As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. See privacy policy for more details. Thank you!
These Crispy Salmon Fish Cakes with Creamy Basil Lime Sauce are fresh and colorful and full of so many great flavors, and can be made ahead and freeze beautifully! In fact, this is one of my favorite leftover salmon recipes!
It starts with a salmon filet (leftovers?) and then we add Thai flavors and Panko and create something that is light and crispy and bursting with flavor. Say, "goodbye", to your old tartar sauce recipe, these cakes are deliciously complemented by a creamy basil lime sauce. It is so unique and delicious and every time I have served these cakes for guests, I get tons of recipe requests!
Ingredients
Fish Cakes
- 1-2lbs Salmon Filet (fresh, or cooked leftovers are perfect too!)
- Green Onion
- Red Bell Pepper
- Cilantro
- Garlic
- Lime
- Ginger
- Fish Sauce
- Red Curry Paste
- Panko Japanese Breadcrumbs
- Egg
- Vegetable Oil
Basil Lime Sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Lime
- Jalapeรฑo
- Garlic
- Fresh Basil Leaves (12-20 or about 1 ounce)
Prep
The first step is to bake the Salmon. Simply season with salt and pepper and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 14 minutes.
Once that is done, just wait for the filet to cool and then flake it into a large bowl and add all the of the other ingredients. Mix it all up, form it into balls, and then pop them in the fridge for an hour or so so they have a chance to set up.
While the Fish cakes are in the fridge, you can make the Sauce, which is simply 5 ingredients all blended together and seasoned. I love my Immersion Blender! It works so well for this sauce. If you don't have one, I highly recommend you add it to your cooking arsenal. Otherwise you can use a powerful blender, or Mortar and Pestle. While it sits, the flavors will all meld and develop into a sauce that deliciously complements the flavors of the Salmon Cakes.
A Meal for you, a Treat for your Pups!
After you bake the Salmon filets, you will strip the skin off. The skin releases really easily once they are cooked, and maybe I am a weirdie, but it is so satisfying to pull the skin off!! Maybe I shouldn't admit that. Please tell me you like it too!!! So anyway, my point in confessing my sick love of peeling fish skin is to say that you can use the skins! If you have pups, you can easily turn the discarded skins into treats for them! Here is my recipe for Crispy Salmon Skin Dog Treats. They are just like the ones you can buy at Trader Joe's or more expensive Pet Supply Stores! RallyRoo and Mr. Wormie Worm highly recommend them.
How to Cook your Fish Cakes...
Up until this step, everything can be done in advance. This last step, however, needs to be done when everything else is ready to go. Then, when the cakes come out of the pan, you are ready to dish them up. You will simply drizzle them with the Creamy Basil Lime Sauce and serve them, nice and hot to your guests!
Make sure you use a nice skillet or heavy cast iron pan, like this one. I don't recommend using a non-stick pan because we need to get the pan nice and hot, and that isn't good for most non-stick pans.
Heat your pan on medium high heat and when it is nice and hot, add the oil. Give the oil a minute to heat up, so that when you place your cakes in the oil, they immediately start bubbling and crisping up. If the oil is not hot, the cakes will just soak up the oil and make greasy, soggy cakes, and nobody wants that.
While it is heating up, use about a half cup of Panko breadcrumbs and coat each of the cakes lightly. Finally by now, the oil should be ready.
Place the fish cakes in the pan, making sure to leave a little bit of space between each one. Let them brown for about 2 minutes per side. Once they are nice and golden brown, flip them over and let them sit for another couple of minutes. Have your plates ready to go so that when the cakes are done, you can plate them up and drizzle them with the Creamy Basil Lime Sauce, and serve 'em up!
What to serve them with?
I like to serve them with a coconut rice and a non-starchy vegetable of some kind. Roasted asparagus, sauteรฉd green beans, or an asian slaw are all delicious options. This Steamed Artichoke with Sriracha Aioli would be a perfect appetizer before this meal, or as a side as well.
Why this is the Perfect Recipe...
This recipe is nice for a variety of reasons. For one, it is unique and so delicious. It is also a recipe that can be prepped ahead of time so that all you have to do is crisp up the cakes at the last minute before you serve your guests.
Another huge benefit is that if you have extra cakes, they freeze brilliantly and they are just as good reheated at a later time!
Finally, this is one of my top 10 favorite recipes because they are so easy to make! Your guests won't understand how you created such a beautiful, flavorful meal without appearing to have worked very hard at all!
