These simple salmon cakes are packed with flavor, easy to make and kid approved! Served with an easy aioli, they’re perfect over a salad for a light lunch or dinner or with your favorite roasted or sautéed veggies. Paleo, gluten free, Whole30 and keto.
These salmon cakes surprised me in big ways! First, all my kiddos liked them! Even the two who really don’t eat salmon at all.
Second, they have the perfect flavor and texture – something I didn’t think I’d get on the first try. Not dry. Don’t all apart. Not too moist. SO TASTY!
Third, I was surprised how easy they are to throw together. You can use cooked fresh salmon if you have the time (or plan ahead) but canned salmon works as well.
Now let’s get into the details!
What You Need to Make These Paleo Salmon Cakes
- fresh salmon (canned is less ideal but will work)
- avocado oil or olive oil (for cooking the salmon)
- Sea salt and black pepper
- onion
- garlic
- Ghee or avocado oil, for sautéing and frying
- blanched almond flour
- seafood seasoning (like Primal Palate)
- paleo mayo, homemade or store bought (see below)
- coconut aminos
- dijon mustard
- eggs
- fresh parsley, finely chopped
What You Need to Make the Aioli Dip
While I highly recommend making a batch of my homemade mayo for this because the flavor is best that way, you can use store bought paleo mayo in a pinch.
I like Sir Kensigntons or Chosen Foods avocado oil mayo if you’re buying it. Here’s what you need for the aioli:
- homemade mayo
- fresh garlic
- fresh lemon juice
- minced fresh parsley
- Sea salt and black pepper
How to Make Paleo Salmon Cakes
Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the salmon skin-side down, drizzle with oil and season liberally with sea salt and black pepper.
Bake uncovered for 10-13 minutes or until cooked through Remove from oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.
While the salmon bakes, cook the onions and garlic. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of ghee. Cook the onions until translucent, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook, stirring until soft, about 1 minute.
In a large mixing bowl, flake the salmon with a fork, discarding the skin. Add the sautéed onion and garlic, almond flour, seafood seasoning, mayo, whisked eggs, coconut aminos, mustard, parsley, and a generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Stir the mixture well to combine.
The mixture will be somewhat wet and sticky, but should stick together well enough to form into patties. Using slightly wet hands will help you form patties without the mixture sticking too much. Begin to form the mixture into a total of 10-12 patties.
Heat a large non stick skillet over medium heat and add enough avocado oil or ghee to cover the bottom – 2-3 tablespoons. Once the oil is sizzling, add half of the salmon cakes to the skillet and fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Adjust the heat if the outside begins to brown too much.
Remove to a plate, lower the heat and add more oil/ghee to the skillet as needed. Fry the second batch of patties the same as the first, adjusting the heat as needed to avoid browning the outside too much. You want a deep golden brown crust.
How to Make The Aioli Dip
Make the aioli right before serving, or up to a day ahead of time. If you make it ahead of time, keep it in a tightly lidded container in the refrigerator.
Whisk together the mayo, garlic lemon juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. To thin out the aioli, you can add a drop of water or plain almond milk to get the right consistency, if needed.
Serve over a salad or wrapped in greens topped with aioli (or serve on the side) and lemon wedges, if desired.
You can store leftover salmon cakes in a tightly lidded container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The aioli will keep well in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for about 4 days.
I hope you love these salmon cakes as much as my family and I did! Grab your ingredients because it’s time to cook – let’s go!
Salmon Cakes {Paleo, Whole30, Keto}
Salmon Cakes {Paleo, Whole30, Keto}
Ingredients
Salmon Cakes:
- 1 lb fresh salmon or 2 6-ounce cans salmon
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil for cooking the salmon
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- Ghee or avocado oil for sautéing and frying
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning like Primal Palate
- 3 tablespoons paleo mayo homemade or store bought
- 2 teaspoons coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 large eggs whisked
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- Sea salt and black pepper
Aioli:
- 1/2 cup homemade mayo *
- 3 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp minced fresh parsley
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the salmon skin-side down, drizzle with oil and season liberally with sea salt and black pepper.
-
Bake uncovered for 10-13 minutes or until cooked through Remove from oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.
-
While the salmon bakes, cook the onions and garlic. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1-2 tablespoons of ghee. Cook the onions until translucent, about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook, stirring until soft, about 1 minute.
-
In a large mixing bowl, flake the salmon with a fork, discarding the skin. Add the sautéed onion and garlic, almond flour, seafood seasoning, mayo, whisked eggs, coconut aminos, mustard, parsley, and a generous pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Stir the mixture well to combine. The mixture will be somewhat wet and sticky, but should stick together well enough to form into patties. Using slightly wet hands will help you form patties without the mixture sticking too much. Begin to form the mixture into a total of 10-12 patties.
-
Heat a large non stick skillet over medium heat and add enough avocado oil or ghee to cover the bottom - 2-3 tablespoons. Once the oil is sizzling, add half of the salmon cakes to the skillet and fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Adjust the heat if the outside begins to brown too much.
