These easy Paleo Salmon Cakes are loaded with flavor and can be pan-fried or baked in the oven. You can freeze the salmon cakes before or after cooking!
Paleo Salmon Cakes
Salmon Cakes are somewhat of a comfort food to me. Growing up, at least one lunch a week was either a salmon cake or a fish cake. Where we lived, this was commonplace and also something that my grandmother loved to eat for lunch and to feed to us.
While the childhood salmon cakes I remember were indeed made with canned salmon, that is probably where the similarities to my version end. These paleo salmon cakes take everything you love about this classic comfort food and turn it into a healthy dish you can enjoy guilt-free.
The salmon is mixed with sweet potato, plenty of herbs and spices, and even some hot sauce for a nice little kick, all pan-fried in coconut oil or Ghee to still give you that amazing crunchy exterior that we all love about traditional salmon cakes.
Salmon Cakes Ingredients
My Paleo Salmon Cakes do indeed use canned, wild salmon instead of fresh salmon, but have fresh herbs, spices, some sweet potato, eggs and a bit of almond flour to hold them together. They are cooked on the stovetop so that they have a nice crispy crust and in only enough fat to keep the insides nice and moist.
Here’s the full list of everything you’ll need:
- Cooked sweet potato
- Almond meal
- Chopped parsley
- Chopped onion
- Lemon juice
- Hot sauce
- Kosher salt
- Ground cumin
- Paprika
- Black pepper
- Eggs
- canned or cooked Wild Alaskan Salmon
- Organic coconut oil or ghee for cooking
How To Prepare Paleo Salmon Cakes
I like to call these weeknight salmon cakes because they don’t take much time and you can make them in advance. Additionally, you can make a double (or even triple!) batch and freeze a bunch of servings (uncooked) for later. Which is always a bonus when you are busy!
Wash sweet potato and use a fork to poke several fork-holes in it and microwave until soft. Let cool for a few minutes, remove potato flesh from skin and mash with a fork until the lumps are mostly gone. Toss into a large mixing bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients except salmon and cooking fat. Open the cans of wild salmon and drain most of the liquid out. Separate the salmon from the bones and skin. Using your hands, crush the canned salmon through your fingers into the mixing bowl. Stir until well combined.
Line a baking sheet or large plate with parchment paper.
Use a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop out evenly sized salmon cakes. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes
Recipe Tips
- I like to buy the canned wild salmon in water with the skin and the bones. The only reason is cost. It is about $2.99 a 14.75-ounce can vs. $3 something for a MUCH smaller can without the skin and the bones. I like to remove the skin and bones but a lot of people don’t even bother and just crush it up along with the salmon. Alternately, if it’s too gross to deal with or you don’t care about the additional cost, just buy the skinless, boneless.
- I have tested this recipe with both almond meal (ground up raw almonds with their skins) as well as tried it with almond flour (ground blanched skinless almonds that is finer and more powder-like). I prefer the texture of the almond meal. If you don’t have it (Trader Joe’s sells it for about $4 per pound), just process some almonds in the food processor until they are almost powdery and like a meal but before the fat releases and it becomes almond butter. Or just use the Almond Flour or any other Flour (except Coconut) that you have.
- I have also made these with smoked paprika and they are awesome.
Check Out More Salmon Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
These easy Paleo Salmon Cakes are loaded with flavor and can be pan-fried or baked in the oven. You can freeze the salmon cakes before or after cooking!
- 1 large sweet potato about 10-ounces, cooked and mashed
- 2/3 cup almond meal
- 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley, packed
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
- 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce I like Frank's Red Hot for this recipe
- 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1.25 teaspoon paprika sweet OR smoked
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 2 14.75 ounce cans Wild Alaskan Salmon See NOTES about bones and skin
- 2 Tablespoons organic coconut oil or ghee for cooking divided
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Wash sweet potato and use a fork to poke several fork-holes in it. Wrap in a paper towel, place on a microwave safe plate and microwave until soft. My microwave has a "potato" setting. I think it's about 8 to 9 minutes long but check every couple minutes so you don't overcook it.
If you prefer not to use the microwave, you can cook the potato in advance in the oven or pressure cooker and keep it in the fridge (mashed and ready) for a couple of days.
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Let cool for a few minutes, remove potato flesh from skin and mash with a fork until the lumps are mostly gone. Toss into a large mixing bowl.
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Add almond meal, chopped parsley, onion, lemon juice, hot sauce, salt, cumin, paprika, black pepper and eggs (Be sure not to put eggs directly on hot potato flesh or they can begin to cook!).
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Open the cans of wild salmon and drain most of the liquid out. I used Trader Joe's canned Wild Pink Alaskan Salmon that still has the skin and bones.
Take the canned salmon into your hand and look for the "split" where 2 or more pieces of salmon are pushed together into the can. This is the natural place to separate the salmon and where you will most likely find the majority of skin and bones. Use your hands to gently scrape the skin and bones off (or mix them right in!.
Separate the salmon again if there are more "splits" and do the same thing. Finally, using your hands, crush the canned salmon through your fingers into the mixing bowl.
