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These baked salmon patties are made with canned salmon, packed with veggies, and baked in the oven, no frying required. They hold together beautifully, come out tender on the inside, and are perfect for babies, toddlers, and the whole family.
If you’ve ever struggled with salmon patties falling apart, this simple oven-baked method makes them easy, reliable, and weeknight-friendly.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love These Baked Salmon Patties
- Why Bake Salmon Patties Instead of Frying?
- Key Ingredients
- How to Make Baked Salmon Patties
- Time-saving tips
- Tips for preventing salmon cakes from falling apart
- Mango yogurt sauce
- Salmon Cakes for baby
- Is your baby 6 months old and up?
- Baked Salmon Patties FAQs
- Baked Ssalmon Patties Recipe
Why You’ll Love These Baked Salmon Patties
- Oven-baked, not fried. Less mess and healthier.
- Soft texture perfect for babies and toddlers
- Easy to adapt for adults with herbs, spices, or sauces
- Great for family dinners or meal prep
“My three year old and baby sister enjoyed these salmon patties 🙂 Wish we had canned salmon in our country, but it is worth having to make extra step with baking the salmon. Delicious!” – Ivana
I wasn’t exactly sure what to call these – salmon patties, cakes, or bites. They are the perfect size for baby led weaning and toddlers! If you’re new to Baby led weaning, be sure to check out my Ultimate Guide to Baby-Led Weaning for tips on getting started and serving foods safely.
Enjoy these baked salmon patties as a snack, meal, or add to lunch boxes for daycare, preschool, and beyond. They also freeze beautifully and are perfect for adding to your easy school lunch ideas for toddlers rotation.
You should also try these salmon quiche and salmon balls next. And if you want a complete meal, with protein, healthy fats, and carbs, try this sheet pan salmon and asparagus with potatoes.
Why Bake Salmon Patties Instead of Frying?
- Even cooking throughout
- Soft texture for young eaters
- Easier batch cooking and cleanup
Key Ingredients
I am highlighting just the ones that need further explanation. The complete list is in the recipe card below.
- Salmon – Wild caught Alaskan salmon has been shown to be the best option. Choose “no salt added” or “low sodium.” Also, look for BPA-free lining. You may find small bones, which you don’t need to go through the trouble of removing. They are edible and will provide a boost of calcium. See the ultimate guide to salmon for babies to learn more about safely introducing salmon to your baby.
- Vegetables – You can use whatever you have on hand. I personally like to use yellow onion, red bell pepper, and broccoli. You don’t have to be super exact with the amounts either. Just as long as you get 1 cup total you’ll be fine.
- Seasonings – Again, feel free to swap out with whatever you prefer. However, I highly encourage you to try with smoked paprika! It adds a subtle smoky flavor that is just so good!
- Panko – you can also use breadcrumbs.
- Ground flaxseeds – you can swap with 1 egg if there’s no allergy. Check out the ultimate guide to nuts for babies for everything you need to know about serving nuts and seeds to your baby!
How to Make Baked Salmon Patties
You’ll find the full recipe card with all the exact measurements at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Finely chop the vegetables. Cook until softened.
Step 2: Add all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Combine until well-incorporated.
Step 3: Shape into firm balls then flatten slightly using your palms.
Step 4: Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, flip and bake for an additional 5-8 minutes.
Time-saving tips
Prepping the vegetables is the most time-consuming part. I love using my mini manual food chopper for small tasks like this. While you can chop all the different vegetables together, I like to do them separately so you don’t over pulse. Otherwise, they will get too mushy.
While you are at it, I recommend that you chop extra to enjoy throughout the week. Add them to:
- oatmeal and eggs for breakfast
- yogurt – try one of my suggestions for the best yogurt for babies
- lentils – see this information on how to serve lentils for babies
- Easy savory french toast
- muffins – check out these 18 healthy muffins for babies for some ideas
- Favorite peanut butter waffles
Tips for preventing salmon cakes from falling apart
- Due to the variation in moisture content of canned goods, your cakes might not hold together well. If so, first try adding a bit more breadcrumbs. If that doesn’t work, add another flax egg, although I’ve never had to do this.
- Remove extra moisture – Pat the salmon dry after rinsing. COOK the veggies! Raw vegetables hold a lot of water, which will get released during cooking. It will also add more flavor so definitely don’t skip this step!
- Shape the mixture FIRMLY into balls first then flatten slightly between your palms.
Mango yogurt sauce
While these baked salmon patties are delicious on their own, serving them alongside a dip or sauce can make them more approachable to kids. Here’s a collection of the best dips/sauces for kids and babies.
You can blend the mango until completely smooth (here’s how to make homemade easy mango puree) or leave it slightly chunky. If you’re working on texture progression, leaving it slightly chunky offers valuable exposure. Learn more about this at textured foods: how to transition baby from puree to table food. Just like with vegetables, puree a whole mango and enjoy throughout the week in different ways.
Salmon Cakes for baby
For 6-8 month old baby:
Start with just 2-3 pieces of food. Seeing too much food on their plate can be overwhelming for babies. You can preload the mango sauce onto a spoon and lay it directly on the tray for your baby to pick up or hand it to them. I absolutely LOVE this spoon. It’s just the perfect design for tiny, clumsy hands.
