MADE WITH WILD CAUGHT SALMON - NOT CANNED SALMON!

Occasionally interrupt your salmon filet habit (a good habit😄) with this cast-iron sizzled wild salmon burger recipe.

Wild salmon burger cooking on a cast-iron pan

ABOUT THIS WILD SALMON BURGER RECIPE

Cook healthy wild salmon burgers with herbs like oregano, rosemary, and thyme. Add a touch of paprika. The recipe calls for sweet, but spicy works here as well. Don’t forget nigella sativa for a nice onion-like base note. The olive oil and kefir give these burgers a little extra fat to work with. We don’t want dry burgers—especially when it comes to salmon.

We’ll bring it all together with an egg (yay for extra protein) and einkorn breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs add extra protein and fiber—double win. High quality salmon plus all these flavors come together and rule the burger flavor without leaving room for overpowering fishy flavors.

Form these into 4 large burgers for an easy healthy dinner. Or, make 16 mini burger bites and top them with cheese and avocado. Just be sure and reduce the cooking time a bit.

HELPFUL EQUIPMENT:
Mortar and pestle

PREP BEFORE COOKING

Gather the ingredients before starting. It’s best if you have einkorn breadcrumbs in stock or can make them the day before.

Jump to Recipe

SET UP YOUR SPACE:
Small mixing bowl – for breadcrumbs, herbs, and spices
Large mixing bowl – for wild salmon burger meat, kefir, olive oil, and egg
Spoon – for mixing
Large cast-iron frying pan or a cast-iron flat top grill

one pound of ground salmon with kefir, olive, oil, and egg

INGREDIENTS LIST:
Einkorn whole wheat bread crumbs – keep these on hand
Oregano leaves
Nigella sativa, ground with mortar and pestle – Terrasoul carries these
Rosemary leaves, ground with mortar and pestle – grinding them at home gives excellent flavor, it’s super quick with a mortar and pestle
Thyme leaves
Fine sea salt
Sweet paprika
Wild salmon burger meat – Azure Standard has this
Plain kefir
Olive oil – aim for a high quality organic, first cold pressed pure olive oil
Egg
Organic coconut oil – for coating the cast iron pan

HOW TO SERVE:

These burgers taste good on their own but also play well with various toppings, which makes it even easier to eat them more often. Simply change up the toppings for variety.

TOPPING IDEAS:
Lemon or lime wedges – squeeze the juice onto the burger
Fermented vegetables – giardiniera or sauerkraut can work here
Fermented peppers – Sweet peppers like red bell peppers, or spicy like serrano or jalapeño chili peppers
Smashed avocado – avocado alone, or guacamole, make excellent toppings for these healthy burgers
Cheese slices – yep, just like with the classic burger cheese works with salmon burgers as well
Drizzle of olive oil – this is where you want a high-quality olive oil. One with high polyphenols and a spicy taste in the back of your throat, or a mellow version. Either way works.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS:
Get high-quality ingredients—especially the salmon, the olive oil, and the paprika.
Have all your toppings ready so you can serve the burgers immediately while they’re still hot/warm.

Salmon and Spices for Salmon Burger Recipe

WHAT TO AVOID

Don’t overmix the salmon, but be sure it’s evenly spiced.
Grill on medium heat, not too high or too low.
Don’t overcook. Salmon dries out easily.

STORAGE OPTIONS

Store cooked and cooled burgers in a covered container in the refrigerator.

LEFTOVER TIPS

Re-heat wild salmon burgers in the toaster oven until they are warm through. Don’t cook them longer or they may get too dry.