Today, I want to share a delicious and creative way to use up canned salmon. Instead of making plain old fish cakes, I thought I’d turn them into something a little more fancy and gourmet, without too much effort or cost. I give you my miso and honey glazed baked salmon balls served with a simple vegetable stir-fry. Another complete meal for your weeknight dinners.
I am using miso in this recipe and you can read more about why I include miso in my modified paleo diet here. If you can’t tolerate or don’t want to eat ANY soy at all, I have provided modifications below.
This dish is great for a midweek dinner but you can make a larger batch of the salmon balls to serve as a starter or party finger food.
You might also like my baked salmon loaf with cucumber dill salad – also a great way to use canned salmon.
Cook’s notes
- Canned tuna can be used instead of canned salmon.
- Almond meal can be replaced with 1 tablespoon of coconut flour + 1 tablespoon of tapioca/arrowroot starch for those avoiding nuts. Equal amount of buckwheat or quinoa flour can also be used by those including those flours.
- For a soy-free glaze use: 2 tablespoons coconut aminos, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon nut butter to thicken it up.
- Make ahead: You can pre-bake the meatballs without the glaze (and freeze them) and then reheat with the glaze on top before serving.
- Step-by-step pics provided below.
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Ingredients
For salmon balls
- 400-450 g canned salmon I used two cans / 1 lb., large bones removed
- 1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger 1 teaspoon of ginger powder is also ok
- 1 garlic clove grated
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 medium red onion finely diced (as fine as you can)
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce such as Sriracha
- 1/2 tablespoon Tamari or coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 medium egg
- 1/4 cup almond meal
For the glaze
- 2 tablespoons fresh miso paste I used light coloured miso
- 1 tablespoon Tamari
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil optional
- 1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds
For vegetable stir-fry
- 1/4 red onion sliced
- 200 g Brussels sprouts 0.5 lb., tails cut off and roughly diced
- 1 small carrot peeled and diced
- 1/2 bell pepper yellow or red, roughly sliced
- 1 clove garlic finely diced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce if not using, add a bit more salt
- Generous pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F.
- Remove visible large bones from the salmon and add the flesh to a mixing bowl. Add the ginger, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, red onion, chilli sauce (or powder), tamari sauce and sesame oil. Mix through with a fork, pressing down the mixture.
- Add the egg and almond meal and mix through until well incorporated.
- Place a piece of lightly greased baking paper (I used a little coconut oil) over a flat oven tray. Roll small balls of salmon mixture, flatten slightly and place evenly on the tray.
- Bake for 6 minutes, middle shelf.
- In the meantime, combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth.
- Remove salmon balls from the oven after 6 minutes and spread a dollop of glaze on top of each ball (see image). Sprinkle each ball with a pinch of sesame seeds. Place the tray back in oven for 8-10 minutes.
- While the salmon balls are baking, prepare the stir-fry or a salad. Heat a dollop of coconut oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetables (except garlic) and stir through. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring through a few times, then add the garlic, lemon juice, fish sauce (if using) and a little salt. Toss through and cook for a further 2 minutes together. Again, continue to stir every 20-30 seconds.
- Serve salmon balls with extra chilli sauce and the remaining glaze with stir-fried vegetables on the side.
Nutrition
Which chili sauce are you referring to?
you can use any but Sriracha or another Asian chili sauce would work best as they often have some ginger or garlic in them as well.
Would fresh uncooked salmon work in this recipe?
Yes, absolutely!
I made this recipe two days ago with stir fried veggies and we had the leftovers yesterday with a huge salad. It was delicious as all your recipes I’ve tried. I couldn ‘t get canned salmon, so I bought frozen salmon filets and steamed them and mashed them with a fork. It worked perfect. Thank you for this wonderful spicy recipe!!!
Anna