Flavorful fish cakes made with walleye or your choice of white fish are a perfect light dinner or appetizer. Serve with homemade tartar sauce and lemon wedges.
These fish cakes are easy to make and are ready in less than 30 minutes.
Easy to make fish cakes
These fish cakes are so full of flavor and they're so easy to make. You can use any type of white fish, but we primarily use walleye. We have a freezer full of walleye and I'm always looking for new and delicious ways to use it.
Every year we have a huge walleye fishing and camping trip. We have a fish fry in camp one night and the rest of the fish gets brought back home where we portion it up and freeze it.
This recipe is simple. I didn't want a heavy fish cake. I just really wanted it light with simple flavors and similar to a crab cake. My husband declared this was one of his favorite ways to eat walleye! That's big praise coming from him. I guess that means this will be a regular on our menu! That's okay by me. I loved them too.
We catch a lot of different kinds of fish, and walleye is definitely one we really enjoy. The picture above is from our recent fishing weekend. That was a 26-inch walleye, which is very large for this area. Most fish we catch are usually 12-16 inches.
Key ingredients
Ingredients
This section reviews the best ingredients and substitutions for this recipe. For an exact list of ingredients and quantities, check the recipe card below.
- Fish - Use light white fish like cod, walleye, or haddock. Feel free to use leftover cooked fish or do a quick poach to cook the fish.
- Bread Crumbs - I used plain panko bread crumbs
- Binder - Eggs and a bit of mayonnaise help bind everything together
- Seasoning - Old Bay Seasoning, salt, pepper and fresh parsley
- Celery - Adds a bit of crunch and flavor
- Green Onion - Adds just the right amount of onion flavor
- Lemon - Just the lemon juice is added, although a bit of lemon zest would be delicious too!
Step-by-step directions
How to make it
In this section, I share step-by-step photos, cooking methods, techniques, and a general overview. For detailed instructions, temperatures, and timing, check the printable recipe card below.
- Cook the fish - Place about 2 inches of water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add fish and simmer for about 2 minutes until cooked through. Drain into a sieve and rinse with cold water to cool the fish.
- Place fish, panko, eggs, green onions, celery, mayo, parsley, lemon juice, and seasoning into a bowl.
- Use a spatula to combine all ingredients. Keep mixing until the fish is broken into small pieces and everything is well combined.
- Scoop fish onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten each scoop with your hands or the bottom of a glass.
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil so there's just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Use a fish spatula to carefully place each patty in the pan. The patties will be very crumbly at this stage so handle carefully.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes and then carefully flip. I place my fingers on top of the patty while it's flipping to help hold it together.
- Cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and serve hot with tartar sauce and lemon wedges. Garnish with green onions or chopped parsley.
Recipe tips
- You can use precooked or leftover fish for this recipe. If your fish is already cooked, skip step one.
- Break up the pieces of the fish as you're stirring it together
- Form evenly shaped patties. I use a large scoop and then flatten each scoop once it's on the baking sheet.
- The patties will be fragile until cooked. Then they hold together fairly well to move them around to a serving dish and to a dinner plate.
- Don't overcrowd the pan. Cook in two batches if necessary. Add a bit more oil for the second batch.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you need to use cooked fish in the fish cakes. If you have leftover fish, use it. If not just quickly poach some fillets.
More ways to cook walleye
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my delicious fish recipes!
Fish Cakes
Equipment
- Cookie Sheet (#16 scoop)
Ingredients
- 1 pound white fish (walleye, cod or other white fish)
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup green onions (chopped)
- ¼ cup celery (finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or canola)
Instructions
- Cook the fish - Place about 2 inches of water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add fish and simmer for about 2 minutes until cooked through. Drain into a sieve and rinse with cold water to cool the fish.1 pound white fish
- Place fish, panko, eggs, green onions, celery, mayo, parsley, lemon juice, and seasoning into a bowl.1 cup panko bread crumbs, 2 eggs, ¼ cup green onions, ¼ cup celery, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Use a spatula to combine all ingredients. Keep mixing until the fish is broken into small pieces and everything is well combined.
- Scoop fish onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten each scoop with your hands or the bottom of a glass. I use a #16 size scoop (¼ cup)
- Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil so there's just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.1-2 tablespoons oil
- Use a fish spatula to carefully place each patty in the pan. The patties will be very crumbly at this stage so handle carefully. Do not overcrowd the pan. You might need to cook in two batches.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes and then carefully flip. I place my fingers on top of the patty while it's flipping to help hold it together.
- Cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and serve hot with tartar sauce and lemon wedges. Garnish with green onions.
Notes
- You can use precooked or leftover fish for this recipe. If your fish is already cooked, skip step one.
- Break up the pieces of the fish as you're stirring it together
- Form evenly shaped patties. I use a large scoop and then flatten each scoop once it's on the baking sheet.
- The patties will be fragile until cooked. Then they hold together fairly well to move them around to a serving dish and to a dinner plate.
- Don't overcrowd the pan. Cook in two batches if necessary. Add a bit more oil for the second batch.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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