Healthy homemade salmon patties with crackers are perfectly crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside, and always moist! No breadcrumbs or flour required. Serve them warm or cold with sriracha mayo for a perfect protein-packed dinner or packed lunch! {Gluten-free-friendly}
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Easy Salmon Croquettes with Crackers
As a busy mom and Registered Dietitian, I am all about quick, easy, and nutritious recipes whenever possible. Salmon is packed with nutritional goodness, including hearty-healthy omega-3s.
We’re constantly making these healthy salmon patties because they use leftover cooked salmon or canned salmon and crushed crackers, both of which we always have on hand.
Add a few veggies and pantry staples (like mayo, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce) and you’ve got an easy entree ready to cook.
Trust me – the not-too-spicy homemade sriracha mayo takes them over the top!
For more tasty salmon recipes, be sure to try my Sweet Potato Salmon Cakes, Walnut Crusted Salmon and Mediterranean Salmon too!
Why We Love These Healthy Salmon Patties
- Super simple recipe (mix, shape, and cook!)
- Can be made ahead of time for easy meals
- Can be frozen until ready to cook
- Loaded with flavor
- Contains veggies and healthy fats
- Kid-friendly way to serve protein
- Great on salads, dunked in your favorite sauce, on wraps, and more
Key Ingredient Notes
- Cooked salmon: This can be leftover fresh salmon from dinner (my usual) or even canned pink salmon. I generally try to use wild caught salmon whenever possible.
- Red bell pepper and green onions: You can also sub in another color pepper such as yellow or green peppers.
- Crackers: I like to use whole-wheat saltine crackers, but you can use regular or sub in your favorite crackers. Some readers have reported that these also work really well with Triscuits!
- Egg: If needed, you can swap out the egg for a flax egg instead.
- Fresh garlic: If preferred, you can swap it out for garlic powder instead.
- Lemon juice and zest: Use fresh lemon juice for best results.
- Olive Oil: Crucial to creating crispy salmon cakes, oil is used to coat the bottom of your skillet to help prevent the patties from sticking.
Step-by-Step Instructions
How to Crush Crackers
To make saltine cracker crumbs: Place crackers in a large resealable bag. Pound with a mallet or roll with a rolling pin until crackers are broken down into fine crumbs.
How to Make Salmon Patties with Crackers
- Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the pepper, and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened.
- Transfer the cooked pepper to a large bowl. Add the cooked salmon, cracker crumbs, beaten egg, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, green onion, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Fold together gently, being careful not to over-mix.
- Form the mixture into 12 small, tightly packed salmon patties. They should be roughly 1/2 inch thick.
- Place the salmon croquettes on a large plate or baking sheet, and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. Or, let them refrigerate for 1 hour to firm up. This is essential and it will help keep the patties together during cooking.
- In the same skillet used for the peppers, heat oil over medium-high heat until it’s sizzling hot. Place the salmon patties in the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the skillet. Work in batches if needed.
- Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side or until the patties are golden brown and crispy on the outside.
- Drain on paper towels. Serve with sriracha mayo (see recipe below), seafood sauce, tartar sauce, or ketchup. Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon wedges, if desired.
Homemade Sriracha Mayo
For serving, I highly recommend mixing together 1/2 cup mayo, 1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce, 1 minced clove of garlic, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice for a delicious dipping sauce to serve along with these salmon cakes.
Expert Tips
- Pack tightly: Be sure to pack the salmon mixture tightly together to help them better stay together when cooking.
- Don’t skip the freezing step. If you cook the patties right after forming them, they’ll most likely fall apart. Freezing them for 15-20 minutes helps them to firm up slightly and better hold together when cooking and flipping the patties.
- Only flip the patties ONCE and avoid handling the salmon cakes too much to ensure they keep their shape.
Scroll to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Storage & Reheating Guidelines
To make ahead: Combine the ingredients and form into patties. Place the salmon cakes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. When ready to cook, allow the patties to thaw for several minutes before cooking according to recipe instructions.
