Try my air fryer salmon patties if you are looking for an inexpensive way to get more seafood into your diet! Most of us do not meet the recommendation for seafood of two servings per week. It’s unfortunate, since salmon is an oily fish that is rich in the healthy omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. Air frying salmon makes this one an easy weeknight dinner idea.
I typically make salmon for dinner about once per week. Lately, however, our intake has been dropping off because my son hasn’t been eating it. In place of the salmon, I’ve been making more dishes with white fish.
White fishes, such as cod and tilapia, are milder than salmon and also count towards your seafood intake. They are lower in calories than oily fishes (e.g., salmon) and are some of the leanest proteins around.
That said, it’s good to get the higher fat fish into your diet as well. White fish contains very little of the beneficial fatty acids DHA and EPA, fats that fish like salmon are rich in.
This air fryer salmon patty recipe is my attempt to revive my son’s interest in salmon by doing something new. Thankfully, it worked! The whole family enjoyed this tasty and easy air fryer recipe.
The flavors of fresh dill and lemon dominate here. I think this might be a good recipe for kids who generally dislike fish. Plus, serving salmon as a salmon burger just makes it seem a tad more appealing, no?
My lemon-dill tartar sauce is based on my old standby tartar sauce recipe: two parts mayo to one part chopped pickles. (P.S. If you don’t want to make your own pickles, Grillo’s dill pickles are just as good!) The lemon zest and dill weed add additional layers of flavor.
Making a meal with your air fryer salmon patties
To finish the meal for my air fried salmon patties, I filled half my plate with stir-fried bok choy. About ¼ of the plate was devoted to roasted butternut squash.
What I did here was approximate the Diabetes Plate model. This is a little different than the MyPlate model, but (IMHO) far better for healthy weight management. Here’s the breakdown:
- ½ of the plate is non-starchy veggies (bok choy)
- ¼ of the plate for starchy veggies or whole grains (butternut squash)
- ¼ is protein (salmon patty)
The amount of fat on your plate can be adjusted to fit your energy needs. Because I am in weight maintenance and am active, I was generous with the tartar sauce. If you are trying to maintain a calorie deficit for fat loss, it may be better to skip the sauce.
Even without the tartar sauce, you’re getting fats from the salmon and from the oils you use to roast your veggies. This is far from a fat-free meal.
By the way, if you do have a fat loss goal, it’s good to be mindful of the amount of added oil you use on your veggies. Added oils typically run around 120 calories per tablespoon; it adds up quickly!
Somewhere in the vicinity of 1 teaspoon to 1.5 tablespoons of added oil per plate should be plenty. This provides sufficient oil to roast the veggies and provide that nice mouthfeel from fat.
One of the mistakes I consistently made when I was obese was adding way too much oil to my veggies. After all, olive oil is healthy, right? Unfortunately, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, even for healthful foods.
But enough chatter. How about we get to making some delicious air fryer salmon cakes?
And now for the disclaimer…
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don't sweat the numbers too much.
For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to this post. Let's get cooking!
Air Fryer Salmon Patties with Lemon-Dill Tartar Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14.75 ounces canned salmon, drained
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 scallions, sliced
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup fresh whole grain bread crumbs (I used crumbs from homemade sourdough bread)
- ½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- cooking oil spray of choice
For the lemon-dill tartar sauce:
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons chopped dill pickles
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mash the salmon with a fork.
- Stir in the ½ teaspoon lemon zest, scallions, ¼ cup dill, eggs, bread crumbs, and Old Bay.
- Mist an air fryer tray with the cooking oil spray.
- Shape your salmon mixture into three patties and place on the prepared air fryer tray. (Feel free to make four patties instead if you have an additional person to feed or if the larger patties aren't holding together well enough for you!)
- Brush the tops of your salmon patties with ½ tablespoon of the olive oil. (Watch the recipe video below if you like visuals!)
- Place the tray on the top rack of your air fryer. Air fry the salmon patties for 5 minutes at 400°F. Then gently flip the patties, brush with the final ½ tablespoon of the olive oil, and air fry for an additional 5 minutes at 400°F.
- While the salmon patties cook, make the lemon-dill tartar sauce. Simply stir all of the "for the lemon-dill tartar sauce" ingredients together. (Easy, right?!?)
- To serve, top the cooked patties with the tartar sauce. I enjoy these with lots of roasted veggies on the side. You can serve your salmon patties on a whole grain bun, or skip the bun for a lower carb meal.
Video
Notes
This is a level 3 recipe (weight maintenance and active lifestyles). These air fried salmon patties are 461 calories each with the tartar sauce, or 328 calories without. If you have a fat loss goal, I recommend skipping the tartar sauce. Try serving the patties with a simple squeeze of lemon instead. I enjoy including some extra indulgences for my foodie audience, but the patties offer plenty of lemon-dill flavor without the sauce. For a discussion about how I fit these patties into a healthful meal, don’t miss my article above. (You didn’t scroll on past it, did you? Hahaha)
Nutrition information is for one serving of the recipe.Nutrition
For an additional way to use canned salmon in recipes, try my salmon salad with sesame-orange dressing. Or try my salmon with lemon cream sauce if you want to use salmon fillets rather than salmon in a can. It is perfect if you’re looking for a special meal for two.
Have you ever tried air frying salmon? Be sure to drop me a line if you try this recipe for air fryer salmon patties. Once you see how easy it is to make salmon patties in an air fryer, there’s no going back!
Wonderful, Summer! I love crab cakes, of course, but now I seek variations on the original theme.
Not only do you provide one, and a great one at that, but you do it up in a manner that avoids most of the oily add-ons fish cakes tend to bring with them. Nice job!
Thank you! These will definitely be making a semi-regular reappearance in our household. I was thinking the recipe would probably work well with other canned fish as well!