Taco seasoning rubbed cod is the star of these lightning fast, terrifically easy Air Fryer Fish Tacos. Done in about 15 minutes from start to finish these fish tacos are going to be a new favourite busy weeknight meal!

Faster than a speeding frying pan, able to eclipse oven cooking times in a single button push, the air fryer makes quick work of cooking your dinner. It’s as easy as seasoning your fish fillets, arranging them in your air fryer basket, and pressing one button.

The majority of the work in this air fryer cod fish tacos recipe is in the toppings you put on your tacos. And that can be as simple or complicated as you’d like!

Fish Taco Air Fryer

Customize your fish tacos by topping them with mango salsa, jalapeño coleslaw, pickled onions, or simply shredded cabbage or lettuce. And when it comes to sauce, the world is your oyster, er, codfish.

I’ve topped these flexibly delicious fish tacos with sour cream, a drizzle of ranch dressing, or a little smoked paprika chipotle sauce. All of them are fabulous.

So in the spirit of keeping this as brief as this simple recipe is long, let’s get right into the ingredients and equipment list needed to make this fish tacos air fryer recipe. 

Air Fryer Fish Taco Ingredients

1. Cod Fish fillets (boneless and skinless, preferably)
2. Spray Oil or Neutral Oil for Brushing
3. Taco Seasoning
4. Fresh Lime Wedges
5. Corn or Flour Tortillas
6. Any or all of the following toppings: fresh mango salsa, grilled pineapple slices, jalapeño coleslaw, pickled or thinly sliced raw red onion, shredded cabbage or lettuce, creamy cabbage slaw, halved or quartered cherry tomatoes, fresh cilantro leaves, black beans, pinto beans, pico de gallo, corn salsa, or more…
7. Any or all of the following sauces: sour cream, plain or lime crema, ranch dressing, smoked paprika chipotle sauce, spicy mayonnaise, or taco sauce.

Best Fish for Fish Tacos

I buy 2 pound bags of frozen cod fish fillets that have already been de-boned and skinned. They can be rapidly thawed by submerging them in cool water and changing it every 30 minutes or more contemplatively in the refrigerator overnight. 

Cod is a lovely, mild, firm white fish, and takes well to taco seasonings. It is, in my opinion, the best fish for fish tacos.

If you prefer to use another flaky white fish or even salmon, you can substitute an equal weight of it here. Some other nice choices are mahi mahi or tilapia fillets.

Whichever fish you choose for this air fryer fish tacos recipe, you want to make sure each piece of fish is not too large. If you have a large fillet, you can cut it down into approximately 3-inch pieces in width.

This ensures the fish pieces will cook at the right rate. You’ll pat the fish dry and then spritz or brush lightly with oil to help your seasoning stick.

Low Carb Fish Tacos

While I’d never kick a fried fish taco out of bed, these no-coating fish tacos have my heart. They’re perfect just the way they are, and the way they are just happens to be low-carb.

I’m particularly keen on my homemade spicy taco seasoning or the milder chicken taco seasoning for these fish tacos, but you can use any blend you like. If you have a store bought taco seasoning you love, try it here!

If you’re out of taco seasoning, you can toss together 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder, 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic or garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon each of kosher salt and ground cumin in a small bowl. This will do the job in the absence of taco seasoning!

If you’ve ever found fish boring, lime wedges are the way to brighten up the dish! The fragrant acidity of fresh lime juice and lime zest wakes this easy fish taco recipe up and takes it from great to excellent.

You can use either corn tortillas or flour tortillas for our easy fish tacos, depending on your personal preference. If you’re looking for gluten free fish tacos, just be sure to use corn tortillas and gluten-free taco seasoning.

Fish Taco Toppings

And whether your topping game is minimalist or super-extra is entirely up to you. On nights when we have a little more time, we tend to pile it on as heavy as the tortilla can stand. 

But on nights when the schedule is wall to wall, we’re content with a squeeze of lime, some shredded cabbage, and a drizzle of crema or dollop of sour cream. These tacos can be as company-ready or as bare-bones as you like and still deliver major flavour.

And onto our equipment list which is even shorter than our ingredients list! Don’t blink or you’ll miss it!

Equipment

1. Air Fryer
2. Tongs
3. Measuring Spoon
4. Chef Knife
5. Cutting Board

That’s it! If you’re not already Team Air Fryer Forever, you might be after you realize how it is the fastest, most perfect way -and nearly foolproof- to cook fish. 

The tongs are there to get your fish out of the air fryer and flip your tortillas when you char them. The chef knife? All you’re going to have to do with that this time ‘round is cut yourself some lime wedges. 

I told you this was a scandalously easy recipe and I meant it! Here we go, Air Fryer Fish Tacos!

Air Fryer Fish Tacos

Preheat the air fryer at 400ºF for 5 minutes. Pat the fish dry and spritz with spray oil or brush with a neutral oil.

Sprinkle the taco seasoning to coat fish in an even layer and rub gently to distribute the seasoning over both sides. Arrange the fish in a single layer in the air-fryer basket, leaving room around each fillet for air to circulate.

Set your air fryer to 370ºF and cook the fish for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. The safe internal doneness temperature of cod is 145ºF. 

Use tongs or a fish spatula to gently transfer the fish to a plate and loosely tent it with foil. Let the fish rest for 5 minutes.

While the fish rests, use tongs to char the tortillas over an open flame on your stove top or in a dry skillet. When the tortillas are heated or charred, flake the fish into bite sized pieces. 

For each taco, stack two warm tortillas. Divide the flaked fish between the tortillas.

Squeeze a lime wedge over each taco and top as desired. Serve immediately.

Print

Air Fryer Fish Tacos

Taco seasoning rubbed cod is the star of these lightning fast, terrifically easy Air Fryer Fish Tacos. Done in about 15 minutes from start to finish these fish tacos are going to be a new favourite busy weeknight meal!

Course Main Course, Main Dish, pescetarian main dish

Cuisine American, California, Latin American

Keyword air fryer fish taco, air fryer fish taco recipe, air fryer fish tacos

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 469kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• air fryer
• tongs
• Measuring Spoon
• Chef Knife
• cutting board

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs Cod Fish fillets boneless and skinless, preferably
• Spray Oil or Neutral Oil for Brushing
• 3 tablespoons Taco Seasoning
• Fresh Lime Wedges
• 24 small Corn or Flour Tortillas
• Any or all of the following toppings: fresh mango salsa grilled pineapple slices, jalapeño coleslaw, pickled or thinly sliced raw red onion, shredded cabbage or lettuce, creamy cabbage slaw, halved or quartered cherry tomatoes, fresh cilantro leaves, black beans, pinto beans, pico de gallo, corn salsa, or more…
• Any or all of the following sauces: sour cream plain or lime crema, ranch dressing, smoked paprika chipotle sauce, spicy mayonnaise, or taco sauce.

Instructions

• Preheat the air fryer at 400ºF for 5 minutes. Pat the fish dry and spritz with spray oil or brush with a neutral oil.
• Sprinkle the taco seasoning to coat fish in an even layer and rub gently to distribute the seasoning over both sides. Arrange the fish in a single layer in the air-fryer basket, leaving room around each fillet for air to circulate.
• Set your air fryer to 370ºF and cook the fish for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. The safe internal doneness temperature of cod is 145ºF.
• Use tongs or a fish spatula to gently transfer the fish to a plate and loosely tent it with foil. Let the fish rest for 5 minutes.
• While the fish rests, use tongs to char the tortillas over an open flame on your stove top or in a dry skillet. When the tortillas are heated or charred, flake the fish into bite sized pieces.
• For each taco, stack two warm tortillas. Divide the flaked fish between the tortillas.
• Squeeze a lime wedge over each taco and top as desired. Serve immediately.

Notes

Please note the nutritional information estimates do not include any of the optional toppings or sauces. The information includes 6 servings of two tacos each.

Nutrition

Calories: 469kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 1046mg | Potassium: 641mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 174IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 201mg | Iron: 5mg

Made of simple ingredients from the pantry, our Old-Fashioned Salmon Patties recipe yields sizzling, golden brown salmon cakes that are crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. This is one of the ultimate pantry staple recipes, using canned salmon, mayonnaise, cracker or bread crumbs, egg, and seasoning.

Simple salmon patties (a.k.a. Salmon cakes or salmon croquettes) like these are ubiquitous in southern households for a reason. This classic recipe is tremendously budget friendly, unbelievably easy to make, and pleasing to even picky eaters!

This is like your grandma’s old fashioned salmon patties recipe, but easier, fresher, and faster than back in the day! Unlike when our parents and grandparents had to pick through a can of salmon to remove skin and bones, most canned salmon today comes canned boneless and skinless already. 

You can absolutely fancy up these southern salmon patties if you want to; adding chopped capers, serving with hollandaise sauce, and the like… But part of the charm of these salmon cakes is their simplicity and ease. 

While I adore them hot and sizzling from the pan, they’re also great at room temperature served on a salad or from a lunchbox. And I have been known to grab a leftover salmon cake from the fridge and nosh on it post-run for a fast, delicious protein fix.

Old Fashioned Salmon Patty Recipe

Let’s go over our ingredients and equipment really quickly, shall we? It’s not complicated and you have some options to help make this even more pantry-friendly.

Ingredients

1. Canned Salmon 
2. Crumbs
3. Mayonnaise
4. Large Egg
5. Hot Sauce or Worcestershire Sauce
6. Salt and Pepper
7. Granulated Garlic or Garlic Powder
8. Granulated Onion or Onion Powder
9. Butter
10. Oil
11. Optional but tasty: Old Bay Seasoning, fresh or dried dill, green onions

Sounds vague right? That’s because our salmon croquettes recipe is very forgiving.