This plate is pretty awesome too! It’s attached to the most powerful suction and is super spacious, allowing plenty of space for exploration!
Is your baby 6 months old and up?
Learn all the secrets to starting solids safely while optimizing nutrition!
For 9-12 month old baby:
Once their pincer grasp develops, you can cut the salmon cakes into bite-sized pieces. But you don’t have to. Serving the cake whole will be good practice for taking bites.
Related: How to serve the right food size and texture
Baked Salmon Patties FAQs
My favorite way is to reheat in the toaster oven at 350F until warm. You can also cook in a lightly greased skillet for a few minutes on each side over medium heat. If you want to microwave, do so briefly so they don’t get too soggy. You can also enjoy these cold.
Transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To freeze, I highly recommend flash freezing so that they don’t stick together in the freezer. This allows you to easily take out one at a time to thaw in the fridge.
Simply swap out panko with gluten free breadcrumbs or almond meal.
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating below and let me know how you liked the recipe! Your feedback means so much to me!
Baked Ssalmon Patties
Ingredients
- 12 ounce canned salmon
- 1/4 cup (30g) finely chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 cup (40g) finely chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup (40g) finely chopped broccoli florets
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2/3 cup (38g) panko, or almond meal
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
Mango yogurt sauce
- 1/2 cup full fat, plain Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons mango puree
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
- Combine 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons of warm water. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes until it thickens and turns into a gel-like consistency.
- Rinse and drain the salmon to remove excess sodium. Pat dry.
- Cook the vegetables in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat for several minutes, until softened. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients until well-incorporated.
- Scoop a large spoonful and using your hands shape into firm balls. You will end up with 14-16 balls. Then flatten slightly using your palms.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, flip and bake for an additional 5-8 minutes.
- Combine all the ingredients for the mango yogurt sauce.
- Enjoy together!
Notes
- Due to the variation in moisture content of canned goods, your cakes might not hold together well. If so, first try adding a bit more breadcrumbs. If that doesn’t work, add another flax egg, although I’ve never had to do this.
- Remove extra moisture: Pat the salmon dry after rinsing. COOK the veggies! Raw vegetables hold a lot of water, which will get released during cooking. It will also add more flavor so definitely don’t skip this step!
- Shape the mixture FIRMLY into balls first then flatten slightly between your palms.
- Transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If mangos are not in season, what other dip would you recommend goes well with this dish?
Thank you!
Have been making these for my little guy since he was 10 months old. Love doubling the recipe and freezing a batch. Everyone complains that they stink up the house but they are so healthy, easy, and my toddler loves them, so they can all light a candle! LOL
haha how adorable!!
How would you reheat these from frozen?
Best way is to thaw in the fridge and reheat in the microwave briefly!
How many cans of salmon do you use for these? I’m in Canada and our cans are about 150-200g and I’m not sure if they’re equivalent. Thanks!
Hi! 12 ounce total is how much you will need!
Do you use pink or red salmon for these?
both will work!
My three year old and baby sister enjoyed these salmon patties 🙂 Wish we had canned salmon in our country, but it is worth having to make extra step with baking the salmon. Delicious!
I’m so glad you guys enjoyed this recipe!!
Hi Ivana,
I was wondering if you can share how you baked the salmon and how you modified the recipe to implement it? Thank you!
has anyone tried this with canned tuna??
Yes! will work!
Hi
Thanks for this recipe. Will chia seeds work in replacement of flax seeds?
Haven’t tried but imagine it would work just fine!
Tried this recipe for the first time last night. My 3yo enjoyed it and my 14mo LOVED it. He couldn’t have enough! I used the air fryer at 180 C for 5 mins on each side. It turned out a little crisp on the outside, but we liked it that way. Thank you for all the amazing kids recipes!
This makes me so happy! Yay!! And good to know you can make this in the air fryer! Still trying to convince the hubby that we need one haha
Just tried this recipe and it was really good! My little one loved it! Love that I can freeze them too 😊
Woohoo!! Thanks for sharing with me! So glad you guys enjoyed this recipe. Love that they’re freezer friendly too ;).
Hi Min! Will fresh baked salmon work? Also can I leave out the panko? Thank you!
Hi Min,
I would also like to know if fresh salmon will work?
Sure!
Fresh salmon definitely works!
I had defrosted some salmon for my 10 month old, but I didn’t get to cook it as planned for her evening meal, as she stayed out later with her Mum.
I didn’t want it to go to waste, & I found this recipe online. (This is all in the same day, so the salmon wasn’t spoiled)
However, using the salmon, & the time getting late, I grabbed a bag of frozen veggie rice, which contains cauliflower, peas, corn, mushrooms, & more, & I cooked this in 2 cups in water.
I poached the salmon, then put that in a blender with the veggie rice (not blended to watery mush).
A cup of panko breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon of smokey paprika, & 1 egg mixed in, & then rolled in to balls & cooked as per MJ’s instructions.
They have turned out very nice.
However, I will be purchasing the necessary ingredients to try MJ’s recipe, as I’ve no doubt they will be better.
Thank you for the recipe MJ!
Thank you so much for sharing all this!! SO helpful!
Hi Min, thanks for the recipe. And the helpful comments from others.
I also used fresh salmon. Can we still freeze these for 3 months?
Yes!