By Millie Peartree
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(877)
- Notes
- Read community notes
These croquettes have what may just be the perfect texture combination: crispy outsides and tender insides. Made from simple ingredients, they’re also a great use of leftovers, putting to work those halves of onion and bell pepper from last night’s dinner, and any remaining salmon, though you can also use canned (boneless works best). The filling may be a little delicate when you put it together, but a quick pop in the fridge or freezer makes it easier to work with. Serve the croquettes alone as an appetizer with tartar sauce or hot sauce, or make them a bigger meal alongside grits.
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Ingredients
Yield:2 main-course servings, 4 appetizer servings
- 1(14-ounce) can boneless, skinless salmon or 1 pound cooked salmon
- 1tablespoon olive oil
- ½green bell pepper, finely chopped
- ½cup diced onion
- 1garlic clove, grated
- 2eggs, lightly beaten
- ½cup all-purpose flour
- 2tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay
- 1teaspoon hot sauce, plus more for serving
- ½teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- ½cup panko bread crumbs
- 2teaspoons seasoning of choice, such as onion powder, garlic powder, paprika or a combination
- Vegetable or canola oil, for frying
- Tartar sauce, for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
1087 calories; 78 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 44 grams monounsaturated fat; 20 grams polyunsaturated fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 57 grams protein; 1001 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
Step
1
If using canned salmon, drain and discard the liquid. Flake the salmon into a large bowl; set aside.
Step
2
Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium and sauté peppers and onions until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds; let cool slightly.
Add the sautéed veggies to the bowl with the salmon, along with 1 egg, ¼ cup flour, the parsley, seafood seasoning, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, or pop into the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes.
Step
4
Using your hands, shape the chilled mixture into 1-inch-thick patties.
Step
5
Set up three separate plates or shallow bowls: one filled with the remaining ¼ cup flour, another with the egg and a third with the panko. Season the panko with the seasoning of your choice, then lightly dip each croquette into the flour, egg then panko, coating to cover. Set the croquettes aside.
Step
6
Wipe out the same pan, and heat about ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil over medium. Drop a bread crumb in the oil, and see if it sizzles.
Step
7
Gently place croquettes in oil, making sure not to crowd the pan, and pan fry until golden brown on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.
Step
8
Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and serve warm, with tartar sauce or hot sauce if desired.
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out of 5
877
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Cooking Notes
BW
Use canned salmon with the skin and bones for better nutrition, including calcium. I think the skin adds more flavor. Simply break up the skin and bones with a fork, flattening the soft bones. That's how we did it in Alabama. (I don't recommend imitating Alabama in most respects. This is an exception.)
Diane
Form the mixture into patties and refrigerate them before frying. They will flip better without breaking.
mc.farine
Sounds and looks terrific. Could it be adapted to the air fryer? And if so, how? Thank you!
Julia Childless
In my long ago midwestern childhood, this was almost the only fish experience we had and my mother made “salmon patties” about once a week (not necessarily Friday, we weren’t Catholic). She wouldn’t have said croquettes if she had a mouthful. Thanks for the memory.
frances farmer
I was raised Catholic and salmon croquettes were on the Friday rotation, along with tuna noodle casserole etc. My Mom used 1 egg per can of salmon 1 medium mealy potato, like Idaho, cooked and coarsely mashed. This mixture, flavored with black pepper, formed the patty which was then dredged in soda cracker crumbs and fried. The potato has a better flavor and texture than flour. I still make them this way. They are good with collards or okra succotash.
Elisheva
This is a good basic recipe. I grew up on these (and my mother did call them salmon croquettes). When I was raising kids on a tight budget I learned that I could replace up to 1/3 of the salmon with tuna and they’d still taste pretty much like salmon, so I thought I’d share.
KL
We grew up poor. My mother made tuna patties and told us they were hamburgers. We believed her.
Annie
No salmon hand but had a hankerings to try this so thought to take a chance and made these last night with canned Tuna, Italian style packed in olive oil which I drained off. Quite a surprise treat! I also decided to forego top-of-stove frying and baked in a 375 degree oven in a sheet pan drizzling the pan and each cake lightly with corn oil - - - never could tell they were not fried!
Ellen Tabor
I like Costco's canned salmon very much. No bones or skin either! (I find the bones icky and don't like the strong taste and slimy texture of the skin.) It comes in a shrink-wrapped set of six six-ounce cans and they do deliver.
Ellen
For those needing/wanting a low sodium option, Trader Joe's sells Alaskan wild pink salmon, no salt added - in 6 oz cans. 1/3 cup (about half the can) has 50 mg of sodium.
Leora Dowling
When you make the tartar sauce throw the following into the mayonnaise and you'll use less fat and calories: Worchester Sauce, hot sauce, a splash of soy sauce, fresh lemon, horseradish and/or co*cktail sauce, and capers!
