Salmon Cakes
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Made from fresh salmon and dill, these salmon cakes are as elegant as crab cakes but so much more affordable to make.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
When I told my friend and Once Upon a Chef right hand, Betsy Goldstein, about these salmon cakes, she said, “Hmmm…I think I’ll wait until some of the reviews roll in to try those.” I laughed because I knew she was thinking of the version made from canned salmon that many of us grew up on. I promise: these are a whole different animal. Made from fresh raw salmon and seasoned with Old Bay, they’re as elegant as crab cakes yet so much more affordable to make. What’s more, they can be made entirely ahead of time and reheated.
I love these salmon cakes for brunch over a green salad with vinaigrette, but they also make a delicious dinner alongside rice pilaf and roasted asparagus. Either way, they are wonderful with my easy homemade tartar sauce.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Salmon Cakes
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, finely dice the salmon into 1/4-inch pieces (or smaller). It’s important that the pieces are not too large or the cakes won’t bind together easily.
Set the salmon aside and, in a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, Old Bay, salt, and pepper.
Whisk to combine.
Add the diced salmon, ¼ cup of the panko, the scallions, the celery, and the dill.
Gently mix until uniformly combined.
Place the remaining 1 cup of panko in a shallow dish or pie plate.
Using a 1/3-cup measure, scoop the salmon mixture and form into a compact cake about 1 inch high. Place the salmon cake into the reserved panko and gently coat it all over in crumbs.
Repeat with the remaining mixture to form about 9 cakes. (At this point, you can refrigerate the cakes for up to a few hours before cooking, if you’d like.)
Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the salmon cakes in the skillet and cook without moving until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Carefully flip the cakes and cook until second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Reduce the heat to medium if the cakes are browning too quickly.
Transfer cakes to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Repeat with the remaining cakes (no need to change the oil).
Serve warm with tartar sauce and enjoy!
Video Tutorial
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Salmon Cakes
Made from fresh salmon and dill, these salmon cakes are as elegant as crab cakes but so much more affordable to make.
Ingredients
For the Salmon Cakes
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1¼ lb skinless salmon fillet, finely diced into ¼-inch pieces (see note)
- 1¼ cups panko bread crumbs, divided
- ¼ cup thinly sliced scallions, from 3 to 4 scallions, light and dark green parts
- ⅓ cup finely diced celery, from 2 stalks
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- Salad greens with vinaigrette, tartar sauce and/or lemon wedges, for serving (see note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, Old Bay, salt, and pepper. Add the diced salmon, ¼ cup of the panko, the scallions, the celery, and the dill. Gently mix until uniformly combined.
- Place the remaining 1 cup of panko in a shallow dish or pie plate. Using a ⅓-cup measure, scoop the salmon mixture and form into a compact cake about 1 inch high. Place the salmon cake into the panko and gently coat it all over in crumbs. Repeat with the remaining mixture to form about 9 cakes. (At this point, you can refrigerate the salmon cakes for a few hours until ready to cook, if you'd like.)
- Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place half of the salmon cakes in the skillet and cook without moving until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip the cakes and cook until second side is golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Reduce the heat to medium if the cakes are browning too quickly. Transfer cakes to paper towel–lined plate to drain. Repeat with the remaining cakes (no need to change the oil). Serve warm.
- Note: If buying a skin-on salmon fillet, purchase 1⅓ pounds of fish to yield 1¼ pounds of fish after skinning.
- Make-Ahead: The salmon cakes can be fully cooked and refrigerated up to several hours ahead of time. To reheat: preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the salmon cakes in the oven and cook until crisp on the exterior and warm throughout, 10 to 15 minutes. The cakes may also be frozen for up to 3 months; defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cooked salmon cakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. Once cool, lay them out on one (or more) foil-lined baking sheet(s) and cover them loosely with plastic wrap. Freeze the patties in a single layer for about an hour, then remove them from the freezer. Wrap the cakes individually in plastic wrap and then put them together in a freezer bag or airtight container. Before serving, defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 salmon cake
- Calories: 280
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 14 g
- Sodium: 222 mg
- Cholesterol: 37 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Flavor is good. Needs a bit more salt. But completely falls apart when trying to cook so you end up with crumbs much like hamburger which has been separated while cooking but definitely NOT cakes. Am really sorry as I like salmon cakes but this one is a disaster and definitely not worth the effort needed to make it. Will not go through this much work for so little reward again.
Did you refrigerate them before cooking?
Hello Jenn,
Could I use canned Red Sockeye Salmon ? If so please give me an idea of the amount of salmon I would need. I was just gifted your latest book, 70 Quick Fix Dinners. Recipes all look and sound exactly what I need in my life right now for my family ! Look forward to cooking up a storm.
Thank you so much !
Yvonne
So glad you like the recipes, Yvonne (and hope you enjoy those in the cookbook too)! I haven’t made these with canned salmon, but a number of other readers have commented that they have with good results. And I’d use 1¼ pounds (so 20 ounces). I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Everybody in our family loves this dish! Kids are usually not big fan of seafood, but they loved this one! The most troublesome work is cutting salmon into small pieces. And coating salmon cake with panko is a delicate job. Other than that, it’s a fairly simple and straightforward process. Thank you for the recipe!
These salmon cakes were on point! Made these together with my teenage son. Had a great time making these delicious cakes and expanding the list of go-to meals. Thanks so much for these Jenn!
I really want to make these – they look delicious. I did give 5 stars, even though I haven’t made them yet, because I’m certain they are excellent! My question: I’m on an austerity budget right now….would it be so awful if I substituted canned, wild-caught salmon for the fresh salmon? If I did do that, are there alterations in the recipe you would suggest?
Hi Linda, I haven’t made these with canned salmon, but a number of other readers have commented that they have with good results. (I don’t think you’d need to make any modifications to the recipe.) Please LMK how they turn out if you try it!
Second time making the salmon cakes. They are delicious, tonight I am trying them in the air fryer.
How did they turn out in the air fryer?
I made these salmon cakes last night and they were delicious! It was a bit time consuming, but well worth the work. The only thing I did differently was left out the dill, which I did not mean to do. After I formed the patties I noticed my 2 tablespoons of chopped dill sitting on a cutting board – well shoot (not exactly what I said). Next I made the tartar sauce you included with this recipe, and the only thing I did differently was to add 2 tablespoons of chopped dill ;o) It also was delicious and paired nicely with the salmon cakes.
These were wonderful! A beautiful presentation and such a nice change from a filet of salmon!
Outstanding! 2 fish lovers and 2 eh, not so much in my family, and we all enjoyed this. The patties are on the smaller side but very rich. The tartar sauce is wonderful. Thanks, Jenn!
These salmon cakes are delicious and it was so nice to be able to use fresh dill and green onion tops from our garden in them. I really enjoy the flavors of Dijon mustard and Old Bay seasoning and I think they added extra zest and tanginess to the cakes. My mother made fish cakes from our local warm water fish with potatoes and they were delicious too yet these are nice for a change with the cold water salmon. I Can’t wait for my grandkids to try them.