Tuna Patties
Written by Beth - Budget Bytes
We’ve already reached oppressive heat levels here in Tennessee, so I’m looking for all the quick low-heat meals I can get! These super simple Tuna Patties (a.k.a. Tuna Cakes) hit the spot this week. They’re quick to pull together, delicious over a bed of greens, and the perfect excuse to make my favorite Comeback Sauce. ;)
What is a Tuna Patty?
Tuna patties are just like a burger, but made with canned tuna. In addition to the tuna, they usually also contain egg and breadcrumbs to hold them together, and some seasoning for extra flavor. The mixture is then flattened into a patty and fried until deliciously golden brown. The best part about tuna patties is that you can season them in so many different ways, so it’s one of those quick and easy meals that you can make over and over without getting tired of them!
How to Season Tuna Cakes
I used one of my favorite go-to seasonings for my tuna cakes, Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning, which is basically Creole-flavored seasoning salt. So if you can’t find Tony’s or you just want to go a different route, you could use a different seasoning salt, like Lawry’s, or choose a different seasoning blend like Old Bay Seasoning, lemon pepper, or even curry powder. Just keep in mind that if your seasoning blend does not contain salt you’ll want to add a little extra to your patty mixture.
How to Serve Tuna Patties
My favorite way to serve tuna patties is on a bed of greens, like a salad, with a little of my Comeback Sauce. But you could also stuff them into a pita with some tomatoes and greens, and a little sauce. Or, you could make mini cakes and serve them with toothpicks and a sauce for dipping as a party appetizer!
Sauce Options
I’ve already mentioned that I served my tuna patties with Comeback Sauce, but if you don’t like that sauce or just want to try a different option, there are several other sauces that would be great with these tuna patties. If you’re looking for something light and simple, even just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice would be awesome. Other sauces to try include sriracha mayo, ranch dressing, tartar sauce, yogurt dill sauce, or creamy Caesar dressing.
Tuna Patties
Ingredients
- 2 green onions, chopped ($0.22)
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional) ($0.10)
- 1 12oz. can chunk light tuna in water, drained ($1.79)
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs ($0.32)
- 1 large egg ($0.24)
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise ($0.15)
- 1.5 tsp lemon juice ($0.02)
- 1 tsp seasoning salt* ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
Instructions
- Roughly chop the parsley and green onions. Drain the canned tuna well.
- Place the tuna, green onion, parsley, breadcrumbs, eggs, mayonnaise, seasoning salt, and lemon juice in a bowl. Mix the ingredients together just until evenly combined. Avoid over mixing.
- Divide the mixture into four equal portions, then shape each portion into a patty.
- Heat a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the tuna patties and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and slightly crisp.
- Serve warm over a bed of greens or stuffed into a pita!
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Tuna Patties – Step by Step Photos
Roughly chop about 2 tablespoons of parsley and two green onions. I like to chop the green onions for this rather than just slice them, so they mix in a little better. Drain one 12oz. can of chunk light tuna in water, well.
Add the drained tuna, parsley, and green onion to a bowl along with ½ cup plain breadcrumbs, one large egg, 2 Tbsp mayonnaise, 1.5 tsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp seasoning salt.
Mix the ingredients together just until evenly combined (don’t overmix). I use my hands for this job!
This is the seasoning I use, but you can use any seasoning salt, or any other seasoning blend you like. Just make sure to add extra salt if your seasoning blend does not contain any.
Divide the patty mixture into four equal portions then shape each one into a patty. Heat a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface. Add the tuna patties to the hot skillet.
Cook the tuna patties for about five minutes on each side, or until deliciously golden brown.
Serve warm in a pita or over a green salad. And don’t forget to make a little Comeback Sauce to drizzle over top!
These are so good and very budget friendly! I served it with a side salad and sriracha Mayo. Will definitely make again!
Super tasty! I didn’t have green onion, so I skipped them. I used Lawry’s seasoning salt. I served it with lettuce and some thousand island dressing. It turned out great!
Do you have any thoughts about a gluten-free substitute for the bread crumbs? For burgers and meat balls I usually use oatmeal – would that work here? Or possibly crushed cornflakes or gluten-free panko?
I think something light like the crushed cornflakes or GF panko would probably work best. :)
One of my favorite substitutes for bread crumbs is crushed/blended cheerios. I find it’s a bit more absorbent than cornflakes
This is a delicious, simple, and quick dinner. I squeezed half a lemon for the juice to add to the recipe and used the other half to squeeze on top when served. I didn’t have plain breadcrumbs on hand so substituted panko crumbs quite successfully.
I made my patties too thin, initially, and the first one didn’t hold together when I flipped it. Fortunately, I had only put the one in the pan, so I smooshed up the remaining three to make them smaller and fatter and they cooked beautifully.
My husband and I both enjoyed these, so onto the regular dinner rotation it goes!
I have all the ingredients except for green onion. Can I use red onion instead of green?
Yes, absolutely. :)
I made this exactly and the patties turned out wonderful! Great summertime lunch idea. No need to heat up the kitchen too much.Â
Made this for lunch today and it was quick, easy, and delicious. Thanks, budgetbytes, what would I do without you?