My interest in canned salmon has recently been reignited, so I decided to start playing around with it again. I figured a good salmon burger would be a great place to start, but I wanted to make it a little more special. So, I threw some of my Homemade Cajun Seasoning into the mix and ended up with a burger that is super flavorful and easy. It’s safe to say that these Cajun Salmon Burgers are going to be a staple on my “easy weeknight dinners” list!
Why Canned Salmon?
Canned salmon might not be the first choice for everyone, but it’s super convenient and a great economical choice since it’s shelf-stable. You can keep canned salmon on hand for last minute meals, without worrying about it spoiling. You can certainly use fresh salmon, if preferred. Just cook the salmon through before preparing the burgers. You’ll need about 1 cup cooked and flaked salmon.
Can I use Store Bought Cajun Seasoning?
Yep! Just be aware that many prepared Cajun seasoning blends contain a lot of salt, so you may have to use a light hand. That’s why I prefer to use my own Cajun seasoning, which allows me to adjust the salt as needed. For these Cajun Salmon Burgers I used 1/4 of my Homemade Cajun Seasoning recipe, or about 1/2 Tbsp in volume.
How to Serve Cajun Salmon Burgers
I took the easy route and topped my burgers with some spring mix and a couple of tablespoons of guacamole. You could always take a more traditional route and do just a little mayo, lettuce, and tomato. Or, if you want to get a little fancy, you can mix up some remoulade sauce to use in place of the mayo. These Cajun Salmon burgers would also be great on a salad, instead of being served on a bun!
Cajun Salmon Burgers
Servings 2Ingredients
- 6 oz. Canned Salmon (boneless, skinless) ($4.69)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs ($0.06)
- 1 large egg ($0.25)
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp stone ground mustard ($0.02)
- 1 green onion, sliced ($0.05)
Cajun Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp oregano ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp thyme ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp onion powder ($0.02)
- 1 pinch cayenne (or to taste) ($0.01)
- 1 pinch freshly cracked pepper ($0.01)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.01)
For Cooking:
- 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.02)
- 1/2 Tbsp butter ($0.03)
Optional for Serving:
- 2 buns ($0.83)
- 1/4 cup guacamole ($0.66)
- 1 cup spring mix ($0.32)
Instructions
- Drain the canned salmon and add it to a bowl with the breadcrumbs, egg, mayonnaise, mustard, green onion, and Cajun seasoning spices. Stir to combine the ingredients, then refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow time for the spices to blend and the breadcrumbs to absorb moisture.
- After 30 minutes, shape the salmon mixture into two patties, about 3-4 inches in diameter each.
- Heat the oil and butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Once the butter is melted and begins to foam, add the salmon burgers and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until the burgers are well browned.
- To serve, place one burger on each bun, add 2 Tbsp guacamole to each, and top with a small handful of spring mix. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Cajun Salmon Burgers – Step by Step Photos
This is the brand of canned salmon I used and it was really good. Nice chunks, no skin, no bones. It was $4.69 at my local health food store, but Kroger has it for $3.59 on their website (the Kroger in my neighborhood didn’t stock it). This isn’t sponsored, I just tried this brand because I had read some good reviews on it.
Drain the canned salmon and then add it to a bowl. If you want to use fresh salmon, just cook it and flake it up first. You’ll need about 1 cup cooked salmon.
Add 1 large egg, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, 1 Tbsp mayonnaise, 1/2 tsp coarse ground mustard, 1 sliced green onion (I forgot to add it until after this photo) and the Cajun seasoning blend: 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp onion powder, a pinch of cayenne, a pinch of freshly cracked pepper, and 1/8 tsp salt.
Mix all of those ingredients together until evenly combined, then refrigerate this mixture for 3o minutes. This gives the spices time to really blend together and the breadcrumbs time to absorb some of the liquid.
After 30 minutes, shape the salmon mixture into two patties. Each should be about 3-4 inches in diameter. The mixture will be fairly wet, but don’t worry, they will firm up when the egg cooks.
