Southwest Salmon Cakes with Avocado Ranch Aioli
These Southwest Salmon Cakes with Avocado Ranch Aioli make an easy 30-minute Whole30 & Keto dinner with a little kick – just the way I like it 🙂
Salmon cakes are one of those things I used to feel kinda “meh” about – but now I LOVE them. They have quickly become one of my favorite easy weeknight meals to make! I decided to create my own version with a Mexican twist (because who doesn’t love Mexican themed meals?!). Believe me when I say, these Southwest Salmon Cakes are the only salmon cakes you’ll ever need!
These salmon cakes and the aioli are Whole30 friendly, keto friendly, paleo, gluten free, etc. Salmon is also a great way to get in your Omega 3’s! I like to bake my salmon cakes to avoid the whole grease splattering out of the pan thing. Anything to create less of a mess = my friend. Because my house is already enough of a mess thanks to the 3 little people who live here.
I love using Wild Planet or Costco Brand canned wild caught salmon. I prefer no skin and bones!
Can you make these Southwest Salmon Cakes in the Air Fryer?
Yes! I tried this the other night and did 425 for 13-15 minutes. Check them to make sure they aren’t getting too brown! You can spray the basket and the tops of the salmon cakes with olive or avocado oil.
These would be perfect served with my Southwest Breakfast Potatoes or my Fool Proof Roasted Sweet Potatoes. And the aioli….feel free to put it on EVERYTHING.
Southwest Salmon Cakes with Avocado Ranch Aioli
Ingredients
Salmon Cakes
- 4 6 oz cans boneless/skinless salmon, drained, I like Wild Planet brand!
- 1/2 medium red onion, diced
- 1/8 cup chopped fresh cilantro, can use parsley if you prefer!
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ghee or olive oil
Avocado Ranch Aioli
- 1 large avocado, peeled and pitted
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried minced onion
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
- 1/2 tsp dried chives
- 2 tbsp water, more if you want it thinner
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425. Combine all salmon cake ingredients in a large bowl and mix well, making sure to break up all of the salmon pieces. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a pastry brush to spread cooking oil of choice over the parchment paper.
- Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop up the mixture and form 8 1-inch thick patties using your hands. Place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 mins, then remove from the oven and flip using a spatula. Return them to the oven for an additional 10 minutes until browned and cooked through.
- While the cakes are baking, make the aioli. Combine all aioli ingredients in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. Add water as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve the salmon cakes with the aioli. Enjoy!
70 Comments on “Southwest Salmon Cakes with Avocado Ranch Aioli”
These are delicious!! Even my kids who are usually a little seafood averse were obsessed, they asked for leftovers multiple times. The aioli is bomb and I’ll be making it on the regular for everything 🙂
Thanks Jodi!! I’m so glad you loved them!!
I am not one for Salmon Cakes, but these were good. I substituted fresh Salmon and added Toasted Sesame Seeds. I am enjoying your recipes. We had the Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole last night for dinner. Very tasty! Tomorrow, I am taking the Buffalo Tuna Salad for lunch. Thanks for sharing these great recipes.
Hi Taffy! Thanks so much for the kind words. I’m so glad you’re loving the recipes! Thanks for your support 🙂
Absolutely loved this recipe!!! Not only was it easy to make but soooooo good! I will be keeping this one in rotation!
Thank you so much for letting me know! I am so glad you loved it!!
This is the FIRST Whole30 ranch recipe I’ve made and actually ENJOYED! I’m not a big dill fan so I decreased the amount to just under a 1/4 tsp and it is PERFECTION.
Yay! That makes me happy! So glad you loved it 🙂
Made these for lunch today — got my teenagers to eat avocado 🤣🤣🤣 I made them on the stovetop bcuz we don’t have A/C and I didn’t want to heat up the house. Easy, delicious & filling – win! win! win!
Yay! I’m so glad!! Thanks <3
I’m not big on salmon cakes, but gave this recipe a try during Whole30. I’m so glad I did! These were phenomenal and will now be part of my normal rotation. We couldn’t get enough of these and the leftovers were equally fantastic!
Oh wonderful! I am so glad you liked them!! Thanks for letting me know <3
To👏die👏for👏!!! And the aioli!! Man. So good. Super simple and easy to make, super hard not to eat them all in one sitting 😂
The absolute best! So easy to make and so delicious. That aioli accents the patties so well
Thanks, Janessa! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Making these for the 5th time tonight. My daughter loves salmon and requests these patties often. So healthy and delicious. Another great recipe from Maryswholelife.
OH YAY! Love this! Thanks Kim!
Made these last night and they were tasty! My husband & I both enjoyed. Pretty easy to make too. I realized after mixing and finding it very wet that my salmon cans were an ounce less each than the recipe states so I added more almond flour to thicken it up a bit. Still a very wet mixture — like a very moist tuna salad! But once you scoop onto the parchment paper you can easily just flatten/shape with your hands and they baked up nicely.
Not super into the avocado ranch aioli but probably just personal preference — we found it needed more acid & salt and we both ended up adding hot sauce, which really helped. Next time I would probably make the same aioli I make for crab cakes — mayo, garlic, lemon juice, salts, and lots of black pepper. But for those who still want to try the avocado aioli, I found it blended up nicely with a stick blender.
I plan on making theses soon as they sound incredibly delicious!! I wanted to ask, just just for ideas, what do/would you serve with this for dinner?
Roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, cauliflower rice, anything you want! 🙂
These were delicious! Do you think you could sub the mayo for Greek yogurt?
Yay! And yes that should be fine!