You can either go old-school and get the canned salmon that has skin and bones in it or go for a more convenient modern boneless-skinless option. I tend to use the boneless and skinless canned salmon for the sake of ease. 

The most commonly available cans of salmon contain pink salmon. This is also the most budget friendly salmon, so that’s a win!

If you do get the old school salmon for this old-fashioned recipe, just be sure to drain it before removing the skin and bones. It’ll be easy to see the larger bones, but you may have to dig around a bit to find and remove the smaller bones.

That is fine, since you’d be shredding up the salmon anyway before making your salmon mixture.

I do not make these with smoked salmon or fresh salmon; that’s just too precious to use for salmon cakes! Besides that, you’d have to pre-cook the salmon before adding it to the salmon patties.

How to Make Tuna Patties

I do -from time to time- make this with canned tuna instead of canned salmon. You make tuna patties the exact same way you would salmon patties.

This transforms into a tuna patty recipe by the simple expedient of substituting an equal amount of drained canned tuna for the salmon. It’s just that easy!

Mayonnaise, egg, and hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce serve as binders as well as flavour agents. You can go for either hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce depending on your tastes.

I like to use Old Bay Hot Sauce in these simple salmon patties, but any hot sauce you like will do the job! And if hot sauce isn’t your jam, use Worcestershire sauce. They’re both delicious.

“But what kind of crumbs do you mean?” I hear you ask. Aha! We have so many choices!

Gluten Free Salmon Patties Recipe

The best salmon patties recipe is the one you make your own! Need gluten-free at your table? Simply choose a gluten-free version of whichever type of crumbs you like best.

I’ve used crushed saltine crackers, potato chips, corn chips, dry bread crumbs, and panko crumbs. I’ve taken the heel ends of sandwich bread and pulsed them in a food processor for fresh bread crumbs. 

The world is your oyster, er, salmon cake. The only thing you need to do is make sure you’re adding enough to hold your salmon patty together. 

What you will want to do, though, depending on what crumb source you have, is adjust the amount of salt and seasoning you add. If you use unseasoned bread or panko, you’ll want to add salt or Old Bay seasoning.

If you use potato, corn, or tortilla chips, or cracker crumbs you may want to omit the salt altogether depending on the saltiness of the chips or crackers. Keep the black pepper, though! 

Out of mayo but you have salad dressing on hand? Go for it! 

And why do I call for butter and oil? It’s a personal preference. You can use all oil if you prefer, but I love the taste of a little butter with my fish cakes recipe.

You can definitely tinker with the seasoning to suit your fancy. Add some Old Bay seasoning or dried or fresh dill if it dings your chimes!

If you’re so inclined, you can add a little of any or all of the following: minced red bell pepper, red onion, yellow onion, fresh herbs, or more. You can, as many do, sprinkle each side of your salmon patties with a little corn meal or panko breading for added crunch.

I don’t always add the extra sprinkle. You can do with or without it, as your pantry and preferences dictate.

Equipment

1. Mixing Bowl
2. Measuring Cups
3. Measuring Spoons
4. Sturdy Spoon
5. Large Dinner Plate
6. Frying Pan or Half Sheet Pan with Parchment
7. Fish Spatula or other Slotted Spatula

I’m just going to go ahead and say that these easy salmon patties are at their very best made in a cast iron frying pan. The cast-iron holds the temperature more steadily than other types of pans which translates to less temperature variation when you add the cold salmon patties to the hot oil in the pan.

A steadier temperature for cooking means a crispier exterior and more moist, tender interior. You don’t have to worry about dry salmon patties when you cook them in cast-iron skillets!

Of course, you have options here, too! Feel free to bake these salmon patties on a parchment lined sheet pan. They’ll still be delicious even if they’re not quite as crisp on the exterior.

Salmon Patty Recipe Tips

• Be sure to thoroughly blend your salmon patty mixture. 
• Let the formed patties rest in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking them. 
• Don’t move the patties around in the pan. Let them stay where you put them.
• Don’t crowd the pan!
• Do not flip the patties more than once. 

Most of these tips have to do with keeping your salmon patty intact through the cooking process. Salmon patties with big chunks of salmon have a tendency to disintegrate in the pan.

Letting the patties chill before cooking also helps keep them together when heat is introduced. It gives the crumbs time to hydrate and bind and the egg time to set up.

When you place patties in the pan, leave them there! Give the bottom of it time to brown and release itself from the pan. This will take about 3 minutes.

I understand that it might seem like you’ll get done faster if you put all your patties in the pan at once. But unless you have a massive cast iron skillet like mine, you’re likely to need to do this in batches. 

If you overcrowd the pan, you drop the temperature of the oil which keeps your patties from developing a delightfully crispy crust on the outside. You also make it tougher to ease a spatula under them for their single flip, which means you might break them apart. 

This whole recipe is done cooking in under 10 minutes, so saying “patience is a virtue” is a little silly, but it’s still true. Be patient. Don’t flip the patties until the underside is a gorgeous, deep golden brown and it smells irresistible 

This helps -all together now!- hold the patties together while cooking. And flipping them once only, allowing the second side to form a crust like you did with the first side, ensures a more cohesive salmon cake. 

What to Serve with Salmon Patties

These are great straight up out of the pan served with spicy roasted broccoli or asparagus, shaved asparagus salad, broccoli grape salad or jalapeno coleslaw. If you want to make them into a complete meal, try letting them cool a smidgen and serve them in place of salmon filets in this salmon caesar salad.

You do not have to add anything else to these, but a squeeze of fresh lemon juice wouldn’t go amiss! Some folks like to drizzle a little thousand island dressing or caesar dressing over them.

My kids like them with ketchup or tartar sauce. Plain or dressed, you’re going to love these!

Round out your meal with a tea infused Lady Greyhound cocktail or light and refreshing mixed berry sangria by the glass. And if you want to keep your southern theme going, finish the meal with a sweet slice of the very best Angel Food Cake with a dollop of fresh lemon lime curd.

Old Fashioned Salmon Patties Recipe

How To Make Salmon Patties

Add the drained salmon to a mixing bowl and use a spoon to break it up thoroughly. Stir in the crumbs, mayonnaise, egg, hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce, salt or Old Bay seasoning, and black pepper.

Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, then stir until the mixture looks even and holds together when lifted on a spoon. Divide into 8 equal portions.

Roll each portion into a ball then flatten slightly into a patty that is about ½-inch thick, but no more than 3/4-inch thick. Plate them on a plate, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15 minutes to 30 minutes before cooking them.

How to Cook Salmon Patties

Place a cast iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom. 

Drop the pat of butter into the skillet. When it foams up, gently place the salmon patties in a single layer with space between them into the hot pan. 

Do not move them once they are in place. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the bottom of the patty is deep golden brown, you hear sizzling, and it smells good. 

Ease a fish spatula or other slotted turner under each patty and gently turn it over. Only turn these once!

In order to avoid overcrowding the pan, you may find you need to do this in batches. If so, repeat the oil/butter coating between batches.

How to Bake Salmon Patties

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a half sheet pan or baking sheet with parchment and set it aside.

Arrange the chilled salmon patties with plenty of space between them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Spritz lightly with olive oil.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and set up, turning once halfway through cooking. 

How to Serve Salmon Patties

Serve them alongside steamed, roasted, or fried vegetables, on a bun like a salmon burger, or straight out of the fridge as a high-protein midnight snack.

Print

Old Fashioned Salmon Patties Recipe

Made of simple ingredients from the pantry, our Old Fashioned Salmon Patties recipe yields sizzling, golden brown salmon cakes that are crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. This is one of the ultimate pantry staple recipes, using canned salmon, mayonnaise, cracker or bread crumbs, egg, and seasoning.

Course Appetizer, happy hour, Main Course, Main Dish, pescetarian main dish

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword old fashioined salmon patties, salmon cakes, salmon croquettes, salmon patties

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 363kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 1 mixing bowl
• Measuring Cups
• measuring spoons
• 1 sturdy spoon
• 1 Large Dinner Plate
• 1 frying pan
• 1 Fish Spatula or other Slotted Spatula

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups canned salmon drained if packed in liquid, picked free of skin and bones if the can contains them.
• 1 cup cracker crumbs or unseasoned bread crumbs
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder
• ½ teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
• ½ to 1 teaspoon salt or Old Bay Seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil or another neutral oil with a high smoke temperature like canola, vegetable, or light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Optional but tasty: fresh dill or sliced green onions for garnish

Instructions

How To Make Salmon Patties

• Add the drained salmon to a mixing bowl and use a spoon to break it up thoroughly. Stir in the crumbs, mayonnaise, egg, hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce, granulated garlic and onion, salt or Old Bay seasoning, and black pepper.
• Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, then stir until the mixture looks even and holds together when lifted on a spoon. Divide into 8 equal portions.
• Roll each portion into a ball then flatten slightly into a patty that is about ½-inch thick, but no more than 3/4-inch thick. Plate them on a plate, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 15 minutes to 30 minutes before cooking them.

How to Fry Salmon Patties

• Place a cast iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the oil to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom.
• Drop the pat of butter into the skillet. When it foams up, gently place the salmon patties in a single layer with space between them into the hot pan.
• Do not move them once they are in place. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the bottom of the patty is deep golden brown, you hear sizzling, and it smells good.
• Ease a fish spatula or other slotted turner under each patty and gently turn it over. Only turn these once!
• In order to avoid overcrowding the pan, you may find you need to do this in batches. If so, repeat the oil/butter coating between batches.

How to Bake Salmon Patties

• Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a half sheet pan or baking sheet with parchment and set it aside.
• Arrange the chilled salmon patties with plenty of space between them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Spritz or drizzle lightly with olive oil.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and set up, turning once halfway through cooking.
• How to Serve Salmon Patties
• Serve them alongside steamed, roasted, or fried vegetables, on a bun like a salmon burger, or straight out of the fridge as a high-protein midnight snack.