Heat 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil and 1/2 Tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted and is starting to foam, add the salmon burgers and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until they are well browned.
To build the salmon burgers place one patty on each bun, top with 2 Tbsp guacamole, and a small handful of spring mix.
Enjoy!!
Delicious! I was a bit worried about how wet and goopy the patty was that it wasn’t going to hold together, but thankfully she put that in her recipe not to worry about it because it wasn’t a problem.
It was really yummy! May want to add more spices/ seasoning either in the patties or my guacamole but family all liked it! My dad thought I bought the patties pre made.
I didn’t really use Tony’s til I moved to the south, now of course it’s a home staple. But you’re right about the salt, what I normally do is a sprinkling of Tony’s and then an extra pinch of cayenne because what I’m really after is the kick!
It really makes a difference!
We LOVE this recipe – so much so that I made enough to freeze half a batch of uncooked burgers for an easy dinner another night!
I do use a premade cajun spice blend since I have some in the cupboard, and we garnish with plain ol avacado, spinach, and tomato.
Thanks for the recipe – we’ll never buy premade salmon burgers again!
So tasty! I have never used canned salmon before and was a bit worried, but these burgers did not disappoint. I eat as burger night one, then I meal prep salads with however many additional burgers I have made.
Happy to hear it!
I told my kids we were having burgers (but left out what kind), they loved these. They said these were better than normal hamburgers (they are in a terribly picky stage) so huge win. These were great!
Amazing! Haha! What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right? :)
Looks good would probably nix the cayene not a fan of heat and I usually buy my salmon at Aldis.
I’m excited to try these and now the weather is finally getting nice, I’d like to try grilling them! How long/high would you suggest? Or would that be a bad idea?
I’m sure you could definitely cook them on a grill, but unfortunately I don’t know what setting or how long without testing it. I feel like they’re pretty forgiving, though, so I’m sure you could wing it. :)
These were soooo good! I am not a seafood person but thought I would branch out, plus I knew my hubs would love these. So easy, so good, so fresh. I think this is the first time I ate Salmon, too! Thank you. Found you from your live video with Jessica Fisher – trying out a bunch of your recipes now!
I made this and it was amazing. Two questions, is there anything I can sub for the mayo? Also, how would I bake them in the oven?
It might be possible to sub Greek yogurt for the mayo, but I haven’t tested that, so I’m not sure how it will affect the flavor and texture. And unfortunately I haven’t tried baking these either, so I’m not sure how that would turn out.
Quick. Easy. Delicious. Enjoyed it on a brioche bun with mixed greens. Didn’t have any avocado or guac, sadly, but I didn’t miss it that much either.
Excellent dinner, and easy to make. The guacamole is great on top of the burger.
Would these freeze well?
I would think so, but I haven’t tried it to know for sure. :)
Great! I used Panko for the breadcrumbs because it’s what I had in the cupboard. Ate it over a salad with lemon juice and olive oil. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Delicious!! Best canned salmon recipe I’ve ever eaten. Thank you SO MUCH!
Really love this recipe! It’s super easy and I typically have most of the ingredients on hand – just have to buy the salmon. I have been eating these without a bun, just over some spring mix with lots of lime juice and half an avocado. I also don’t love oregano and thyme, so I just left those out and the seasoning was still so good. Also a great recipe for meal prepping lunches at the beginning of the week.
Would love to post a photo but dont see where to..made this for myself for dinner..easy to prepare..made the mix at lunch time n let it sit for 30 min. Made burgers n chilled for the afternoon. Served one on a burger bun with a bed of romaine n topped with mashed avocado n lime juice and topped with fresh thin sliced English cucumber..great meal n have one left to freeze for another time!
Why would you rate this 3 stars just bc you can’t post a photo? Has nothing to do with the recipe
Why would you assume that’s the reason it’s a 3 star review? Nowhere in Martha’s comment is it explicitly or even implicitly stated that’s the reason for the 3 stars. I banish you to the shadow realm!
Thank you YU-GI-OHI !! <3