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Easy Tuna Burgers (Patties)

Delicious Best Ever Tuna Burgers. A fast and easy canned tuna recipe, nobody will even miss the meat. These Tuna Patties are the perfect dinner recipe your whole family will love.

Four tuna burgers stacked.


 

I started making these Tuna Patties when the kids were little and I still make them. My kids and even the Italian love them, they are quick and easy to put together, perfect for lunch or dinner. When I need something quick and meatless I will also reach for a frittata, a simple pasta or one of my favorite salad recipes.

There are only 5 ingredients in these Tuna Patties –

  1. Tuna – I like to use Tuna Canned in water, although oil is fine too.
  2. Cracker Crumbs rather than bread crumbs, it’s something my Mom used quite often especially in her Delicious Meatloaf. 
  3. 1 egg – to help bind everything together.
  4. 1-2 stalks of celery – I love the taste and crunchiness of celery but you can always substitute with green peppers, onions, carrots or even chives.
  5. Mayonnaise – also used to bind all the ingredients, I chose light mayo but regular is fine also.

How to make Tuna Burgers

In a medium bowl add the tuna and flake it with a fork, then add the cracker crumbs, egg, chopped celery and mayo, mix together then form into patties. Drizzle a little olive oil in frying pan and cook until the patties have browned on both sides. Serve with an easy dill mayonnaise sauce.

how to make tuna patties the ingredients in a bowl, mixed together and in the frying pan to be cooked

 Can Tuna Patties be Baked instead of Fried?

Yes they can be baked, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, place the patties on the  prepared baking sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 375F / 190 C oven and bake until the burgers are golden brown about 10 minutes on each side.

How to make Dill Mayonaisse Sauce:

In a small bowl combine mayo, lemon juice and dill. Whisk the ingredients together. Perfect with fish burgers. Refrigerate an leftover sauce.

Four stacked tuna patties with dill sauce dripping down.

Recipe Tip

Place the uncooked burgers on a clean plate and cover with plastic wrap and chill for approximately 15 minutes. This will firm them for easier frying.

What to serve with Tuna Burgers:

They are absolutely delicious between two slices of pumpernickel bread or any of your favourite bread. Or if you decide to go really light, a tossed salad on the side would be the perfect combination.

Or sometimes I will add some Sauteed Greens or some baked Italian Rosemary Potatoes would be a good choice.

More Delicious Tuna Recipes:

So if you are looking for something on the lighter side I hope you give these Tuna Patties a try and let me know what you think. Buon Appetito!

Tuna burger on a bun with sauce on top.
Four tuna burgers stacked.

Easy Tuna Burgers (Patties)

Rosemary Molloy
Tuna Burgers, who needs meat when these Tuna Burgers become the best burger ever. Perfect for lunch or dinner, everyone will love them.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 5 burgers
Calories 268 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

TUNA BURGERS

  • 2 cans tuna (in water)drain well (2 x 6 ounce cans / 2x 125g)
  • cups cracker crumbs (I use saltine crackers using a blender to mash them)
  • 1 egg slightly beaten
  • 1-2 stalks celery finely chopped
  • ½ cup light or regular mayonnaise (more if needed)

DILL MAYO SAUCE

  • ½ cup light or regular mayo
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • ½-1 teaspoon dried dill (or 1-2tablespoons fresh chopped)

Instructions
 

TUNA BURGERS

  • In a medium bowl add tuna and flake well with a fork, add cracker crumbs, egg, celery and mayonnaise. Mix until combined.
  • Form into patties (I made 5 patties), place in a lightly greased frying pan and cook on medium heat, approximately 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown or desired doneness. Serve immediately. Top each with Dill Mayo Sauce if desired. Enjoy!

DILL MAYO SAUCE

  • In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon juice and dill.

Notes

Can the patties be made in advance?

Yes they can be made in advance, place on a plate cover with plastic wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate up to one day.

How to store tuna burgers

Store the completely cooled burgers in an airtight container, they will keep for up to 3-4 days in the fridge.
You can freeze the Tuna Patties uncooked or cooked. To freeze uncooked be sure to freeze them in an airtight freezer safe container on layers of parchment paper. No need to thaw, just cook them frozen. Although they may need some extra cooking time.
If you decide to freeze them cooked, then make sure to cool completely before storing in an airtight container again on layers of parchment paper. Let thaw over night in the fridge and warm in the oven.

Nutrition

Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 735mg | Potassium: 188mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Vitamin C: 1.4mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 2.3mg
Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment below or pin it to your Pinterest account!

Updated from March 24, 2015.

115 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Not bad at all! I didn’t have celery so I just used the tomatoes my mother in law gave me the other day from her garden. Use Panko bread crumbs. I had to use a little more than recipe because I only skimmed and missed that tuna had to drained! ๐Ÿ˜‚ My patties are about 3-4 inches diameter and about 1/4 inch thick. Made 10 patties! Adding maybe 1/2 egg more next time. Thank you so much for sharing!

  2. 5 stars
    Just made this!โ€ฆ.it was a hit!
    So easy to make.
    Used Tartar sauce instead of mayo.
    Will make again!
    Thank you!

  3. 5 stars
    I made this for the first time. Iโ€™m not a big tuna fish fan, but this was very good. I especially liked the dill sauce!

  4. 5 stars
    It’s Friday night and it’s also Lent. I made these for dinner . . . LOVED them! I made the recipe exactly as written. I’ll be making them again even if it’s not Lent! Great, simple recipe. The dill sauce is perfect!

  5. 4 stars
    I also added an extra can of tuna. We enjoyed them with the sauce on a Hamburger bun. The next time I will melt cheese on top and serve with Fridos and soup. Enjoy!

  6. 5 stars
    I made this. I did 3 cans of tuna. I also finely chopped a carrot and 2 small red peppers and one green onion. I did not change anything else and it still came out great. I got 12 but I lightly packed them into a 1/4 cup plastic measuring cup and then dumped them onto a cookie sheet to await frying. I used a little olive oil and 2 tsp. Of butter in my 12โ€ iron skillet. Everyone loved, loved them. Iโ€™m sure I will make again. We are calling them tuna cakes. I did a pasta salad of small shells with cold chopped asparagus, halved little bomber tomatoes and sliced baby cucumbers w Italian dressing and crescent rolls. I served homemade cream of mushroom soup first. It was a gals luncheon and husband had 2 for dinner and loved also. Thanks!

4.79 from 105 votes (68 ratings without comment)

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