Nutrition

Calories: 363kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 529mg | Potassium: 261mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 200IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 214mg | Iron: 1mg

This comforting, delicious creamed salmon recipe is unapologetically old-fashioned. Served this creamy salmon sauce or gravy over your favourite toast, rice, or hot egg noodles, you can’t beat this ultra-fast meal option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

This is a basic, ultra budget friendly version of classic salmon in cream sauce. You can make it as written or make it your own by tinkering with add ins! I’ll share some great ideas for variations on the theme. 

Cream of Salmon Recipe

Before we get further, let’s go over the list of ingredients and equipment needed to make our delicious cream of salmon recipe. It’s truly a simple sauce,

Ingredients

1. Butter
2. All-purpose flour
3. Dried mustard
4. Granulated Onion
5. Milk
6. Salt and pepper
7. Canned salmon
8. Frozen peas
9. Lemon juice
10. Fresh dill weed (or dried dill weed)
11. Toast, crusty bread, egg noodles, rice, or cauliflower rice for serving
12. Optional: Green onions or fresh chives for garnish

While I adore fresh or frozen salmon, today’s recipe uses canned salmon! It’s delicious, convenient, economical, and makes even faster work of an already speedy recipe. 

I mean break it down with me for a moment. A can of safe catch, wild-caught, boneless, skinless salmon comes in at $12.79/pound. A pouch of the same costs $9.54/pound. 

Even at my grocery store, the least expensive frozen Atlantic salmon is over $13/pound. Considering that the can lasts indefinitely on my shelves and is less expensive, that seems a no-brainer to me! 

You can get even more frugal if you use the sort of canned salmon that still has the skin, bones, and cartilage in it. You’ll need to pick the aforementioned squidgy bits out of your canned salmon before adding it to the recipe, but it is under $9/pound!

And if you’re wondering whether you can sub in canned tuna, the answer is a resounding yes! Creamed tuna on toast is amazingly delicious, too. 

I include frozen peas because I just plain love them. You can opt to replace them with raw baby spinach, cooked asparagus tips or green beans, or omit them entirely, if desired.

I think dill is a natural pairing for the creamed salmon recipe, but you have options. I love fresh dill, but dried dill is also tasty! And if you don’t have that on hand, feel free to sub in fresh or dried parsley for a fun variation.

Just a wee bit of fresh lemon juice and dried mustard powder really makes this recipe sing. If you don’t have dried mustard powder, you can substitute in a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. 

No fresh lemons? Just use a half teaspoon of bottled lemon juice or leave it out entirely. The fresh lemon juice is really special in the creamed salmon. 

Cream Sauce Salmon Recipe

Let’s discuss the creamy portion of this sauce. While you might think this is a salmon with cream recipe, that’s not quite right.

I prefer to use whole milk instead of heavy cream. Milk keeps it a little lighter on the palate.

If you’re so inclined, you can add a handful of grated parmesan cheese to your creamy sauce when serving it. We’re a household divided over the cheese… half of us like it and half don’t.

Thankfully it’s a piece of cake just to add it at the table!

I almost always serve this creamed salmon over whole grain toast, but it’s equally delightful over crusty bread, hot egg noodles, or rice. You can even ladle it over cauliflower rice if you so desire. 

Equipment

1. Measuring Spoons
2. Measuring Cups
3. 2-quart saucepan or stainless steel everyday pan
4. Whisk
5. Stove top or induction cooktop.

That’s it! Every kitchen should have everything needed to make our creamed salmon recipe. 

I do not recommend using a nonstick skillet or pan unless you’re also using a whisk designed to be used with non-stick cookware. The reason for this is that nonstick coating is not super sturdy and metal whisks can damage or chip it. 

In a saucepan or large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.

Stir in flour and dry mustard powder until smooth. 

Cook for 2 minutes or until bubbly. Whisk in the granulated onion. 

Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. 

Drop the burner to low heat. Stir in lemon juice, salmon and its juices, salt, pepper, and dill. Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve the salmon sauce over toast, noodles, crusty bread, or rice, garnished with sliced green onions or fresh chives, if desired. 

Print

Creamed Salmon Recipe

This comforting, delicious creamed salmon recipe is unapologetically old-fashioned. Served over your favourite toast, rice, or hot egg noodles, you can’t beat this ultra-fast meal option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Course Main Course, Main Dish, pescetarian main dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cream of salmon recipe, creamed salmon, creamed salmon recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Calories 256kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 1 measuring spoons
• 1 Measuring Cups
• 1 2-quart saucepan or stainless steel everyday pan
• 1 whisk
• 1 Stove top or induction cooktop.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon dried mustard
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black or white pepper
• 12 ounces canned boneless skinless salmon
• 1 cup frozen peas thawed
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced dill weed or ¼ teaspoon dried dill weed
• 6 slices of toast or rice, hot egg noodles, or crusty bread
• Optional but tasty: sliced green onions or fresh chives for serving.

Instructions

• In a saucepan or large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and dry mustard powder until smooth.
• Cook for 2 minutes or until bubbly. Whisk in the granulated onion.
• Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
• Drop the burner to low heat. Stir in lemon juice, salmon and its juices, peas, salt, pepper, and dill.
• Cook gently over the lowest heat until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve the salmon sauce over toast, noodles, crusty bread, or rice, garnished with sliced green onions or fresh chives, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 817mg | Potassium: 460mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 637IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 326mg | Iron: 1mg

Make delicious Ranch flavoured crispy fish nuggets from scratch with 5 ingredients and 30 minutes. This great recipe is infinitely tastier than frozen fish sticks and it’s better for you, too!

These delicious fish nuggets or fish fingers are a great way to get a healthy meal on the table on even the busiest of nights. Both the ranch flavour and the crispy texture of these bite-size pieces of fish will keep even less enthusiastic fish eaters coming back for more.

You can eat these irresistible fish nuggets dunked in ranch dressing or homemade tartar sauce or ketchup; whatever moves you! And if you’re so inclined, fresh or leftover fish nuggets make the ultimate filling for fish tacos.

Even better, you don’t need to break out a pan full of boiling oil to get the extra crispiness these fish bites deliver. That’s right; these homemade fish nuggets are oven fried (baked) or air fryer fish nuggets. Cue the cheering!

Fish Nuggets Ingredient List:

1. Fresh Fish (Cod fillets, Haddock fillets, Barramundi, Etc…) or Fully-Thawed Frozen Fish
2. Mayonnaise
3. Egg
4. Ranch Dressing Mix (homemade or purchased)
5. Panko Breadcrumbs
6. Optional but tasty: Old Bay or lemon pepper seasoning

Fish Nuggets Equipment:

1. Measuring Cup
2. Whisk
3. Bowl
4. Shallow Dish
5. Oven or Air Fryer
6. Sheet Pan (if using the oven)
7. Parchment Paper (if using the oven)
8. Spatula

Oven Fried Fish

Before we even get into the fish nuggets recipe, we need to chat a little bit about what type of fish to use for your homemade fish nuggets. For the best results, use a mild, firm-fleshed, relatively lean white fish like cod, haddock, barramundi, or Alaskan Pollock.

It’s best to avoid particularly fatty or strong tasting fishes like salmon, trout, or flounder. These kinds of fish just don’t work as well in this particular recipe.

How to Fry Fish in the Oven

The key to keeping your fish tender and succulent while achieving a super crispy crust lies in the breading ingredients and method. Panko breadcrumbs do the heavy lifting in the crunch category.

You can use white or whole grain panko bread crumbs, but do choose unseasoned ones. You don’t want the breadcrumbs to clash with the ranch dressing mix in the mayonnaise and egg binder.

But all the crunch in the world won’t help if you can’t get the breading to stick to the fish. And that is where our not-so-secret magic mixture comes into the picture.

While many breaded fish recipes call for a mixture of egg and milk, ours uses mayonnaise and egg. I realize that’s like an egg inception since egg is what emulsifies mayonnaise, but this mayonnaise and egg mixture seals the moisture in the fish while holding the ultra crunchy panko breadcrumbs in place.

And let me tell you something… This little bit of magic creates fish nuggets that rival the crunchy perfection of deep fried fish without anything more than a little oil sprayed on them before they go in the oven or deep fryer.

Fish Nuggets

To Make Fish Nuggets in the Oven

Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (dull side up). Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Stir together the mayonnaise, egg, and ranch dressing mix in a shallow bowl until smooth. Spread the panko crumbs in a shallow dish like a pie plate. Arrange these near the prepared baking sheet.

Cut the fish fillets into 2-inch square pieces or as close to it as you can get. Dip them, one at a time, in the ranch mixture, rolling to ensure it’s covered evenly.

Lift it, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl, then put into the panko crumb dish. Use your clean hand to toss some of the panko crumbs over the top of the fish piece, then flip to be sure all sides are covered in crumbs.

Place it on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the pieces of fish have been coated and are arranged in a single layer on the pan. Lightly spritz the tops of the fish nuggets with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray and put the pan into the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until the fish is firm to the touch, the bread crumbs are golden brown, and the internal temperature of the fish is 120ºF. Serve immediately with your choice of dipping sauces.

If desired, sprinkle with Old Bay or Lemon Pepper Seasoning. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Leftovers can be served cold or reheated in an air fryer or moderate oven.

To Air Fry Fish Nuggets

Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes.

Stir together the mayonnaise, egg, and ranch dressing mix in a shallow bowl until smooth. Spread the panko crumbs in a shallow dish like a pie plate. Arrange these near a sheet pan or tray that can hold your prepared fish bites.

Cut the fish filets into 2-inch square pieces or as close to it as you can get. Dip them, one at a time, in the ranch mixture, rolling to ensure it’s covered evenly.

