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 had some extra salmon I had grilled nice before last and decided on trying these. They were absolutely amazing. I didn’t have red pepper so used green, added some dill and red pepper flakes. Super delicious. Don’t forget the homemade tartar sauce too. Yummm — Super easy and quick dinner.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Shirley! Thank you for sharing that with me!
I made these tonight. They were so good!!
That’s so great Janice!
How did you make the dip
Hi Sheri. We made it with this Homemade Tartar Sauce Recipe.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. My husband found it on Facebook and asked me to make your salmon cakes recipe. My family and I loved it. A few of my cakes didn’t keep its formed when cooking on stove. Any suggestions. Plan to make these cakes regularly.
Hi Laura! I’m happy you enjoyed that! I would be more than happy to troubleshoot. Did the shape change after cooking or did they fall apart?
Only a few of my salmon cakes fell apart when I flipped them. I may add a little more bread crumbs the next time. Overall, they were golden brown on the outside and had a lot of flavor. We really enjoyed them!!!
They may have been too dry. Add another egg or up the mayo a bit
This was perfect to use up some old salmon I had in my freezer! Thank you for a great recipe!
You’re so welcome Susan! I’m happy you enjoyed that!
Where is the tartar sauce recipe? I guess I am blind. I could not find it.
Hi Sarah we have it in the recipe description but I can definitely link it for you here. Enjoy!
it’s highlighted in red in the recipe
…just click on it
AMAZING!!!!! So delicious! I used Almond flour-approx 3/4 cup instead of bread crumbs as I am on the KETO diet. I made the tarter sauce as well (YUM!) Also substituted sugar with a Keto friendly sugar substitute. No more frozen salmon patty for this girl!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite! Thank you for the great review, Jacolyn!
My daughter smoked salmon yesterday just a little to long. I used it to make these patties and they are awesome. I’m not a huge salmon fan, but these may change my mind. They are delicious! Thank you for a perfect recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Recipe calls for temp. of 425 but all parchment paper products caution against temp. above 420.
What to do ?
It was fine in our oven. I would suggest just watching it closely!
I made these last night for dinner. The whole family loved it. Wonderful recipe. FYI I used canned salmon.
Hi Cathy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
How about adding your homemade tarter sauce.
Thanks, Betsy
Hi Betsy! Yes we use this homemade tartar saucee with this recipe!
OMG..I JUST MADE THE SALMON CAKES, WONDERFUL! AND I USED CANNED SALMON, can’t wait to try it with fresh salmon or crab….it was delicious with no tweaking, thank you
You’re so welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed that! Thank you for the great review!
Just got back from a bucket-list trip to Alaska and brought back 50 lbs of salmon! Going to make this tonight; I’ve got EVERYTHING in the pantry to make it!
That sounds amazing Kitty! Thank you for sharing that with us!
Just made them…excellent! So easy, and so good! I followed the recipe to the letter. Can’t wait to have them again for lunch tomorrow, and Monday at work, too! Yummy!
So happy you liked these Kitty! Thanks for the great review!
I made these tonight with some leftover salmon, and they were great, if a little under-seasoned to my taste. I omitted the red bell pepper since we didn’t have any though, and that might have helped. I used greek yogurt instead of mayo, which worked very well. Next time, I think i’ll add some salt, pepper, and probably Old Bay. It’s a fabulous basic recipe though- I love how easy it is to mix up!
That’s so great Jen! Thank you for the wonderful review! I’m happy it worked out for you!
Wow, I should really learn to read the recipe all the way through! I added everything listed in the recipe card to my bowl, not seeing to add more garlic salt and pepper in step 3. If I’d done that I’m sure it would have been perfect!
Hi, I love your recipes. Typically, when a recipe calls for mayo, I sub in Greek yogurt. Do you think that will work here? Thanks
Cecilia
Hi Cecilia! I haven’t tried making this without mayo. I would recommend searching through the comments to see what others have tried it with. I’ve seen ranch used so far. 🙂
Hey I want to triple the recipe and I am not the best cook so my question is how much garlic salt should I use? I don’t want to over do it the first time I make them
I would recommend following the recipe exactly and use as much garlic as you would like. If you like less garlic then use less 🙂
These salmon patties were delicious. I made them for my sister not knowing she did not like salmon. She never let on. She tried it and ate several. She told me the story the next day and said “I told Tom (her husband) I ate salmon and it was very good”. So you won over a salmon hater and saved my family dinner as well.
Wow! What a great review! That’s so awesome!I’m so happy you were able to influence that with our recipe! Thank you for sharing that with me Kevin!
How many cans of salmon if you don’t have fresh.
Honestly, I haven’t tried it with canned salmon but one of our users has. Heres what she said “in place of the fresh salmon I used 2 cans (5 oz each) of Starkist Pink Salmon and in place of olive oil, I used avocado oil. Will be making this one again soon.” I hope this helps, Linda!
I used frozen fillet from the grocery. I used 5 to estimate a pound, it doesn’t have to be exact. It was delicious. If you have to use canned you can guess it pretty close if get a can or a combination of cans or even packets to equal 16 ounces. I would use packets before canned. They are already cooked so will make it faster. Dry the packets or canned as best you can or it might not hold together very well. Try to get it done on one side before flipping so it doesn’t fall apart.
Thank you for sharing that with all of us Kevin.
I saw that it made 13-14 patties…how many servings…4 or 6?
Hi Denisse, I would say 4-6 sounds about right. It all depends how big or small you make them
I used a cookie dough scoop got 18 patties. Next time I will make them a little bigger. 6 polite people and 4 hungry people would be the answer.
Sounds delicious! Do you think leftovers would freeze well?
Hi Donna! I imagine cooked patties would freeze well but I’m not sure if the patties would fall apart or not if they are frozen before cooking. If you experiment, let me know how it goes!
I would cook them first because of the egg & mayo. Then freeze them.
I have made this recipe twice (they are so delicious!) and can tell you they freeze nicely. Cool them completely and put two squares of waxed paper between each patty so they don’t stick to each other and you can remove as many as you like at a time. Store them in an airtight container in the freezer. They can be reheated in the microwave or at low heat in a skillet.