Crispy Southern Salmon Patties

Southern Salmon Patties combine canned salmon, cajun seasoning, and cornmeal in this easy crispy Southern style salmon patty recipe.

Why this recipe works:

This recipe is a spin on my classic salmon patties. I changed out a few of the ingredients, including adding some of my homemade cajun seasoning, to give them a subtle spicy flavor and a crispy cornmeal coating. If you are a salmon patty fan, you'll love this variation of the recipe!

Crispy Southern Salmon Patties are the kind of easy dinner recipe that is perfect for a busy weeknight.

First of all, you might just find that you already have the ingredients needed to make Southern Salmon Patties on hand. I've taken to buying the boneless skinless canned salmon at Costco. This allows me to avoid having to pick the bones, skin, and dark flesh out. I never let my pantry run out.

How to make this recipe:

You'll see how easy these pan fried salmon patties really are to make.

The first step is to saute up some diced onion in butter. It was one of my readers, in fact, who told me to saute them first. This would not only make them more mild in the finished salmon patty, but it would allow them to not burn when cooking the salmon patty in some hot oil. You'll want to set those sauteed onions aside and let them cool a bit.

Next step is to combine all of the ingredients except the oil and the cornmeal, including the cooked onions, in a large bowl. You can use a wooden spoon but you're going to have to get your hands dirty to form the salmon patties, so you might as well get them in there to do the final mixing.

Form this mixture into four patties, then coat both sides in the cornmeal.

Using the same pan you used to cook the onions, heat the oil to just below the smoking point and cook your Southern salmon patties until they're nice and crispy, turning only once.

You can eat them hot for dinner or eat them cold on a salad the next day!

What to serve with Salmon Patties?

With my traditional salmon patty recipe, I almost always serve them with brown rice and a salad. For this Southern version, I like to break out my favorite Southern sides.

You can't go wrong with a good mac and cheese recipe on the side. How about grits? I think I may have made grits only once or twice, but they'd be great with these cajun salmon patties. Anyone like collard greens? Those would be fantastic as well.

To be honest, salmon patties are pretty versitile and easy side dish recipes that would taste great with them aren't difficult to find.

Crispy Southern Salmon Patties

Southern Salmon Patties combine canned salmon, cajun seasoning, and cornmeal in this easy crispy Southern style salmon patty recipe. 

5 from 5 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Hover to scale: 4 servings

Chef: Krissy Allori

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ yellow onion (minced)
• ▢ 1 T butter
• ▢ 12 oz salmon (2-6oz boneless skinless cans, drained)
• ▢ 1 tsp cajun seasoning
• ▢ 1 T lemon juice
• ▢ ½ cup saltine crackers (crushed)
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ ½ tsp pepper
• ▢ 1 egg (slightly beaten)
• ▢ ½ cup cornmeal
• ▢ 2 T olive oil (more or less, depends on size of pan)

Instructions

• In large saute pan over medium high heat, saute onions in butter until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In large bowl, combine salmon, cajun seasoning, lemon juice, crushed saltines, salt, pepper, egg, and the cooked onions. Stir well to combine. Form into four patties.
• Place cornmeal in shallow dish and coat each patty on both sides.
• Using same pan you cooked the onions, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the salmon patties and cook until crisp on both sides, about 5-8 minutes each side. Serve hot or cold.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Calories: 345kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 460mg | Potassium: 543mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 465IU | Vitamin C: 2.5mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 2mg

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