Lift it, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl, then put into the panko crumb dish. Use your clean hand to toss some of the panko crumbs over the top of the fish piece, then flip to be sure all sides are covered in crumbs.

Place it on the baking sheet or tray. Repeat until all the pieces of fish have been coated. Lightly spritz the tops of the fish nuggets with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange a single layer of the fish in the air fryer basket, making sure there is space around each nugget to allow air to circulate.

Bake for 8 minutes at 375ºF or until the fish is firm to the touch, the bread crumbs are golden brown, and the internal temperature of the fish is 120ºF. Serve immediately with your choice of dipping sauces.

If desired, sprinkle with Old Bay or Lemon Pepper Seasoning. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Leftovers can be served cold or reheated in an air fryer or moderate oven.

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Baked Ranch Fish Nuggets

Make delicious Ranch seasoned crispy fish nuggets from scratch with 5 ingredients and 30 minutes. This great recipe is infinitely tastier than frozen fish sticks and it's better for you, too! These delicious fish nuggets or fish fingers are a great way to get a healthy meal on the table on even the busiest of nights.

Course Fish, Main Course, Main Dish, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword air fryer fish, fish nuggets, oven fried fish

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Calories 388kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 1 oven or air fryer
• 1 rimmed sheet pan (or air fryer basket)
• 1 sheet of parchment paper
• 1 whisk
• 1 small mixing bowl
• 1 shallow bowl
• 1 spatula

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds firm fleshed white fish filets Barramundi, Cod, Tilapia are all good choices., boneless, skinless
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons dry buttermilk ranch dressing mix homemade or purchased
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs regular or gluten free
• nonstick cooking spray

Optional but tasty

• Old Bay seasoning or Lemon Pepper Seasoning to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (dull side up). Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
• Stir together the mayonnaise, egg, and ranch dressing mix in a shallow bowl until smooth. Spread the panko crumbs in a pie plate or 8-inch cake pan. Arrange these near the prepared baking sheet.
• Cut the fish filets into 2-inch square pieces or as close to it as you can get. Dip them, one at a time, in the ranch mixture, rolling to ensure it's covered evenly. Lift it, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl, then put into the panko crumb dish. Use your clean hand to toss some of the panko crumbs over the top of the fish piece, then flip to be sure all sides are covered in crumbs.
• Place it on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the pieces of fish have been coated. Lightly spritz the tops of the fish nuggets with non-stick cooking spray and put the pan into the oven.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until the fish is firm to the touch and the bread crumbs are golden brown. Serve immediately with your choice of dipping sauces.

Nutrition

Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 854mg | Potassium: 626mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 117IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 2mg

This Baked Salmon Sushi satisfies your cravings for salmon sushi rolls and is a healthier option for a crowd-pleasing dish while being kind to your budget at the same time! Enjoy this easy-to-make salmon sushi bake recipe as a family-friendly easy weeknight meal or watch it disappear at the speed of light at a party.

While traditional sushi rolls take skill and a bit of time to prepare, this recipe for what amounts to a deconstructed Philadelphia sushi roll comes together in a fraction of the time. You don’t need any special equipment to make it and the ingredients are pretty easy to find in your grocery store or Asian market.

There are many different ways to make baked sushi, but today’s recipe is my best-loved one. Cooked sushi rice is tossed with seasoned rice vinegar, pressed into a baking dish, topped with furikake seasoning, cooked salmon in a dressing, unagi sauce (a.k.a. eel sauce), Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise, and sriracha, then baked ’til comforting and warm.

The sushi bake is then sliced into rectangular small pieces and served on seaweed snacks with any or all of your favorite toppings for sushi; sliced cucumbers, radishes, green onions, avocados, cilantro, soy sauce, spicy mayo, or more. Fold the nori sheet like a little taco, and VOILA! Baked Salmon Sushi.

Somehow it satisfies a sushi craving and casserole craving simultaneously. It may sound odd, but believe me, once you’ve tried it, you’ll know why it’s such a popular dish to pass at potlucks and parties in Hawaii.

Let’s break down what you need in terms of ingredients and equipment. The list might look long, but I promise baked salmon sushi is a delicious dish with very little prep time.

What Ingredients Do I Need to Bake Salmon Sushi?

1. Sesame Oil
2. Short Grain Rice (white rice or brown rice)
3. Seasoned Rice Vinegar or Plain Rice Vinegar with Sugar and Salt
4. Furikake (Homemade Furikake or Purchased)
5. Cream Cheese
6. Mayonnaise (Preferably Kewpie Mayonnaise)
7. Sriracha
8. Cooked Salmon
9. Green Onions
10. Unagi Sauce (a.k.a. Eel Sauce)
11. Seasoned Seaweed Sheets (I’ll share a hack to turn regular nori into seasoned nori, too!)

While that is all you really, truly need to bake salmon sushi, it’s awfully nice to serve it with julienned or diced cucumber, radishes, mango, avocado, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce, and hot sauce.

While you can most definitely use garden variety mayonnaise in your sushi bake, I do prefer to use the Japanese mayo brand Kewpie. It’s a slightly richer mayonnaise because it only uses egg yolks not whole eggs and it comes in a handy squeeze bottle that makes piping it over your sushi bake in a decorative way super easy.

If you can’t find Kewpie mayonnaise, though, please feel free to use standard mayonnaise. You can still pipe it decoratively by using this simple hack; load your mayonnaise into a zipper top sandwich bag, seal it, and snip a tiny bit off of the corner.

Ta-da! Almost instant piping bag!

Instead of the cubes of cold cream cheese you generally find in Philadelphia rolls, you soften the cream cheese and mix it into your cooked salmon. The salmon mixture is then spread over the sushi rice you patted into your baking dish.

How Do I Cook Sushi Rice?

Short grain rice is the key to authentic sushi rice whether you’re making sushi rolls or baked sushi. As you might expect from the name, the grains are short and stubby. They release a lot of starch as they cook, yielding a sticky rice characteristic of sushi.

You can use Japanese rice or American grown short grain rice with equally good results, but please rinse and drain the rice several times before cooking it. There are a couple of great reasons for this.

Should I Rinse Rice Before Cooking It?

There are three really solid reasons to rinse your rice. First and perhaps most obviously, you rinse rice to clean it.

Rice is grown in a rice paddy and makes quite a few stops between there and the bag on your counter. It can pick up dust, debris, dirt, and more. Rinsing it thoroughly does the job.

Second, you remove excess starch from the outside of each grain of rice. This extra starch comes from the jostling of rice grains in transit.

They rub against each other and grind ever so slightly. If you don’t rinse it from the rice, you end up cooking what amounts to rice flour on the outside of your rice grains, giving it a gluey and gloppy character.

Finally, rice is dry! Rinsing it allows the rice to kickstart the rehydration process gradually before you introduce heat to the party. This yields rice grains that are plump and sticky but perfectly cooked through.

How Do I Rinse Rice?

There are two excellent ways to rinse rice. My preferred method is to measure the rice into a bowl, cover it with cool tap water, swirl it with my hands, then pour it through a fine mesh sieve. Repeat this until the water around the rice is clear.

The second way to rinse rice is to measure the rice directly into a fine mesh sieve. Hold the sieve under running water and gently turn the rice over with your hands until the water runs clear.

How to Cook Sushi Rice

The easiest way to cook sushi rice, by far, is the Instant Pot. Rinse and drain it well, add an equal volume of water, close the Instant Pot, set it to seal, and cook on low pressure for 12 minutes or high pressure for 5 minutes. After the cycle runs, release the pressure and toss with the seasoned rice vinegar. If you’re using plain rice vinegar, just combine it with sugar and salt in a jar and shake it ’til it’s dissolved.

If you do not have an instant pot, you can certainly cook it in a rice cooker following the manufacturer’s instructions or in a saucepan according to package instructions. Go with what you have handy!

How Do I Make Seaweed Snacks?

Preheat your oven to 250ºF. Brush full sized sheets of nori very lightly with sunflower or toasted sesame oil on both sides. Cut them into half lengthwise and then crosswise to yield 4 equal rectangles.

Sprinkle lightly with fine sea salt (and/or wasabi powder), arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Let them cool completely, and store in an airtight container.

What Equipment Do I Need for Baked Sushi

I’m very happy to tell you you don’t need any specialty equipment for your baked sushi; no sushi mat needed!. It is quite likely you have what you need in your kitchen already!

1. A way to cook your rice (instant pot, rice cooker, or a saucepan with a tight fitting lid.)
2. Wooden spoon or rice paddle
3. 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular baking dish or casserole
4. Chef’s knife
5. Cutting board

Baked Salmon Sushi

To Make the Sushi Rice Layer

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly brush a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with toasted sesame oil and set it aside.

Cook the rinsed rice according to package instructions. While it rests after cooking, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan or a microwave safe bowl and heat just until the salt and sugar easily dissolve when stirred.

Drizzle the vinegar over the hot rice and toss to evenly distribute the vinegar. Scrape the rice into the prepared pan.

Wet your hands thoroughly and use them to lightly press the rice into the pan in an even layer. Do not compress the rice too much.

Sprinkle the rice generously with furikake and set it aside.

To Make the Spicy Salmon Layer

In a mixing bowl mash together the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sriracha. When it is mostly smooth, stir in the sliced green onions and flaked salmon.

Dollop the salmon mixture over the rice layer. Use a flexible spatula to spread it evenly over the rice.

To Garnish and Bake the Sushi Bake

Sprinkle the spicy salmon layer generously with furikake again.

Drizzle the unagi (eel) sauce, in a decorative pattern over the top. Do this with the mayonnaise and sriracha, as well.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until hot all the way through and the rice is sizzling. This is easiest to discern if you used a glass baking dish.

To Serve the Sushi Bake

Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Scatter the top with the sliced green onions and cut into rectangles while still in the pan. Use a narrow, flexible metal spatula to lift the sushi bake from the pan.

