These salmon cakes are crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and packed with fresh herbs, vegetables, and healthy fats. Served with a vibrant spinach pesto and creamy avocado, they make a nourishing, satisfying meal that works just as well for a simple weeknight dinner as it does for an elegant plate.
A lectin-free dinner idea
The only thing missing is a nice picture of how the salmon cakes look inside, but since this wasn’t planned I’ll go with what I have and add more photos when I’ll make them next time. I’ve made salmon cakes before and for some reason, I just realized I haven’t shared the recipe yet, so I might just do it while I’m at it. I’ll link it here once done.
For this one, I used as an inspiration a recipe by Once Upon a Chef, mainly because I never used Old Bay seasoning and I wanted to see how much of it I need to add. The rest is pretty much what I do, except for the type of mayonnaise, oil, and flour, of course. I also like to supplement with more veggies so added extra celeriac and carrots and replaced the scallions with red onion. My other salmon cakes have sweet potato and chives added, so that’s an option too.
Be careful when you fry them, the almond flour does a great job but maybe not as good as breadcrumbs, so just handle them gently and they’ll do just fine. Another option I’d like to explore and an idea for you if you want to avoid the frying part, I think baking them will work too. Let me know if you do try this option.
Where to buy Alaskan salmon
Yesterday I went for a (rare) trip at Target and because I was out of dinner ideas, I looked for whatever I could find compliant in the store, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the Alaskan salmon, in the frozen section, by Simply Balanced. It’s so hard to find Alaskan salmon, so I think this will make me take the Target trip more often. Not much else to buy Plant Paradox compliant, but I found a big fat box of organic baby spinach and avocados, and this dinner idea came to life. Even my non-compliant husband loved everything.
The quantities I used made ten salmon cakes, I only have one per meal, but my husband had three, so regarding the serving number, I guess depends on who is eating. As per the spinach pesto, the quantities I use make enough for 2, 3 people, so if you are feeding a bigger family make more.
Alaskan Salmon cakes are also good cold, so feel free to use them in your or your kids’ lunchbox. Lunchbox by Lunchbots.
*This post contains affiliated links, which means I get a small commission if you choose to purchase something via one of my links, at no extra cost to you.
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Alaskan Salmon Cakes with Spinach Pesto and Avocado
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8-10
Description
These salmon cakes are crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and packed with fresh herbs, vegetables, and healthy fats. Served with a vibrant spinach pesto and creamy avocado, they make a nourishing, satisfying meal that works just as well for a simple weeknight dinner as it does for an elegant plate.
Ingredients
FOR THE SALMON CAKES
- 560 g (20 oz) raw wild salmon, skin removed, finely chopped
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) avocado mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup celeriac and carrot, finely chopped
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 – 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4–5 tbsp almond flour
- Optional: 1–2 tsp Dijon mustard
- Optional: 1–2 tbsp cassava flour (if mixture is too soft)
FOR COATING AND COOKING
- ~3/4 cup almond flour
- Coconut oil or avocado oil, for frying
FOR THE SPINACH PESTO
- 7–8 cups baby spinach
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/3 cup mixed nuts (pecans, walnuts, or your choice)
- 1/4 cup grated aged cheese (Parmesan, Pecorino, or Manchego)
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil (adjust as needed)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
MAKE THE SALMON CAKES
- Add the celery, celeriac, carrot, onion, and dill to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped — not pureed.
- Transfer to a bowl and add the chopped salmon, mayonnaise, lemon juice, zest, seasoning, salt, pepper, and almond flour. Mix gently until combined.
- If the mixture feels too soft, add a little cassava flour.
- Shape into patties and lightly coat with almond flour.
- Refrigerate for 1–2 hours to firm up.
- Heat a generous layer of oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Cook the salmon cakes for about 2–3 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through. Handle gently when flipping.
MAKE THE SPINACH PESTO
- Add spinach, garlic, nuts, and cheese to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
- With the processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until you reach a creamy consistency.
- Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
TO SERVE
- Serve the salmon cakes over a generous layer of spinach pesto with sliced avocado, lemon wedges, and optional hot sauce.
Notes
The salmon cakes are good warm or cold, and the pesto leftovers (if any) can be stored in the fridge in a mason jar or a glass container. The serving size only applies to the salmon cakes, the spinach pesto is enough for 2-3 people.
7 Comments
Julia
November 22, 2023 at 5:24 amGreat recipe, Claudia! I fried up a batch and gobbled one for breakfast this morning. The rest I froze for for quick lunches. I’ve always frozen my extra patties when I make them and they do fine for me, just have to separate them before freezing. This is the best tasting salmon pattie recipe that I’ve ever tried. You’re my number one hero!
Claudia
November 23, 2023 at 1:10 pmHi Julia! Oh, that’s an oldie but goldie! So happy you love them. Thank you so much for your feedback and kind words xx -Claudia
Alessandra
March 25, 2019 at 7:15 pmHi, Claudia,
I am wondering if I could make the patties and store them either in the fridge or freezer overnight. What do you think?
Claudia
March 25, 2019 at 7:39 pmI think you mean uncooked, right? If so, you can in the fridge, but in the freezer only if you used fresh salmon, not previously frozen.
Julie Connor
October 4, 2018 at 10:52 amWell… I kept the mixture, then added the mayo and they were AMAZING! Thank you again for all your amazing recipes. I started Plant Paradox to help my husband and our first few weeks were rough – then I found your site and it has been a life saver!!!:)
Julie Connor
October 3, 2018 at 3:57 pmCan you update recipe as to where/when you add the mayonnaise? I tried to make these today…. didn’t see where to add it (and i am NOT a cook…) so I didn’t… they didn’t really turn out…! THANK YOU for all your amazing recipes!
Claudia
October 3, 2018 at 4:43 pmHi Julie, thank you for letting me know. I just updated the instructions, it goes in the mixture before making the patties. I’m not a professional cook either, but with experience of cooking for you and your family these things become obvious (sometimes too obvious I forget to add them in recipes). Patties like these need a binder, usually egg or mayonnaise. I hope you will try again, these are amazingly delicious. And I hope it wasn’t that bad so you can’t use the mixture at all. xx