Storing leftover patties: Store any leftover salmon patties in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat: Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat. Then, add a small amount of water along with your patties, and cover with a lid to lock in moisture and prevent your fried salmon patties from drying out. Heat until just warmed through.
What to Serve with Salmon Patties
The beautiful thing about this recipe is that the patties can be served warm or cold. That means they work just as well for a quick dinner or to pack into lunch boxes for leftovers.
- Serve with roasted garlic baby potatoes or steamed rice and steamed veggies for a quick meal
- Pair with a green salad or something heartier, like my Greek quinoa salad
- Place a few over a bed of greens to add tons of protein to your favorite salad
- Add to a whole wheat flatbread with greens, fresh veggies, and a drizzle of sriracha mayo or avocado creme
Recipe Variations
- To make gluten-free: Use gluten-free crackers instead of saltines.
- To make spicy: Add extra hot sauce to the patties or toss in some red pepper flakes.
- Extra seasoning: If you want to add an extra pop of flavor, Old Bay Seasoning or Cajun seasoning is a great addition.
- Add fresh herbs: Try some chopped fresh parsley, dill or cilantro!
- To make into salmon burgers: Form the salmon mixture into larger patties instead of mini ones.
More Healthy Patty Recipes
Making homemade patties, nuggets, and burgers is really so much easier than you’d think, and I have lots of dietitian-approved recipes to try out.
These Baked Chickpea Burgers are a great option for a filling, high-fiber option and they’re so good served like falafel.
My family loves this Gluten Free Turkey Burger Recipe. These zucchini helps keep them really moist and juicy, plus it adds some extra veggies.
My favorite are these Pesto Chicken Burgers because you just mix ground chicken with pesto and almond flour. SO simple, but that pesto flavor cooks into every bite.
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Salmon Patties with Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 pound cooked pink salmon, flaked
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 20 whole-wheat saltine crackers (or about 3/4 cup crushed crackers)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Zest of half a lemon (about 1 teaspoon lemon zest)
- Juice of half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons lemon juice)
- 1/4 cup diced green onion
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
For garnish:
- Fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Transfer the pepper to a large mixing bowl. Add the salmon, cracker crumbs, egg, garlic, lemon zest and juice, green onion, mayonnaise, Dijon, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and salt and pepper. Stir gently to mix. Do not over-mix.
- Using your hands, form the salmon mixture into 12 small tightly packed patties, about ½ inch thick. Place the patties on a large plate or baking sheet.
- Place them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to allow the patties to firm up. You can also refrigerate the patties for at least 1 hour, or until firm.
- In the same skillet used to cook the peppers, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until sizzling hot.
- Place the patties in the hot oil, cooking in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes per side. Flip the patties only once.
- Drain on paper towels. Serve with sriracha mayo (see recipe in notes), seafood sauce, tartar sauce, or ketchup. Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon wedges, if desired.
Notes
- To make sriracha mayo sauce: Mix together 1/2 cup mayo, 1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce, 1 minced clove of garlic and 1 teaspoon lemon juice for a delicious dipping sauce to serve along with these salmon cakes.
- For faster prep: Make the salmon ahead of time to save time when prepping this recipe. Leftover fresh salmon works great, but you can also substitute 1 pound of canned salmon if preferred.
- Pack tightly: Be sure to pack the salmon mixture tightly together to help them better stay together when cooking.
- Don’t skip the freezing step. If you cook the patties right after forming them, they’ll most likely fall apart. Freezing them for 15-20 minutes helps them to firm up slightly and better hold together when cooking and flipping the patties.
- Only flip the patties ONCE and avoid handling the salmon cakes too much to ensure they keep their shape.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in September 2022 and the text and photos were updated in January 2025. The text, formatting and some photos were updated again in February 2026.
I followed the recipe and these came out pretty delicious!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for returning to leave a rating and review!