Serve with nori rectangles, diced cucumber, and minced or sliced radish to be assembled by the diners at the table.

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Baked Salmon Sushi

Baked Salmon Sushi satisfies your cravings for Philadelphia Salmon Roll sushi with a fraction of the work and cost. Whether you make it for a special busy weeknight meal or a party, it never lasts for very long!

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American, Asian, Filipino, Japanese, Pan-Asian

Keyword sushi bake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 483kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• 1 9×13 baking dish
• 1 chef's knife
• 1 cutting board
• 1 wooden spoon or rice paddle
• 1 instant pot, rice cooker, or pan to cook the rice

Ingredients

Sushi Rice Layer:

• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 cups uncooked sushi rice rinsed several times
• ¼ cup rice vinegar See Notes
• 1 tablespoon white sugar See Notes
• 1 teaspoon Morton’s kosher salt See Notes
• 2 tablespoons furikake

Spicy Salmon Layer:

• 8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise divided (preferably Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise)
• 1 tablespoon to ¼ cup sriracha divided (we prefer the higher end)
• 3 green onions thinly sliced
• 3 cups cooked salmon flaked. See notes.
• 2 tablespoons furikake

Garnish

• 2 tablespoons Unagi sauce oyster, or teriyaki glaze
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise preferably Kewpie Japanese mayonnaise

To Serve:

• 3 Green onions thinly sliced
• Korean toasted seaweed snacks or nori
• Diced seedless cucumber
• 2 radishes minced or thinly sliced

Instructions

To Make the Sushi Rice Layer

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Lightly brush a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with toasted sesame oil and set it aside.
• Cook rice according to package instructions. While it rests after cooking, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan or a microwave safe bowl and heat just until the salt and sugar easily dissolve when stirred.
• Drizzle the vinegar over the hot rice and toss to evenly distribute the vinegar. Scrape the rice into the prepared pan.
• Wet your hands thoroughly and use them to lightly press the rice into the pan in an even layer. Do not compress the rice too much.
• Sprinkle generously with furikake and set aside.

To Make the Spicy Salmon Layer

• In a mixing bowl mash together the softened cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of the mayonnaise, and sriracha with a splash of pickled ginger brine, if available. When it is mostly smooth, stir in the sliced green onions and flaked salmon.
• Dollop the salmon mixture over the rice layer. Use a flexible spatula to spread it evenly over the rice.

To Garnish and Bake the Sushi Bake

• Sprinkle the spicy salmon layer generously with furikake again.
• Drizzle the unagi (eel) sauce, if using in a decorative pattern over the top. Do this with the mayonnaise and sriracha, as well.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until hot all the way through and the rice is sizzling. This is easiest to discern if you used a glass baking dish.

To Serve the Sushi Bake

• Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

  Scatter the top with the sliced green onions and cut into rectangles while still in the pan. Use a narrow, flexible metal spatula to lift the sushi bake from the pan.
• Serve with nori rectangles, diced cucumber, and minced or sliced radish to be assembled by the diners at the table.

Notes

I use Air Fryer Salmon in this Spicy Salmon Sushi Bake and it is always delicious. You can, of course, substitute canned salmon or other cooked salmon. Just remember to remove skin, bones, and any other squidgy bits before flaking and then measuring.

Nutrition

Calories: 483kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 708mg | Potassium: 389mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 504IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 4mg

This easy step by step guide to smoked salmon recipe will show you just how to smoke salmon at home using fish you bought at grocery stores or caught yourself. Not only is the recipe “beginner-level-easy”, but it’s also the truly best smoked salmon recipe I’ve ever eaten.

Whether you’re looking for a stash of the best smoked salmon to pop on a bagel slathered with cream cheese or to make our Smoked Salmon Pasta Salad or Smoked Salmon Cucumber Pizza, you’re going to be converted to making your own salmon in all its smoky perfection.

If smoking fish is something that intimidates you, I’m here to help! I promise this easy recipe is broken down into simple steps that anyone can follow!

It’s true that the smoking process for salmon requires a little more than just slapping fish filets on a grill. But the steps are quite simple and the majority of the time is just the fish being parked in brine in the refrigerator.

If you haven’t smoked foods before, please read the whole post to learn why each step is necessary. If you’re an old hand at smoking, feel free to use the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the post.

All you need is a handful of ingredients that are readily available at almost any store, a smoker with pellets or wood, an airtight container for brining your salmon, a cooling rack, and a rimmed baking sheet.

Oh, and you need an electric fan. “A fan?” quoth you.

Yes. A fan. But we’ll get into that in a moment.

In case you’re concerned about what kind of time and effort commitment you need to put in for this recipe, let me give you the quick version of what has to happen to make this easy smoked salmon recipe.

1. Remove any pin bones from the salmon filet. If you’re using a larger piece of salmon, cut it into single serving sized pieces about 3-inches wide.
2. Whisk together your brine ingredients in a tupperware or gladware container with a tight fitting lid.
3. Submerge your salmon in the brine. Put the lid on tight and refrigerate it at least 4 hours but up to 8 hours.
4. Rinse your salmon and place it on a cooling rack set on a sheet pan.
5. Pat the surface of the fish dry with paper towels.
6. Place the pan in front of an electric fan in a relatively cool room for at least an hour or until the surface is shiny and somewhat tacky. Now you can either refrigerate it until the following day or go directly to the smoker with it.
7. Oil the skin side of the salmon fillet and place it directly on the smoker grates. Smoke for 2 to 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 130ºF to 140ºF brushing with maple syrup after the first hour and every 60 minutes after that.
8. Move the smoked salmon to a cooling rack, brush once more with maple syrup or honey, and let it cool completely before wrapping tightly and refrigerating for up to a week or freezing for up to a year.

Now that you know how easy it is, we need to discuss the star of the show: Salmon. What kind of salmon do we smoke?

Smoke Salmon How To

This all begins with choosing salmon to smoke. The flesh of the salmon has a high fat content which makes it take on a smoke flavor quite easily. Thankfully, the type of salmon acceptable for smoking is pretty much open here as long as you observe a couple of rules.

Whether it’s King salmon, Copper River salmon, Pacific Northwest or Atlantic salmon, Sockeye salmon farmed or wild salmon, frozen salmon, or fresh salmon, it’s all good as long as you pick a relatively thick salmon filet that has the skin on. Even those two points are negotiable depending on the results you’re looking for.

If you’re inclined to go with a skinless filet rather than a skin-on filet, remember that the fish is likelier to stick to your grill grates. You will want to be assiduous about oiling them before adding your fish to the grill. Alternatively, you could use a grill basket to make things easier on yourself.

And if all you can lay your hands on is a thinner rather than thicker fillet, don’t despair. You can still smoke those thinner pieces, you’ll just want to watch the internal temperature of the salmon more carefully to assure that you don’t go too far with it.

If you do take it a bit too far, don’t worry too much over that either! In fact, if you find yourself in this situation the solution is to keep smoking it even more and turn it into salmon bacon! Instructions for salmon bacon are included below in the printable recipe.

How to Brine Salmon

Of all the things to brine, salmon very well may be the easiest. But why brine it at all? It’s all in the science.

When you brine or cure salmon, you do two crucial things. First, you season the flesh of the salmon all the way to the center of the filet which helps improve the overall flavour.

Second -and just as importantly- though, you improve the texture by partially dissolving muscle fibers creating a gel that helps retain water. This helps retain moisture during the smoking process.

In the meanwhile, the sugar in the brine is “hygroscopic”. That means it attracts water or moisture from its environment. The sugar not only adds a little sweetness to your smoked fish, but also helps the fish hold onto the moisture you added when you brined it.

In other words, you keep it juicier and tastier by brining it. While it does mean a couple extra hours of waiting before you can sink your teeth into that succulent smoked salmon, it is well worth it.

The curing process is ridiculously easy. You simply whisk together cold water, kosher salt, dark brown sugar, and some aromatics.

We use one sliced red onion, some black pepper, and -from time to time- a couple of lemon slices. Dissolve the sugar and salt then slide your fillets in skin side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or a tight fitting lid, and slide it into the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours.

If you like a mild flavor, you can pull the onions from the brine at the halfway mark. The longer you leave the onions in the brine, the more prominent the onion presence will be in the final smoked fish.

After brining, rinse the fish fillets a quickly to help eliminate some of the surface salt. This helps keep the salmon from being too salty.

After you brine the fish and rinse it off, you’ll need to dry it off. It might sound counterintuitive to dry the fish after you “moisturize” it, but again, science rules the roost here.

You’ve added all that lovely seasoning into the fish, and it’d be a shame to have it evaporate in the process of smoking. To help “seal” it in, you need to develop a pellicle.

The pellicle is a shiny, laquer-like layer on the outside of the salmon that the smoke just plain loves. It absorbs the smoke while simultaneously preventing loss of moisture in your fabulous brined salmon.

A pellicle is achieved by air-flow and cooler temperatures. Here’s how we do it.

First pat the rinsed fillets with paper towels to remove excess moisture. I put my brined and patted-dry salmon filets on a wire rack on a baking sheet and park it in front of a powerful electric fan in the coolest room in my house.

Does that mean that from time to time salmon is on a stool in front of a fan in my air conditioned bedroom? It sure does.

In cooler months, you can put it anywhere that is 60ºF or lower (but above freezing) in front of a fan. It’s the combination that does the trick!

You don’t need to worry about food safety here for the hour or so that it takes to develop the pellicle. Your brine has a preservative effect between the salt and sugar in it, so you’re perfectly safe doing this.

If you need to, you can pop the sheet pan into the refrigerator (uncovered, of course!) for up to 24 hours after forming your pellicle. It’ll be just fine. Just take it out and let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before popping onto the smoker.

