Twelve ingredients and forty minutes, using canned salmon and leftover rice.
The sauce is the aioli style made the simple way: commercial mayonnaise stirred with lemon juice and dill, so there is no raw egg in it.
Why This Recipe Works
- Cooled rice holds together in a patty where warm rice turns gummy.
- Canned salmon is already cooked, so the cakes only need to set and brown.
- Egg and panko bind the mixture into cakes that hold their shape.
- A preheated pan starts browning the underside as soon as the cakes land.
- A short broil at the end deepens the crust to a seared-looking gold.
Ingredient Notes
- Canned cooked salmon
- Two 6-ounce cans, drained and flaked. It is already cooked, which is why the cakes bake so quickly.
- Cooked long-grain white rice, cooled
- Two cups. Cool rice binds; warm rice goes gummy. The grains stay visible through the cut cake.
- Egg and panko
- One egg and a third of a cup. The binder — and the reason the cakes are baked until the centres reach 160°F.
- Commercial mayonnaise, lemon juice and dill
- Half a cup, a tablespoon and a tablespoon. Commercial mayonnaise is made with pasteurized eggs, so the sauce needs no raw egg.
How to Make It
Oven to 425°F, a heavy sheet pan preheated five minutes
Heat oven to 425°F and preheat a heavy sheet pan for 5 minutes.
Salmon, rice, egg, panko, dill, onion and lemon formed into eight cakes
Mix cooked canned salmon, rice, egg, panko, dill, green onion, lemon zest and salt. Form 8 compact cakes.
Pan and tops oiled, baked eight minutes, flipped, baked again
Brush the hot sheet pan and the tops of the cakes with olive oil. Bake 8 minutes, flip, and bake 7 to 9 minutes more.
Broiled a minute or two if the crust needs more colour
Broil 1 to 2 minutes if needed to deepen the golden crust without burning.
Mayonnaise stirred with lemon juice and dill
For the dill aioli-style sauce, stir commercial mayonnaise with lemon juice and dill.
Three or four cakes per plate, dill mayo in a ramekin
Serve three or four cakes per plate with the dill mayonnaise in a ramekin.
How an Oven Makes a Skillet Crust
These cakes look pan-seared, and the title says sheet pan. Both are true: THE SHEET-PAN METHOD PLUS A FINAL BROIL GIVES THE DEEP SEARED-LOOKING CRUST. Two other things matter here - the salmon is CANNED, FULLY COOKED, and the sauce uses COMMERCIAL MAYONNAISE, NOT A RAW-EGG EMULSION.
A PREHEATED pan - the skillet substitute5 minutes, empty, at 425°F
A HEAVY SHEET PAN heated in a 425°F oven FOR 5 MINUTES before the cakes go near it. A cold pan warms up with the cakes and they steam; a hot one browns the underside on contact, the way a skillet would.
The CAKES - cool rice, canned salmon, and an EGGPressed firmly so they survive the flip
2 cans of COOKED CANNED SALMON, drained and flaked, with 2 cups of COOLED LONG-GRAIN WHITE RICE, 1 EGG, 1/3 cup PANKO, 2 tbsp DILL, 2 GREEN ONIONS, 1 tsp LEMON ZEST and 1/2 tsp SALT, FORMED INTO 8 COMPACT CAKES. Cool rice binds and shows as visible grains in the cut cake; warm rice turns to paste.
OILED and baked - both sidesUntil the centres read 160°F
The HOT SHEET PAN AND THE TOPS OF THE CAKES BRUSHED with 1 tbsp OLIVE OIL, BAKED 8 MINUTES, FLIPPED, and BAKED 7 TO 9 MINUTES MORE. Oil on both surfaces is what browns them. For safety: because the cakes are bound with egg, they bake UNTIL THE CENTERS REACH 160°F.
The BROIL - 1 to 2 minutes, watchedOnly if the crust needs more colour
BROILED 1 TO 2 MINUTES IF NEEDED TO DEEPEN THE GOLDEN CRUST WITHOUT BURNING. This is the step that produces the deep, seared-looking colour in the photograph. If needed is the instruction - some ovens get there without it.
The SAUCE - commercial mayonnaise, no raw eggStirred, not emulsified from scratch
1/2 cup COMMERCIAL MAYONNAISE stirred with 1 tbsp LEMON JUICE and 1 tbsp CHOPPED DILL - the DILL AIOLI-STYLE SAUCE, served in a RAMEKIN with THREE OR FOUR CAKES PER PLATE. For safety, USE COMMERCIALLY PREPARED MAYONNAISE MADE WITH PASTEURIZED EGGS RATHER THAN RAW-EGG AIOLI.
Success Tips
- Chill the rice fully before mixing — it's what holds the cakes together.
- Press each cake firmly so it doesn't break when you flip it.
- Stay by the oven during the broil; the crust goes from golden to dark quickly.
Serving Ideas
Eight salmon rice cakes with deep golden crusts showing flaked salmon, rice and dill inside, served three or four to a plate with a ramekin of lemon-dill mayonnaise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to pan-fry these?
No. A preheated sheet pan in a 425°F oven browns the underside, and a short broil at the end gives the deep golden, seared-looking crust.
Is the sauce a real aioli?
It is an aioli-style sauce made with commercial mayonnaise, lemon juice and dill — not a raw-egg emulsion. Commercial mayonnaise uses pasteurized eggs.
Can I use fresh salmon?
The recipe is written for canned, fully cooked salmon. Raw salmon would need a different method and cooking time.
