The Best Salmon Cakes with Caper Dill Aïoli
The BEST salmon cakes! They come together quickly, freeze up nicely, and are perfect for the youngest eaters, too!
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As I was going through the process of re-branding my new site, I took some time to go through old posts and decide which ones to keep, which ones to get rid of, and the biggest project of all – which ones to re-shoot, re-write, and re-test!
There are so many recipe gems that have so much history, but are not pretty to look at, so I’m going through my absolute favorites and updating them a bit! The best salmon cakes definitely fall under the “favorites but pictures are hideous” category.
Here’s a before shot of the best salmon cakes:
And here’s an after shot of the best salmon cakes:
(I actually didn’t even recreate the picture on purpose, but it’s a nice comparison. I much prefer light and airy food photos.)
The best salmon cakes are a regular in our house, and have been for years. Because they are the BEST! Many years actually, as I first learned how to make them from my college roomies mom! I love them because salmon is SUCH a nutritious food, but it can get boring to eat it in the same way, with the same flavors week after week. These salmon cakes are anything but boring.
They don’t require any fancy ingredients, they come together quickly and, are delicious!
What Kind of Salmon to Use for The Best Salmon Cakes
I really, really, really wish I could say to use canned salmon for these salmon cakes, but they are just not as delicious. They are good, but not the best. It really is worth paying a little extra and spending a little extra time cooking your own salmon and then making the salmon cakes.
You know I cut corners whenever I can, so trust me on this one!
How to Make The Best Salmon Cakes
Simply bake the salmon (perfect to make ahead of time), and mix the flaked salmon together with some bread crumbs, egg, and seasonings. If you meal prep at all, or even if you have something going into the oven, pop the salmon in with it to save time later!
Then form into patties and lightly pan fry. I highly recommend making the aïoli to go along with the salmon cakes to serve alongside. It’s a cheaters aïoli, so it comes together easily with mayonnaise!
Looking for more salmon recipes? (You really should be, it’s packed with omega-3 fatty acids, something we could all use more of!) My Panko Crusted Salmon is a big hit with my meal plan families, and comes together in 30 minutes. Roasted Salmon with Dill Butter sounds fancy, but again, SO easy and perfect for entertaining OR a weeknight meal. And then these Healthy Salmon Tacos are topped with the most-amazing dill slaw – it’s a perfect meal! You can’t go wrong with easy and healthy salmon recipes.
The Best Salmon Cakes Recipe
Be sure to tag me when you try out these salmon cakes! (@myeverydaytable or #myeverydaytable) I LOVE to see your creations!
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The Best Salmon Cakes with Caper Dill Aïoli
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 cakes 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are the BEST salmon cakes. They come together quickly, freeze up nicely, and are perfect for the youngest eaters, too!
Ingredients
- 24 oz. salmon filets
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)
- 2 Tbsp. capers
- 1 tsp. dried dill
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. lemon pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Put salmon in a glass baking dish (lined with foil to make clean up easy) and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Top with foil and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. Cooking time will vary, depending on the size of filet.
- While fish is cooking, mix together the aïoli in a small bowl: mayonnaise, lemon juice, capers, dried dill. Taste and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- When fish is done and cool enough to touch, mix together flaked salmon and remaining ingredients.
- Heat large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Prepare pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Scoop 1/3 cup mixture of salmon and gently flatten into a patty shape. Cook in batches, for about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown, being careful to not crowd the pan.
- Serve with aïoli.
Notes
- Easy to bake salmon ahead of time and then make a day or two later
- You can wrap salmon cakes in plastic wrap and freeze. Simply heat in microwave until hot. (I did 30 seconds on each side.)
- If you want to turn these into burgers, use 1/2 cup scoop instead of 1/3 cup.
- Nutrition is for one cake + aïoli
Originally published January, 2012
I love that you used fresh salmon rather than canned. Also aioli makes everything sound so much fancier!
I’ve always been tempted to try it with canned salmon, but I had a bad experience with it years ago and am now scared of canned salmon! 🙂
My mom makes salmon cakes all the time and I love them! She uses the Whole Foods wild caught Alaskan canned salmon, so I’ve never had them made with fresh before but I bet that’s stellar. If you like salmon cakes alot you should check out these poor man’s “crab” cakes that I made up with tuna that were really good – if you’re ever lookin’ to change things up! Come to think of it… I really need to make these again. Soon. Haha 🙂
I think it was more than your salmon cakes that won the Taster over… 🙂 He’s a lucky guy!
i wonder if this would work with rice crackers? i’m gluten free. think i might try it!
Hi Amanda,
I’m sure it would! Just crush them. I used crackers because I didn’t have any bread crumbs.
Yum, those look fantastic. Good call with the aioli! I’m always at a loss for what to serve with crab/tuna/salmon cakes- that looks perfect, though!
oooh these look so delicious! and i’m sure that fresh salmon beats canned anyday! but if you do try it with canned… be sure to pay extra and buy boneless. i didn’t and paid the price. 🙁
Sarah, I made that mistake and it has scarred me for life! I’m literally scared of canned salmon now!
Mmmm salmon cakes are so tasty! Shane has actually been requesting them lately!
THANK YOU for sharing this recipe! I made these the other night for dinner and they turned out awesome, we have a ton of salmon in the freezer and I never think to make patties out of it, you had perfect timing 🙂
Served them with potato and parsnip cakes (http://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2011/01/19/potato-and-parsnip-cakes/ ) which complemented them perfectly
Pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.148853761795224.28640.148773535136580&type=1
Looks delicious! I’ve been meaning to make a home made aoli – yours looks great!
Awesome recipe
There is no recipe on the website. Clickbait at its best when you are looking for a specific recipe.
Hi Eric, thanks for letting me know! I just added it back. For some reason some old posts have been mysteriously deleting the recipe card and I don’t know unless I look at that page or someone lets me know!