These delicious tuna patties with potato are surprisingly simple and make a brilliant mid-week dinner and also a fabulous packed lunch. Plus, this recipe for tuna potato patties contains many basic pantry ingredients, so you can enjoy them all year round!
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What Are The Key Ingredients For Tuna Patties With Mashed Potato?
Before you start cooking, prepare all of the necessary ingredients to make these potato and tuna patties. For the filling, you will need:
- Either fresh or leftover mashed potato. This will help the patties to easily come together. If you have some left over from the day before, even better - it will speed up the cooking process!
- Tinned tuna chunks in spring water or brine. Skip the ones in oil, as they would be too oily for this recipe. Remember to drain them before mixing together with other ingredients.
- Tinned sweet corn will add an extra crunch, sweet taste and some needed fibre.
- Spring onions provide a boost of color and add valuable vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients and even help lower your blood sugar levels.
- Chillies give these potato and tuna patties a boost of spiciness and add several health benefits too. Use combination of both green and red ones or choose one of the two.
- Lemon juice adds some extra flavour and helps bind all of the dry ingredients together.
- Freshly chopped corriander, salt and black pepper will give these fishcakes an extra burst of flavour.
For coating, use fine breadcrumbs or smashed panko breadcrumbs.
These tuna and potato patties are egg-free, no egg is being used for coating.
Lastly, you will need a small amount of sunflower or rapeseed oil for baking.
This recipe makes 12 fishcakes (6 servings). Adjust the amounts of ingredients accordingly in line with your needs (there is a button on the recipe card to do this!).
Are you looking for more fish recipes? Try this smoked salmon and broccoli quiche, pasta with creamed spinach and salmon or fish and vegetable pie.
Substitutes
Although this recipe contains mainly basic store cupboard ingredients, here are some ideas on what items can be swapped:
- Use leek instead of spring onion. Chop it finelly.
- Swap fresh chillies for jarred sliced jalapenos.
- Garden peas will work well as a substitute for sweet corn.
How to Make Tuna Potato Cakes (Patties)
However long the ingredient list for these baked tuna and corn patties seems, the recipe itself isn't complicated at all!
The quickest way to make them is by using leftover mashed potato (or one made in advance).
If making mashed potato from scratch, leave it to cool down completely before moving onto the next steps:
- Prepare all of your ingredients. Drain all canned products. Wash and chop the vegetables.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine together the mashed potato, all vegetables, herbs, and spices. Mix well.
- Add drained tuna chunks, and gently mix them in the patty, don't break up the fish too much.
- Create balls of the patty (12 in total). Coat them in breadcrumbs and leave to rest in the fridge for 15-30 mins.
- Drizzle with oil and bake in the oven until slightly golden on top, turn half way through.
Go to the recipe card for detailed instructions.
Top Tips
- Using frozen vegetables? Allow extra time to defrost before adding them to the patty.
- Use basic white potatoes for the mash. If the mashed potatoes appear too dry or floury, add another tablespoon of lemon juice to the patty and mix well to keep it moist.
- On the other hand, when the patty appears too wet, add a tablespoon of breadcrumbs to it, and mix well. Add more breadcrumbs to desired consistency if needed. Do this before adding the tuna to the mixture.
What to Serve These Baked Tuna Fish Cakes with?
The beauty of these tuna cakes sits in the essence that they have a rich filling and can be served simply with a side salad and a slice of lemon!
- Salad ideas: wild or baby rocket, watercress, young spinach and mixed lettuce leaves.
Alternatively, if you're looking for something even more filling, serve these tuna patties inside a burger bun, with coleslaw on the side!
Wondering what sauce will go well with tuna fishcakes?
Try them with mayonnaise, tartare sauce, tzatziki, ketchup or sweet chilli sauce.
Storage and Reheating
These canned tuna fish cakes will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store them in an airtight container.
These fish cakes are well suited for freezing. Wrap them individually in a cling film or parchment (baking) paper, so that they don't stick together. Cook directly from frozen (add 5-10mins extra time to the times specified below!).