What Type of Smoker Do I use for Smoked Salmon?

In short, use whatever you have! This whole process is made significantly easier if you have a Traeger smoker a.k.a. pellet grill or an electric smoker because you want to keep it at a low temperature, starting at about 165ºF and moving slowly upward to no higher than 225ºF toward the end.

Ideally, the bulk of the smoking will happen around 185ºF. This is obviously easiest to do with a grill or smoker that allows you to set the temperature with a dial or digital display.

PRO TIP:

I position my salmon on my Traeger before it has come to full temperature. I find that helps minimize the appearance of albumin because the fish heats up slowly with the smoker. (More on this in the next section.)

Because we are hot smoking instead of cold smoking, you don’t actually need to have a dedicated smoker for the project. Our hot smoked salmon recipe can also be made on a charcoal or gas grill. You will just have to pay a little more attention to maintaining the temperature of your grill.

If you use gas grill, you’ll need to finagle the heat source so that you keep it in that low temperature wheelhouse. You’ll also need to add a smoke box to the grill, replenishing it from time to time. Because they’re inexpensive, it might even be worth having two to cycle through.

You’ll want to keep an eye on the actual temperature of your grill or smoker. This can be different than what the gauge says on your grill if you haven’t calibrated it in a while.

Pop an el-cheapo oven thermometer in the grill or use a nifty probe thermometer in the fish. This lets you keep tabs without opening the grill and letting out all of the smoke and heat.

Things to Remember When You’re Smoking Salmon

Have you ever cooked salmon and wondered what the heck that white stuff was that was coming out of it? It’s albumin and it’s perfectly harmless if a little unappetizing looking.

In salmon’s raw state, albumin is a clear, liquid protein. As you expose the fish to heat, the protein coagulates to an opaque, white, semi-solid.

The more aggressively you cook the salmon, the more albumin you’ll find rising to the surface. Again, this is not a big deal, but it’s not so pretty. It also means that the cooked salmon may dry out a little more than you’d like for it to.

The long, slow, gentle heat we use to smoke salmon should eliminate much, if not most of the visible albumin. Just be sure to bring the temperature up slow-and-steady. Any albumin that *does* have the nerve to show up should be swiped away as you brush the fish filets with maple syrup hourly after the first hour of uninterrupted smoking.

I said it before, but it bears repeating: salmon loves to stick to the smoker rack. Please oil the skin (and skin only!!) of the salmon generously before sliding it onto your grates.

And for the love of smoked fish, please do not oil the top of the salmon. It’ll undo all that time you spent developing the pellicle on the salmon. Your end product will suffer in both texture and flavour.

How Long to Smoke Salmon

Set your timer for an hour when the salmon first goes onto the smoker or grill. You’re looking to smoke your salmon for an hour at 165º. After one hour, raise the heat to 180ºF.

It should take about two hours total to bring the salmon to an internal temperature of 130ºF. Please note I said “about two hours”.

There are so many outside factors that contribute to how long it takes to smokes salmon; fom the thickness of the filets to the fat content in them and on to the outdoor temperature and humidity. For flakier rather than slice-able salmon, you can take it closer to 140ºF without over-drying it.

If you’d like a not quite as heavily smoked salmon, you can move it to a pre-heated low oven after the first hour of smoking. You’ll want to keep the temperature of your oven between 185ºF and 200ºF if you opt to do this.

Please remember to baste the salmon with maple syrup or honey after each hour on the smoker or grill.

If you want “salmon bacon” you can smoke the salmon much longer: up to 5 hours. For the full salmon bacon effect, cook until the salmon is quite firm to the touch and looks like it’s been shellac-ed with the maple syrup.

Crumble smoked “salmon bacon” over salads or in rice bowls. A little of it goes a long way but it is extra special!

How to Smoke Salmon

In a long, rectangular gladware, tupperware, or other storage container with a tight fitting lid, whisk together the water, brown sugar or maple syrup, and kosher salt until the salt and sugar (if using) are fully dissolved. 

Stir in the onion slabs, peppercorns, and bay leaves, then slide the salmon skin side up into the brine. Put the lid on tight and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours but up to 8 hours.

Rinse your salmon and place it on a cooling rack set on a sheet pan. Pat the surface of the fish dry with paper towels.

Place the pan in front of an electric fan in a relatively cool room for at least an hour or until the surface is shiny and somewhat tacky. Now you can either refrigerate it until the following day or go directly to the smoker with it.

Oil the skin side of the salmon fillet and place it directly on the smoker grates. Set the smoker to 165ºF. After 1 hour brush the salmon with maple syrup or honey and raise the temperature to 180ºF.

Smoke for 2 to 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 130ºF to 140ºF, brushing with maple syrup or honey every 60 minutes.

Move the smoked salmon to a cooling rack, brush once more with maple syrup or honey, and let it cool completely before wrapping tightly and refrigerating for up to a week or freezing for up to a year.

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How to Smoke Salmon

This easy step by step guide to smoked salmon recipe will show you just how to smoke salmon at home using fish you bought at grocery stores or caught yourself. Not only is the recipe “beginner-level-easy”, but it’s also the truly best smoked salmon recipe I’ve ever eaten.

Course Appetizer, break, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword how to smoke fish, how to smoke salmon, smoked salmon

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Brining time and air drying time 1 day day 4 hours hours

Servings 40

Calories 97kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• Smoker or grill with a smoke box
• 1 cooling rack
• 1 baking sheet
• 1 rectangular container with tight fitting lid

Ingredients

• Up to 5 lbs of fresh or thawed salmon cut crosswise into 3-inch wide pieces if starting with large fillets
• ½ cup Maple syrup or honey for brushing the fish as it smokes

For the Brine:

• 4 cups cool water
• 1 cup packed, dark brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey
• 2 ounces kosher salt
• 1 red onion peeled and cut into slabs
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns lightly smashed
• 2 bay leaves

Optional:

• 2 slices fresh lemon about ¼” thick

Instructions

• In a long, rectangular gladware, tupperware, or other storage container with a tight fitting lid, whisk together the water, brown sugar or maple syrup, and kosher salt until the salt and sugar (if using) are fully dissolved.
• Stir in the onion slabs, peppercorns, and bay leaves, then slide the salmon skin side up into the brine. Put the lid on tight and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours but up to 8 hours.
• Rinse your salmon and place it on a cooling rack set on a sheet pan. Pat the surface of the fish dry with paper towels.
• Place the pan in front of an electric fan in a relatively cool room for at least an hour or until the surface is shiny and somewhat tacky. Now you can either refrigerate it until the following day or go directly to the smoker with it.
• Oil the skin side of the salmon fillet and place it directly on the smoker grates. Set the smoker to 165ºF. After 1 hour brush the salmon with maple syrup or honey and raise the temperature to 180ºF.
• Smoke for 2 to 3 hours, or until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 130ºF to 140ºF, brushing with maple syrup or honey every 60 minutes.
• Move the smoked salmon to a cooling rack, brush once more with maple syrup or honey, and let it cool completely before wrapping tightly and refrigerating for up to a week or freezing for up to a year.

Notes

For Salmon Bacon:
Continue smoking the salmon for up to 5 hours or until the salmon is quite firm to the touch and looks shellac-ed; shiny and deep coral orange/brown. Transfer to a cooling rack, brush once more with maple syrup or honey, and let it cool completely before wrapping tightly and refrigerating for up to a week or freezing for up to a year.

Nutrition

Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 580mg | Potassium: 295mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

The Best Way to Cook Salmon is also the easiest: air fryer salmon takes 4 ingredients, 8 minutes, and is so easy, and so very perfectly moist and flavourful that you’ll be tempted to have it every night!

The beauty of the air fryer salmon recipes is that all you need to do is “dress” your salmon with whatever flavours you like. The air fryer does all the heavy lifting for you.

In today’s recipe, I make our family’s favourite salmon with just 4 ingredients and of those 2 are garnishes. Those four ingredients are salmon, unagi sauce, furikake, and green onions.

Salmon in Air Fryer

The air fryer is far and away the best way to cook salmon. You can start with frozen salmon that you’ve thawed according to package instructions or fresh salmon.

The better the salmon is to begin with, the more impressive your results will be when you cook salmon in the air fryer. I love Wegman’s fresh, wild caught skin-on salmon fillets, but you can also use skinless fillets.

If you’re using frozen salmon fillets, you will need to thaw them according to the package instructions. This best way to cook salmon method is not designed to be made with fish that is still frozen.

Regarding the size of the fillets, you can go with one single large fillet that you break into individual servings after cooking, or you can use 4 individual sized fillets. Remember, too, that salmon does not need to be cooked until it is dry.

Salmon is at its best when it is cooked to between 120˚ and 125˚F. You want to go closer to the lower end for wild caught salmon and closer to the upper end for farmed salmon.

…and heck. While you’ve got the air fryer out, you should probably try making our Air Fryer Tofu – Honey Sriracha Crispy Tofu, too! Or use it for shishito peppers in the oven or air fryer style!

Best Seasoning for Salmon

I think the Japanese have locked up the best seasoning for salmon. It is as easy as unagi sauce and furikake, for me. These seasonings make the best way to cook salmon, too.

Furikake is a dry condiment made of nori, sesame seeds, bonito flakes, and other flavourings. You can purchase it or make your own homemade furikake.

It is spectacular and adds another level of savoury umami to whatever you serve with it. And thankfully, using it is as easy as sprinkling it over fish, vegetables, or rice.

If you do not have furikake and don’t want to shop for it or make it, you can substitute some toasted sesame seeds and a little

Unagi sauce is a sticky, savoury, sweet glaze made of sugar, soy sauce, mirin, and sake that makes everything more delicious. Unagi sauce is also known as “eel sauce” but it has exactly zero eel in it, in case that concerns you.

