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 made the Salmon Patties today and they are delicious.. I didn’t have enough Panko bread crumbs so I mixed with Italian bread crumbs, I also did not have the Red Bell Peppers so I used Green. Like I said they were delicious. I used canned Salmon.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Donna! Thank you for the wonderful review! I love that you were able to make it your own and used what you had on hand!
How many cans did you use?
Could you bake them? My husband is on a low fat/low sodium diet but I’d love to make these for him.
Hi Georgeanne! One of my readers reported good results baking but I haven’t heard back with the details on bake time and temperature. If you test it out that way, let me know how you like them baked.
To Ms. Georgeanne Henderson;
I have made these many times and they are so delicious.
If this helps, I often omit the oil and cook them with Pam Spray and they come out really great too.
I’ve been using the Air Fryer, and it does wonders!!! 🙂
Hi Monique, can you share the settings you use for this recipe on your air fryer? Thank you so much!
How do you make the tartar sauce?, maybe I missed it
Hi Shirley, You can find my tartar sauce recipe here! Enjoy!
I am not fond of salmon, but decided to try this recipe as we are trying to get more fish in our diet and I am so glad I did they were delicious my husband loved them too. I have stocked up on salmon, as it will be a weekly dish for us.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
We eat a lot of salmon but my husband said he was not particularly fond of salmon patties. Probably one of thosechildhood things. I made these tonight and he said they were the best salmon patties he had ever eaten. He even posted a rave review on his facebook page!
That’s so awesome! We’d love to see his review, have him tag @natashaskitchen on facebook! Thank you for the wonderful review, Barb. I’m happy to hear you both enjoyed that!
I made them tonight and I added OBay with lemon seasoning. They were so Good!! WE will make these again and again! I served them with sweet cabbage slaw and seasoned roasted thin sliced potatos with melted mozzarella.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Thank you for sharing all your beautiful recipes. You are a five star chef!
Aww thank you! & thank you for sharing your great review!
Thank you for sharing all your beautiful recipes.
Thank you for that wonderful compliment!
First thing I noticed was the Fiestaware! Love it! I am 4th generation of Fiestaware lovers. Making the Salmon patties tomorrow with slight variation for Keto (almond flour instead of panko) and I like the added celery idea.
Great idea! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Can this be frozen? Before cooking or after?
They were delicious. I didn’t have Worcestershire or mayo so I used some A-1 & ranch dressing. Yum!
Hi Mary, 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 made these for lunch today and I have to tell you, “these are yumolicious!” We LOVED them. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I am not a salmon lover, but I am trying to include more of it in our diet. I am constantly looking for new ways to prepare it and haven’t found much I like. This is a recipe I will use again! I was going to make the tartar sauce, but only had low-fat mayonnaise on hand and didn’t want to use that because the taste is never the same.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Needs just a bit of minced celery sauteed with the pepper/onion to move it into the outstanding category.
Thank you for the wonderful review, Jack!
These are amazing, so good packed with so much flavor.
Thank you for the wonderful review!
They look delicious.
They sure are delicious!
From original salmon patty receipe, how many will it serve?
Hi Dolly, This recipe makes about 13-14 patties.
If using canned salmon (and preferring red sockeye) I have to ask if pink salmon would be good (as I have several cans I need to use) ?
Honestly, I haven’t tried it with pink 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.” Hope this helps Mary!
I will try this recipe because it sounds better than the one I currently use, and the tarter sauce recipe as well.
Awesome! I’m so happy you discovered our blog.
What is the recipe for the dipping sauce, YUM!
You can try it with this tartar sauce. 🙂
For those that have tried frying then freezing, what is the best way to heat them back up?
People have reported great results after freezing them. I haven’t seen any specific re-heating reviews just yet.