Lisa
Yes, I put a little bit of oil in a baking dish and spread it around so that it covers the bottom. I then flatten out the salmon mixture into the pan, and you can have it as thick as you like. Then I spread a thin layer of oil on the top and bake. 350 degrees works for everything. And when it turns golden, it is done. And then you just cut it into the size that you prefer. It definitely uses less oil, and you can brown it so that it will be a little crunchy if you like.
Rhona
When I make salmon croquettes a la my Jewish grandmother, I use a small can salmon, a grated onion, 1 egg, and a little matzoh meal. When I bread them, I just put some matzoh meal on a sheet of foil, scoop up my salmon mixture, roughly pat it, and plop it down in the matzoh meal. Then I flip it and pat it down a bit more. They fry up crispy, not greasy, and delicious. I suspect you could bread these in panko the same way and skip the egg and flour step.
mine freeze well
i use 1 egg per large can of salmon (w bones/cartilage and skin - e.g. trader joes), flake salmon and mix in egg- generous parsely, dill, black pepper, sometimes garlic)- add diced celery, sometimes scallion - scant gluten free flour into salmon mix - form balls into patties- dredge patties in gf flour (optional mix herbs into flour)- fry up, can add garlic and lemon zest to oil for flavor, or lemon wedges- place patties on paper towels to absorb excess oil freeze and reheat quickly.
Ellen Tabor
My mother called them salmon croquettes too! I liked them a lot, and made them myself. I strongly disliked picking out the bones, though, but I disliked finding them even more!We never had fish on Friday either, except for gefilte fish...!
Nancy in CA
So tasty! I’d made these a year or so ago and not since. This time I had a half green pepper, half an onion,and leftover Remoulade that wanted using, so these were perfect. Two cans of Trader Joe’s boneless skinless salmon made six cakes at the 1” thickness. For us, that’s two dinners. We needed a bit more salt as the TJ’s salmon has no salt added. Served with an orzo-Parmesan-spinach side. We need to do these more often.
Matthew
Replace salmon with soaked (24hrs), drained and boiled salt cod for a traditional Portuguese treat: Pastéis de Bacalhau.
carolk
The quality of the salmon is where the real flavor is here. For the best salmon patties I would recommend fresh salmon, second best would be canned salmon with skin as bones, as recommended earlier. I made this with canned salmon, no skin and bones and it was rather tasteless. I did not make any changes to the recipe.
Darcy
Easy recipe. The salmon flavor did not come out as strong as it would had I cooked it alone.
TonyDuluth
Made with leftover salmon from a Bobby Flay recipe. Didn’t have flour for the dredge but used shore lunch as a substitute. Excellent! Accompanied with a light lemon vinaigrette salad ala Beenbaums fargo nd.
Becca
Reminds me of the ones I had growing up. Tasty as is.
Red Dirt Writer
Make 4, 1/4 lb. Patties instead of 2 obnoxiously huge ones like I made tonight. Good recipe despite my ham-fisted presentation! 😌
Ron Nemirow
Erin really liked this. Used the most disgusting canned salmon Safeway had, whole-wheat pinko. Ate it with barley grits and sugar snap peas. A tartar sauce consisting of equal parts mayo & tiger sauce.
Susan
Something must be missing! I followed the directions and chilled. Cannot form a patty.
J
Add a cup more of bread crumbs to the mix
Melissa
So delicious. I used a boiled potato I mashed as another commenter recommended. I also used dill instead of parsley in the mixture since that’s what I had. Will definitely make this again!
Mary
Made with red & yellow bell pepper instead of green because that’s what I had. Used potato flakes in the croquettes instead of flour for a binder. Floured, dipped in egg white then Panko seasoned with Old Bay, garlic & onion powder. Absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again!
Euphemia Thompson
I grew up with this -- it was in our family's regular rotation. However, we used matzoh meal rather than flour, and removed the skin from the canned salmon, and did leave the bones. Always bell pepper, and always chopped onion -- that would either be sauteed first or not, depending on time allotted for dinner prep.
Larisa
This was so flavorful! I used frozen sockeye that I baked for 10 minutes at 425f. Followed the recipe exactly. Even after freezing 10 minutes, I had a hard time keeping them together, but I persisted. Once in the pan they held together well and were way better than I expected. I served on a bed of arugula with Sriracha mayo. Will make again and I may even freeze some for later.
Yolanda Wendlebrim-Snork
Phenomenal! I used canned salmon and decided to bake instead of fry. I served them alongside homemade tartar sauce and sweetcorn and tomato salad. I can’t wait to serve these at euchre next week, the girls will be ecstatic. I have had the best recipes six weeks running.
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