With loads of carrots and cabbage in our CSA box I love making this fresh Cabbage Slaw for my Grilled Salmon Burger Recipe. The salmon burgers are ready in minutes and I love how quickly everything comes together for a fast weeknight dinner idea. The slaw keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days too and I love eating this with baked or grilled fish. It’s a recipe that signals warmer days are around the bend.
What You’ll Love About These Grilled Salmon Burgers
You can use fresh salmon filets and grind it up in the food processor or you can use canned salmon from your local grocery store. I tend to keep cans of salmon on hand in the pantry for this very meal. Plus it saves time grinding up large chunks of salmon. The salmon patties are flavor-filled and cook in minutes in our cast iron skillet. The fact that in less than 30 minutes you’ll have a protein packed dinner ready is always a winner in my book.
Ingredients for Grilled Salmon Burgers with Fresh Cabbage Slaw
For the best grilled salmon burgers, we’re pumping up the volume on the usual burgers recipe and making a delicious cabbage slaw to use up a good chunk of the head of cabbage we got in our CSA box. Here’s all we need to make this simple salmon burgers with flavor-filled ingredients:
- Canned Salmon. Again, you can totally use fresh salmon filets but I love the ease and efficiency in using canned salmon. Two cans weighing about 6 ounces each will help to craft 4 patties.
- Herbs and aromatics. A number of aromatics and herbs are going into crafty these juicy salmon burgers. We’ve got a mix of chopped chives and parsley, garlic, onion, and lemon to help make stellar salmon cakes.
- Bread crumbs. Bread crumbs combined with egg help us to craft salmon burgers that hold their shape. You can use panko bread crumbs here but in this recipe I’m using homemade brioche breadcrumbs that are a finer grind and help the patties keep their shape well.
- For the slaw: we’re using the cabbage and shredding up some carrot with some jalepeño to make a zesty slaw. The dressing is made with kefir for added probiotics and lime juice for added zesty flavor.
Scroll down to get the whole list of ingredients for the burgers in today’s recipe card.
How to Make these Delicious Grilled Salmon Burgers
These delicious salmon burgers are ready in 15 minutes. With the allotted time to allow the fresh cabbage slaw to marinate you’ve got dinner done in 30 minutes or less. Here’s how we make it:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the kefir, white wine vinegar, lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and herbs until well combined. Taste and adjust dressing seasoning to your preference. Add in shredded carrots, sliced jalapeño, and cabbage. Reserve 1/4 cup of dressing and pour remaining dressing over slaw. Stir to combine then chill in fridge while you prep salmon burgers.
- Drain and flake your canned salmon in a medium bowl. Add in eggs, herbs, lemon juice, lemon zest, hot sauce or sriracha, bread crumbs or panko crumbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. If salmon mixture is still on the wet side, add in a 1/4 cup more bread crumbs until the patties hold shape as you form them. Form burger patties into 3” diameter discs and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. You should have patties of about equal portions.
- Heat 2 tablespoons avocado oil in a large cast iron skillet oor stovetop grill pan medium heat. Add in your burger patties and cook 2-3 minutes on each side until golden.
- Plate your burgers on top of your slaw and garnish with an extra lemon edge and a dollop of the reserved dressing. Enjoy!
Storage & Serving Tips
Store any remaining salmon burgers wrapped in a piece of aluminum foil in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. These are best enjoyed the day after grilling. I also love making these into a proper burger by toasting hamburger buns and topping the burgers with thinly sliced red onion, tomato slices, and a little mashed avocado. These are a wonderfully delicious alternative to a beef burger!
Frequently Asked Questions and Cooking Tips
Greek yogurt is a great alternative to kefir. I’ve also made this with creme fraîche for a creamier dressing for the slaw. It’s a great combination.
There are a couple of tips here. If wanting to add this recipe to your summer grilling plans, I have found that for best results you’ll want to use something like a grill pan with smaller grates so the salmon flakes do not fall through the standard grill grate. A few I recommend include this seasoned steel grill pan from Lodge or these nonstick grill grids from Sur La Table. When it comes time to grill, heat the pans on medium-high heat then add salmon patties on the grill grid. This is an easy way to ensure small pieces of the salmon patties don’t fall through the main grate and it will also make cleanup a breeze.
You can definitely prep the salmon patties ahead of time and then freeze them for future use. This is especially good if you are making salmon burgers for a crowd at a future summer gather. One of the best ways to do this is to freeze them after they’ve been cooked. Once cooked, line the patties on a parchment lined baking sheet pan and freeze. Place the frozen patties in a freezer safe bag. They will store well in the freezer for up to a month. When ready to use, heat grill over medium high heat and add the patties to warm through, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Alternatively, you can reheat cooked salmon burgers in a nonstick skillet indoors over medium heat or reheat in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for about 10 to 15 minutes until warmed through.
More Delicious Dinner Ideas to Love
Looking for more dinner ideas that are low effort but high impact? Check out a few of my favorites below:
If you make this yummy Grilled Salmon Burger recipe, let me know how it turns out in the comments. I sincerely hope this is one you’ll add to your collection of delicious salmon recipes!
Grilled Salmon Burgers with Fresh Cabbage Slaw
Ingredients
Fresh Cabbage Slaw
- 1/4 head of cabbage (about 6 ounces) thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots shredded
- 1 medium jalapeño stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup plain kefir or greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 large fresh grated garlic clove
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped chives & parsley
Salmon Burgers
- 2 6 oz. cans of salmon
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup chopped chives and parsley
- 1 heaping tsp sriracha
- zest and juice of half a lemon
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs may need about 1/4 cup more depending on how wet mixture is
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the kefir, white wine vinegar, lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and herbs until well combined. Taste and adjust dressing seasoning to your preference. Add in shredded carrots, sliced jalapeño, and cabbage. Reserve 1/4 cup of dressing and pour remaining dressing over slaw. Stir to combine then chill in fridge while you prep salmon burgers.
- Drain and flake your canned salmon in a medium bowl. Add in eggs, herbs, lemon juice, lemon zest, sriracha, bread crumbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. If mixture is still on the wet side, add in a 1/4 cup more bread crumbs until the patties hold shape as you form them. Form burger patties into 3” diameter discs and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Heat 2 tablespoons avocado oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add in your burger patties and cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden.
- Plate your burgers on top of your slaw and garnish with an extra lemon edge and a dollop of the reserved dressing. Enjoy!