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
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.