These crispy tuna cakes are super easy to make and served with a zesty lemon aioli.
I have partnered with John West to create delicious recipes using their new premium range of Deli Tuna. This recipe for Tuna Cakes with Lemon Aioli is so easy to make and tastes delicious. I chose Zesty Lemon and Italian Herbs flavoured John West Deli Tuna for this recipe because it goes so well with my tangy lemon aioli.
The chunky loin tuna pieces blend perfectly with the mashed potatoes and spring onions to make delicious, comforting tuna cakes. When paired with my creamy lemon aioli, these tasty treats will be devoured whenever you serve them. They are great for dinner, lunch or even as nibbles at a party, just make them a little smaller if feeding a crowd. I like to make the potato mash the night before so it is super quick to whip up these Tuna patties the next day. For fish cakes made with fresh fish, be sure to check out our Lemon Fish Cakes with Spring Peas.
How to make tuna cakes with lemon aioli:
To begin, combine all of the patty ingredients (apart from the panko crumbs) in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix well together.
Roll the mixture into approximately 16 balls, coating each ball in panko crumbs as you go. Press the balls down into a patty shape ready for frying. Mine were just under a ¼ cup of mixture each. I used my ice cream scoop to make them all even amounts.
Add a few tablespoon of neutral oil to a large non-stick fry pan and warm to a low to medium heat. Fry the patties in batches for a few minutes either side until golden brown and cooked through. Keep the patties in a warm oven while you cook all the batches. Mix together the ingredients for the lemon aioli and serve with the hot tuna cakes and a fresh salad.
Can I substitute the panko crumbs? Absolutely. If you don't have panko crumbs feel free to use regular dried bread crumbs instead. If you want to make these gluten free, pop a packet of rice crackers in the food processor until they resemble a fine crumb and use these as an alternative.
Be sure to check out my recipe for Tuna and Ricotta Baked Pasta Shells, another partnership with John West.
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Tuna Cakes with Lemon Aioli
Delicious tuna cakes made with fluffy mashed potatoes and served with a zesty creamy aioli.
Ingredients
Tuna Cakes
- 2 cups mashed potato
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 x 90g tins of John West Deli Tuna - Zesty Lemon & Italian Herbs flavour
- 1 egg
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced
- 1 cup plain flour
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 cup panko crumbs
Lemon Aioli
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ garlic clove, crushed
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place all of the Tuna Cake ingredients - apart from the panko crumbs, but including the oil from the tuna cans- into a large bowl. Stir to combine completely. Season with salt and pepper.
- Scoop out the mixture, shape into a ball in your hands then roll in panko crumbs, press the patty down into a round shape. (I used an ice cream scoop, each patty is just under ¼ cup of mixture.)
- Once you have rolled all of the mixture into balls and coated them in the crumbs they are ready to fry. You can either fry straight away or if you want to make them in advance - cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge until ready to use.
- Add a few tablespoons of neutral oil to a large non-stick frying pan and warm to a low to medium heat.
- Fry the patties in batches for a few minutes on each side until golden and cooked through. You may have to add more oil in between batches. Keep the patties in a warm oven on a low heat while you make the other batches.
- Mix together the ingredients for the lemon aioli and store in the fridge until ready to use.
- Serve hot tuna cakes with fresh salad and lemon aioli.
Notes
- These would be great nibbles at a party. Just make them about half the size and arrange on a platter. Keep in a warm oven until ready to serve with the dipping sauce.
- If you don’t have panko crumbs you can easily substitute these for dried breadcrumbs.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 543Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 776mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 5gSugar: 4gProtein: 24g
Nutritional values are approximate. Please use your own calculations if you require a special diet.
Lyn Bryant says
Can you use tined salmon instead of tuna
VJ cooks says
Sure thing.
Maree says
I loved the flavour but think I stuffed them up by adding milk amd butter to mashed spuds.. they were way to soft to roll..added more flour..ended up horrible texture and glue. I guess mashed apud just meant mash them with nothing?
VJ cooks says
Hi Maree, thanks for your feedback. I always use leftover mashed potato made with butter and milk, but I guess depending on how much you use it could impact the overall texture. Because I've stored the mashed potato in the fridge overnight it is quite firm when I add it to the mixture. I'll have a chat to the team and see if we need to reword this. Thank you for the feedback.
Lynn says
Can these be frozen
VJ cooks says
Hi Lynn, yes you can freeze these before frying. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then pan fry as per the recipe instructions.
Araminta says
Hi I made these yesterday varying the ingredients a little to what I had in. The only ingredient I didn’t substitute / add was flour but as I chilled the fish cakes before baking in the oven they didn’t break apart. Using the icecream scoop to portion out the mix is simple but genius. And the whole recipe is easy to follow and quick to make. We all really enjoyed these and will definitely be making them again. Thank you for sharing.
VJ cooks says
That's awesome, thank you for the feedback, Araminta!
CB says
Hi VJ - Tuna drained or not drained?
VJ cooks says
The tuna I used was in oil and I tipped the whole can in, undrained. There wasn't a lot of oil though.
Peter says
I just made these and drained the water, and the batter was sticky.. with the end cake being a glugy consistency. I’d recommend making clear that it’s tuna in oil undrained.
VJ cooks says
I've amended the recipe to reflect this.
Jamie says
I made this with cook and coat and it was delicious
VJ cooks says
Good to know!
Katelyn says
Just wondering about storage - are these still good the next day?
VJ cooks says
If you store them in an airtight container in the fridge, you could reheat them in the oven or air fryer the next day.