Spiced Salmon Burgers

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One of my girlfriends always posts about the most delicious sounding salmon burgers and each and every time I'm tempted to get on a plane to Seattle and go visit. Seeing as how that's not always possible, I took her recipe and gave it a whirl in my kitchen! Spiced Salmon Burgers coming your way!

A baking sheet with parchment paper and four spiced salmon burgers with pickled red onions, harissa mayo and avocado.


 

Why I Love This Recipe

What's your guys favorite kind of fish? Mine is for sure Salmon - which I think might be quite obviously given the amount of times it pops up here on What's Gaby Cooking. It's so versatile, works with a number of different toppings and you can keep it whole / grill it / bake it / sear it, or chop it up and make it into salmon burgers!

Summer is burger season and these salmon burgers are pretty much healthy (minus the bun). They're topped with avocado (naturally), pickled red onions for a zip and a harissa mayo because I wanted to be fancy. You could use any aioli rather than a mayo if that's more your jam! Throw it all on a brioche bun and invite some friends over! Make a nice and quick stone fruit salad or butter lettuce salad on the side and you're gold!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Mise en place of all ingredients to make spiced salmon burgers.
  • Salmon
  • Green Onion
  • Cilantro
  • Parsley
  • Jalapeño
  • Eggs
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt
  • Panko Bread Crumbs
  • Brioche Buns
Toppings
  • Avocados
  • Pickled Red Onions
Harissa Mayo
  • Garlic
  • Mayonnaise
  • Harissa Paste
  • Lemon

*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.

How to Make Spiced Salmon Burgers

A mixing bowl with mayo, garlic, harissa paste, and lemon zest and juice.

Step 1: Combine garlic, mayo, harissa paste and lemon juice/zest and mix to combine. Taste and adjust lemon as needed. Set aside.

A mixing bowl with finely diced salmon, green onions, cilantro, parsley, jalapeño, eggs, olive oil and salt.

Step 2: Preheat an indoor grill pan to medium heat. Using a large sharp knife, finely dice the salmon. Place in a large bowl. Add the green onions, cilantro, parsley, jalapeño, eggs, olive oil and salt and mix to combine.

A mixing bowl with a salmon burger mixture with panko bread crumbs added.

Step 3: Gently mix in the panko bread crumbs to the salmon, and form 6 patties.

A parchment paper lined baking sheet with spiced salmon patties ready to go on the grill.

Step 4: Transfer patties to the grill and grill the for about 4 minutes on each side.

Step 5: Generously spread the bottom buns with the harissa mayo and then put the burger on the bottom bun. Pile the Burger with layers of avocado and pickled red onions. Top with the other half of the bun and enjoy immediately.

How to Store Spiced Salmon Burgers

You can store extra cooked patties in the fridge for 1-2 days and assemble the burger when its time to eat.

How to Freeze Spiced Salmon Burgers

You can freeze the patties in the fridge for up to three months. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap first to avoid freezer burn and make sure the freezer bag/box is airtight. Thaw in the fridge overnight when it is time to eat.

Tips & Tricks

Use any sort of aioli or mayo-based dressing that you'd like on these burgers. It's also another excuse to enjoy guacamole (as if I need an excuse!).

An overhead closeup shot of the bottom half of a bun, topped with harissa aioli and a spiced salmon patty and the top half topped with pickled red onions and avocado.

FAQs

How do I know if the patties are cooked through?

Time it, cooks for about 4 minutes on each side. You can also tell by checking the color inside or the internal temperature of 145F, at which it is done.

What other toppings can I add?

Tomatoes, Lettuce, pickles, lemon aioli, or tartar sauce are all great options.

Similar Recipes

If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today

Spiced Salmon Burgers

Author: Gaby Dalkin
5 from 3 votes
Summer is burger season and these salmon burgers are pretty much healthy (minus the bun). They’re topped with avocado (naturally), pickled red onions for a zip and a harissa mayo because I wanted to be fancy.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 pounds Salmon skinned and de-boned
  • 1 cup green onion thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup cilantro finely chopped
  • ¼ cup parsley finely chopped
  • ½ jalapeño finely chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 6 brioche buns

Toppings

  • 2 avocados sliced
  • Pickled red onions

Harissa Mayo

  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
  • 4 teaspoons harissa paste
  • ½ lemon zested and juiced

Instructions
 

  • Combine garlic, mayo, harissa paste and lemon juice/zest and mix to combine. Taste and adjust lemon as needed. Set aside.
  • Preheat an indoor grill pan to medium heat.
  • Using a large sharp knife, finely dice the salmon. Place in a large bowl. Add the green onions, cilantro, parsley, jalapeño, eggs, olive oil and salt and mix to combine.
  • Gently mix in the panko bread crumbs to the salmon, and form 6 patties. Transfer patties to the grill and grill the for about 4 minutes on each side.
  • Generously spread the bottom buns with the harissa mayo and then put the burger on the bottom bun. Pile the Burger with layers of avocado and pickled red onions.
  • Top with the other half of the bun and enjoy immediately.

Notes

Use any sort of aioli or mayo-based dressing that you'd like on these burgers. It's also another excuse to enjoy guacamole (as if I need an excuse!).

Nutrition Information

Calories: 824kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 284mg | Sodium: 1031mg | Potassium: 1200mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1421IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 121mg | Iron: 4mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @WhatsGabyCookin or tag #whatsgabycooking!

Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe lightly adapted from Heather Christo

15 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Delicious!!! And that sauce!!!!! I tried to make my own mayonnaise but it didn't thicken for some reason. But I used it anyway, in the more liquidy form,,, So so good!!! Thanks, Gaby.

  2. 5 stars
    Made these "unspiced" for the kids with no jalapeño and a simple garlic aioli. They loved them.
    I might have also read the recipe wrong and cooked the salmon before forming the patties. Doh! So I cooked very quickly on both sides just to hold them together in burger form. They still tasted amazing. Will try the correct way to do it next time. 🙂

  3. 5 stars
    I absolutely adore these burgers! I came across them when looking for freezer-friendly meals to help us survive during quarantine and boy have these delivered. They were super easy to throw together and freeze before cooking. We've been pulling them out to have burger style or to eat on top of a salad. We finally reached the end of our freezer stash and I'm definitely loading up on ingredients to make another batch next time I go to the store. Thank you, Gaby!!

  4. This was delicious! 🙂 The patties did turn out to be not quite sticky enough and kind of fell apart on the grill - any tips on how to avoid that next time around? Thanks!

    1. I'd pat them together even harder so they stick, and oil the grill so it's easy to flip them!!

  5. Salmon is definitely my favorite kind of fish, too! As a kid, I didn't like ANY type of fish, but salmon was the first one I started warming up to. These sound amazing! Especially with that touch of jalapeno and the green onion - yum!!

5 from 3 votes

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