Easy Salmon Cakes

If you’re looking for a new way to enjoy salmon, you’ve got to try these easy salmon cakes! They’re a cinch to make (just one bowl!) and you can cook them in a pan on the stove, or in the oven or air fryer.

For the salmon, you can use canned or fresh. If using fresh salmon, bake it in the oven at 350F for about 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. Let it cool a bit, and then break the salmon into flakes using your hands.

Like my favorite recipe for crab cakes, this recipe for easy salmon cakes does not have a lot of “filler.” As a result, the raw cakes can easily fall apart while cooking. To solve this problem, we freeze the salmon cakes for 30 minutes before cooking. The partially-frozen cakes are much easier to handle and hold their shape nicely while cooking. On a related note, if you’re into freezer meals, you can freeze the raw salmon cakes completely, store in a Ziplock bag, and then partially defrost before cooking. Yay!

Easy Salmon Cakes

Ingredients

1/4 cup Panko
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (not shredded)
1/4 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon minced green onion
1-2 Tablespoons minced fresh dill
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 egg
Zest of 1 small lemon
1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 lb. salmon, cooked and flaked
1-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For serving:

Remoulade sauce, lemon wedges

Instructions

Place the first nine ingredients (Panko, Parmesan, mayo, green onion, dill, Old Bay, egg, lemon zest and mustard) in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Add salmon and stir gently to combine.
Using your hands, shape the salmon mixture into 12-15 small patties and set them on a pan or plate. Place the patties in the freezer for about 30 minutes. (Freezing the salmon cakes will help them hold together while cooking.)
OVEN METHOD: Preheat the oven to 425F. Drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet and place sheet in preheated oven. Heat for 3-5 minutes until oil is hot. Using a potholder, remove baking sheet from the oven. Take salmon cakes out of the freezer and place them on the hot pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the salmon cakes and cook the other side for 8-10 more minutes.
AIR FRYER METHOD: Preheat the air fryer at 400F for 5 minutes. Place about nine salmon cakes in the air fryer basket, drizzle with olive oil, and cook at 400F for 8-10 minutes, turning once halfway through. Repeat with remaining cakes.
Serve with lemon dill or remoulade sauce and enjoy!

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