Air Fryer Salmon Patties (Keto Low Carb)

Air fryer salmon patties are quite easy, tasty, AND healthy. Only simple ingredients and 20 minutes are needed. Yay! This version uses canned salmon and pork rinds. Using pork rinds instead of bread crumbs for the crust results in a crispy outside and tender inside.

Air Fryer Salmon cakes are healthy, gluten-free, low carb, and keto-friendly. The best part? They can be cooked from fresh or frozen! Make these ahead and freeze for later - cook the frozen patties in air fryer when you're ready! 🙂

Jump to:

• Watch Video
• Why You'll Love This
• How To Serve
• Ingredients
• Variations
• How To Air Fry Salmon Patties
• Top Tips
• Common Questions
• More Air Fryer Recipes
• ⭐ Stay Connected
• 📋 Recipe

Watch Video

Why You'll Love This

"This recipe came about when I was standing in my pantry staring at a can of salmon wondering what the heck to do with it. The perfect solution: an easy salmon patty recipe in my air fryer! An easy, tasty, and healthy recipe was born, LOL!" 🙂 -Kori

Super Easy and Quick

Only 11 ingredients (including salt and pepper) and less than 15 minutes in your air fryer, and you'll be enjoying these air fryer salmon patties.

Cooking is as simple as coating the wings with the dry rub, adding to the basket, and spraying with olive oil spray. After cooking, toss with Picante sauce and serve.

Yes. No Mess

Making salmon cakes in an air fryer is a breeze - they are simple to make and easy to clean up.

The beauty of cooking in your air fryer is that cooking is a lot less messy than traditional frying. There's no oil to add or store after cooking. Most air fryers have non-stick baskets, so cleanup is a breeze.

Make Ahead and Freezable

These air fried salmon cakes can be made ahead of time then frozen for later. You can then cook the frozen salmon cakes in your air fryer when you are ready! Instruction for cooking frozen salmon patties in the air fryer is below.

Keto Low Carb

These salmon patties are keto and low carb. This recipe uses crushed pork rinds instead of bread crumbs, making these very low carb - only 1.4 grams carbs! Healthy low-carb keto salmon cakes that are so good no one will even realize they're eating something healthy. 🙂

If you want to add more healthy fat to this recipe, I highly recommend making creamy dill dressing as a sauce for dipping them in.

For one salmon cake: calories 305, 1.4 g net carbs, 17.2 g fat, and 33.7 g protein

Are you interested in keto? Get my FREE keto food guide and grocery shopping list. It's an excellent glance guide you can print off for your fridge or save the pdf on your phone when you are out and about!

How To Serve

Here are a few delicious ideas of what to serve with air fried salmon patties:

• Make Creamy Dill Dressing as a dipping sauce for your patties and as a salad dressing for a side salad. Also tastes great with our homemade Thousand Island Dressing, cocktail sauce, or tartar sauce.
• Here are three salad recipe that would be absolutely amazing served with air fryer salmon patties: Seafood Pasta Salad (Use Pasta or Cauliflower), Greek Salad Recipe, Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad
• Here is a super simple green bean side dish that I make often - Crockpot Green Beans and Ham (Low Carb Keto)
• Salmon cakes can be served as an appetizer or starter. You can make smaller appetizer-sized patties by adjusting the cooking time down slightly. Don't forget the dill sauce for dipping, see above note.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe:

• Canned Salmon - make sure to pick the bones out!
• Parmesan Cheese - Use the finely grated parmesan cheese.
• Mayonnaise - I used avocado oil mayonnaise but any favorite mayo will do.
• Egg -the binding ingredient in this recipe
• Fresh Chives - I used fresh in this recipe but you could substitute dried. You can also use finely chopped green onion. Rule of thumb for herbs: 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried
• Fresh Dill - fresh dill has a slightly better flavor than dried, but you can substitute dried dill.
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Kosher Salt or Sea Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Original Flavored Pork Rinds - I wanted a little more texture in this recipe so I used regular pork rinds and crushed them in a plastic bag. This gave me a variety of larger pieces and finely crushed - making the perfect crust! Feel free to use seasoned panko bread crumbs if you are not following a low carb plan, or you can use pork panko.
• Olive Oil Cooking Spray - I use a good quality 100% extra virgin olive oil spray to coat the carb cakes evenly - it works like a charm! If you don't have spray, you can drizzle olive oil over the top.
• Optional - lemon wedges and Creamy Dill Dressing for serving with your patties

Equipment

• Air Fryer - I've been using a Ninja Foodi for air frying, slow cooking, and pressure cooking so I could pair down to one appliance! 🙂
• Measuring spoons
• Mixing spoon
• Medium Sized Mixing Bowl
• Plastic bag - for crushing your pork rinds.

Variations

Here are some different ways you can make substitutions or customize your air fryer salmon patties:

• Substitute pork panko or panko bread crumbs. If you don't want to crush your own rinds feel free to use pork panko. If you are not following a low-carb keto diet, then you can also use seasoned panko bread crumbs. I think the best taste comes from crushing your own pork rinds, however. So, if you've never tried it, I highly recommend it regardless of what diet your might be following. 🙂
• Use crab meat in place of canned salmon.
• Try substituting a different kind of finely grated cheese. The key is that the cheese has to be very finely ground.
• Add up to 2 tablespoons of finely chopped red bell pepper.
• Want a little more spice? You can add a few drops of hot sauce.
• Add 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard or lemon juice for a little more tang. Whether I add this, depends on the brand of mayonnaise you use. Some mayo is tangy so you don't need to add mustard or lemon juice. (I used Better Foods Avocado Oil Mayonnaise).
• Experiment with seasoning blends.
• Swap out different herbs. The dill is a key flavor in this recipe, so I don't recommend replacing it unless you don't like to dill it at all. Parsley makes a great substitute for chives if you prefer.

