Paleo Salmon Cakes made with a creamy dairy-free avocado aioli

I’ve always been a big seafood lover and wild salmon is probably my favorite. It’s nutritious, high in protein and is packed with healthy omgega-3s. I typically enjoy wild salmon baked in the oven, however lately I’ve been experimenting with canned wild salmon. It’s a lot less expensive than buying a filet of salmon. I have been incorporating canned wild salmon into my salads and sandwiches. Another yummy use for canned salmon is salmon cakes! I created a delicious paleo salmon cake recipe and it’s one of my new favorite recipes to make! I’ve been keeping a big batch of the salmon cakes in the fridge to quickly re-heat for meals throughout the week. These salmon cakes are so amazing on their own, but they’re also delicious served on top of a salad, in a wrap, served burger-style with a bun, or served alongside a soup. They also make a delicious appetizer if you make them miniature-sized.

This one-bowl recipe is simple to make and doesn’t require many ingredients. These salmon patties are so flavorful and even people who don’t love salmon will love them! This recipe is packed with protein and omega-3s to help keep you full and satisfied.  These paleo salmon cakes are excellent as a meal or appetizer and they can be prepared up to a day in advance and quickly re-heated on the stovetop or oven.

I made a creamy dairy-free avocado aioli, which pairs perfectly with the salmon cakes! I used a paleo avocado-oil based mayonnaise for the aioli blended with avocado, lemon, garlic, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. To make the salmon cakes paleo I used almond flour instead of breadcrumbs for the binding (breadcrumbs are used in traditional salmon cake recipes).

My canned wild salmon of choice is made by Safe Catch Foods. All their fish contains the lowest mercury of any brand and there are no additives, fillers or preservatives, just pure wild salmon. Since I’m currently pregnant I have to be very aware of my mercury intake and Safe Catch Foods is a perfectly safe option for pregnant women, nursing women and children. Safe Catch Foods individually tests each fish for mercury. Safe Catch cooks the fish to perfection once to retain all nutrients, Omega-3 oils, and minerals (no pre-cooking – other brands pre-cook in large ovens, and the nutrients and omega-3s drain away). This high quality, sustainable canned seafood is really the only way to go when purchasing canned fish!

Now I want to dive into all the nutritional benefits of wild salmon. It’s an amazing source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help to protect against heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases. Omega 3 fatty acids found in cold water fish like wild salmon provide EPA and DHA, which are important for brain and eye function. They’re also SOOO important during pregnancy to support baby’s developing brain, so consuming wild salmon while pregnant (one to two times per week) is a great way for me to ensure I’m getting an adequate amount of EPA and DHA. Also, DHA is known to be the most important fat in the brain. This fat improves both mood and cognitive health. Increased intake has been shown to reduce risk of depression and the cognitive decline that occurs with aging.  Salmon is also an excellent source of Vitamin B12, Vitamin D and Selenium.

I ONLY eat wild salmon and never farmed salmon. Wild salmon is so much better than farmed salmon for so many reasons. Here’s why:

• It’s lower in mercury!
• It’s higher in omega-3s (even though farmed salmon is higher in fat, it’s not the good healthy fat you want).
• If you make sure it’s sustainable then you’re supporting the environment! Farm-raised fish may not support a sustainable and clean environment. Farmed salmon can wreak havoc on our environment.
• Wild salmon swim and eat whatever they find in nature (since they’re ‘wild’). Their diet is more diverse, which means so is the nutrition they’re getting. Farm-raised salmon are fed a diet of pellets made of GMO-containing corn and soy products, canthaxanthin (a dye used to make the grey-colored farmed salmon more pink in color), and many other disgusting ingredients like antibiotics, fire retardant and pesticides. How nasty is that?!
• Farmed salmon live in unsanitary conditions similar to factory farms. They’re put in crowded net pens filled with thousands and thousands of fish. This salmon has so limiting in moving around and in turn, end up swimming in their own waste. Therefore, they havea  greater risk of being exposed to toxins and diseases and are more susceptible to things like sea lice and environmental toxins. However, wild salmon swim freely in a large environment, so they’re way less likely to be exposed to these things.

Now you know why I avoid farmed salmon and always opt for wild salmon. If I’m at a restaurant and they don’t have wild caught salmon I simply won’t order it at all. Atlantic salmon is a farmed species of salmon, so I avoid that as well. I’ll see if there’s another wild-caught fish on the menu. If you’re looking to get some more omega-3s in your diet, farmed salmon simply is NOT the way to do it. A lot of people complain that wild salmon is so expensive, so that’s why buying Safe Catch canned wild salmon is such a great option if you can’t afford a fresh filet.

I hope you found this post to be informative. I also hope you make and enjoy these delishhhh paleo salmon cakes!!

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This recipe is in partnership with Safe Catch Foods, a brand I know, trust and recommend. Thanks for supporting Leah’s Plate and the brands that help make this site possible.