SO DELICIOUS! I’m not a big fan of leftovers, but these reheated well for lunches, and it made so many patties! I froze some for a couple weeks and still were tasty. Thanks Mary!
Awesome, glad to hear this! Thanks Alex!
Do you think I could substitute finely chopped shrimp instead of salmon? (I have shrimp in the freezer already & am trying not to go to the grocery store too often)
Ruthie
Hi Ruth – sorry for the delay on this! It might work but I haven’t tried it – so can’t say for sure. Would love to know if you try it how it goes!
I made it with raw shrimp. Used food processor to chop it (wanted to leave some chunky). Then added your recipe ingredients. They turned out super!
Amazing! So great to know it works!
Canned Salmon? I was skeptical, I’ll admit it. I figured this would be a fill in meal for the week. One that I would eat because I knew it was good for me and I’d be done with it. Boy, was I wrong!! This. Is. Amazing. I can not get over how good these are. SUCH a pleasant surprise. Have definitely made this several times now.
Woo hoo! This is so great to hear!
Mary has never let me down! Just finished eating these, and my husband high-fived me & said he was sad that it was all gone when he cleared his plate. I halved the recipe because I’m not into fish leftovers, but I clearly should have made the full recipe amount! 😂 This recipe was easy to whip up & SO GOOD.
Thank you so much, Holly! So glad you guys enjoyed it!
These were very good and had such a good flavor – I loved the combination of the southwest seasonings and the salmon – and so did everyone else! I was hoping for more leftovers 😉 but was so glad they were such a hit for dinner!
So glad to hear it, Lucy! Thank you!
These are amazing! They are simple and delicious and the sauce is perfection! My 2 picky kids both enjoyed them too! I’ll definitely be making these again! Thanks for sharing these awesome recipes!
yay! Thank you, Shannon! Glad you all enjoyed them.
I made these for dinner last night – except, I used canned tuna instead. Marvelous!! We love all things avocado at our house so it was extra marvelous!!
Thanks Julie! Glad to hear they worked with tuna!
These were so ridiculously delicious!! So much better then we anticipated. We had them for 4 days straight. We had them for dinner the 1st night over chopped romaine and used the aioli as the dressing & decided this had to be a new go to dish! The next day I had one cold for lunch and loved it, my husband took one on a sandwich for lunch to work and loved it! Thank you so much for this recipe. It will go into my Favorite Recipe binder!
Thank you Rhonda! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed them 🙂
I would love to make these but I am on a strict calories and macro count right now. Can you provide the nutrition facts?
Hi, I don’t have capabilities for tracking the nutritional info on here currently. Hoping to change that soon!
These were way better than I thought they would be, especially after opening the cans of salmon and immediately being overwhelmed by the smell, but don’t let that sway you. They were so yummy, and even my 14 year old (who says he doesn’t like salmon) and 11 year old ate all of theirs and both said they liked it! 😁
Thank you Valerie! So glad you enjoyed them
These salmon cakes were delicious! The family loved them and the recipe is so versatile. The avocado ranch aioli is a keeper too!
Thanks Charity! So glad you enjoyed them!
What kind of mayo did you use in your recipe? I’m going to have to try these!
Sir Kensington’s Avocado Oil Mayo!
Tried this during a W30 and now a family favorite!
These are soooooo good! I make them at least once or twice a month. So easy and healthy and the flavors are on point!!!! Absolutely delish!!!
Thank you so much, Caroline!
I made 2 versions – 1 with canned salmon and 1 with canned chicken (yes, canned chicken). Both were surprisingly delicious! I didn’t have a blender handy so I just mashed the aioli ingredients together with a fork and I omitted the water altogether. That worked well and we enjoyed the texture. I recommend serving with a salad on the side. This makes a very satisfying dinner. Definitely a keeper!
These are SO good! And easy to make! They’re so delicious that I made a batch to give to my Grandfather for Christmas because he’s impossible to shop for and he LOVES when I make these! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe. It’s a keeper that I make frequently. We love to eat these on salads, with eggs for breakfast, with zoodles… so many options!
Thank you Emily!!
SO HAPPY I found this recipe. I had so much canned salmon in my pantry, no good recipes…and then this miracle happened. That sauce, those patties…
Is almond flour the only option here?
No you can use coconut flour – just use 1/3 the amount!
These were so easy to make and so yummy. My 4 and 3 year old loved them. They will be in our regular rotation. Especially since they use ingredients I always have on hand!!
These were AWESOME! It was hard to just eat one. I’ve been trying to get more salmon in my diet, and I will definitely makes these again!
Wow, are these delicious! My first time making salmon cakes and everyone ate them up, even the five year old. I had a leftover cake for breakfast the next day with a fried egg on top. Can’t wait to make them again! Between your blog and cookbook, you have gotten my husband and me through our first Whole30 – thank you!
Thanks Mary! So glad you enjoyed it!!!
Made these tonight, or actually my daughter did, and they are delicious. Such an easy meal to make and have lunch for several days.
Hi Mary, do you have the nutrient/calorie breakdown? Following clean keto and think this might be a good one to try
Just added the nutritional info! Hope it helps! 🙂
Thx a bunch
We love this recipe and make it often. It’s so easy and flavorful. I’ve used both canned salmon and canned tuna and it works beautifully with either. One of our favorites!
Thanks Amanda!
First attempt ever at making salmon cakes and I loved them. In fact, my whole family loved them. Next time iight add more seasoning but, to be honest, I’m a cumin addict 😉
I’m allergic to eggs. Has anyone tried making these with an egg alternative such as flax eggs? If so, how did it turn out?
I haven’t tried it but I think it would work, Sam!