These salmon cakes made with leftover mashed potatoes and canned salmon are ‘cheap and cheerful’. So you can eat your cakes and also… live a little! Learn my secret to the best salmon patties!
If you love this recipe, take a look at my more elevated version of Salmon Fishcakes with Creamy White Wine Sauce.
When I woke up this morning I didn’t plan to blog about salmon cakes, but I did plan to finally clean out my fridge and use up all the leftovers for lunch.
If my mum taught me anything, when I was still impressionable, it was that being frugal was definitely a virtue! The rule I quickly forgot as soon as I got my first paying job.
Nowadays I find myself coming back to my senses and saving a forgotten container of the mashed potatoes at the back of my fridge doesn’t seem like insanity. Especially when it could be transformed into something completely different, exciting and delicious like these salmon cakes.
What are salmon cakes made of?
- The most important part of these cakes are obviously salmon, so I would encourage you to buy the best quality canned salmon available or use fresh salmon. You salmon cakes will only taste as good as the ingredients in them.
- Secondly, I prefer using mashed potatoes as a filler but there are many recipes that use breadcrumbs.
- Use an egg and a pinch of flour to bind the mixture together.
- Flavour your fish cakes with lots of fresh herbs and lemon zest.
How do I make the best salmon patties?
- Break up salmon into larger flakes for maximum flavour.
- Form the mixture in the shape of a ball and flatten it into a patty directly on the frying pan, otherwise it falls apart easily.
- Or refrigerate them for an hour to allow the mixture to firm up.
- Fry 5 or 6 salmon cakes at a time in hot olive oil until golden and crunchy on the outside. Do not overcrowd them or they will steam instead!
What sauce goes well with fish cakes?
When I first served them my husband asked if we had any tartar sauce to go with the salmon cakes.
We didn’t so I quickly mixed together a yogurt sauce flavored with lemon juice, chives and garlic. So much better and lighter than a traditional tartar sauce.
Can I freeze them?
You can freeze salmon patties both cooked or uncooked.
If frozen cooked, defrost in the fridge, then reheat in the oven at 200C/400F for 10 minutes.
If frozen uncooked, defrost in the fridge, then follow the cooking instructions in the recipe.
Note: This recipe has been updated on 13/02/2014. I’ve added a delicious sauce recipe that complements these salmon cakes beautifully.
Updated again and republished on 30/10/2019
More favourite salmon recipes:
- Creamy Salmon Pasta
- Baked Salmon in Rose Cream Sauce
- Salmon en croute (Salmon in Pastry)
- Teriyaki Salmon with Bok Choy
Ingredients
- 4-5 potatoes I used 3 cups of mashed potatoes
- 450g/2cups canned or fresh salmon
- 1 egg
- 1 lemon, juice and zest of
- 1 tbsp flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tbsp parsley or dill
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the sauce (optional)
- 125ml/1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp chives
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the salmon cakes
- In a large mixing bowl combine mashed potatoes and salmon while making sure no skin or bones end up in there as well, and break an egg into it. Add the lemon zest to the mixture, juice the lemon and pour it in as well along with chopped parsley and flour. Mix everything well, add a pinch of each salt and pepper.
- Scoop the mixture with an ice cream scoop to get even-sized cakes and roll them in the flour on your flour dusted board or plate, flatten them slightly to form a patty.
- Fry salmon cakes in hot olive oil until golden and crunchy on the outside.
For the yogurt sauce
- For the sauce mix yogurt, lemon juice, chopped chives and minced garlic in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before serving for the flavours to blend.
Notes
- You can also prepare these salmon cakes with fresh salmon. The taste is no doubt superior to the canned variety.
- If not leftover mashed potatoes available, you can cook the potatoes specifically for the recipe.
- Boil potatoes until tender and mash them while still hot. Poach your fresh salmon or steam or bake, in other words, cook it any way you like it and then proceed with the recipe.
- Alternatively you can use any type of fish you like or find at the back of your cupboard!
Recipe source- Jamie Oliver “Food Revolution”.
Hi, I was looking a recipe for my left over mashed potatoes and salmon from my Christmas dinner, I got it!!!! , can’t wait to try it, but I have one question, when you said fry them….. how much oil do I need? Enough to Cover them ? Or just a little bit? .
Thank you!
Hi Carmen, 1-2 tablespoons of oil is enough for frying them. If they are covered in oil, that is technically deep frying. Enjoy! Best, Julia
This recipe looks yummy and I absolutely love your little grater! Super cute! I’d give it a 14 too.
Hahaha this is too funny, Ann. When my daughter was about 2 the highest number she knew was 14, so that’s how she answered all questions! Do you like this toy? I love it 14!!! That reply became a part of our family vernacular. 🙂
I tried this recipe twice and I absolutely love it!
Yes, that is what I like hearing, Nuria!!
These look fantastic! WHERE did you get the wooden zester? I want one!
Unfortunately I have no idea, Sil. It was a present but isn’t it gorgeous!!
Hi Julia, great recipe! Making them for the 2nd time today! Can you freeze them so you can just pop a few in the oven whenever you need/feel like it? I have baby #2 coming soon and this would be an amazing and quick option if you can! Thanks
Freezing these salmon cakes is a great idea, Priscilla! I would freeze them fully cooked and then re-heat at 450F/220C. I can’t comment on how long they would take but my guess would be 20-25 min.