So why call it eel sauce? Simply because it is commonly served with grilled eel.

I either buy it at the grocery store in the sushi supplies section or purchase it at a local Asian market. If your stores are less robustly stocked, though, unagi sauce is available on Amazon.com, too.

Salmon Recipes

While this air fryer salmon is the best way to cook salmon for every day meals, you can also make crispy skin salmon with pinenuts and blackened salmon caesar salad. And don’t forget the amazing world of smoked salmon.

Smoked Salmon Pasta Salad is an amazing addition to any meal. Smoked Salmon Cucumber Pizza is a great light meal or party food.

Air Fryer Salmon

I tend to be a little hesitant to recommend gadgets, because whether or not it works for folks tends to be a highly individual thing. That said, I think every kitchen should have an air fryer.

Even if you don’t think of yourself as a person who eats a lot of fried foods (and by the way, french fries in an air fryer are CRAZY GOOD!), I think an air fryer is indispensable. For example, this air fryer salmon is reason enough to own an air fryer, in my book.

I do have an air fryer that I am steadfastly loyal too, both because of price and size. It doesn’t do me any good to have a tiny air fryer because there’s more than one person in my household.

I wouldn’t go any smaller than this one that I recommend because one of the things that makes an air fryer such an efficient cooking method is having air circulate around the food you’re cooking. The best way to cook salmon is a perfect example of this recipe.

Whether you size up (to make enough to feed 4) or stick with the recipe recommendations to feed four, or size down to feed 2, you’ll want that space. This air fryer is positively perfect in every way, like Mary Poppins.

Best Way to Cook Salmon

Preheat your air fryer using a preheat setting or at 400°F. Lay salmon fillets on a plate and drizzle evenly with unagi sauce.

When the air fryer has reached temperature, carefully arrange the salmon fillets in the air fryer basket in a single layer with a little space between them.

Set the air fryer to 350˚F. Cook for 8 minutes.

After 8 minutes, use a flexible metal spatula to slide under each fillet and transfer it to a serving plate. Sprinkle generously with furikake and scatter the green onions over the top. Serve hot, warm, room temperature, or cold.

Looking for a great side dish to serve with this Air Fryer Salmon? Try these delicious Rice Noodle Stir Fry.

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Best Way to Cook Salmon – Air Fryer Salmon

Course fish course, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine Asian, Japanese, Pan-Asian

Keyword air fryer salmon, air fryer salmon recipe, best salmon recipe, best way to cook salmon, salmon in air fryer, salmon in the air fryer

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 170kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Equipment

• air fryer

Ingredients

• 1 pound skin on salmon fillets fresh or thawed from frozen
• 1 tablespoon unagi sauce or teriyaki glaze
• 1 1/2 teaspoons furikake
• 3 green onions root ends trimmed away and thinly sliced

Instructions

• Preheat your air fryer using a preheat setting or at 400°F. Lay salmon fillets on a plate and drizzle evenly with unagi sauce.
• When the air fryer has reached temperature, carefully arrange the salmon fillets in the air fryer basket in a single layer with a little space between them.
• Set the air fryer to 350˚F. Cook for 8 minutes.
• After 8 minutes, use a flexible metal spatula to slide under each fillet and transfer it to a serving plate. Sprinkle generously with furikake and scatter the green onions over the top. Serve hot, warm, room temperature, or cold.

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 174mg | Potassium: 586mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg

I love miniature, bite-sized food, and these Mini Cheese Balls are my new favourites. These gorgeous little two-bite, miniature cheese balls are dressed up with smoked salmon, chives, and everything bagel seasoning.

Serve them with bagel chips and you’ll be thrilled. If you add side dishes of quick pickled red onions and capers, they’ll taste just like a New York City bagel breakfast!

This mini cheese ball appetizer recipe is so easy!

Cheese balls are a great go to appetizer for parties, but this mini cheese ball appetizer recipe takes it to the next level. Having miniature cheese balls instead of a big one has a few advantages you may not have thought of yet.

For instance, a big cheese ball looks great until you dig into it, then it looks pretty sad. That doesn’t keep people from eating it, because a cheese ball is irresistible, but the mini cheese balls look good from start to finish and are easier to transfer to your plate without making a mess.

What should I use to serve my mini cheese balls?

You have so many fun options for serving these party perfect mini cheese balls. Serve them on a platter with tongs to pick them up, but my preference is to give them each their own little handle. Use pretzel sticks to make the entire package edible, or opt for toothpicks or skewers, as I did here.

Whichever way you serve them, they’ll be the hit of your party. Be prepared to be asked for the recipe.

What kind of cheese is best for cheese balls?

The standard cheese ball always starts with cream cheese. That gives it the signature spreadability. Many cheese balls add shredded cheddar or other semi-hard cheeses to help stretch it and give it more body and flavour.

Our mini cheese balls stick with cream cheese only because the smoked salmon provides the body and flavour that cheddar usually adds.

What kind of smoked salmon should I use with cream cheese?

My preference is to use refrigerated smoked salmon that is sold on little trays at the grocery store. I think it’s the freshest tasting and easiest to work with in this recipe. If your budget doesn’t allow that, though, you can purchase canned, cooked salmon and pick through it to remove the bones and skin. Add 1 drop of liquid smoke, and you’ll be in business.

These mini cheese balls make a spectacular party appetizer served with champagne or vodka, but don’t confine them to the big shindigs. They’re also the ultimate in brunch. Imagine this for your Christmas or New Year’s Day brunch with friends or just with your own family.

When it comes to time to lay this out at the table, I highly recommend serving it with garlic or rye bagel chips, pickled or thinly sliced red onions, capers that have been drained and rinsed, and a handful of mini or micro greens. Pea shoots or baby arugula are both great choices.

Aside from those accoutrements, we have a lot of other great dishes and drinks here on Foodie with Family that would be delicious with our mini cheese balls. Consider Dot’s pretzels, everything soft pretzels, pizza salad, Lady Greyhound Cocktails, Dark and Stormy Orchard Cocktails, spinach bacon cheddar munchy cakes, and Berry Kombucha Margaritas.

Where can I buy everything bagel seasoning?

If you’re near a Trader Joe’s, hop on down and grab a bottle or two from their spices and seasonings section. If Trader Joe’s is nowhere near you, check any local well-stocked grocery store in the spice section, or order this from Amazon. Are you the DIY type? Make your own everything seasoning with this recipe.

To make your life a little easier while rolling these tasty little bad boys, do yourself a favour and order a cookie scoop/disher. I love to use this size for my mini cheese balls.

And folks, if you lose your gumption to roll these into cheese balls, the mixture tastes absolutely wonderful spread on bagels, too! You might even plan ahead and make a double batch, roll half of them, and save half for your bagels.

And cheese lovers, take note! There are a great many cheese recipes here on Foodie with Family. Our Provoleta – Fried Cheese appetizer is straight out of Argentina and makes something heavenly out of provolone cheese.

Roasted Garlic Artichoke Goat Cheese Fondue is sheer perfection and about as easy as an impressive appetizer can get. Don’t forget the soufflé like deliciousness that is Baked Ricotta, too!

Mini Cheese Balls

1. Add your softened cream cheese to a mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or wooden spoon to beat the cream cheese until smooth and loosened.
2. Roughly chop the smoked salmon and stir it vigorously into the softened cream cheese along with the dill.
3. Smooth the surface of the mixture, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to chill for at least an hour but up to 48 hours in advance.
4. Scoop the mixture by tablespoons full and roll into balls before rolling in minced chives and everything bagel seasoning.

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Mini Cheese Balls – NY Bagel Style

These gorgeous little two-bite, mini cheese balls are dressed up with smoked salmon, chives, and everything bagel seasoning.

Served as an appetizer or brunch offering with pickled red onions, capers, and bagel chips, these taste like a New York City lox bagel brunch at its finest.

Course Appetizer, Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword mini cheese balls

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Chilling Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 122kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature for about 1 hour
• 4 ounces smoked salmon roughly chopped, see posts for alternatives
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed or 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 bunch chives minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons everything seasoning

Instructions

To Make the Mini Cheese Ball Mixture

• Use a hand mixer or a sturdy spoon to beat the softened cream cheese until it is smooth and loose.
  
• Roughly chop the smoked salmon and stir it and the dill weed vigorously into the cream cheese. Smooth the top of the mixture, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour but up to 48 hours.
  

To Form the Mini Cheese Balls

• Stir the minced chives and everything seasoning together in a pie plate.
  
• Scoop the mixture into 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon portions, roll into a ball. Roll each ball in the chive mixture, pressing gently to make sure chives and seasoning stick to the exterior of each ball.
  
• Arrange the balls on a platter. These can be served right away or refrigerated before serving. The chives will be prettiest if they’re served within 8 hours of being made, but will hold well for three more days in the refrigerator.
  
• Just before serving, if desired, insert a toothpick, skewer, or pretzel stick into each ball.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 70mg | Vitamin A: 415IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 0.5mg

This crab rangoon recipe was sponsored by Silver Spring Foods and their delectable family of horseradish and mustard products. All recipes, photos, and opinions remain -as always- my own.

I am powerless when in the presence of Crab Rangoon. Seriously powerless. That crunchy wonton stuffed with creamy crab filling makes me weak at the knees.

So why would I mess with a good thing and change up the recipe? Because I can.

I decided to turn my culinary amp to eleven and stuff my crab rangoon recipe not just with the usual cream cheese and imitation crab. I used cream cheese, to be sure, but I used actual lump crab meat, crispy bacon, and extra hot horseradish, to boot.

I mean, honestly, can you hear my heart going pitter-pat from where you sit now? Because the results were swoon-worthy. That smoky umami hit from the bacon and the unmistakable ZING of the horseradish made these homemade crab rangoons a darned good reason to stay in and not go out.

