We love this Salmon Burger Recipe when we’re craving the heartiness of a traditional burger but aren’t excited about red meat or Beyond burger. It’s also just a great addition to our summer burger rotation. Delicious, nutritious, and simple, this is a quick and fun dinner that delivers every single time.
Filled with a savory mix of lemon and spice to enhance the salmon, this burger finds its own unique taste with a jalapeno aioli or mango goat cheese spread that positively sets it apart. We particularly love cooking with salmon for a multiple sclerosis diet, as it’s loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids, which we’ll talk about a little more later.
First, let’s take a look at how easy this really is to put together.
Contents
Ingredients for your Salmon Burger
You’ll need a salmon steak as your base ingredient. The blend is made with mayo or Greek yogurt, dijon mustard, shallots, lemon juice, scallions, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, fresh herbs (we love dill, cilantro and parsley here) and a little bit of cayenne.
Toppings can be of choice, but if using the goat cheese mango spread on this, we love some sliced avocado, sprouts, and spinach.
Finish it off with a nice brioche bun if that’s to your taste. You can also just go traditional with a sesame seed bun if that’s more to your liking!
Blending the Burger
The key to the consistency of the burger is not over blending the salmon in the food processor. You’ll cube the salmon then add it along with all of the ingredients except the bread crumbs into the food processor. Dre uses the Cuisinart Mini Prep Plus which is a great size for the two of us and is also incredibly easy to store and clean. If you are cooking for more people, you may want to split your mixture into two parts if using a processor this size or go with a larger 8 cup processor.
Pulse the mixture to get the chunks smaller and mixed in with the other ingredients. If you notice some of your chunks getting caught up at the top and others becoming more of a puree, pull everything out of the processor and chop up the larger chunks, then stir everything together.
Put everything into a bowl and stir in the breadcrumbs. Again – you don’t want to create a really smooth paste as these will make mushy burgers. Some chunks and texture in the salmon is a good thing!
Once everything is blended, cut into four sections and form each section into a patty. Let the patties refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to firm up prior to cooking.
Cooking the Burgers
We like to cook these on a medium hot skillet, drizzled with a small amount of olive oil. This allows the burgers to maintain their form and get nice and solid. After about five minutes on one side, flip, and finish the other side. They will brown up nicely, but shouldn’t completely burn. They’ll temp at 140 degrees when finished.
You can cook these on the grill. Make sure the grill is nice and hot and you have oiled it well. Your burgers will want to have a nice rich consistency in order to maintain their texture on the grill.
Health Benefits of Salmon for Autoimmune Disease
The health benefits of salmon extend beyond those living with multiple sclerosis to those suffering other autoimmune disease, and quite frankly, anyone looking to eat healthy.
There is a lot to how MS attacks the body, and a lot that is still unknown, but it is clear that inflammation is a major driver of MS. For that reason, researchers recommend foods that combat inflammation. High in Omega-3 fatty acids, salmon is a great addition to the MS diet. On top of helping with inflammation, salmon has heart health benefits, is linked to reduced weight gain, and linked to lower morbidity rates, so we’re really loving salmon in the diet!
Sauces for the Salmon Burger
There are a couple of sauces we love to pair with this burger.
The first sauce is a lighter, creamier sauce that gives a sweeter, citrusy flavor to compliment the salmon. This sauce is a blend of Dre’s Pineapple Mango Pico and goat cheese. Simply blend 1/2 cup of the pineapple and 1/4 cup of cheese in the food processor and puree until you have a smooth spread without any chunks of fruit. You can adjust the flavor to get more or less of which flavor your prefer, but keep in mind you have about a 2 to 1 ratio. If you also don’t want to make a full batch of pico, you can pick some up a similar mixture from the store!
The next sauce we love for this is a jalapeno aioli. For this you’ll need 1/3 cup mayo (plain greek yogurt is a nice, low-fat substitute), 1/8 cup of a Jalapeno Relish, and a tablespoon of lemon juice. Whisk the ingredients together until you have a smooth spread.
If you can’t find or don’t have jalapeno relish, you can use regular relish and chipotle pepper to flavor. You could also finely dice fresh jalapenos and mix in to a relish.
Now you’ve got your burger, buns, and sauce, pick your favorite toppings and let’s get cooking!
Please visit our Resources page if you are interested in finding some of the tools and gadgets Dre uses to make cooking accessible while combatting MS.
Easy Salmon Burger Recipe
Salmon Patties
Salmon patty
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Using a knife, cut the salmon into 1 inch cubes. Adds the salmon to a food processor with the mustard, mayo, lemon juice, shallots, green onion, herbs and spices. Pulse 3-5 times until coarsely ground but not a paste.
It is important not to over blend the salmon, as the texture can start to become mushy. If some of the chunks have not blended as well but others are becoming over blended, pull the mix out of the food processor and finish the larger chunks by chopping with a knife. The larger chunks will give some texture to the patties. -
Transfer the minced salmon into a bowl and gently stir in the bread crumbs.
Be careful not to over mix. -
Divide the mixture into four equal pieces and form them into patties. Cover and refrigerate for 5 to 15 minutes to allow the patties to set, and the flavors to incorporate.
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Heat a skillet or nonstick pan to medium heat and drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter. Carefully place the patties into the skillet and cook until a crust forms on the bottom(4-5 minutes). Carefully flip and repeat on the second side. Cook salmon to an internal temperature of at least 130°. Do not over cook or the salmon will dry out.
If you prefer to grill your salmon patties, heat the grill to 400° and ensure the grates are well oiled before placing your patties. Keep the lid closed between flip and finish to ensure even cooking. -
Place the patties on your favorite bun and top with your choice of toppings. Jalapeno Aioli, Tartar Sauce, Avocado Spread, and a creamy mango blend are some of our favorites for this!
Blending the Mango Pineapple Aioli with goat cheese to a smooth spread is a great compliment to this recipe. We have also included our recipe for a spicy Jalapeno Aioli!
