This easy recipe for salmon burgers uses seafood, spices and some crushed potato chips to create a healthy and delicious burger alternative to ground beef. They are great topped with tartar sauce and on a roll, or pop them on some greens for a salmon burger salad!
I do love a good burger, especially those thin but juicy diner-style burgers where you can have two layers of burger!) but as you know I also like to mess with traditional recipes, and recently I did that with crab cakes by making crab cake burgers. Not a huge stretch because crab cakes are burger-shaped anyway.
However, those crab cake burgers were so scrumptious that it had me pondering how I could get some other seafood burgers on our menu, and since the Southern husband and I are big old salmon lovers, that seemed like a natural. A nice hunk of salmon filet, chopped up and mixed with some herbs and spices and capers and my secret crab cake ingredient…are you ready?
Crushed potato chips. More specifically, crushed thin potato chips, like Wise or Lay’s. Since you only need a half cup for four salmon burgers, this has the added benefit of having the rest of the bag of chips available to snack on while you are cooking. Not that I would ever do that. HA.
(Side note: I’ve started using my Instagram stories to show the behind the scenes in my kitchen – such as illegal potato-chip pilfering – as I put together new recipes. It’s messy but fun, and the Southern husband generally has a starring role, in case you want to check us out.)
Here’s How To Make Salmon Burgers!
You want about a pound of boneless salmon filet. Slice off the skin, cut it into chunks, and process about 3/4 of those chunks in your food processor until you have a pile of finely chopped salmon. Now drop in the rest of the salmon and pulse it a few times until they are about pea-sized chunks. This will give you some larger bits of salmon in your burger.
Next, mix up that salmon with some mustard, chopped scallions, capers, Old Bay seasoning, pepper and those crushed potato chips. Salmon is a moist fish, and all that healthy salmon oil is going to hold things together while you form the mixture into four lovely salmon burger shapes.
This easy recipe for salmon burgers uses seafood, spices and some crushed potato chips to create a healthy and delicious burger alternative to ground beef.Now! Heat a little butter and oil on a griddle or in a large skillet (I do love my griddle for things like this) and lovingly lay those patties down. Cook them for 2-3 minutes per side, carefully turning them over, until they are nice and golden.
We like to top ours with a little tartar sauce (and a sprinkle of potato chips) and a squeeze of lemon. Since these are totally legit burgers, you can of course have them on burger rolls, but the day I made this particular batch we were feeling like salad, so we had our salmon burgers on a bed of leafy greens.
We did NOT forego the potato chip sprinkle, though, despite the picture below which I took pre-sprinkling.
We have our limits. So please help me welcome healthy, good and good for you salmon to the ranks of delicious burger recipes – yay, salmon!
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Salmon Burgers
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Total Time: 16 minutes
Yield: 4 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Stovetop
Cuisine: American
Description
This easy recipe for salmon burgers uses seafood, spices and some crushed potato chips to create a healthy and delicious burger alternative to ground beef. They are great topped with tartar sauce and on a roll, or pop them on some greens for a salmon burger salad!
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless salmon filet, skin sliced off
- 2 teaspoons grainy mustard
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup crushed potato chips, plus extra for garnish
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Slice the salmon into roughly 2-3 inch uniform chunks. Put 3/4 of the salmon in your food processor and process until very finely chopped.
- Add the rest of the salmon to the food processor and pulse it 2 to 3 times until the newly added salmon is cut into small chunks, about the size of peas.
- Transfer the salmon mixture to a bowl and stir in the mustard, scallions, capers, Old Bay and pepper. Gently stir in the crushed potato chips.
- Form the salmon mixture into patties.
- Put the butter and olive oil on to a griddle or into a large skillet over medium high heat. When the butter is melted, place the patties carefully onto the griddle or skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Serve on hamburger rolls or on a bed of lettuce, with lemon wedges and tartar sauce on the side. Sprinkle crushed potato chips on top.
Notes
Any old hamburger rolls will work for this recipe, but the Southern husband ADORES King’s Hawaiian rolls, if you can find ’em. They are slightly sweet, super soft, and all around delicious.

Hi there! I’m Kate, and I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover. I started Framed Cooks in 2009, and my mission is to create and share family-friendly recipes that make cooking both easy and fun…yes, I said FUN! My kitchen is my happy place, and I want yours to be that place too. Let’s cook together!
I grew up eating salmon patties with creamed peas and potatoes. My mom used canned salmon which is drier than fresh, so she added an egg & saltines to hold them together (and probably to stretch to feed 7 – I wonder if she used more than one can). Fresh salmon is so expensive in the midwest. Next time I make them I’ll try your potato chip tip. Yum!
The Southern husband said the exact same thing about his mom and salmon burgers! And you are right that fresh salmon is a little spendy, but everyone once in a while we splurge. Happy Tuesday, my friend!
We are always trying to get Salmon into our meals( I don’t love it but my husband tries to eat it and is diabetic) think this one may be one the whole family will enjoy! I will let you know ❤️ I printed it out on his printer so maybe he will make it too- bonus!!!
★★★★★
Lizzie! I love the printer approach – I’m going to try that on my husband one of these days. Let me know how you guys and the kiddos like them…xoxo!