How To Air Fry Salmon Patties

Here's how to air fry salmon patties! You are going to love this recipe. 🙂

Crush The Pork Rinds

Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees F for 5 minutes.

Place 2 ounces of pork rinds in a plastic bag and crush using the backside of a bowl or a rolling pin until they are crushed.

You can finely crush or leave some larger bits and pieces mixed in, which is my favorite way. You'll love the crunch they give to the salmon patties!

Place pork rinds in a bowl.

Mix All Ingredients

Be sure to remove the bones from the salmon before making your patties.

Mix the salmon, parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, egg, chives, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a medium-sized bowl.

Form the Patties

Divide mixture into fourths and firmly press together, forming 4 patties that are approximately 1" thick.

Press each salmon cake into the bowl of pork rinds. Remove and then press the coating firmly into the patty. Repeat with the second side.

Air Fry

Place the salmon patties in air fryer basket and spritz with olive oil cooking spray.

Air fry 5 minutes, turn the patties over and spritz the other side with olive oil spray. Continue cooking an additional 5 minutes, or until golden brown and heated through.

Serve

Remove patties from the air fryer basket. Serve on their own, with creamy dill sauce (my favorite way!), cocktail sauce, thousand island dressing, or tartar sauce.

Top Tips

• Add 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard or lemon juice for a little more tang. Whether I add this depends on the brand of mayonnaise, you use. Some mayo is tangy, so you don't need to add mustard or lemon juice. (I used Better Foods Avocado Oil Mayonnaise).
• Firmly press salmon cakes together - this will help prevent them from falling apart.
• Press the pork rind coating into the patties to help it stay on better.
• By using an olive oil cooking spray instead of drizzling the olive oil, you can get a much more even coating and crispiness on your wings. Make sure to use a good quality 100% olive spray.
• Each air fryer is a little different so adjust your cooking times as needed.

Common Questions

How can I make salmon patties healthy?

Making salmon patties healthy is easy if you use your air fryer. These are so tasty, even those not following low carb keto meals plans will still enjoy these! Using no bread crumbs, this recipe was created to be low carb, gluten-free, and keto.

Can I make this recipe ahead of time?

Yes! Definitely. If you want to meal prep and make these salmon cakes ahead of time - go ahead! I recommend you cook them first. Then cool and store in an airtight container (or even freeze) for up to 3 days.

From there, you can reheat in your air fryer or cook the frozen salmon cakes in air fryer when you are ready.

How do I reheat salmon patties in air fryer?

Yes, salmon cakes can easily be reheated in your air fryer—preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees. Place salmon cakes in the basket and cook until heated through - about 4 to 5 minutes.

Can you cook salmon patties in air fryer?

Yes, you can air fry salmon cakes! 🙂 Here's how:

• Preheat the air fryer to 360 degrees and place the patties in the basket
• Cook for 5 to 6 minutes per side. Flip patties once, and for a crispier crust spritz with 100% olive oil spray after you flip them.
• The salmon cakes are done when they are golden brown.

Note: each air fryer is a little different so adjust your cooking times as needed.

Can You Air Fry Frozen salmon patties?

Yes! Here's how to cook frozen salmon patties in air fryer:

• Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees and place the frozen salmon patties the basket.
• Cook approximately 10 to 15 minutes until warmed through, flipping the patties halfway through.
• Note that each recipe, air fryer, and size of patties vary and may alter the cooking time. Adjust time and temperature accordingly.

Is salmon OK on keto?

Absolutely, salmon is fine on keto. 3 ounces of salmon contains 0 carbs, 4 grams fat, 19 grams protein, and only 112 calories.

Please check my FREE downloadable and printable Keto Food List and Grocery Shopping List for more information on what foods are OK on keto.

How many net carbs are in salmon patties?

There are 1.4 grams of net carbs in this salmon patty recipe. Other recipes may be different as many contain bread crumbs which will greatly increase the carb count.

More Air Fryer Recipes

Here are some of my reader's top favorite air fryer recipes. They are all low carb, gluten-free, sugar-free, and ketogenic. Enjoy! 🙂

• Air Fryer Fajita Spiced Chicken Wings
• Keto Air Fryer Chicken Tenders (Air Fryer + Oven)
• Parmesan Crusted Air Fryer Tilapia
• Air Fryer Crab Cakes (From Fresh or Frozen)

⭐ Stay Connected

If you tried these Air Fryer Salmon Patties, I'd love for you to come back and give them a star rating and/or a review in the comments. Let's stay connected, so please share photos of your creations with me & others on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest! 🙂

Super simple and tasty air fryer salmon patties! Healthy salmon patties that are gluten-free, low carb, and keto friendly. This salmon patties recipe makes an easy dinner idea for busy weeknights. It can also be made ahead and frozen for later - just cook frozen salmon cakes in air fryer! 🙂