Healthy Tuna Patties Recipe
These healthy tuna patties are a delicious switch for dinner tonight and they’re made with a clean eating recipe!
Tuna patties are a remarkably easy and simple dish to throw together. They make a wonderfully light meal on a hot summer evening. The flavors are light and delicious and you can serve them with any sauces you prefer.
They make a wonderful high-protein meal or snack the whole family will love! You can even serve them with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese or mix in some old bay seasoning. Just make sure to read the ingredients because some brands may have unwanted ingredients.
Tuna Patties Recipe Tips
- Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the patty into the skillet and then use a fork to gently press it down to a flatter form.
- If you prefer to bake these instead of frying them, simply scoop the patties onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for about 15-20 minutes at 350 F.
If Your Tuna Patties Fall Apart
If your patties fall apart in the pan, there could be one of a few things that are causing it.
- The tuna was not drained well enough. You want to get all of the water removed or it will cause problems.
- Temperature and humidity can vary from kitchen to kitchen, for many different reasons. The fix could be as simple as adding one more egg. Three eggs worked fine for me, but it’s possible that some people may need to use four eggs. So if the first patty falls apart, just stir in an extra egg with the remaining tuna and try again.
- The size of the tuna chunks – very large chunks will not hold together as well as smaller chunks. If you find the chunks of tuna are on the larger side, simply put the tuna in a small bowl and mash it a bit with a fork until the pieces are much smaller.
- The heat of your pan – While you don’t want to cook these on high heat, you do want to put them in a very hot pan so the egg cooks immediately and holds everything together. So get the pan nice and hot, then reduce the heat to medium heat and cook.
- You can add a binder if you wish – Good binders can be almond flour, oat flour, or whole grain cracker crumbs (Panko makes a whole wheat version of bread crumbs). Start with 1 tablespoon. You can add more, but don’t go overboard.
Dietary Needs
These are great for a low-carb or keto eating plan. They are also low glycemic, gluten-free, and paleo.
What To Serve With Tuna Patties
Tuna patties are pretty versatile. Anything you would generally serve with fish will work here. I love sweet potatoes or even sweet potato fries (for more of a “fish-n-chips” type of dish). Rice or quinoa and vegetables are always a great option, as is a simple, green salad.
Can You Make Healthy Tuna Patties In An Air Fryer?
You can! Line your air fryer basket or tray with parchment paper and cook these at 360 F. for 10 minutes.
IMPORTANT: If you opt to air fry these, you will want to do 2 important things.
1. Preheat your air fryer, if it has that function.
2. Definitely use one of the binders mentioned above. And for this, I would start at 2 tbsp.
About Tuna Patty Ingredients
Water-packed, canned tuna – Make sure to get the water-packed tuna, not oil-packed. No added salt is best.
Large eggs – These do best if used at room temperature, but it’s not as important as it would be in baking. I’ve made these with cold eggs as well and they do just fine.
Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed or bottled with no sugar added.
Red onion – Chop these really well. If you have a different color onion on hand, feel free to use it. But purple onions have a sweetness that works really well here.
Dried parsley – If you prefer to use fresh parsley, use 1 tbsp. and mince it really fine.
Dried dill – Again, you can use fresh if you prefer. Use 1 full tsp. for that, and mince well.
Garlic powder – If you prefer fresh garlic, I highly recommend mincing it and sautéing it first before adding it to this recipe. If you go that route, use 2 medium garlic cloves and mice well.
Oil – This is as needed for cooking. Use any oil you have on hand. Lightly flavored oils will taste best here.
More Optional Topping Ideas
- Green onions
- Shallots
- Ground black pepper
- Fresh herbs
- Fresh chives
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh basil
- Lemon zest
- Fresh lime or lemon wedges
How To Make Healthy Tuna Patties
Stir everything together in a medium mixing bowl until well combined.
Form small patties with the tuna mixture, with your hands (about 1½ inches in diameter).
Cook in a skillet using a heart-healthy oil.
Top your tuna cakes with fresh, chopped onion, fresh parsley, and serve with a lemon wedge. Top these with a little kosher salt or pink Himalayan salt. A little black pepper is good too.
How To Store Tuna Patties
If you have extras or need to make these ahead of time (you can make them up to 2 days in advance), store them in an air-tight container and keep them in the fridge. Make sure they all get eaten by day 3. Fish has a very short shelf life before it can make you sick. 3 days is the max time they should spend in the fridge.
Can You Freeze Tuna Patties?
You can! You’ll need to cook them first, but once cooked, they will freeze for up to 3 months.
To do this, cook the patties according to the recipe. Place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and place them, uncovered, in the freezer for 2 to 3 hours. Once frozen, transfer them to an air-tight container and return them to the freezer.
Thawing And Reheating
To thaw, let them sit in the fridge overnight.
To reheat, simply place them into a warm pan with a light spritz of oil and flip them frequently until warm.
You can also microwave them, 30 seconds at a time until they are just warm. Do not overdo it in the microwave because they will get dry and rubbery fast.
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Ingredients
- 15 oz. water packed tuna (no added salt, water drained well)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- ½ cup red onion (chopped)
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- ½ tsp. dried dill
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- oil (for cooking)
Instructions
- Stir everything together in a medium mixing bowl until well combined.
- Form small patties with your hands (about 1½ inches in diameter).
- Cook in a skillet using a heart healthy oil.
