These low-carb Salmon Croquettes with Dill Sauce are healthier than traditional deep-fried ones and use only egg as a binder rather than breadcrumbs or crackers.
Salmon Croquettes with Dill Sauce
These healthy salmon croquettes are made with canned salmon, a great pantry staple as it’s nonperishable, inexpensive, and good for you. The dill sauce is the perfect compliment. Serve them as an appetizer, lunch or part of a multi-course meal. You may also like these Salmon Cakes, Shrimp Cakes or Baked Lump Crab Cakes.
This recipe is from the Soul Food Love Cookbook (affil link) by Alice Randall and Caroline Randal Williams. They are a mother-daughter duo reclaiming and redefining “soul food by mining the traditions of four generations of black women and creating 80 healthy recipes to help everyone live longer and stronger. Together they overhauled the way they cook and eat, translating recipes and traditions handed down by generations of black women into easy, affordable, and healthful — yet still indulgent — dishes, such as Peanut Chicken Stew, Red Bean and Brown Rice Creole Salad, Fiery Green Beans, and Sinless Sweet Potato Pie.”
I made them and really enjoyed them, the lighter dill sauce was also delicious! The authors say, “Canned salmon formed into a patty and fried was dinner and sometimes breakfast in many hardworking black households in the middle of the twentieth century. Back in the day, salmon usually meant rich bindings and fillers like egg, flour, cracker crumbs, and bechamel sauce to hold them together. They were typically fried in an inch of bacon grease.”
This gluten-free salmon croquette recipe binds the patties together with egg only. Since there are no breadcrumbs, the croquettes will be delicate, so handle them delicately. If you’d like your croquettes to be a little firmer, you can add ¾ cup of breadcrumbs to the salmon mixture.
Seared in a little olive oil instead of being deep-fried, they are also good for you! .Salmon is full of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce the risk of heart disease. Plus, you get even more protein from the Greek yogurt in the dill sauce that’s served with these croquettes.
How to Serve Salmon Croquettes
- Serve the salmon patties over a salad like this Chopped Wedge Salad, Chopped Feta Salad, or Chickpea Salad with Cucumbers and Tomatoes.
- Serve with vegetables on the side. Try Potato and Green Bean Salad, Grilled Zucchini, or Wilted Baby Spinach.
- Add a bun and make a salmon burger.
More Salmon Recipes You’ll Love:
- Air Fryer Salmon with Maple Soy Glaze
- Baked Salmon with Fresh Herbs
- Salmon Avocado Salad
- Smoked Salmon Breakfast Flatbread
- Basil-Parmesan Crusted Salmon
Salmon Croquettes with Dill Sauce
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt or light sour cream
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 6 sprigs fresh dill, chopped
For the salmon:
- 4 cans, 7.5 ounces each unsalted salmon, packed in water
- 4 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Combine the dill sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Drain the salmon, remove and discard the skin and bones.
- Add it to a medium bowl with celery, onion, egg, salt and black pepper.
- Form into 8 patties, pressing together so they hold, they will be delicate.
- Heat a large skillet and add the oil, cook until browned on each side, about 5 minutes per side.
- Serve with a dollop of the sauce on each patty and serve.
It’s too bad Gina gets the brunt of bad reviews since the recipe originally came from someone else’s recipe book. Taste and texture was fantastic, and it was very easy to make! I did take the advice of adding 3/4 breadcrumbs, and will be trying 1tbs mayo next time to test a stronger binding.
Thank you for recognizing that!!
Can these been done in air fryer? And if so, how long & at what temp?
I added 3/4 cup breadcrumbs (gluten-free) and still had to be very careful handling them. I cannot imagine trying to form the patties without the extra binding. I also replaced the onion with some onion powder based on other reviews so wouldn’t have bits of somewhat raw onion in the finished product. Turned out great! Lovely flavor and the dill sauce was yummy. My husband usually doesn’t like salmon croquettes but he enjoyed these!
The raw white onion and uncooked celery makes this croquette very dry. In order
to bind and give some moisture 4 eggs have been added which is excessive even with two large cans of salmon. Just being a realist and stating the facts. PS: Red wild
canned salmon is the salmon of choice for best nutrients.
These are a tasty option for salmon cakes! I was able to keep them together without breadcrumbs, but had to be very careful when flipping. Also appreciate the feature of healthier “soul food” options and plan to check out this cookbook. Thanks for all the tasty recipes!
Be warned, pulling the bones out of canned salmon takes much longer than 20 minutes.
Do you think almond flour would work to help bind the salmon mixture and keep the carb count low??
Ended up having to add breadcrumbs to get it to really stick together, but otherwise really good flavor and texture. And the simple dill sauce is a delight.
Glad to see I was not alone in my experience here. The “patties” did not stick together at all–despite adding 3 tbsp breadcrumbs. I ended up just having salmon “mash”–a sort of ground salmon, celery, onion mixture. Not entirely sure how I will eat this. I guess since you end up breaking a salmon cake apart with your fork anyway, I can eat my “mash” as though it was once solid–even though it never was. For me, this came out like cooked ground turkey. So for that, I have to give it two stars. But the flavor was good.
Love this recipe! They are delicate but I had no trouble keeping them together. Some picky eaters in the house so I split it in half (one half of the recipe with celery and onions, the other half with onion powder and celery salt. Sear great in the pan, but I’m going to try them in the air fryer. Thanks, Gina for another delicious, quick, easy, and low carb option. You have never let me down!
Good base recipe but they really do not hold up. I think “delicate” was a polite understatement. However, if you are ok with a bit of extra fat, I used a tablespoon and a half(ish) of mayo as a binder, It kept them together, easy to shape and retained the moisture really well.
Also, whoever was noting the whole picking out bones etc…salmon is one of the few fish you can each the bones because they crush up easily. This gives a higher nutrition value for the extra calcium 😉
I can only give this 3 stars because this didn’t work for me. Like others, I couldn’t keep them together at all. But. I put it in a baking dish, baked it at 450 for about 10 minutes to warm it all through, and then put it under the broiler for a few to crisp the top. It tasted great. I just wish it would have worked out as cakes.
I saw about getting the small cans so there wouldn’t be bones and skin but I thought 7.5 was small enough. Wasn’t. Gag. Hard to eat anything when you have had to plow through it and pick tiny round bones and skin off. I’m trying it again with smaller cans.
If you have access to Costco there salmon is delicious and has NO bones or skin.