1 cup, finely diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise*
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp garlic salt, or sub with 1/2 tsp fine sea salt and 1/4 tsp garlic powder, or season to taste
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely minced
Instructions
- Set 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, bread crumbs, beaten eggs, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, black pepper, and 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 patties.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
I make these a lot, from someone who never liked salmon cakes, these are the best.
Sounds like you found your favorite there Daryl! Thank you for sharing that with us!
Ive made these a few times and they are so good! Well worth the extra time
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
If I use canned salmon, do I still bake in oven?
Hi Julie! Several of our readers have reported using canned Salmon. They followed the process the same 🙂 Hope this helps
We love salmon patties. Been making them for years. The one thing different that I do is adding juice of a lemon.
Thank you for sharing that with us Karen!
I used your recipe for Salmon patties but substituted crab meat for the salmon and added about 1 teaspoon of cajun seasoning. It was a winning new dish for our family.
Hi Van! I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Van, you gave me an idea … I’m not a big fan of Cajun seasoning so I’m going to try using Old Bay seasoning with crab meat.
I tried your recipe yesterday and made it gluten-free by adding GF bread crumbs. Omg, they were soooo delicious. Thank you.
That’s so awesome! We love seeing you all sharing GF options for our recipes! I’m sure our readers will find this helpful. Thank you Nicole!
Hello Natasha, I tried this recipe at a spare of the moment. WOW WOW. This is the best, outstanding. I sub the red/ yellow peppers for home grown baby tomato’s. Still great. Thank you
That’s so great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I tried these last night. I loved them. They are slightly different from mine, but just as good. The worchestershire added some good flavor, and I was skeptical. Nice recipe.
Thank you Jackie! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
I have never really cooked anything before(only grilled) and your video and instructions made it so easy!! Surprised my wife and she absolutely loved them!!! thank you!
What an amazing surprise for her! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review with us, Tracy!
I have been making these for years. But I use crushed soda crackers instead of bread crumbs. Will try that next. I make a horseradish sauce, that we like instead of tartar.
That’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear that!
Will you share your recipe for horseradish sauce?
I have made these a few times! Best salmon patties I have ever had! Family lives them! I do substitute the bread crumbs for crushed pork rinds but everything else remains the same! Delicious!
What a great idea, Jessica! Sounds like you found a new family favorite!
WHAT KIND OF DIP IS ON THE SIDE?
Hi Marilyn, I used homemade tartar sauce.
Yummmmm! My daughter who cannot stand salmon loved them!
I’ve added double the amount of parsley and a bit of freshly chopped onion to mask the salmon taste a bit more.
Thank you!
I am so happy to hear that!! 🙂 And I lvoe your idea of doubling the parsley and adding onion. brilliant!
made these and they were delicious! the only thing I did different was substitute breadcrumbs with almond meal/parm cheese mix. I used 1/2 cup of each. Mixture seemed too wet still, so I added a little more almond meal and seemed to do the trick 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Julie!
Every recipe I try is awesome. Thank you so much for making things easy and delicious.
What an amazing review! Thanks for following and taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment, Gloria!!
Made the cakes and tartar sauce last night – BEST salmon cakes ever and I’ll never buy tartar again!!! Wow – my hubby is not a huge fish fan, I gave him 3 cakes and he went back for more – that’s a first!!!
That’s so great, Karen! Thank you for sharing that with us!
These are delicious ! A keeper recipe for sure!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sue! Thank you for the wonderful review!
HI Natasha, I eat keto so I am going to have a go and substitute the breadcrumbs with coconut flour I will let you know how it goes. I think I can play around with the tartare too and make that too. I have a friend coming for lunch on Wednesday and that is on the menu. Wish me luck. Cheers Yvonne Staniforth
Hi Yvonne, I haven’t heard of anyone using coconut flour for these salmon patties, but one of my readers wrote in with a very helpful review on that: ” Made this to the recipe – except I used almond meal instead of bread crumbs. It was a huge hit, as was the tartar sauce.”
They were wonderful Natasha and I have since made them with coriander instead of parsley and used lime and that made them more Asian influenced and they were amazing. Love your recipes and I can usually tweak them to fit Keto way of eating. Thank you
You’re welcome!
I plan to make these this week and serve them over a bed of mixed greens with a little tartar sauce as dressing. Does it matter what kind of fresh salmon I use? Can I buy sockeye since it’s a bit cheaper, or would you recommend using Atlantic or something else?
Hi Anna I think Sockeye will work just fine! If you decide to splurge and get one of the better ones please let me know if you like them any better.
Made these today delicious! But what the dip recipe you use?
Hi Miranda! We use this tartar sauce recipe 🙂