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These freezer-friendly Gluten Free Salmon Cakes are outrageously tasty! Using canned or fresh salmon, this recipe is a speedy gluten-free dinner. You’ll flip for these salmon patties!
These quick and tasty gluten-free salmon cakes are the best weeknight dinner. Ready in under 20 minutes, they taste amazing. Oh, happy day!
And while this recipe involves pan frying, if you’re looking for an air fryer option, check out our Air Fryer Salmon Patties.
Ingredients
This recipe uses:
- Salmon – leftover grilled or canned work well
- Eggs
- Celery
- Fresh garlic
- Almond flour
- Onion
- Old Bay seasoning – or make your own seafood seasoning
- Mayo – try our Whole30 Mayo recipe
- High-heat oil (ghee works too)
- (optional) Hot sauce – I used Frank’s Red Hot
How to Make Gluten Free Salmon Patties
*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk eggs and add the salmon. Flake with a fork to break up any large pieces.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Pinch some of the mixture to test the texture. Too dry? Add a bit more mayo. Too wet? Mix in more almond flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
Make a golf ball-sized ball and gently flatten it between the palms of your hands. Set aside and repeat until all the mixture has been formed into patties.
Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat for at least 5 minutes. Add ghee or oil and let it warm up for 1-2 minutes.
Add the patties and cook until the bottom is light brown and has a crunchy sear (2-3 minutes). Flip and cook the other side. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel or newspaper.
If you’re new to cooking with cast iron, check out this post on how to use, season, and love cast iron cookware.
How to Store and Reheat
Storing Leftovers: Store cooled leftover salmon croquettes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Reheating Leftovers: You can reheat them in the air fryer at 350°F for 2-3 minutes. Alternatively, you can place the salmon patties on a baking sheet and heat them in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until warmed through.
You can also microwave them for 60 seconds. Just don’t do it at work in a communal microwave, or everyone will hate you so hard.
Freezing Leftovers: Fully cook the salmon patties and allow them to cool on a plate. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer to a freezer bag and they’ll store for three months.
You can reheat them using the methods listed above. BUT, my favorite way to reheat them is to throw some veggies tossed with olive oil onto a sheet pan into the oven to roast. In the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, I add the salmon cakes for an easy one-pan meal.
Top with your favorite sauce; I use homemade tartar sauce or homemade cilantro chimichurri.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- The types of salmon you use can impact the texture of these. To test that the consistency is correct, take some of the mixture and roll it into a ball. If it is too sticky, you’ll want to add a bit more flour. If the mixture crumbles when you roll it, it is too dry and needs more mayo.
- If you use canned salmon, make sure to drain it really well.
- To make your meal prep faster, use frozen celery, frozen garlic, and frozen onions.
- If you like peppers, feel free to add 1/3 cup of finely chopped peppers of choice.
- Use a high-heat oil like coconut or avocado. Ghee also works well and adds a delicious flavor to the salmon patties.
Gluten Free Salmon Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups cooked salmon {16 oz}
- 1/3 cup celery {diced}
- 2 tbsp hot sauce {optional}
- 4 cloves garlic {finely minced}
- 1 2/3 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup onion {finely diced}
- 3 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 3 tbsp high-heat oil {ghee, coconut, avocado}
Instructions
- Whisk eggs in a medium mixing bowl.2 eggs
- Add the salmon. Flake to break up any large pieces.2 cups cooked salmon
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Pinch some of the mixture to test the texture. Too dry? Add a bit more mayo. Too wet? Mix in almond flour 1 tablespoon at a time.1/3 cup celery, 2 tbsp hot sauce, 4 cloves garlic, 1 2/3 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup onion, 3 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning, 1/2 cup mayo
- Make a golf ball sized ball and gently flatten it between the palm of your hands. Set aside and repeat until all the mixture has been formed into patties.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat for at least 5 minutes.
- Add oil to the skillet and let it warm up for 1-2 minutes.3 tbsp high-heat oil
- Add salmon cakes and cook until the bottom is light brown and has a crunchy sear (2-3 minutes).
- Flip and cook the other side. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel or newspaper.
Notes
- If you use canned salmon, make sure to drain it really well.
- If you like peppers, feel free to add 1/3 cup of chopped peppers of choice.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Any thoughts on adapting these for nightshade intolerance? I was AIP but have reintroed eggs & nuts, but peppers are still a big no-no.
I would just leave out the hot sauce (it adds flavor but isn’t essential) and a seafood seasoning that is pepper-free. Do you have a favorite seasoning salt that is nightshade-free? I’d use that!