If you were to pack these for lunch from the freezer, would you suggest re-heating them the night before in the oven for the next day? Or just thawing them overnight?
They are best eaten reheated in the oven, Ashley, so you get the crispy texture of the outside back. I would thaw them in the fridge and then quickly reheat in the oven at 400F/200C for 10 minutes.
Love the recipe! I am envious of your grater zester can you tell me where she got it? It looks like it solves all the problems I have with mine.
Thanks, Amy!!! I love it too but I have no idea where she got it! It’s been a few years now, so might be impossible to find out.
I love this recipe, salmon and potatoes can only form a very happy combination. You are so right about using up leftovers, l do try my best not to throw as much food. Lovely photos!
Hello 🙂
I just wanted to say, this recipe is wonderful! I have made this twice already and my boyfriend absolutely loved them!
Thank you so much for your feedback, Ashley! I haven’t made it in a while, so excited at the reminder. My whole family loves it too!
I made a different recipe of salmon cakes then yours and it called for 1/2 cup parsley and it overpowered the cakes, next time I am going to try yours. Mine didn’t have any sauce and I think it could have used some. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I make salmon patties 3 or 4 times a mth. I always have used egg onion and crackers , sometimes dried hot pepper flakes. Tonight I’m definitely going to use your recipe. I’ve never imagined using potatoes for a filler but, it sounds yummy. Thanks for your recipe.
Hi Missy, using potatoes for fishcakes is very common in England and like you said is very yummy! I hope you like them!
I’m making them now. I can’t wait!!!!!
Always a good day when salmon cakes are for dinner!
I just made these for the first time last night. They are AH-MAZING!!! I, too, used dill instead of parsley because I didn’t have any (and am also more partial to dill anyway), and I added some dill to the dip too. And fried them in coconut oil and a bit of butter instead of olive oil. We all loved them, including my picky husband, and 1 year old!!
Sounds delicious! Thank you for your feedback, Cait.
Hi there! I can’t wait to try this recipe but I have two questions.. First can I substitute sweet potatoes or yams for the white potatoes… Also can I bake these instead of fry them? Thanks!
Yes and yes. If you decided to bake them I would spray them with something like Pam or brush with olive oil to crisp them up.
I was given an entire case of canned mackerel and had no idea what to do with it. I’m gonna try this recipe with it instead of salmon.
I love mackerel! Please, let me know how it turns out, Bob. 🙂
Is it possible to make these without the potatoes, and use something like almond flour instead of the regular flour?? These sound amazing, and I’d looooove to make them, but my fiance & I are on a low carb diet.
Hi Rose, I haven’t tried but if I wanted to make them low carb I would use roasted and well-drained butternut squash instead of potatoes because of the similar texture. You can try using almond flour but I am not sure if it would alter the taste too much. You can always experiment and see. Do let me know how they turn out. 🙂
Rose, I make Salmon patties all the time and use almond flour. Just be sure no use enough for the salmon to stick together, but not so much as to be able to taste it. I also use an egg and sometimes add a bit of yogurt;. If my chives are doing good, I’ll add a few of them – chopped of course. Be sure to taste the raw mixture (it won’t hurt you because the salmon has actually been steamed in the can) before you cook it to see if the almond flour has altered the taste too much.
By “Fresh” Salmon, do you mean uncooked salmon? Unsure of whether or not I should cook the salmon a bit before mixing everything together! Thanks
Alex, by “fresh” salmon I mean not-canned but cooked which I mention at the end of the recipe.
Yay! I have been trying to figure out something fun to do with the canned salmon languishing in my pantry and this almost looks too good for it! 😀 I might just make them right now!
Please, let me know how they turned out! 🙂
All right, it took me a couple of days to finally get to these since I had a couple of things I needed to use first. (And the salmon was not in fact “languishing”, it was recently purchased!)
I just mixed them up and can barely wait to cook them for lunch. They are tasty already, so I know they will be even more so with the surface crisped in yummy olive oil! I didn’t have parsley so I used dill instead, but I am confident that a Russian chef would approve of that substitution! 😉
Hahaha, Lisa, Russian chef approved indeed. I have used dill in that recipe in the past and I actually prefer it with dill but I am partial to that amazing herb!
How much dill was used? Also, was the dill fresh, or dried like you’d find in a spice bottle?
By the way, your new grater/zester is pretty cool. Looks like a doable DIY project too…. hope you don’t mind any copies floating around.
I am trying this recipe for tomorrow night. I am looking forward to it. Thank you for sharing the recipe, and the great tutorial.
There is no dill in the recipe although you can use 1-2 tbsp of fresh chopped dill instead of parsley. I am impressed you can DIY something like a grater! I would love to see what you end up with!
Verdict: YUM! Even my one year old liked them!
Forgot to mention, the skin and bones of canned salmon are completely edible. I just mashed them with a fork and mixed them in!
And…I LOVE your new grater/zester! 🙂
Awesome! Thank you for sharing, Lisa. 🙂
oh gosh, I love this! I am totally making it this week!
I hope you do, they are so delicious! 🙂
Ok, I love this!! I always wanted to make fish cakes, but for whatever reason I though it would take lots of time and ingredients! Loving this recipe…looking forward to make some soon!! i’ll let you know the outcome! 😉