More Fish Recipes
If you are trying to incorporate more fish into your diet, try this Rockfish with Yuzu Butter Sauce. It is fresh and light and delicious. If you are looking for a unique appetizer for your guests who love sushi, check out this recipe for Poke Nachos. If you like Poke, I think this wil become your new appetizer that you put on repeat!
Enjoy! I am so confident that you and your guests will love this dish and will be asking for more or the recipe, or both! โฅ๏ธ
Yes! You can freeze the raw cakes, and also the cooked cakes! Either way, place them in a tightly sealed snap lock container, or a large plastic freezer bag (remove as much of the air as possible). They freeze nicely for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to eat them, you can cook the frozen raw cakes in 375ยฐF air fryer for 15 minutes, or you can defrost them in the fridge overnight and then pan fry them according to directions in the recipe .
For the cooked fish cakes, let them defrost overnight in the fridge. Then, place them on a baking sheet or dish and warm them in a preheated 350ยฐF oven for about 20 minutes, until they are hot and crisp and the internal temperature is 165ยฐF.
You can....but they won't be crisp, so I wouldn't recommend it if you have other options.
Yes! You sure can. In fact I prefer doing this! Make the fish cakes and place them on a baking sheet and cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. You can make the basil lime aioli ahead of time too! This is one of those recipes where everything just gets better the second day!
Latest Posts
- Maple Roasted Delicata Squash with Sage Brown Butter Sauce
- 5 Easy Thanksgiving Appetizers Your Guests Will Love
- Roasted Beet Hummus
- Crostini with Buttery Golden Oyster Mushrooms
- Butternut Squash Ravioli with Crispy Sage and Brown Butter
I hope you give this recipe a shot! If you do, I would love to hear how you like them in the comments below! Thank you and thank you for visiting Mollie in Montana~*โฅ๏ธ
๐ Recipe
Crispy Salmon Fish Cakes with Creamy Basil Lime Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Fresh Salmon Filet
- 1 Green Onion chopped (both green and white parts)
- ยผ Cup red, orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped
- ยผ Cup Chopped Cilantro
- 1 large garlic clove, minced or grated
- ยฝ Lime, Juiced
- 1 Tbl Minced Fresh Ginger
- 1 teaspoon Fish Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Red Curry Paste
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 1 Cup Panko Japanese breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- ยฝ Cup Canola or Vegetable Oil
Creamy Basil Lime Sauce
- 1 Cup Mayonnaise
- 1 Lime, Juiced (about 2 T juice)
- 1 Jalapeรฑo chopped
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- 12 Large Basil leaves
- Pinch Salt (or more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ยฐ.
- Season the Salmon Filets with Salt and Pepper and bake for 14 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Once it has completely cooled, remove the skins (set those aside if you'd like to use for dog treats!) and flake the Salmon into a large bowl.
- Add green onion, bell peppers, garlic, ginger, lime juice, fish sauce, curry paste, cilantro, salt and ยฝ cup panko breadrumbs to the bowl and mix together.
- Add egg to mixture and scramble it with a fork, and then mix it completely into the salmon mixture.
- Use about ยฝ cup of salmon mixture to form into ball and place on baking sheet. Form 12 balls or as many as you can until you've used all the mixture. Gently pat each ball down to form a Salmon cake.
- Cover cakes with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour, to give them time to set up.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or sautรฉ pan, add oil.
- Coat Salmon cakes with remaining ยฝ cup of Panko and place in skillet. Cook in skillet for about 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
Creamy Basil Lime Sauce
- Add all ingredients to bowl and use Immersion Blender to create sauce.
- Blend until all ingredients are combined and there are no (or very few) lumps.
- Drizzle sauce over cakes and serve immediately.
Notes
Notes:
- If you'd like to double this recipe, it is super easy! Double everything except the fish sauce and the salt!
- These Fish Cakes freeze beautifully! If you have a vacuum sealer, just seal 'em up! If you don't...the super low budget way to accomplish the same thing is to place the cakes in a gallon sized freezer zip top bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can as you seal, then when you get to the last half inch, insert a straw into the little hole, and suck the last bit of air out. Then remove the straw and quickly seal that last little bit. Works like a charm! ๐ The biggest goal is to get out as much air a possible to keep it fresh and avoid freezer burn.ย
- You can make the creamy basil lime sauce a day in advance.
- Check out theseย Salmon Skin Dog Treats for a great way to use the salmon skin!
- Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know! ๐