Date Published: March 6th, 2021 | Last Updated: March 6th, 2021
Author: Abby |Category: appetizer, snacks
Serves: 6 medium sized cakes (or 4 large ones) | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 10 mins

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These tuna cakes pack a punch of lemon flavour! They’re easy to make and pretty quick to whip up. Lemon, parmesan and garlic are the heroes of this recipe all packaged together into a patty then breaded with panko breadcrumbs for a crispy exterior. You can make these cakes small to serve as an appetizer or a quick snack, or form them larger and put it between two buns to make a crunchy tuna patty burger! Enjoy them on their own or drizzled with a creamy tartar sauce or sriracha mayo.

I first stumbled across the original recipe from CrunchyCreamySweet when I was looking for tuna recipes to use up all the tuna we caught when we went deep sea fishing last year. We caught 6 fish and it was quite the struggle to use it all up – we ended up eating tuna for 2 weeks straight! I’ve adjusted the proportions from the original recipe to pack more flavour into the cakes but the root of it is still essentially the same.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Tuna Cake:
- 250g tuna in water, very well drained
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 4 Tbsps fresh dill leaves, roughly chopped (or 1 tsp dried dill)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 4 Tbsps mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp dried parsley
Breading:
- 8 Tbsps panko breadcrumbs
- 6 Tbsps grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 Tbsps olive oil divided

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the tuna cakes: tuna, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, lemon juice, zest, egg, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, parmesan, and parsley. Set aside.

In a shallow ball, combine the ingredients for the breading: breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.

Form the tuna mixture into 6 equal sized patties (or 4 large ones). If your mixture is a little too wet, you can put it in the fridge for 20 mins to firm up then form them. Dip each patty into the breading mixture and coat all sides, including the edges. Set aside.

Heat a skillet on medium heat and add 2 Tbsps of oil. Shallow fry each patty on both sides until golden brown. Set cooked patties on top of a paper towel to drain excess oil. Serve!

Serve it on its own as an appetizer or paired with a side salad or drizzled with creamy tartar sauce or sriracha mayo! Click the links for the recipes.

If you’ve made the recipe let me know what you think about it in the comments! Like and follow our FB page and instagram for the latest updates.

Summarized Recipe:

Lemon Parmesan Tuna Cakes

Ingredients:

Tuna Cake:
- 250g tuna in water, very well drained
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 4 Tbsps fresh dill leaves, roughly chopped (or 1 tsp dried dill)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 4 Tbsps mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp dried parsley
Breading:
- 8 Tbsps panko breadcrumbs
- 6 Tbsps grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 Tbsps olive oil divided

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the tuna cakes: tuna, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, lemon juice, zest, egg, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, parmesan, and parsley. Set aside.
In a shallow ball, combine the ingredients for the breading: breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.
Form the tuna mixture into 6 equal sized patties (or 4 large ones).
- If your mixture is a little too wet, you can put it in the fridge for 20 mins to firm up then form them. Dip each patty into the breading mixture and coat all sides, including the edges. Set aside.
Heat a skillet on medium heat and add 2 Tbsps of oil. Shallow fry each patty on both sides until golden brown. Set cooked patties on top of a paper towel to drain excess oil. Serve!

Serve it on its own as an appetizer or paired with a side salad or drizzled with creamy tartar sauce or sriracha mayo! Click the links for the recipes.