You can easily reheat them in a microwave (about 5 minutes on low settings per serving) or in a pre-heated oven (200C/180C fan for 15-20 minutes).
Otherwise, reheat them in a frying pan with a tablespoon of oil. Fry for 5 minutes each side on medium-high heat.
FAQs
Yes, they can! Keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
You can store them pre-baked, or unbaked and bake them just before serving.
Placing the fishcakes to chill in the fridge before baking will help them stay firm.
Fishcakes may also fall apart when the patty is too dry or too wet. Add a spoonful of lemon juice if the patty is too dry, or a spoonful of breadcrumbs if the patty is too wet.
Yes, you can store fishcakes in the freezer. Wrap the individually in a cling film or baking paper and place in an airtight plastic bag or freezer-friendly food container. They will keep frozen for up to 3 months.
If you're in rush, you can fry these fishcakes on instead of baking them. Add about 1 cm of frying oil into a frying pan and fry for 4 minutes on each side or until golden.
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📖 The Recipe
Baked Tuna Patties With Potato (Tuna Fish Cakes)
Equipment
- 1 large stockpot
- 1 sieve
- 1 potato masher
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 spatula
- baking tray
- baking paper
Ingredients
- 950 g leftover mashed potato, cold
Or make the mashed potato from scratch
- 850 g white potatoes
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 75 ml semi-skimmed milk
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the filling
- 4 spring (green) onions, cut into 1 cm slices
- 140 g canned sweetcorn, drained or frozen (defrosted)
- 1 green chili, finely chopped
- 1 red chili, finely chopped
- 220 g canned tuna chunks in brine or spring water, drained
- ½ unwaxed lemon, juice only
- 1 handful fresh coriander, or parsley
- salt and pepper, to taste
- breadcrumbs, for coating
- 4 tablespoon rapeseed or sunflower oil, for baking
For serving
- 240 g rocket or green leaf salad
- ½ unwaxed lemon, cut into wedges or sliced
- mayonnaise, tartare sauce, ketchup or sweet chili sauce (optional)
Instructions
Make the potato mash (if making from scratch)
- Peel and cut the potatoes into 2cm dices. Place in a large pot, cover with water, season with salt, cover with a lid and bring to boil. Cook for 5-6 minutes until soft and drain.
- Add milk and butter, cover with a lid and leave to stand for 2 mins until the butter has melted. Season with black pepper and mash all together with a potato masher until smooth.
- Leave to cool down completely. Speed this process up by placing the pot into a bowl with ice.
Prepare the remaining fillings
- Drain all canned products using a sieve. Wash and chop the vegetables.
- Once the mashed potato cools down to room temperature, move it to a large mixing bowl (use a spatula). Add all vegetables, spices and herbs. Mix everything well using the spatula.
- Gently stir in the drained tuna chunks, not breaking them up too much.
- Add breadcrumbs to a separate bowl. Create small balls from the patty, flatten them between your palms and gently press them in the breadcrumbs so that they stick to it. Once coated, leave to chill in the fridge for 15-30 mins. Preheat the oven to 428F/220C/200C fan.
- Place all tuna and potato patties on a baking tray with baking paper. Drizzle over with a little bit of oil, and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through.
- Serve with your favourite leaf salad, a wedge of lemon and some table sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- Leek instead of spring onion;
- Jarred sliced jalapenos instead of fresh chillies;
- Garden peas as a substitute for sweet corn.
Karen Shire
I was born and have lived 70 years in the US. Please include Fahrenheit and measirements I can comprehend. Canned goods here are in ounces and lbs. Took some work converting bit was worth it! Delicious.
Markie
Hi Karen, I'm glad you enjoyed the tuna cakes! 🙂 And thanks for raising this. The recipe has been updated with correct weight and temperature settings - hope next time you will find it a lot easier!
Gummsi
Nice Post. Thanks for sharing wit us.
Markie
Thanks, Gummsi!