How to Make Tuna Patties (2024)

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Learn how to make tuna patties! Tips and tricks on how to not have them fall apart. Also, how to make delicious and super healthy tuna patties.

How to Make Tuna Patties (1)

Ever tried making tuna patties and they completely fell apart? Yah, me too. Ever tried following a tuna patty recipe and have them taste totally bland? Yup, been there, done that.

Let me share an amazing recipe with you here now. After attempt number 29834 I was finally able to write down the magic formula. *sweat*

Let’s get right down to it.

How to make tuna patties healthy

So obviously vegetables make everything healthy, right? Here is a list of vegetables that taste best with and don’t screw with the shape of tuna patties:

  • bell pepper
  • carrot
  • baby spinach
  • zucchini
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower

What makes these patties super duper extra healthy though is my secret ingredient: “Amaranth“! It’s been around for centuries and yet not many people know it.

Learn more about the seed and also all nitty gritty tips on how to puff amaranth.

Just like quinoa, it is a ‘super grain‘. Though just as quinoa it’s not a grain but rather a seed. A delicious and extremely nutritious one.

The most amazing about amaranth is that it has a lot of protein. It contains even more than quinoa (only slightly more but still). With 14g protein per 100g raw Amaranth, it has almost double the amount of protein than for example brown rice. Isn’t that crazy?

Now, want to make your tuna patties extra healthy? Add tons of veggies and amaranth!! Done.

How to Make Tuna Patties (2)

How to avoid tuna patties from falling apart

There are several tricks to avoid any kind of patties from falling apart:

Egg is an essential ingredient that serves not only as protein but also as “glue”. Egg alone however usually isn’t enough. If the ingredients are super wet (e.g. tuna/carrot/zucchini) the egg is kind of diluted and not as sticky anymore.

Starch helps “dry” the ingredients and also serves as glue. You can add tapioca starch to make paleo tuna patties or a gluten-free flour mix to make gluten-free tuna patties.

If the patties fall apart despite enough egg and flour, put the mixture in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. Cold ingredients stick better together than warm or room temperature ingredients.

Make sure the pan is really really hot but on medium-low. If the pan isn’t hot enough the egg sticks to the pan and pulls on the patty and tears it apart. Wait for the pan to be really hot so the egg contracts and pulls the ingredients together. If the pan is on too high temperature, the patty burns from the outside before managing to cook in the center.

All ingredients have to be chopped or grated fairly small. Big chunks of tuna or big chunks of vegetables increase the risk of patties falling apart. Take the time to chop your ingredients very small.

How to Make Tuna Patties (3)

What goes with tuna patties

Eat your tuna patties with a delicious Simple Kale Salad for example. Creamy Cucumber Salad works amazingly, too.

Another way to enjoy them is by dipping them into this delicious Peruvian Ají Verde Sauce.

How to Make Tuna Patties (4)

Tuna Patties

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 patties

Learn how to make tuna patties! Tips and tricks on how to not have them fall apart. Also, how to make delicious and super healthy tuna patties.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup grated carrot
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
  • 1 cup chopped baby spinach
  • 1 can tuna (in water) - 133g drained weight
  • 1 cup puffed amaranth
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-4 Tbsp all-purpose flour - (or gluten-free flour mix)
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp chipotle chilli powder

Instructions

  • Peel and grate carrot. Deseed and finely chop (“finely” important!) bell pepper. Chop baby spinach. Add to a big bowl.

  • Drain tuna in a colander, then put in a bowl and flake with a fork so there is no big pieces left. Add to big bowl.

  • Add puffed Amaranth and spices, 2 eggs, 1 Tbsp flour and mix very well together.

  • Preheat a cast iron pan over medium-low heat (NO oil yet).

  • Try and form a patty. If it doesn’t form easily, add a little more flour. 1 Tbsp at a time until patties form easily. (Amount of flour will depend on wetness of tuna and carrots).

  • Add a good splash of oil to the pan and wait for it to be really really hot. Then carefully add patties.

  • Fry patties for about 3-5 minutes on one side, then flip carefully and fry another 3-5 minutes on the other side until golden.

  • Enjoy with fresh salad :)

Nutrition

Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 367mg | Potassium: 346mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4150IU | Vitamin C: 26.8mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 2.8mg

Course Main Course

Cuisine International

What’s your clean eating vibe?Take this fun QUIZZ and find out in 10 seconds!

