Today’s recipe for gluten-free Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cakes is another gfe recipe that came about because I had ingredients that I needed to use. I never want to waste food and I love making a single recipe that can work as a complete meal.
In this case, a meal in a salmon cake, if you will. I love that! And this meal is absolutely delicious!
My original version included canned salmon, leftover cooked quinoa, leftover cooked sweet potato, salad greens (whatever is in my fridge—baby spinach, arugula, spring greens, etc.), eggs, and seasonings.
We always have leftover quinoa when Son’s girlfriend makes Southwestern Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers, an absolutely wonderful recipe that was adapted from a Hello Fresh meal. (No, I have not shared it on gfe yet but I need to—and soon!)
I initially was going to call these salmon cakes Sweet Potato Salmon Quinoa Cakes but when I was out of sweet potatoes one day, I made them using Russet potatoes that I had on hand. Another time I used Yukon Gold potatoes.
The resulting salmon cakes were every bit as delicious as they were when made using sweet potatoes. So, simply Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cakes they are!
I will confess that I have even subbed in cooked mashed cauliflower or cooked cauliflower rice in place of the potatoes with pretty much equal success. So if you’re eating low carb or keto, this recipe will still work for you.
Using sweet potatoes does make these salmon cakes a little more golden in color and I love that little bit of sweetness when combined with the other ingredients, especially to complement the chopped salad greens in the cakes.
The remaining ingredients other than the eggs—i.e., the salad greens and seasonings—depend on what you prefer to use or have on hand but I assure you that every possible way you can make these Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cakes, they are absolutely delicious!
I’ve mentioned before that I crave salmon frequently and would almost always choose it over dessert even—when given the choice. Salmon feeds my brain and my body well with its high-quality protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, selenium, and astaxanthin and I have always loved the distinctive taste and texture of salmon as well.
Making these Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cakes once a week easily and happily satisfies my cravings. We all love this recipe so much that I double or triple it when making it for the three of us so that we have leftovers for lunch the following day. It’s always nice to be able to grab something out of the fridge that we can quickly reheat and enjoy.
When I feel the need for more salad greens than what’s included in this recipe, I will make a big salad and break one of these salmon cakes into pieces as my protein topping. Wonderful!
If we have our special dipping sauce leftover from stone crabs, we like to add a dollop of that to our gluten-free Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cakes.
Some of you may remember that I previously proclaimed the salmon cakes from another recipe on gfe—one created by my dear friend Jennifer—as The Best Ever Gluten-Free Salmon Cakes. I still love those particular cakes but the family prefers these new gluten-free Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cakes and I can understand why.
They pop with flavor and the texture is just wonderful—crusty outside and delectable inside. Plus, as I said earlier, you know you’re getting a meal in your Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cake. Or perhaps it will take two of these cakes to make a meal for some of you. It does for Son.
If you’re a salmon fan, I really hope you like them! (But for the record, I will still make the other salmon cakes as well because I love the special ingredient that they feature and their unique nutty taste—without nuts!)
Some More Favorite Gluten-Free Salmon Recipes and Savory Burger/Cake/Fritter Recipes
~ Grain-Free Zucchini Fritters
~ Southwestern Zucchini Fritters
Gluten-Free Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cakes Recipe
These gluten-free Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cakes are a meal in a cake! They're a great--and absolutely delicious--way to clean out your fridge! Potatoes other than sweet potatoes—for example, Russet and Yukon gold--work as well. I use leftover cooked quinoa and cooked mashed sweet potatoes that have been refrigerated when making these salmon cakes. I think the fact that both of these ingredients are chilled makes them work better for binding all of the ingredients. I think these cakes would be more likely to fall apart if you attempt to use just cooked, still warm quinoa and/or just cooked, still warm sweet potatoes. If your can or packet of wild-caught salmon is slightly smaller or larger (products vary just a bit), the results will still be fine.Gluten-Free Quinoa-Crusted Salmon Cakes
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Nancy says
Shirley, I love the sound of this recipe. Think I’ll cook up some quinoa and sweet potato today so I’ll have some “leftovers” to try this soon!
Shirley Braden says
Hi Nancy–I think you’ll really like this meal-in-a-cake concept! I look forward to hearing what you think when you get to try it. 🙂
Happy weekend!
Shirley
Nancy says
Shirley, This recipe turned out great! Super simple and tasty, so my favorite combination. I made a quick mayo and brown mustard sauce. The leftovers are going on garbanzo flour tortillas for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for yet another wonderful recipe! Nancy
Shirley Braden says
Woohoo, Nancy! I’m with you on “super simple and tasty”! So glad this recipe earned that rating from you! 🙂 I like the idea of the sauce you made and serving the leftovers with tortillas is a great idea, especially if you have some that have become “crumbles.” I’ll confess that I tend to eat those crunchy crumbles right away though. 😉 Btw, do you make your garbanzo flour tortillas or buy them? (I just googled and saw that you can buy them now. I had no idea!)
Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback!
Shirley
Nancy says
Shirley, I make my own tortillas and it is another simple recipe. Haven’t shared on my blog because I just sort of stopped sharing recipes a while ago. But the recipe is as follows: 1/2 cup chickpea flour, 1/4 cup tapioca starch, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 3/4 cup water. Whisk ingredients. Pour about 1/4 cup into a medium/hot, lightly greased, nonstick pan and swirl to spread the batter around the bottom of the pan (like making a crepe). Cook for about 2 minutes on one side then flip and cook for about one more minute. This makes a sturdy but thin tortilla. FYI, I make a tortilla with red lentils as well, slightly more work and requires a little planning but also yummy. I was introduced to this idea when we traveled to India back in 2019. Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try. Nancy
Shirley Braden says
Wow, Nancy. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with me! I’m always amazed–and pleased–that recipes like yours work without eggs. 🙂 I will confess that I ersonally have never used chickpea flour before. I got turned off by the well-known bean-focused flour mix (and didn’t do well with it either) and steered clear of it for a long time. However, I have had socca pizza made by a GF friend, which I loved, and I love chickpeas in general (so I believe that my issues with the flour mix were not with the chickpea flour component) so I know that I’d definitely enjoy your tortillas! I didn’t really realize that you weren’t sharing recipes any longer. This concept honestly sounds too good NOT to share! Maybe you could make an exception or you’d allow me to share it as a guest recipe from you. 😉 Food for thought. I enjoy lentils but tend to avoid them as there have been so many cases of them being contaminated with gluten grains. Anyway, thanks again, Nancy! Off to investigate other chickpea flour options right now …
Nancy says
Hey Shirley, I think maybe I will do a post about the gf-bean tortillas. I have accumulated a few recipes that I’d like to share. I have just been busy with other projects…I’m sure you know how that goes. I use Bob’s Red Mill chickpea flour though other brands may work just as well. You may find that you need an additional tablespoon of chickpea flour. The batter is super thin– so more like a crepe batter actually, and it is very important to use very little oil…like maybe 1/4 tsp. on a 9-inch pan. Anyway, hope you enjoy them. Nancy
Shirley Braden says
That will be great, Nancy! No rush of course (yes, I do know about the pull of so much else in life) but I’m sure so many folks will love your tortilla recipes and I’ll link to them in my gluten-free tortilla and wrap recipe roundup. You’ll find some other tortilla recipes in the collection that are closer to crepes in reality but deliciously get the job done. I like that they will get folks to think outside the box more because when one is living GF, that really is the way to go! 🙂
Shirley