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”
The salmon cakes were great! But I made too many, can you freeze them?
Hi Michele! So glad you liked them 🙂 YES, they freeze great. I have successfully frozen the salmon cakes both uncooked and cooked.
Hi Alyssa,
Love that you still respond to comments all of the years this recipe has been making people’s lives better! I have one suggestion that I think you may appreciate. Try using tiger nut flour for the “bread” content. The nutritional profile on tiger nuts is incredible!
Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes!
Hi Matthew! That is a great idea. Tigernut flour is a pretty cool ingredient. Was the end result gummy at all or was it a clean and easy substitution? Have a great weekend!
I’m fairly new to the air fryer scene. Would you flatten the patties at all before air frying? and how long would you cook them for in the air fryer?
Hi Terri, I would flatten them just a little bit (you don’t want them too flat or they may dry out in the air fryer).
Delicious! Thank you. What an easy dinner. And how nice to use everything I have. I love not needing to go to the store during the pandemic. I will definitely make this again.
Hi Alene! So glad you liked these so much. I always make a double batch to freeze some 🙂
These cook great in my air fryer! Crispy on the outside – don’t fall apart – less mess and less fat!
Perfect! I am going to follow your lead and try these in the air fryer next time – love that idea!
Great ingredients but I found using a microwave to cook sweetpotato off of my clean eating also the bones in the fish add calcium and can be very easily crushed during the mixing process. Overall good taste.
ChenTang
These are simple and yummy. I made them smaller and brought them to a Christmas party!
YES!!! So many people have been emailing me about making “minis” – love that it worked for you! Did you still pan-fry them or did you bake them to save time?
I did not have any canned Salmon. But, I was trying to find a recipe for a big piece of raw Salmon that I had on hand. I cooked the Salmon first, then used this recipe. It was So So Good!. The best fish cake we’ve ever had. It does not need any sauce, but, somehow I would like a sauce recipe to pour over it for a change. Any suggestions?
Fantastic recipe. Definitely in my go-to recipe box.
Such a great compliment Janet! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
As for sauces, here are a few ideas: sometimes I will make a quick aioli. I’ve also used my avocado crema, made homemade mayo and put old bay in it, and server with leftover cocktail sauce before!
I see that someone used egg whites and olive oil rather than whole eggs for substitution and I need to do this. I was wondering exactly how many egg whites (4?) and exactly how much olive oil (1 or 2 tablespoons?) would make the correct conversion for 2 eggs (or come close) and be sufficient for the patties to come out good~ I’m not sure about these substitutions (the quantity of whites or oil) so I desperately need your help. By the way, this recipe sounds delicious!!! You are a great cook! Mary
Hi Mary! I have never tried these substitutions so I can’t tell you the appropriate conversion. If I had to *GUESS*, I would probably use 3 or 4 egg whites and 2 T of olive oil but again, please don’t hold me to that as I haven’t tried it. Good Luck!
Thank you for your response! I will try it out. Cooking is always trial and error so either way it’ll be okay. I will report back to let you know and/or others needing such a substitution. 😊🙏
I utilized 4 egg whites and two tablespoons of olive oil and they turned out moist and delicious. Thank you!
Perfect Mary! I am so happy to hear this and thanks for coming back to let me know 🙂
Made theses tonight!! They were fabulous! My family told me to throw away my old salmon cake recipe, which they always enjoyed. I asked my teens if they would like leftover salmon cakes in their lunch boxes tomorrow, and they said they would eat the leftovers for breakfast! So yummy! Thank you.
Yay – I love it Sylvie!!! That is seriously high praise 🙂
I love that this recipe uses canned salmon so I can make them at a moments notice. I always have canned salmon in my pantry. Seriously a GREAT recipe!
I’ve never tried making salmon cakes! This recipe was super easy – thank you!
Perfect for stocking the freezer!