Grain-free Canned Salmon Patties

Grain-free Canned Salmon Patties
gluten-free | grain-free | dairy-free
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | July 8, 2025
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These grain-free canned salmon patties are soft, flakey, and bursting with flavor! They are the perfect way to turn a jar of home-canned salmon into a delicious lunch or dinner. Made with homegrown herbs and homemade almond meal, these salmon patties use ingredients you already have stocked in the homestead pantry to create a from-scratch homestead meal. When fried in a cast iron skillet, these salmon patties get perfectly browned and crispy on the outside while remaining moist and flakey on the inside!

Modern Pioneer Recipe

These canned salmon patties are a modern pioneer recipe since I’m pretty sure the early pioneers didn’t turn their fish into fish patties. But, nonetheless, these salmon patties are made completely from-scratch and can be made using ingredients that you grow, harvest, or produce right on your own homestead!

Ever since my dad and I started going on charter salmon fishing trips on Lake Michigan, we’ve had an abundance of wild caught salmon to enjoy on the homestead. Salmon fillets naturally have a line of pin bones in them, so when we are cleaning the fillets we just cut out the strips of meat that contain the pin bones. Instead of tossing the bone-filled meat, we can it! More on that in a minute.

Other ingredients that you can source right from the homestead include the almond meal and the herbs used in this salmon patty recipe. For the almond meal, I take the almond pulp leftover from making homemade almond milk and roast it in the oven. Once dry and crumbly, the pulp can be gently pulsed until a coarse almond flour/meal forms. This is what I use in my salmon patties.

The herbs, like parsley, dill, and garlic, can be harvested from your homestead garden. If you grow chives or green onions, those can go in the patties too! And of course, the egg in this recipe can come from your own homestead flock.

Since these salmon patties are made with simple, clean ingredients, it makes it easy for them to be allergy-friendly. These salmon patties are…

• gluten-free
• grain-free
• dairy-free
• corn free
• sugar free
• soy free

Looking for another delicious salmon recipe? Make sure you check out this recipe for simple grilled salmon that will quickly become the ONLY way you want to eat salmon!

How to Can Salmon

Canning the pin bone meat from fresh, wild-caught salmon is a great way to prevent any of the fish from going to waste. When the meat is canned, the pin bones dissolve and you are left with a jar of flakey salmon meat that is boneless! Here’s the simple process we follow to can salmon at home:

Pressure Canning Salmon:

• Prep the Salmon– To start with, you will need skinless pin bone meat strips from fresh caught salmon fillets. Cut those strips into 1″ chunks. About 6 pounds of meat will fill 7 widemouth pint canning jars.
• Prep the Jars– Sterilize widemouth pint canning jars and add 1/2 tsp. of canning salt to each jar along with 1 tsp. of lemon juice.
• Cold Pack– Pack the chunks of salmon meat into the jars. Pack the jars tightly to get rid of as much air as possible. Fill each jar to the fill line, which is about 1″ from the top of the jar. You can pack in fresh herbs with the chunks of meat if you desire.
• Lids & Rings– Wipe off the rims of each jar to remove any moisture or fishiness. Place a warm lid on each jar and seal off each jar with a ring. Secure the rings until they are hand-tight.
• Pressure Can– Place the jars in your pressure canner (make sure they aren’t touching each other or the sides of the canner). Pressure can for 1 hour and 40 minutes at 10-11 pounds of pressure.
• Cool– Once the pressure has completely gone down in your canner, you can carefully remove the hot jars and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely. Label and date the jars and remove the rings before storing the jars of home-canned salmon.

For a complete guide to pressure canning on the homestead, make sure you get this Canning Log & Guide!

Recipe Questions

Can I use store-bought canned salmon instead of home-canned salmon?

Yes, you can use store-bought canned salmon in this recipe. This recipe uses 1 pint of home-canned salmon. You will probably need to use 2-3 cans of store-bought canned salmon to equal the approximately 2 cups of canned salmon for the recipe.

Is there another flour I can use instead of almond flour to make these tree nut free?

I have not tested these salmon patties with an alternative flour. If you do use a different flour, I would recommend something that is coarse and not too absorbent. Tapioca flour would be too light and fine. Coconut flour would be too absorbent. You could try using cassava flour or oat flour in place of the almond flour.

Can I omit the egg to make them egg free?

I would not recommend omitting the egg in these salmon patties. The egg helps the patties hold their shape when they are cooked. Since the recipe uses canned salmon instead of fresh salmon, the egg is a necessary binder to keep the patties from crumbling apart.

What’s the best way to cook the salmon patties?

Salmon patties are best pan-fried in a cast iron skillet! You don’t need a lot of oil or fat to pan-fry salmon patties. A light layer of butter, bacon fat, coconut oil, or ghee in the bottom of your cast iron skillet should do the trick. You will want to fry the patties until they are deeply browned and crispy on both sides.

I have also tried grilling these salmon patties. Since they are made with canned salmon, they don’t hold together real well on the grill, so a little patience is needed when flipping them. Additionally, they can quickly dry out if grilled for too long. Salmon patties made with fresh salmon are better for grilling…. and that recipe will be coming soon!

What should I serve with salmon patties?

Salmon patties go great with numerous meal ideas! Here are some of my family’s favorites:

• Salmon Patty Salad– Pair the salmon patties with fresh greens, cold-cut veggies, and homemade salad dressing for a delicious salmon salad.
• Pita Pockets– These salmon rounds fit nicely into homemade pita bread for a pita pocket sandwich.
• Salmon Burgers– Sandwich these patties between gluten-free buns and top them with homemade mayo and fresh greens for the ultimate fish burger.

These grain-free canned salmon patties are super easy to make from-scratch using ingredients you can source right from the homestead! The moist, flakey interior of these crispy salmon patties will have you making this recipe again and again.

Where to Find the Ingredients:

• Anthony’s almond meal
• Simply Organic dill
• Simply Organic parsley
• Primal Kitchen organic mustard
• Supplies: 10″ cast iron skillet, metal spatula

These grain-free canned salmon patties are a great way to use home-canned salmon and fresh herbs from the homestead garden to make a delicious lunch or dinner meal! The crispy brown exterior paired with the flakey, moist interior creates the perfect pan-fried salmon patty. You can put them on a bed of fresh greens for a delicious salmon salad, or sandwich them into a homemade pita bread for a delicious salmon sandwich. No matter how you enjoy these salmon patties, they will quickly become a favorite on the homestead!

Happy Homesteading!