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Salmon Balls (Keto, Paleo, Whole 30)
We eat these salmon balls often. In fact, this is one my go-to recipes.
Why? Because they’re super quick to make, I always have the ingredients on hand (I get my wild canned salmon from Costco – THIS brand), they are very nutrient dense and we just love ‘em.
Oh and sorry about the name. I suppose Salmon Bites would have been a more appropriate name, but we call them Salmon Balls around here, so that’s what I’m going with 🙂
I’m giving you my basic salmon balls recipe, but I love to play around with the herbs and spices that I use and I’d encourage you to get creative, have fun and experiment with this recipe, too.
Cilantro and a sprinkle of chili powder is always a great combo.
Dill + lemon = our fav!
Adding a bit of fresh oregano with the dill and lemon puts a more Mediterranean spin on the salmon balls, which is always a good thing in my book.
You can put these salmon balls on top of a salad. Or you could wrap them up in a tortilla (my favorite Paleo tortilla recipe HERE). You could eat them on top of eggs. Or you can just pop ’em in your mouth after dipping them in a really easy dipping sauce.
Did you know that just 1/3 cup of homemade mayo (or sour cream or Greek Yogurt) plus a tablespoon of fresh herbs is an awesome, easy dipping sauce? It is! Try it 🙂
Salmon Balls Recipe:
- 12 ounces canned salmon, drained (I use THIS canned wild-caught salmon)
- 1 shallot or ¼ cup red onion, finely diced
- 1 egg
- ½ lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 tablespoon green onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill or basil, chopped
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fat of choice for greasing (olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, etc. - I use THIS avocado oil)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix all of the ingredients, except your fat of choice (oil) together in a bowl until well incorporated.
- Form into 1-2 inch balls (makes about 20 balls).
- Add your fat of choice to a baking pan and then place your salmon balls on the pan. Lightly roll the salmon balls in the oil so they get coated.
- Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy!
Add 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs (I usually use dill and/or basil) to ⅓ cup mayo (HERE is my really easy, 30 second homemade mayo recipe). You can also use sour cream or Greek yogurt in place of the mayo.
Pin this Salmon Balls recipe HERE:
Also view our Top 10 Whole30 Dinner Recipes here!
These look great!! Definitely adding them to a menu in the near future!
This is such a great idea, Kelly! We would definitely refer to these as salmon ‘balls’ in our house too, even if bites did sound a little better. I love canned salmon, and I’ll be making these as soon as I pick some more up from Costco!
haha! 🙂 Hope you like these, Tess!
Sounds amazing! But I can’t have eggs yet 🙁 Is there any substitute that may work well?
I think adding about 1/4 cup mashed pumpkin or sweet potato would be a great substitution and would also kick up the nutrient level 🙂 There’s always the chia or flax egg that would work, too.
I love this! I have all the ingredients, and haven’t decided on dinner yet (yikes!), so these will be perfect 🙂 Thanks for a quick and easy recipe, chica!
PS-I used to work at Joe’s Crab Shack we had crab balls there 😉
I used to love Joe’s Crab Shack when I lived in Maryland! haha!
Would these freeze well after baking? I have a toddler, and I’m always looking for quick easy, healthy finger foods on the go to take to parks, etc. We both love salmon and can’t wait to try this!
Hi Ann! I’ve never tried freezing these, but I am fairly confident that they would freeze well. I make a salmon loaf that has very similar ingredients that I successfully freeze.
Just curious, what side(s) do you usually serve with this?
Hey Jamie! I usually just serve it with a simple salad.
Hi, could these be made ahead of time and refrigerated?
Yes for sure!
Can’t do dairy so I use grape seed oil in place would it be to thin and I’d so what can I use that’s gluten and dairy free?
Hi Anne, I’m not sure if this is the recipe you meant to comment on because the recipe as is doesn’t contain any dairy 🙂
I love these !! Beautifully moist and tasty. I served my n a platter with a lemon aoili, lemon wedges, boiled eggs laid over shredded iceberg lettuce. Thank you for sharing xx
That sounds so wonderful (and beautiful, too!), Jo Anne!
These are so good, but they kind of fall apart on me. Can’t even get a fork through one without it falling apart. Did I do something wrong or is that just the nature of the beast here? Either way – I’m still gonna make these on the regular!
Hey Katy! I’m wondering if you may have forgotten the egg? That would definitely cause them to fall apart. But if you did remember the egg, maybe you could try adding another egg. I can’t say I’ve had them fall apart easily for me so I’ve never had to add an additional egg, but it would do the trick!