-
Remove to a plate, lower the heat and add more oil/ghee to the skillet as needed. Fry the second batch of patties the same as the first, adjusting the heat as needed to avoid browning the outside too much. You want a deep golden brown crust.
-
To serve, make the aioli. Whisk together the mayo, garlic lemon juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. To thin out the aioli, you can add a drop of water or plain almond milk to get the right consistency, if needed. Serve over a salad or wrapped in greens topped with aioli (or serve on the side) and lemon wedges, if desired. Enjoy!
-
Store leftover salmon cakes in a tightly lidded container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
*You can also use a paleo store bought version, but I highly recommend starting with my easy homemade recipe for the best flavor
**Nutrition is based on 6 servings and includes the aioli.
Nutrition
Want More Salmon Recipes? Try One of These!
Baked Salmon in Foil with Garlic, Rosemary and Thyme
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Looks delicious! Can’t wait to make. Have you ever tried in the air fryer??
If I don’t need this to be paleo but need this to be gluten free, could I sub gluten free flour for the Amond flour? These look amazing, can’t wait to make them 🍽🐟 thank you!
almond flour is gluten free
There’s no gluten in almond flour. Are you allergic to almonds are you asking? Almond flour is just ground up almonds!
These were delicious! Even my husband approved 🙂 Will defo make again
Just came across this recipe tonight when in search of a paleo salmon cake, and I scrolled down until I saw a recipe developer I knew and trusted – thanks Michele. I had all the ingredients on hand and made it according to the recipe (except I used Duke’s Mayo). They fried up beautifully in avocado oil. Everyone in my 3 generation household loved them! I will save this one for future reference!!
Can you substitute salmon with lump crab?
I assume the whisked eggs go in the salmon mixture. Did I miss that? Making this tonight. I’m excited! Thanks!
What could you sub almond flour with? I’m allergic.
My husband doesn’t really care for salmon but asked that this recipe be added to our regular rotation! All the kids loved it as well! Thanks Michele!
So good!!
You are sharing interesting articles. It will be of great help to me, my friends and relatives. Thanks for sharing it.
If you were to use canned salmon, how would you go about it?
I’m curious about this as well!
Looks great
These are so good! I am going to make for a second time and was wondering if I can make the patties early (even day before) then fry them up right before we eat. Is there anything I’d need to change?
It is really helpful for my friends and relatives. Thanks for posting it.
Hi! Has anyone tried freezing these salmon cakes?
They freeze perfectly! Let them cool, then place in airtight container. I double the batch and freeze them in serving sizes for easy proteins. They aren’t crispy when reheated, but so very yummy!
Okay…. Everyone listen up, seriously! This was literally one of the yummiest things (I’m talking even non-paleo) that I’ve EVER put in my mouth! The BALANCE of flavors was ridiculous, I mean just PACKED full of flavor. This is 10/10 and I commented to my family that I would expect this sort of dish from a restaurant…that I would then become a repeat customer to! Thank you for this recipe!
I am officially a fan! Lol
These are delicious and they’re really good cold for a quick lunch/snack. My toddler ate them! I used canned salmon and it was still a hit!
Excellent recipe!
VERY delicious. Best paleo meal I have made. I need some help understanding the nutrition facts… the recipe calls for 6 servings, but says it makes 10-12 salmon patties. Is this 445 calories for the whole batch? Or 6 patties? I’m confused. Sorry.
Amazing!
Loved the flavors of this dish! I didn’t have the seasoning so did a homemade approximation and it still turned out great.
So good! I used Old Bay since that’s what I had around. I’ll make this even outside of Whole 30, which is the mark of a truly great Whole 30 recipe!
Delicious! My boyfriend and I loved it and it was so easy to make. A new staple!
I learned a lot from your blog, and you can learn more about older video games to have more engaging experiences. I look forward to playing with you in the past!
These took longer to make than I expected however they were delicious! The sauce was great too.
I have made these over 10 times. These salmon cakes are one of my favorite things to make. I can honestly eat them hot or cold and often eat them for breakfast too (protein goals). PS They reheat in the air fryer beautiful.
Very tasty. I adjusted some ingredients to dairy free and gluten free and had to cut out the coconut. I made this with frozen salmon. My husband wants me to make this again.
I modified the flours and unfortunately didn’t read how much salmon to use. I did use frozen salmon which I baked but used the same amount of ingredients which made the cakes mushy but I just added Panko bread crumbs. Extremely tasty and most important my husband loved the salmon cakes.
This was absolutely delicious! I’ve made salmon croquettes or patties for years with canned salmon (Bay Beauty). I usually use corn meal but since we’ve started doing Whole30 and eating better, I don’t buy corn meal anymore. I was looking for a better salmon patty recipe and came across this one. I used canned salmon (removed bones) and this was a hit! My husband and son loved it! I believe these are the best salmon patties I’ve ever made. Thank you for sharing.
Delicious! Made them tonight! My 4 year old loved them too!