Paleo Salmon Cakes

Whole30 and Paleo Salmon Cakes Recipe with homemade light caesar dressing. No egg, mayonnaise, and anchovies. These egg-free Paleo Salmon Cakes use fresh salmon and are super flavorful and easy to make, paired with dairy-free caesar salad dressing for a light and healthy meal.

Paleo Salmon Cakes Recipe

To celebrate the first day of the spring, I wanted to share a super healthy and flavorful Paleo Salmon Cakes recipe. It took me a few tries to make my salmon cakes with no egg, gluten, flour, and starch. I pair these cakes with homemade light caesar dressing that’s also no egg, no mayonnaise, and no anchovies that everyone’s been asking for. Be sure to read on for this simple, healthy, and super awesome recipe!

How to make Paleo Salmon Cakes (without egg, sweet potatoes, and flour)

To make no egg, sweet potatoes (low carb and starch), and flour Paleo Salmon Cakes you’ll need –

1. Fresh herbs and aromatics like parsley or cilantro and shallot
2. Lime juice, zest, and Thai Kitchen red curry paste (for extra flavor)
3. 1 flaxseed (or chia) egg (see recipe below)
4. Dry spice seasonings + vegetables chopped in a food processor

How to make a Flax (or Chia) egg to substitute for a real egg

To make flax (or chia) egg is extremely simple. The ratio is about –

1. 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (i.e. flaxseed meal) mixed with 3 tbsp room temperature water
2. Stir and mix well. Set aside for 20-30 minutes to allow it to bloom and gel.
3. The same ratio applies to ground chia seeds.

And there you have it. Simple wonderful egg substitute for people who are allergic to eggs. One thing to know is that since they aren’t real eggs so if a recipe calls for more than 2 eggs, chia and flax eggs won’t produce the best results.

How to make dairy free caesar dressing (no egg, no mayonnaise, no anchovies)

For people who are allergic to eggs or want a lighter homemade caesar dressing, my dairy-free caesar dressing is wonderful for seafood, grilled chicken, steak, and salad. You’ll need –

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 tsp homemade Worcestershire sauce (Paleo Whole30 Keto friendly)
• ¼ tsp each coarse salt and ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast
• ½ cup olive oil

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Slow stream in olive oil and whisk at the same time until the dressing is emulsified. My husband absolutely loves this homemade caesar dressing. I highly recommend that you give it a try! If you want a more creamy, rich, and smokey sauce, my bacon aioli is a great pairing for the salmon cakes, too!

To make a fuss and mess-free Paleo Salmon Cakes, I first use a ¼ cup measurement to roughly portion out each cake over a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper. I lightly grease my hands with olive oil before forming salmon cake patties so that the fish is less likely to stick to my hands. I also prepare a clean paper towel next to my olive oil bottle so that when I need more oil to grease my palms I can use the paper towel to hold the oil bottle.

These Paleo Salmon Cakes with Dairy-Free Caesar Dressing are –

Healthy
Simple
Moist and flavorful
No egg and mayonnaise
No sweet potatoes and starch flour
Paleo Whole30 Keto friendly

If you give this Paleo Salmon Cakes recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment and rate the recipe. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #IHeartUmami on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. XOXO !

5 from 14 votes

Paleo Salmon Cakes Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 6 minutes mins

Total Time: 26 minutes mins

Servings: 10 cakes

Author: ChihYu Smith

Whole30 and Paleo Salmon Cakes Recipe with homemade light caesar dressing. No egg, mayonnaise and anchovies. These egg-free Paleo Salmon Cakes use fresh salmon and are super flavorful and easy to make, paired with dairy-free caesar salad dressing for a light and healthy meal.

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 to 1.25 lbs wild caught salmon, boneless and skinless
• ▢ 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal, or ground chia seeds + 3 tbsp water OR 1 egg
• ▢ Mixed green salad of your choice, for serving

Wet ingredients:

• ▢ Half of one whole shallot
• ▢ ¼ cup parsley or cilantro
• ▢ ¼ cup carrots
• ▢ Half of one whole lime zest and juice
• ▢ 3 tsp Thai Kitchen red curry paste
• ▢ ½ tsp coarse salt
• ▢ ½ cup frozen spinach, Optional. Defrost and squeeze out liquid

Dry seasonings:

• ▢ ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ▢ ¼ tsp onion powder
• ▢ Dash red chili powder, optional

Dairy-free Ceasar dressing (makes about 3/4 cup):

• ▢ ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 1 garlic clove, grated
• ▢ 1 tsp homemade worcestershire sauce, Paleo Whole30 Keto friendly
• ▢ ¼ tsp each coarse salt and ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ▢ 3 heaping tbsp nutritional yeast
• ▢ ½ cup olive oil
• ▢ Combine first 6 ingredients. Slow stream in olive oil and whisk at the same time until the dressing is emulsified.

Instructions 

• 1 Flax egg: Mix well 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (flax meal) with 3 tbsp room temperature water. Set aside for 20-30 mins while preparing other ingredients. The same ratio applies to ground chia seeds.
• Prep: Pulse and toss the “wet ingredients” in a food processor until the carrots are finely chopped. Set aside. Mince the salmon in a food processor to finner pieces but still has some chunky texture for cakes. Combine minced salmon, ‘wet ingredients’, ‘dry seasonings’, and 1 flax egg. Use your hands to thoroughly combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. The mixture will be loose at first but after a few minutes it will come together to bind.
• Form cakes: Use a ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop the mixture and set onto a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Grease your hands with olive or avocado oil. Then delicately form the ablls into patties.*
• Cook: Preheat a large skillet over medium heat without oil until the skillet is well heated. Add 2-3 tbsp avocado oil and allow oil to come up to temperature before adding patties. Do this in batches so to no overcrowd the skillet. Cook patties about 3 minutes then carefully and gently flip using a spatula. Cook an additional 3 minutes for well-done. 2 minutes per side for a medium-rare centre.
• Serve with a bed of mixed leafy greens of your choice and drizzle my dairy-free caesar dressing over the greens and salmon cakes.

Notes

*To avoid mess when forming salmon cakes, I also prepare a clean paper towel next to my olive oil bottle so when I need more oil to grease my palms I can use the paper towel to hold the oil bottle.

 

To make-ahead – Since this recipe has no raw egg, follow steps 1 through 3. Set the cakes in sealed airtight glass container in the fridge. Best finish cooking/eating within 3 days.

 

If use real egg, finish Step 2 WITHOUT mixing-in the egg. Store the salmon mixture in glass containers in the fridge. Add egg and form salmon cakes before cooking. Best finish cooking/eating within 3 days.

 

The nutritional label is calculated per salmon cake without the dressing sauce. 

Nutrition

Calories: 82kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 155mg, Potassium: 344mg, Vitamin A: 2285IU, Vitamin C: 12mg, Calcium: 29mg, Iron: 1mg

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian American

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Tag @iheartumami.ny on Instagram and hashtag it #iheartumami.

Also check out my Paleo Halibut Lemon Piccata  and Vietnamese Easy Garlic Shrimp!