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Stir until well combined. Line a baking sheet or large plate (that will fit in your fridge) with parchment paper.
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Use a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop out evenly sized salmon cakes (flatten bottoms) until you have 12 patties (sometimes you will have 13 or even 14).
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Chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes or all day (this is also the point you would freeze any that are not going to be cooked in the next 12 to 24 hours).
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Heat a large frying pan (big enough to hold six patties) over medium high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon coconut oil or Ghee per six patties.
Let fat completely melt and get very hot.
Slowly add patties and cook for 4 minutes.
Gently flip and cook for an additional 4 minutes on the other side.
Serve hot and Enjoy!
Recipe Video
- I like to buy canned wild salmon in water with the skin and the bones. The only reason is cost. It is about $2.99 a 14.75-ounce can vs. $3 something for a MUCH smaller can without the skin and the bones. I like to remove the skin and bones but a lot of people don't even bother and just crush it up along with the salmon. Alternately, if it's too gross to deal with or you don't care about the additional cost, just buy the skinless, boneless.
- I have tested this recipe with both almond meal (ground up raw almonds with their skins) as well as tried it with almond flour (ground blanched skinless almonds that is finer and more powder like). I prefer the texture of the almond meal. If you don't have it (Trader Joe's sells it for about $4 per pound), just process some almonds in the food processor until they are almost powdery and like a meal but before the fat releases and it becomes almond butter. Or just use the Almond Flour or any other Flour (except Coconut) that you have.
- I have also made these with smoked paprika and they are awesome.
- If you are going to use Ghee, I recommend making homemade Ghee as it is much cheaper and you can use better quality butter as a base.
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
UPDATE NOTES: This post was originally published in April 2013 and updated in June 2019 with new photos, better instructions, and more helpful recipe information.
Adapted From: No-Fuss Salmon Cakes from “It All Starts With Food”
Wow, these are amazing! Thank you so much for posting it with the pictures! My hubby and I HATE HATE HATE sweet potatoes, but after seeing the comments saying you can’t even tell, I went against my internal alarm and bought a sweet potato for this recipe. So glad I did! The hubs requested that this become a weekly sight. Having this as a go-to recipe is going to make the rest of this Whole30 even better! THANK YOU!!!
That is so great Michelle! Loved that guys were willing to give the sweet potatoes a try in here. Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Can these be made without egg?
Hi Lori,
I have had a number of readers tell me that they made these without egg and they worked. I suggest using white potato instead of sweet so the starch helps bind them. Hope it works for you!
Made these cakes tonight. Damm Good!
I had no idea what canned salmon looked like, so glad
You prepared me for the skin and bone removal.
Will be added these Salmon Cake into my weekly meals.
Thank You
You’re welcome Page! So glad you liked them and my gross photos (lol) prepared you 🙂
Thank you for this rockin’ recipe. My hubby hates sweet potatoes, but her never notices it! Also, we are “on a budget” and Aldi sells big cans of salmon for $1. SO, we can eat salmon every night and still pay the bills. Very honest of you to show the salmon on your blog! My kids wear science gloves to go thru the meat. You are a brave woman. Oh, and it works with tuna in a pinch. We get tons of that at the food bank! I am going to review and link your post and recipe tonight.
Blessings,
Samantha L.
Love it! If you hubby ever finds out there are sweet potatoes, you can successfully make these with russet potatoes — I’ve done that at least 4 or 5 times when I’ve been out of sweets and they are great! Have a good weekend and thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know about your experience with my recipe.
Hi there! I just LOVE your recipes. I’m finally able to cook one recipe for both myself (paleo) and my boyfriend (WW)!
I have a question about cooking the frozen patties. Do you let them thaw first? And if so, for how long? Can you cook from frozen on low like you can with frozen sausage?
That actually segues nicely into a suggestion for a post… Perhaps a post dedicated on proper freezing methods for different proteins and soups/stews… as well as how to thaw these types of items for cooking. I can wing just about anything but freezing freaks me out! Please help!
Thanks so much for your blog!
Hi Michelle,
I cook them from frozen – I have found the final texture is better. If you “defrost” them first, they tend to get too watery. Great idea on the post – I’ll put it on my list! Thanks so much for reading 🙂
I’m clearly late to the game on these, but can’t wait to try. I have some non-bone in canned salmon that I already bought – what’s the equivalent amount of the smaller cans to the (2) trader joe’s cans? I assume it isn’t ounce for ounce since you’re taking out the bones/skin.
Hi Jana,
This recipe has some flexibility so don’t make yourself nuts putting too fine a point on it. The TJ’s cans are 14.75 oz each (x2 = 29.50 oz minus bones, etc.). I would just use somewhere around 28 to 30oz of salmon. Hope you love it!
These came out great, I didn’t have access to almond meal, but ground up the almonds myself. I would have used a pinch more of all the spices, overall, really great and will make them again (and I will wear plastic gloves when handling the salmon, your hands will have that smell for a little while 😉
A woman after my own heart – I also like things spiced up to the max Maria! Glad you liked them and thanks for letting me know 🙂