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”
We eat these regularly and absolutely love them! I make a double or triple batch and freeze the uncooked patties. We’ll eat these for breakfast with eggs, for lunch with a salad, or for dinner with a veggie and beans. Thanks so much for this recipe!
We do the same thing Leah! 🙂
These were delicious! I am in Canada and maybe I just didn’t know what to look for but all I could find were 210gr cans, so I used two and halfed the recipe. The cans of salmon were over $4 each though, so while worth it for a healthy meal, they certainly weren’t the cheapest.
Glad you liked them Alanna!
Just came across this recipe and made them last night. They were Delish! My kids even loved them! I made a full batch so we now have some in the freezer for a future meal (what busy mom doesn’t like that ?!). I do have one question-do I thaw the frozen patties before cooking them?
Hi Emily! So glad they were a hit. I have done it both ways – thawing first and cooking directly from frozen. If you thaw, they (obviously) cook very quickly. If you cook from frozen, you need to do it over a low light until they are totally thawed and then turn up the light to brown them.
I’ll admit, I didn’t have the highest expectations for these (due to the canned salmon) but they came out beautifully! My husband couldn’t stop eating them. I did make a couple of modifications: substituted organic canned pumpkin for the sweet potato and ground flax for the almond meal (didn’t have either on hand). The flax didn’t change the taste at all, just helped give the patties some heft. Maybe because I didn’t add as much as the almond meal is called for, my patties also were a little loose in the pan, but I found (by accident, actually) that letting them sit and cool in the pan kept them together nicely. I’m about to make some more now using the same modifications! Thanks for a great recipe.
Love the idea of pumpkin in there! Great idea Suzy. So glad everyone loved them – thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
LOVE this recipe! My kids loved them (and they are picky eaters)! I passed this on to several people who have all raved about it. The addition of the sweet potatoes and cumin given a wonderful flavor. THANKS:-)
Thank you so much for sharing Chris!! So glad everyone loves them 🙂
I can’t eat almonds and am interested in why you said not to use coconut flour? Wouldn’t that work too in slightly lower quantities? Also wondering if tapioca flour might work?
Hi Shona!
Almond flour and coconut flour are not interchangeable 1:1. Plus, coconut flour absorbs moisture and may dry out the cakes. I would try tapioca, arrowroot or potato flour. Hope it works out 🙂
Thank you thank you thank you for this recipe and the pics of the trader Joe’s fish- I was so shocked to find a spine in my big can (have usually bought the small cans) and your recipe gave me the confidence to give it a try. The almonds were AWESOME (I blended raw whole almonds) and I used a yogurt/dill/caper/lemon oil/ dip since I can have dairy.
Absolutely! So glad you loved it Bethany and that dip sounds fabulous!
Thank you so much Raghu – you totally made my night!! 🙂
I second what Raghu said on July 3rd! Yummy.
I can’t wait to make them again – that’s how good these were! I halved the recipe and it was still perfect. Left over patties were great with a salad today for lunch! Thank you so much for a delicous dinner.
Wow, thanks Mélissa! You’re welcome and thanks for reading 🙂