- Top with fresh, chopped onion, fresh parsley and serve with a lemon wedge.
These were delicious but I could not for the life of me get them to hold together! Any tips? I used 6 egg whites instead of whole eggs.
Jenna – That could have made a difference. Did you make any other changes? Did you drain the tuna?
These look great! What are some good side dishes that would go good with these?
Lynae – You could do a salad and a cooked grain. That’s usually my go-to combo.
I can’t wait to try these. Seeing I’m the only person in my family to eat tuna, I would adjust the amount of tuna cans to 1 and change all the other measurements. This will be dinner 1 night next week.
Julia – I hope you enjoy them!
I put these in muffin tins 400 for 20 minutes came out together the other just wasnt cutting it and yes I drained and re-drained really good _ i added red pepper flakes
Stacy – Muffin tins are a great idea!
I drained the tuna completely, added one extra egg and when making the patties I squeezed out a little more liquid. The oil needs to be ready and hot. I flipped them one time and they came out nice and crusty brown, without breaking. Kids wanted tarter sauce with it so I had to whip that together at the last minute. Served with a green salad, this was a nice light dinner on a hot summer night.
Sue – Thanks for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
I am a college student who loves to cook and these were such a filling dinner for me! And I even have extras for lunch tomorrow. Awesome recipe!!
Caitlin – Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi, can someone tell me if you can make this dish with just using egg whites or psyllium husks as a binder as I’m allergic to egg yolk.
Thank you in advance!!!
Marley – I haven’t tried it, so I couldn’t say. I’m sorry. You could always cut the recipe in half to experiment.
I found these were very wet and I drained the tuna extremely well. I added some bread crumbs and they were much better. Not as healthy with the bread crumbs but worked well. Delicious too.
Bev – If the bread crumbs were clean, then you’re fine! 🙂 (Panko makes good whole wheat bread crumbs) Glad it all worked out!
They fall apart on me, plus they stick to the pan like glue, even though I am using plenty of butter.
What am I doing wrong (maybe too high heat)???
Signed, a clueless single guy.
Perry – I would reduce the heat and maybe add another egg. Also, be sure you are draining the tuna really, really well. Water will contribute to them falling apart. Let me know how it goes.
Do you just eat these by themselves? Or do you eat them on bread? Sounds delicious but I’m clueless as to how to eat them 😛
Brandi – I think most folks eat them by themselves, but they would be good on bread as well. Though you may want to make them a little bigger for a sandwich.
These were AMAZING!!!
I added almond meal to bind them together more because the mizture seemed quiet runny.
Definately a recipe to keep:-)
Thanks!!!
Skye – My pleasure! Glad they worked out. 🙂
Made these tonight, were runny for me too, but added a handful of oats! Great recipe!!
Noelle – Glad it worked out!
These sound delicious. Would they be okay to freeze?
Amber – I’m sure it would be fine. (Haven’t tried it, but there’s no reason it wouldn’t freeze well)
Mine are falling apart.
Flora – A few people have said that. I’ll make the recipe again and see what needs adjusting. Sorry about that!
Found this 20 minutes ago. Now I’m eating yummy tuna patties. I cooked them in batches, they did fall apart while flipping them the first time. The second ones I just squeezed the extra juice out while forming the patties, this helped keep them nice and compacted. I Also turned the heat up a bit so they’d cook up the moment they hit the oil. They are yummy. Thank you for sharing.
Mic – Thanks for sharing your tips! So glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Super excited to try this recipe tonight as I was looking for something to cook with wild rice!!! Read some of the posts about the tuna issues, please ignore them! Everyone knows that we just sometimes need to “substitute” to fit our own plans. However, I was looking through my shelves and found that Wild Planet’s wild albacore tuna has tuna and sea salt. No other ingredients listed. Also can-lining is BPA free and they use smaller wild -caught fish which apparently has less accumulated mercury. The cheers to you for posting a recipe (that even I can follow) with items I can actually find at the store. Love your site- CHEERS!
Casey – Thanks so much! Let me know how they turn out for you! 🙂
Yum!! Mine fell apart a little, I expected it to be much worse. I did add a tsp of coconut flour and this browned it nicely and bound it together better. Super quick & easy. Two were very filling. I don’t see the problem with this either…wild caught tuna, no salt added, bpa free can and no ingredients other than tuna… Could definitely do worse.
Bekah – That’s an interesting tip. Never would have thought to put flour in there. I’ll try that next time I make them. Thanks!
I made these for lunch today. They were amazing! I had to make adjustments-no lemon or lemon juice-so I just left it out. My 13 yr old dislikes onions so I sliced up six radishes to get a bit of crunch and texture. Other than that though-no changes. I had no problems with it falling apart because I had my pan hot before I started. Thank you for the recipe!
Crystal – Fantastic!!! So happy you enjoyed it! And thanks for the tip. 🙂
My mom made these all the time when I was younger. She called them Tuna Croquettes. I haven’t made them in ages, but have been thinking about them. They are quick and easy which is so key.
Laurie – Yes, that’s a wonderful aspect of a recipe like this. I make them for lunch often for that reason. 🙂
YES!!!! I have been wanting Tuna Patties (my mom use to make salmon patties all the time). I’m about to fry them up, a little worried it’s runny but I’m hoping that from the comments, it will turn out great! SO EXCITED FOR THIS!
Hanna – I hope it worked out for you! 🙂