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Are you looking for a tasty way to incorporate canned tuna into your low-carb diet? These Keto Tuna Patties are the absolute best. In less than 30 minutes, you can make perfect tuna patties with crisp surfaces and soft centers. Air fryer instructions included!
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Check out my Keto Turkey Soup and my Keto Mashed Cauliflower for more keto recipes!
Are you sick of tuna salad? Meet your new favorite way to use canned tuna! This quick and easy recipe uses canned tuna and a blend of fresh ingredients to make tuna patties bursting with umami flavor. You can make tuna cakes with perfectly crisped crusts and moist, tender centers in a pan or an air fryer.
The best part? They're low carb and high protein. Served with a high-fat aioli, they're the perfect keto snack and quick weekday meal.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Canned tuna is a healthy, budget-friendly, ingredient that you may already have in your pantry.
- The recipe calls for fresh and flavorful ingredients to make canned tuna taste like a restaurant-quality dish.
- The tuna patties form quickly and easily and get cooked really fast making them perfect for when you’re short on time.
- The tuna cakes are great to prep and have on hand for a couple of days as an easy keto meal.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Canned Tuna: You’ll need canned tuna that’s packed in water to make these patties. Drain the water to create the best texture.
- Almond Flour: While adding healthy fats and little carbs, almond flour acts as the binder in the tuna cakes.
- Parsley: Gives the tuna cakes a fresh herb flavor with a pop of green color.
- Lemon Juice & Lemon Zest: The citrus flavor of lemon gives a bright and fresh acidic note that pairs well with tuna fish flavor.
- Red Onion & Green Onion: A combination of both green and red onion infuses the tuna cakes with a mild onion flavor.
- Dijon Mustard: Gives the tuna cakes a tangy flavor note along with mustard flavor.
- Egg: Binds the tuna cakes together while helping them set as they cook.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor of all of the ingredients and helps balance them properly.
- Olive Oil: The tuna cakes get cooked olive oil for browning and a dose of healthy fats.
- For Plating: I like to keep it simple and serve my keto tuna patties hot on a bed of fresh mixed greens with garlic aioli.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Drain tuna and combine.
Drain the canned tuna well. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the drained tuna, almond flour, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, red onion, green onion, mustard, egg, and salt until combined.
Step 2: Shape patties.
To form them into patties, use about ¼ cup of the tuna mixture per patty, shape the tuna mixture into about six ¾" thick patties that are round.
Step 3: Cook tuna patties.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the patties and cook for about 8 minutes, flipping halfway through. You want the surface of each cake to develop a crisp golden-brown crust before flipping.
Step 4: Plate and serve.
Remove the tuna patties from the pan and plate tuna patties above a bed of greens with prepared aioli and serve immediately. Enjoy!
NOTE: You can print the FULL recipe with all ingredients & detailed instructions below!
Expert Tips
- You don't want any big pieces of onions in your cakes. Be sure to grate the red onion and finely chop the green onion.
- It’s important to make sure the tuna is drained really well with no excess moisture. If the mixture is too wet, it may not stick together.
- When heating the oil, make sure it's hot enough by testing a small amount of the mixture first.
- Please do your best only to flip the patties once. This will help ensure they don’t break apart.
Air Fryer Tuna Patties
If you prefer, you can use your air fryer to make keto tuna patties. The air fryer will eliminate the need to use any oil making it a lower calorie option and will make the patties nice and crispy.
Step 1: Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F.
Step 2: Spray a piece of parchment paper that will fit in the air fryer basket with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully line the preheated air fryer basket with the prepared parchment.
Step 3: Then, place the tuna patties in a single even layer in the basket. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to work in batches.
Step 4: Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway through. Your tuna patties should be crisp to the touch on the outside, hot, and warmed through.
Variations & Serving
- Add a spicy kick. Mix in ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon of cayenne powder.
- Make patties with canned salmon instead of canned tuna for a different dose of flavor and healthy fats.
- For a complete keto entree, serve tuna patties with a low carb side:
Storing & Freezing
Storing: Homemade tuna patties are great for meal prep because they store well. To store, wrap patties in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.
Freezing: Lay uncooked patties on a baking sheet and transfer to the freezer until frozen solid. Then, wrap each patty in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer-safe container for 2 to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before cooking.
Recipe FAQ‘s
Yes! Like most fish, canned tuna is a great protein source and also low in carbs and sugar making it suitable for a keto or low carb lifestyle.
The tuna should be drained fully to help form a patty texture. You’ll also want to make sure the edges of each patty are molded tightly together without overworking the mixture too much. Also, be sure the cooking oil is hot enough and only flip the cakes once during cooking. The less you mess with them the better.
If you'd rather cook them in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake your cakes for 18 to 22 minutes or until crisp and cooked through carefully flipping halfway.
More Low Carb Seafood Recipes
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Keto Tuna Patties
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 - 5 ounces canned tuna in water
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons grated red onion
- ¼ cup chopped green onion
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- Mixed greens optional
- Aioli optional
Instructions
- Drain the canned tuna well. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the drained tuna, almond flour, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, red onion, green onion, mustard, egg, and salt until combined.
- To form them into patties, use about ¼ cup of the tuna mixture per patty, shape the tuna mixture into about six ¾" thick patties that are round.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the patties and cook for about 8 minutes, flipping halfway through. You want the surface of each cake to develop a crisp golden-brown crust before flipping.
- Remove the tuna patties from the pan and plate tuna patties above a bed of greens with prepared aioli and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
If you prefer, you can use your air fryer to make keto tuna patties. The air fryer will eliminate the need to use any oil making it a lower calorie option and will make the patties nice and crispy. Step 1: Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F. Step 2: Spray a piece of parchment paper that will fit in the air fryer basket with non-stick cooking spray.
Carefully line the preheated air fryer basket with the prepared parchment. Step 3: Then, place the tuna patties in a single even layer in the basket. Depending on the size of your air fryer basket, you may need to work in batches. Step 4: Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, flipping halfway through. Your tuna patties should be crisp to the touch on the outside, hot, and warmed through.
- Different air fryer brands may cook at different rates, so be sure to keep on eye on food.
- It’s important to make sure the tuna is drained really well with no excess moisture. If the mixture is too wet, it may not stick together.
- Please do your best only to flip the patties once. This will help ensure they don’t break apart.
- Storing: Homemade tuna patties are great for meal prep because they store well. To store, wrap patties in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.
- Freezing: Lay uncooked patties on a baking sheet and transfer to the freezer until frozen solid. Then, wrap each patty in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer-safe container for 2 to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before cooking.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Lindsay
These were really delicious! I love how crispy they got from frying.
Andrea
I've never had Tuna patties before but they sound fantastic. My family is going to love these.
Emily
These tuna patties sound delicious and I love that you can freeze them! My family is going to love these!
Natalie
This sounds so easy to make and quite delicious. I will have to prepare this for my husband. He just started keto diet and he loves tuna.
Jacqueline Meldrum
I love lots of lemon added to dishes. It adds so much flavour!
Margie
These were really good. I used lemon pepper instead of lemons (I was out of them).