This healthy tuna patties recipe is a simple and easy dish that makes for a quick dinner, lunch, or even appetizer! It's a delicious and affordable recipe using canned tuna! The recipe is SCD, Paleo, Whole30, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and soy free.
Regular tuna salad is not something I typically look forward to eating but these canned tuna cakes topped with a remoulade sauce are a different story!
The healthy tuna cakes are thick, flavorful, and SO EASY to make! We like to have them as a quick lunch or dinner but they would make a perfect little appetizer as well.
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What kind of tuna should I use?
Affordable canned tuna is what this recipe calls for!
As with all boxed and canned foods, just make sure to look at the ingredients on the back. The only ingredients should be tuna and salt.
You can also purchase a no salt added product but I haven’t been able to find it in my local grocery stores. I favor the Wild Planet brand of Albacore Wild Tuna.
Directions
Begin by steaming two cups of butternut squash until fork tender. Mash the squash with the back of a fork and set aside.
Mix together eggs, fresh dill, almond flour, minced garlic, and diced onion in a large bowl while the squash steams.
Add 10 ounces of canned tuna fish, making sure to drain the liquid. Use a fork to gently break up the chunks.
Mix until well combined with the egg mixture, then add in the mashed butternut squash.
Use a ⅓ cup measuring cup to help form the tuna into patties, then place them on a greased griddle or skillet and cook over medium heat for three to five minutes per side before transferring to an aluminum foil covered baking pan.
Bake the healthy tuna patties in the oven for fifteen to twenty minutes, just until heated through.
Enjoy these canned tuna cakes warm!
Recipe Tips
- Butternut squash is used to add some bulk to the tuna cakes but pumpkin or acorn squash can also be used.
- Although the flavor will be a little different, you can swap canned salmon for the tuna if mercury levels are a concern.
- 1 Tablespoon of dried dill can be used in place of the fresh dill.
- Finely ground blanched almond flour OR almond meal can be used in this recipe.
Easy remoulade sauce
This version of remoulade consists of seven ingredients.
- Mayonnaise
- Fresh dill
- Dijon mustard
- Ketchup (Wellbee's Honey Ketchup
) - Diced white onion
- Fresh lemon juice
- Cayenne pepper
)
When it comes to the mayo, I like the Primal Kitchen
brand but you can also make your own.
If dairy doesn’t bother you, plain yogurt is also a delicious and healthy option for this sauce!
Mix the remoulade sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined and serve alongside the gluten free tuna cakes.
This sauce is SO GOOD and any leftovers can be used to fancy up chicken or steak!
Here are a couple more seafood dishes for you to enjoy!
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Healthy Tuna Patties
Ingredients
Tuna Cakes
- 10 ounces canned tuna, drained
- 2 cups cubed butternut squash
- ½ small white onion chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried dill)
- ½ cup blanched finely ground almond flour
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil, for greasing griddle or skillet
Remoulade Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons fresh dill, chopped (or 1Tbsp dried dill)
- 1 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon white onion finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
Tuna Cakes
- Steam the cubed butternut squash until fork tender. Mash squash with a fork and allow to cool for a few minutes..
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with aluminium foil.
- In a large bowl combine the beaten eggs, onion, garlic, dill, and almond flour. Add the drained tuna and use a fork to break it into small pieces. Add the butternut squash and mix until well combined.
- Use a ⅓ cup measuring cup to form the tuna mixture into cakes. There should be enough mixture for 10 cakes. Heat the griddle to medium and grease with olive oil. Add the cakes in a single layer and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Place the tuna cakes on the foil lined baking sheet.
- Place baking sheet on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through. Serve warm with the remoulade sauce.
Remoulade Sauce
- In a bowl combine all ingredients and stir well.
Notes
- The remoulade sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.
- Store leftover tuna cakes in the refrigerator covered for 2 to 3 days. Reheat in the oven for best results.
- More tips for the tuna cakes can be found in the post.
Nutrition
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Megan
The sauce really makes these something special, very tasty! Can these be frozen? I’m pregnant and I think I’m only supposed to eat so much tuna in a week.
Thank you!
Jennifer Brown
Sorry for the delayed response. Yes, the patties can be individually frozen. I hope your pregnancy is going well!
Lynda
Can I substitute coconut flour for the almond flour?
Jennifer Brown
So typically coconut flour cannot be substituted 1:1 for any other nut flour because it needs so much more moisture. I have not tried this recipe with coconut flour but if you want to give it a go, I'd recommend starting off with just 1 tablespoon of coconut flour. Give it a few minutes to soak up the moisture and decide from there if you think the batter could use a tiny bit more coconut flour.
Barbara Van Wagner
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful Tuna cakes recipe. My family loved it and we're gonna make it a regular in our SCD life style.
We thought it was even better than pre-SCD tuna croquettes!
The sauce was easy and super tasty too!
Jennifer Brown
Thanks so much for the review, I'm so glad you like them! I loved croquettes growing up and now I feel like I should try and come up with a chicken croquette recipe!
Agus
Can i use Other cooked Fish ? Thanks !
Jen
Hi, any thoughts on how well these tuna cakes would freeze? I made a whole batch, but I'll be the only person to eat them - so I'd like to make them last! Wondering if next time I should freeze the patties prior to cooking?
Jennifer
I haven't tried it but I would think they can be frozen. The biggest issue might be excess moisture so I'd suggest cooking them and allowing to cool completely in the fridge before wrapping each individual tuna cake in freezer paper. Place them in an airtight container or freezer bag and store in the freezer.
Nitasha
Firstly love your recipes. First time making tuna cakes with pumpkin. Mine are very wet. When I flip they loose their shape. Should I add more almond flour.
Jennifer
Thanks Nitasha! Did you use fresh or canned pumpkin? Fresh tends to be more watery then canned. Overall the mixture is fairly wet and you need to wait to flip until the bottom has set. When flipping it's important to do so gently and if it breaks apart you can use the spatula to push the cake back together. However, if the mixture is too lose and doesn't hold together like the photos then yes, I would suggest adding some more almond flour.