Because while crab rangoon makes me swoon, so does horseradish, in a very big way. I love the zing, zip, and WHOA BABY that eating a spoonful of horseradish provides.

This quick primer on how to make crab rangoon won’t clear your nasal passages, though. It’s a more subtle hit of horseradish. If you really want the eye-watering presence, feel free to dip into horseradish when you serve it.

Do I need to use imitation crab meat for my crab meat rangoon?

In a word, no. You certainly can, but I love real crab meat when I can get it at a good price, so for this crab meat rangoon, I used the real deal. If that’s out of your budget, never fear; you can substitute imitation crab meat in equal amounts for the lump crab meat called for in this recipe.

What IS imitation crab meat?

It’s fish, guys! At it’s most basic, imitation crab meat is white fish that has been finely ground and mixed with egg whites, food starch, crab flavouring, and a little sugar. The paste is then shaped to look like crab leg meat. It sounds kind of weird, but it’s basically the same process by which chicken nuggets are made.

It’s not some big, bad, awful thing; I just plain like real crab meat better most of the time.

What kind of horseradish should I use for my crab rangoon recipe?

I like to use the strongest horseradish I can find for insides of my crab rangoons to make sure the flavour stands out.

My favourite horseradish for the job is the Extra Hot Horseradish from Silver Spring Foods. It is the easiest way to give it zing, no matter what “it” is!

Family owned Silver Spring is the world’s largest grower and processor of horseradish, so they clearly know what they’re doing when it comes to the zingy condiment. Using horseradish like I’ve done in this crab rangoon recipe is the perfect way to take a recipe from traditional to traditional with a twist.

Where do I find wonton wrappers for my crab rangoon?

The simplest place to find wonton wrappers is at your local Asian market. They are almost always well stocked.

If you don’t have an Asian market nearby, though, most grocery stores have wonton wrappers ready to use in the produce section. Almost all Wegman’s stores have them on hand there.

If the two previous options don’t work for you, try the freezer section! Many grocery stores stock wonton wrappers in the deep freezers. And if none of this works? Well, don’t worry. See the work around I have for you in the section below.

How to Make Crab Rangoon

This is a very easy process, really. Basically you soften cream cheese and mix in your crab meat, bacon, horseradish, and Worcestershire sauce until it is an even mixture.

Then you have a couple of options, most of which start with wonton wrappers.

Option 1:

Simple folded wonton method; this is my go-to method. I brush two edges of the wonton with beaten egg, plunk about 1 teaspoon of filling into the center, then fold the wonton over the filling.

Run your finger along the edges to seal the wonton, squeezing out as much air as you can. Ta-da!

Option 2:

Beggar’s purse method; this one is a little prettier, but a little fussier. Brush the entire wonton lightly with the beaten egg, scoop your teaspoon of filling into the center, then gather the wonton up around the filling.

You’ll still be squeezing out as much air as possible, but you’ll be pinching the extra wonton near the top of the filling to seal it in. You’ll want to let it sit for about three minutes before deep frying.

Option 3:

The Crab Rangoon Dip Method; this is the method you’ll want to use if you can’t find wontons. Scrape your filling into a greased baking dish and pop it into a preheated 350°F oven until bubbly. Voila! Crab Rangoon Dip! Serve this with your favourite crackers or vegetable sticks.

Crab Rangoon Cook’s Notes

• I like to use a hand mixer to mix together my room temperature cream cheese, horseradish, and Worcestershire because it makes it easier to stir the bacon and crab into the mix. This is strictly optional. You can definitely mix it by hand.
• If you do opt to mix this by hand, I still advise mixing the cream cheese, horseradish, and Worcestershire together with a sturdy spoon before adding the mix-ins.
• This is a job for finely chopped, crispy bacon rather than chewy bacon. You don’t want the texture to compete with the texture of the crab meat.
• If you use jumbo lump crab meat, you may want to run your knife through it to break it up just a wee bit. Giant pieces of crab will make it harder to mix your filling and to seal your wontons.

 To fill out your party table, whip up a Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad, baked ricotta appetizer, everything soft pretzels, roasted parmesan garlic almonds, cream puffs for dessert, and some Lady Greyhound Cocktails to wash it down with.

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Bacon Horseradish Crab Rangoon

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American, Asian

Keyword crab rangoon

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 159kcal

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• 4 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 4 ounces lump crab meat
• 4 strips bacon cooked 'til crispy and finely crumbled or chopped
• 4 green onions roots removed and thinly sliced
• 30 wonton wrappers
• 1 egg beaten
• oil for deep frying or brushing before baking

Instructions

To deep fry:

• Preheat about 3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F over a medium high flame.
  
• Use a hand mixer or sturdy spoon to beat together the cream cheese, horseradish, and Worcestershire sauce until smooth and more loose.
  
• Stir in the lump crab meat, bacon, and green onions until evenly distributed.
  
• Arrange a wonton wrapper on a plate or cutting board like a diamond.
  

  Brush the edges of a wonton wrapper lightly with beaten egg. Scoop about 1 teaspoon of filling into the center, then fold the wonton wrapper up over the filling to cover it.

  Use your fingers to gently squeeze as much air from the wonton as you can while sealing the edges together.
  
• Repeat until the filling is used up.
  
• Use a skimmer or tongs to carefully lower the rangoon into the oil 1 at a time.  Make sure that you only put as many into the pan as can freely float in the oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes each, or until brown and crispy.

  Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Serve immediately.
  

To bake

• Preheat oven to 375°F.

  Brush or spray the filled wontons with oil, then bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until browned and crispy.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 159kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 332mg | Potassium: 97mg | Vitamin A: 225IU | Vitamin C: 2.1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg

When I brought you the Torn Croutons earlier, I teased you with a glimpse of my current favourite salad; Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad. This is the ultimate entrée salad for this time of year. Salmon makes it Lenten friendly, waist-line friendly, clock-friendly and wallet friendly. Blackening the salmon gives it a little extra punch of flavour to boost us through the protracted cold snap.

Raise you’re hand if you’re feeling pretty ready for a thaw right about now.

Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad does the trick for me, friends. Even if it’s still negative five billion outside -give or take a few degrees- I can eat fresh food like I’m the Queen of Summer. And I do. Because OH MY GOSH I NEED TO SEE SOMETHING GREEN.

Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad is a hearty dose of crisp romaine greens tossed with luscious Caesar dressing and topped with flaked Blackened Salmon, torn croutons, hard-boiled eggs, and some shaved Parmesan cheese. That’s it!

And handily, you can either make it with salmon you’ve cooked just for the occasion, or with leftover filets from a Blackened Salmon dinner. Either way it’s dinner and it. is. delicious.

To make this meal, you need to grab the recipes for Cajun Blackened Salmon,

Thick Caesar Dressing {mayonnaise},

and Torn Croutons. Along with these three things, you’ll need romaine lettuce, hard boiled eggs, and a block of Parmesan cheese. Once you have all those components, it’s just a matter of assembly and diving face first into the plate.

 Cook’s Notes

• Don’t put your hot salmon directly onto the salad. You’ll want to let it cool at least 10 minutes before flaking and piling on top of your salad. Otherwise, you’ll have a wilted Caesar salad which just kind of sounds sad to me. This is why leftover Cajun Blackened Salmon is a great option for our salad.
• I love to make my Blackened Salmon Caesar Salads with whole romaine leaves because I love the look and the feel of the salad this way. I simply core the romaine hearts and separate the leaves gently before dropping into my giant mixing bowl. If, however, you’re not into the eat-your-salad-with-a-knife-and-fork idea, you’re welcome to tear the leaves into more bite sized pieces.
• I use my Thick Caesar Dressing almost as a rule. If you have a jarred one you prefer, go for it.
• While we’re discussing dressing, I have to tell you that the best way to dress a Caesar salad is with your hands. Oh sure, it’s a little “Like Water for Chocolate”esque, but the truth is that you get the dressing into all the nooks and crevices of the wrinkly romaine lettuce which gives a better overall PUNCH of Caesar dressing. If you’re too grossed out by using good clean hands to toss your salad, go for tongs and toss them gently. Above all, though, be gentle when you dress the leaves.
• …still on the subject of dressing, how much you use is highly subjective. I prefer a lightly to moderately dressed salad, so I go for a ratio of about 1/4 cup to each large head of romaine dressing. Adjust upward if you prefer a more heavily dressed salad.
• Torn croutons are the best here, but if you don’t have the inclination, a good bagged Caesar crouton will be alright.
• Let’s talk cheese for a moment, shall we? The ideal cheese on a Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad is shaved from a wedge of Parmesan cheese with a vegetable peeler. This gives nice little accents of salty cheese rather than the giant pile of white fluff you’d get from grating it which has a tendency to overpower all of the other flavours in the salad.

Use these to make Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad:

• Large Mixing Bowl
• Chef’s Knife
• Cutting Board

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Are you a big salmon fan? Try these recipes for Easy Paleo Pecan-Crusted Salmon, Perfect Grilled Salmon, Salmon + Greens Asian Noodle Bowls, Honey Sriracha Glazed Salmon Bites,  Easy Grilled Salmon Recipe in Foil, and Smoked Salmon Cucumber Pizza.

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Blackened Salmon Caesar Salad

Author Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

Per Serving:

• 8 to 10 whole romaine leaves
• 2 tablespoons Thick Caesar Dressing or more to taste
• 1/4 cup Torn Croutons
• 1 fillet Cajun Blackened Salmon
• 1 hard boiled egg peeled and quartered lengthwise
• 6 to 8 curls of shaved Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Toss the whole romaine leaves with the Caesar dressing, using your hands to work the dressing into all the crevices of the leaves. Toss in the croutons. Arrange on plates, flake and top with the Blackened Salmon, hard boiled egg, and Parmesan cheese.

This post was originally published February 27th, 2015.