The strangest nightshade thing for me is cashews! I have a friend who has to be nightshade-free and cashews and tobacco are the ones that make me scratch my head.
So I I use the cans of salmon, how many cans would this be?
Yes, you sure can! It depends on how large the cans are, if you’re using pouches, etc.
The recipe calls for 16 oz, which is two cups. If the cans are 4 oz, that would be 4 cans. I typically use 3 because once drained they yield enough.
Would you cook them first and freeze them, or freeze the patties and cook after being frozen?
Hi Teresa, it’s up to you, but I cook them first then freeze. I just think it makes it so much easier to reheat.
There is a section in the post about how to freeze them. I’ve c/p below:
CAN I FREEZE THESE PALEO SALMON CAKES?
Yes and please do! I cook the salmon cakes and allow to cool on a plate. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Transfer to a freezer bag and they’ll store for three months.
To reheat: you can microwave for 60 seconds. Just don’t do it at work or everyone will hate you so hard.
While the microwave works, my favorite way to reheat is by adding them to a tray of roasted veggies in the oven. When you’re roasting your veg, add the frozen salmon cakes in the last 10 minutes of cooking the veg and they’ll crisp up perfectly. And now dinner is ready and just one pan has been dirtied.
I made these as part of the pantry/freezer clean out challenge. They came out really good. I would up the spice but that’s personal preference. It was a great use up for bagged salmon I found for $1 a pack.
Yeah, I soak mine in hot sauce but keep it a bit more tame for the kids. 🙂
Great sale on that salmon!
Does the onion get fully cooked? I’m kind of a raw onion crankpot, so I was trying to figure out if I should sauté it first?
It softens a bit Erin, but if you want to make sure it is totally free of raw onion-ness, a quick saute would work great.
This is definitely a recipe repeat! These were so easy and yummy! I used a combo of canned salmon and fresh salmon. Based on past attempts, I feel like this combo sticks together better. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed them, Kelly. They’re definitely a family favorite in our house!
Can you cook these in the air fryer instead of in the cast iron skillet
I have never tried, but I would assume it is definitely possible.
I used 2 cans of salmon and dialed back on the other ingredients as well. These are now my go to salmon cake recipe! I’m now sad I didn’t have more salmon to make a full recipe and have some leftovers. Thanks so much for this keeper!
So very glad you liked them Sharon!! Freeze a few next time for easy meal prep/leftovers. I love roasting them with veggies in the oven for a one pan meal.
What would be a substitute for Old Bay Seasoning?
Any seasoning salt you might have on hand will work.
Thank you for this recipe! My husband is a fisherman & we always have a ridiculous amount of fish in our chest freezer & I’m always looking for new and exciting ways to cook fish. We made these tonight and they were bad ass. I didn’t have any celery or peppers but I had everything else. They were amazeballs. And GF, this is the stuff of dreams. Now I just need to summon up a few house elves to help me crank out 100’s of these things to stick in my freezer 🙂
Mmmmm I bet you guys eat so well with all the seafood.
So glad you liked them and good luck with the house elves! Just don’t give them any socks.
So since this is a go too recipe for me I thought I’d share that I experimented with different flour. I make a homemade mix of GF flour made up of brown & white rice flours, potato starch & tapioca flour. It takes a lot less flour & holds the cake together really well. The kiddo likes them better this way. I like them both ways
Love these substitutions Izzy, thanks so much for sharing your GF blend!
Wait a minute, who are you and what have you done with the real Sarah? Posting a recipe with mayo in it? I love salmon cakes and make them almost every week. As much as I love mayo, I actually don’t use it in these. I think the universe just flipped on its axis – you’re adding mayo and I’m leaving it out.
Ha, you found me out! I’ve been replaced by a pod person Joan.
I prefer to use Greek yogurt in my salmon cakes, but with yogurt, they can’t be labeled as paleo. Blah.
For those of us with mayo hating family, is the Greek yogurt just a 1:1 substitute in the recipe?
I need something yummy and omega 3 laden to get me through December. Thanks!
Yep, 1:1! I’m also a mayo hater so I feel their pain.
Would you recommend using smoked salmon? We get some every year for Christmas, and it would be nice to find another use/recipe. Thanks!
I think having SOME in there would be lovely but all smoked would be too overwhelming. My dad makes amazing smoked salmon and it’s a staple around here. I adore it with eggs and as an appetizer! If you want to be super indulgent (and eat dairy and grains) it is amazeballs with alfredo sauce over noodles.
These sound great – bookmarking! My great-grandmother used to make salmon croquettes but I never tried making them since I went GF.
You can do this Kathryn!!!