Tips

• Use a cast-iron skillet to fry them. This will create a nice thick and crispy crust.
• Use less salt. Since canned salmon have salt in them.
• Remove the canned salmon bones. Otherwise, let them be for an extra calcium boost.
• Mix the ingredients with your hands. This will make it easy to bind the ingredients well.
• Use a high smoke point oil. Since we are frying salmon patties in a hot skillet, use a high smoke point oil such as avocado oil.
• Double the recipe. The leftover salmon cakes are a great option for quick weekday lunch with a green salad or a quick salmon patties burger with bun and lettuce.

Substitutions

• Substitute canned salmon. Other canned, fresh, or frozen fish fillets work just fine. Ground beef or ground chicken breast are other options.
• Substitute onion and garlic powder. Use leeks, chives, garlic, or shallot. Or use your favorite vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and bell peppers. Just make sure to chop them finely (or grate them) and remove their excess water. For maximum flavor sautee them before adding them to the batter.
• Use high smoke point oil. Butter, ghee, and coconut oil are great substitutes and have a high smoke point, like avocado oil.
• Replace the sourdough starter. Use bread crumbs, flour, cracker, or rolled oats with the addition of little water if you are not using eggs in this recipe.

Variations

• Make it vegan. Substitute salmon with grounded chickpeas, beans, or legumes. Grounded nuts such as walnuts, cashews, or peanuts are the other alternatives to this recipe.
• Leave the egg out when making vegan variations. Adding flour (+little water) will make up for it and help the patties to bind together. Although, if you use a sourdough starter, you do not need to use eggs either and make salmon patties without eggs. Another substitute for the egg is ground flaxseed and water.
• Make it gluten-free. Use plant-based flour such as almond flour instead.
• Make it keto-friendly. Replace the sourdough starter with a mixture of your favorite finely chopped fresh herbs such as cilantro, chives, parsley, oregano, mint, dill, or rosemary. Grated broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are other choices.
• Use your favorite spices and flavors. This is a great way to boost the flavor without adding many calories. Examples include cumin, ginger, pepper, or turmeric. Other options are lime or lemon juice, hot sauce, dijon mustard, and parmesan cheese.
• Bake the salmon cakes. Instead of frying them, add two tablespoons of oil to the mixture, and mix them all. Then, place the salmon patties on a greased sheet pan, and bake them at 400 °F for about 15 minutes or until crispy brown. Grilling them outside or baking them in an air fryer are other options.
• Tune it into a frittata. If you are in a hurry, you could make these salmon patties as one big skillet salmon patty. Pour all the salmon patty mixture into a preheated hot skillet over medium-low flame. Then, when one side of the patty is nice and brown, sprinkle some oil over it, transfer the skillet to the oven, and broil it for a few minutes until the top side is nice and brown. Then cut it into pieces and serve it.