How to Make Tuna Patties (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep tuna patties from falling apart? ›

To fix the problem, you just need to add a little extra raw protein, and the easiest place to get a protein fix is from an egg. Adding an egg to a batch of tuna patties is a little extra insurance that things will stay together, especially if you tend to measure your other ingredients by eyeballing them.

What do you eat with tuna patties? ›

How to Serve Tuna Patties. My favorite way to serve tuna patties is on a bed of greens, like a salad, with a little of my Comeback Sauce. But you could also stuff the tuna cakes into a pita with some tomatoes and greens, and a little tartar sauce.

How do you make tuna not gross? ›

1. Add a little moisture to the mix
  1. Oil. Olive, truffle, and even toasted sesame (which I use in my recipe below) are just a few drool-worthy examples. ...
  2. Mustard. If tang is your thang, a sharp Dijon will mask any sort of fishiness. ...
  3. Hot sauces, vinegars, and salad dressings. ...
  4. Hummus. ...
  5. Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Jun 28, 2021

Why won't my tuna patties stick together? ›

Tuna patties fall apart when they have too much moisture in them. By pressing as much of the liquid out of the canned tuna as possible, you'll ensure that the mixture is dry enough to hold together.

What seasonings are good with tuna? ›

By Mark Bittman. Here, grilled tuna is smothered with a mixture of flavorful herbs, made more potent by the addition of chopped olives and a little raw garlic. A mix of parsley, basil, chives, chervil and marjoram, for example, would be splendid, as would one of cilantro, mint and basil.

What to mix in tuna besides mayonnaise? ›

Greek yogurt offers a creamy, tangy, and nutritious substitute for mayonnaise in tuna salad. Greek yogurt has a thicker and creamier texture than regular yogurt and contains more protein.

What is the most delicious part of the tuna? ›

The most delicious and the most expensive is the Otoro, the part located under the belly and near the gills of the fish. This is the fattest part of the meat, which is loved by diners. Chutoro is the belly of a tuna located at the back of the tail.

What is tuna patties made of? ›

Tuna Patty Ingredients

Bread crumbs: Use store-bought or homemade Italian-seasoned bread crumbs. Cheese: For the most delicious results, grate your own Parmesan cheese. Tuna: You'll need three cans of tuna for eight patties. Onion: A few tablespoons of diced onion gives the tuna patties a bold flavor.

What is healthy to eat with tuna? ›

Place lettuce in a serving bowl and top with tuna, tomatoes, eggs, and onions (if using). In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour dressing over salad and serve.

What to add to tuna to make it taste better? ›

Start by doctoring up a can of tuna with mayonnaise, lemon, and cilantro—think spicy tuna with the spice on the side. Then add rice and crunchy seasoned carrots and cucumber for the perfect balance of flavor and texture. Serve with your favorite condiments such as soy and hot chili sauce.

What takes the fishy taste out of tuna? ›

This can be done by cooking the fish in foil or by adding other ingredients to the recipe that will help to mask the strong fishy taste of the fish. Also, you can marinate the fish in a mixture of lemon juice, vinegar, and water for 30 minutes. This will help to neutralize the fishy taste.

How do you get the canned taste out of tuna? ›

1/2 teaspoon of sugar is required for three 5-ounce cans of solid albacore tuna in water. It sounds weird, but a little sugar will reduce the fishy flavor of the tuna.

How do you keep patties together? ›

In my experience, the best way to prevent your burger patties from falling apart during cooking is to use both egg and breadcrumbs to make them. You can add eggs to the mixture and then, coat them with breadcrumbs before shaping them into burger patties.

Why do my patties fall apart? ›

The first reason is that by the time you flip your burger to cook the second side, you'll have one side of your burger cooked and solid enough to hold the other side in place. Secondly, constantly scraping the patty up off the grill and plopping it back down is bound to break it apart!

How do you make patties hold? ›

You can use a binder in burgers to help hold them together. Common binders include eggs, breadcrumbs, or ground flaxseed mixed with water. These ingredients help to bind the meat, seasonings, and other ingredients together, making the patty more stable and easier to handle while cooking or grilling.

How do you get fish cakes to stick together? ›

The proteins in the egg will help bind together your fish cake mix as it cooks. Think of it as your glue: Without it, your fish cakes are going to fall apart. At minimum, you'll want to use one egg for every pound or so of fish so that you have enough “glue.” More is fine, though.

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