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
These are truly the best I’ve ever eaten! Will never make another. I made a double batch, so glad I did, didn’t have panko so subbed 1-1/2 c Italian breadcrumbs, and used canned salmon. The tartar sauce was also excellent. This was a gem recipe to find!! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Delicious flavor! I use a small packet of salmon and have yet to achieve the correct ratio with bread crumbs to avoid their falling apart when cooking. Still tasty, though.
Hi Natasha!
Can I make these with canned tuna? If so, is there some modification I should make?
Thank you!
Kathleen
I have not tested that to advise but I think it could work with well-drained tuna.
I used canned salmon and the patties were delicious. The neighbors loved them as well.
That’s great, Tom! Thank you for sharing.
My wife was out with the grandkids all afternoon, so after work, I decided to use some leftover BBQ salmon to make patties for dinner. First time using your recipe and they were a big hit with both of us! Thanks, Natasha!
Nice! Thanks for sharing and I hope you’ll love the recipes that you will try.
Hi Natasha!
Thank you for your great channel!
& amazing & helpful directions to your recipes! I made this tonight, & it was outstanding! I used 2 packs of 5 oz each of wild salmon, & instead of the home-made tartar sauce, I used my avocado mayo! They were just perfect! I served it with spaghetti squash! & oh, thank you for your smile! Blessings to you! 😊
That’s so great, Amy! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Made these today and my family loved them. I left out the parsley and used sweet chilli Panko.
So delicious and easy to make !
Hi Kristine! I’m so happy that this recipe was enjoyed. Thank you for sharing, the chili panko sounds amazing! 🙂
Love these salmon cakes. I fell in love with your Cottage cheese pancakes and tried these. Wow. Delicious.
Hi Linda, I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try.
Love these and have made made several times.
Can I make Pattys and freeze before frying?
Hi Michele, 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!
Thank you 🙏🏻 My whole family loved them. Absolutely delicious. I made it with your tartar sauce 😋https://natashaskitchen.com/2012/02/04/tartar-sauce-recipe/
That’s wonderful. So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
This recipe is delicious! I made the tartar sauce too and it was out of this world! I do have one question though. As soon as I put the patties in the frying pan they fell apart and I ended up just frying the mixture together in the pan. Do you have any advice for ensuring the patties keep their form in the pan?
Hi Hayley. So glad you enjoyed this recipe. If the salmon mixture is too dry it will be harder to hold a patty shape. If that is the case, then add an extra tablespoon of mayo and if it is too moist, add more bread crumbs. When I shape them, I make sure they are nice and tight as well. I hope that helps.
This was so delicious and easy to follow! I didn’t use garlic salt or any salt, but rather garlic powder. It turned out very flavorful. I also used a meatball scoop since I didn’t have an ice cream one and got 18 smaller patties vs 14.
Thank you for the feedback, Trish! So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Substituting Salmon: If desired, you can substitute the first 4 ingredients listed with 15 oz of well-drained canned salmon or salmon in packets. Is this supposed to mean you can skip the first four steps or would you really leave out the ingredients garlic salt, olive oil, and pepper?
Hi, yes that is correct, since the first 4 ingredients are used to cook raw salmon, you don’t need them if you are using canned salmon.
We cook salmon at least once a week. There is always leftover to make salmon croquettes. Your recipe is the best and easiest! Prepping for patties right now- just had to stop and say thanks for this great recipe.
Hi Cis! Thank you so very much for the great feedback.
Love this! Added sautéed jalapeños, sweet peppers instead of red pepper and added some chopped fresh spinach for nutrition. They were great!!
Thank you for the great feedback, Elizabeth!
Followed recipe exactly using canned salmon. Delicious! I also served with the homemade tartar sauce, which complemented the salmon perfectly.
Sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing with us. I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Just wanted to let everybody know … make these croquettes and her tarter sauce, toute suite! I made both on 3/4/22, exactly as recipes given, no subs or ‘tweaks’. Both recipes are delicious, and easy to prepare. I’ve made 5 recipes so far from this site, and got rave reviews on all of them. Love this site!
Hello Lucy, thanks a lot for sharing that with us. I am happy to hear that you are loving the recipes!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback, Lucy!
These should be called”not my mamas salmon patties”!delicious and quick. I also made the tarter sauce which again is delicious
We’ve come to depend on you for really yummy recipes. Believe me when I tell you it is a high honor that my husband asked me to “see if Natasha has a recipe for salmon patties.” 🙂 We’ll be trying this recipe this weekend, and we know it will be delicious!
Wonderful! I hope you love it!
These look wonderful. I’m making Friday for Lent, plus your tarter sauce to go along with them. The only change is that I’ll be making with canned red salmon. Next time I make, I’ll make with the fresh salmon as written. I’ve made quite a few of your creations, and they ALL were delicious, especially the lamb stew. I’ve pretty much deleted all other recipe blogs I’ve followed in the past, after discovering your site. I’ve received many compliments on your dishes I’ve made, and I’ve been most happy to direct all my friends here.
My question is the parsley. Do you use Italian or the curly one? My mother made salmon and tuna patties during Lent, and they were simple, but oh so good. My mom passed away last August, and sadly she never wrote down her recipes for her fish patties. Your recipe sounds very similar to hers, but she used a green bell pepper and regular bread crumbs, not panko, and I think a bit more mayo? And fried in a coating of corn meal. Anyhow, I’m looking forward to these, as they remind me of her during this Lenten season.
Lastly, upon reading your bio, I see you are Ukrainian. My thoughts and prayers to your family and relatives during this *horrible* and sad time for your country.
Hi Lucy, great to see your message and thank you for your good comments and feedback. I appreciate your sweet message. I usually use curly for presentation as it just looks better. Thanks for your prayers, it means a lot to us
Just wanted to let everybody know … make these croquettes and her tarter sauce, toute suite! I made both on 3/4/22, exactly as recipes given, no subs or ‘tweaks’. Both recipes are delicious, and easy to prepare. I’ve made 5 recipes so far from this site, and got rave reviews on all of them. Love this site!