This Cod Fish Cakes recipe makes for a great family meal. It’s healthy, flavorful and you can spicy it up with a dip and serve with a big salad for a wholesome meal. I bake the fish cakes instead of frying them, which makes them absorb less oil.
Fish Cakes
You can make fish cakes with salmon and any other flaky white fish. Seafood cakes are more famously made with crab meat. However, they are great with other seafood like salmon and flaky white fish. In my language Fish Cakes is ‘Qofte me Peshk‘.
I often buy wild caught fish at Costco here in Florida. The cod fish package is huge. I usually cook cod fillets for lunch on cast iron, then use the remaining cod fish to make the cod fish cakes. The leftover fish is so easy to flake and ready to mix with the rest of the ingredients.
I love this recipe not only because it tastes great and everyone in my family approves of this meal, but also because I’m making an effort lately to try and eat a little bit healthier!! That means going back to basics for me: Mediterranean cooking!
These fish cakes come in handy during lent or how they call it in Spanish here in Miami, Cuaresma.
Potato or Bread Crumbs?
You will need a binding ingredient for the fish cakes, no matter what type of fish you use. You can use potatoes or you can use bread crumbs. Both will prevent the fish cakes from falling apart. I have tried the recipe with both and they both taste great. If you use potato, the recipe will be gluten free!!
I use bread crumbs personally because it gives me a chance to use leftover bread and not waste it. Usually, when there’s leftover bread, I blend it and store it in the freezer in an airtight container. Then use the bread crumbs to make meatballs, burgers or fish cakes.
How To Serve Cod Fish Cakes?
My personal preference is to serve these cod fish cakes with a spicy dip and a big green salad.
The dip I use is a spicy dip made with Aji Amarillo Paste and Mayonnaise. (Affiliate link to the aji amarillo paste). Mix 1 tbsp of Aji Amarillo paste with 1 tbsp of mayo, once well incorporated check for spiciness and adjust as needed by adding more paste or mayo. You can add some salt and lime juice too, that makes the dip more like sauce that you can drizzle over the fish cakes.
Other dips and sauces you can use are: tartar sauce, aioli, remoulade sauce etc.
Make a greens salad with lots of spring mix, lettuce or kale. Add onions, cucumber and avocado and don’t use a creamy dressing. Keep the dressing simple, evoo and lemon juice or red wine vinegar.
Tips and Notes
Here are some tips in addition to the recipe card to make this recipe easier for you to replicate.
- Add both red onions and green onions, they add more flavor to the fish cakes.
- Be flexible with salt and pepper as you might have the fish already seasoned and leftover from a previous meal. Adjust as needed.
- Chop the veggies really fine for more elegant cod fish cakes.
- Capers are optional, some people love the flavor they add and some people hate them.
- Sometimes you can’t control how much fish you have leftover, but you can adjust with veggies, bread crumbs and the rest of the ingredients to create the fish cakes.
- Bake cod cakes instead of frying them, they’re easier to handle, break less and will absorb less oil.
- Use parchment paper on the baking tray. Not only it will keep the baking tray cleaner, but it also helps with placing and removing the cod cakes from the tray.
Here are some more pictures taken during the process of making the cod fish cakes.
Cod Fish Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cod fish
- 1 medium size red onion
- 4-5 green onions
- 4 celery stocks
- 2 carrots
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tbsps mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsps lemon juice
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 0.5 tsp paprika
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- salt / pepper to taste
- 1 lemon for garnish
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided half for garnish and half to cook with veggies
Instructions
- Bake cod fish for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees F. Just add salt, pepper and drizzle the baking dish with a little olive oil. Once cooled down, then flake the fish with a fork. If using leftover cod fish from a previous meal, flake the fish and set aside.
- Chop red onion, celery, carrots and green onions. Saute them until soft in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add half a cup of freshly chopped parsley to the veggies as they cook. Add a little salt and pepper as well to incorporate into the flavor of the cooked veggies.
- In a bowl mix cod flakes, sauteed veggies, capers, mayo, bread crumbs, mustard, seasonings and salt and pepper. Add lemon juice and remaining olive oil. Mix with a spoon until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Make balls with the mixture to resemble big meatballs or crab cakes. Place them on parchment paper on a baking tray.
- Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes until the cod cakes are golden brown. Serve with a dip of your choice, garnish with parsley and fresh lemon slices. Enjoy:)
Video
Notes
- Cod fish can be used from leftovers or baked from scratch then flaked to make the cod fish cakes.
- You can use potatoes or bread crumbs to bind the fish cakes. Bread crumbs can be bought in store or made simply by blending stale bread.
- Capers are not everyone’s cup of tea, so you can skip this ingredient if you don’t like the taste.
- Adjust salt / pepper to taste.
- Add herbs like dill to your liking, they’ll enhance the taste.
- Homemade mayo or olive oil mayo is healthier and keeps this dish closer to Mediterranean Diet standards.
- Old Bay seasoning used mostly in crab cakes is a great seasoning for these fish cakes too in case you don’t want to worry about red pepper flakes and paprika.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
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Other Seafood Recipes
Please feel free to check out more seafood recipes from my blog:
Audrey Gran Weinberg
Just made these wonderful cod cakes! Every bite was savoured!
I used potatoes rather than breadcrumbs and added a little butternut squash.
Added a sauce of yogurt, mayo, lemon, olive oil, salt and dill
Thank you!
Sonila
Thank you so much Audrey, your adaptations to the recipe sound fantastic and I’d love to try it one day your way. Thank you so much for sharing:).
Laura
“Bake cod fish for about 20 minutes” At what temp?
Sonila
Hi Laura, all the instructions have been updated! Thank you for your question! The first bake is for raw cod fish at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes then you can flake the fish once cooled down so you can later make the cod cakes. The second bake is at 425 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Chuck
Hi! Looks tasty, just wondering if using potatoes instead of bread crumbs would instant potatoes work? And if so should I cook the potatoes first or can I just throw them in dry like bread crumbs?
Thanks
Sonila
Hi Chuck, I have never tried it with potatoes (this specific recipe). I would want to cook them first in case the baking doesn’t allow for enough time and they can mess up the cod cakes. Maybe parboil the potatoes first?? Just throwing ideas as the I have only ever tried this recipe with bread crumbs. Hope whichever version you make comes out amazing for you! Have a great day!
Scotty
Just made these quickly today and my GOODNESS were they good. I added lemon zest too cause why not! I’m gonna double the batch next time because me and my family devoured them with no left overs. Oops! Thank you so much for sharing!
Sonila
Thank you Scotty, I really appreciate it and yes I add lemon zest a lot too:). This is one of my favorite recipes because it reminds me of the Mediterranean even in the middle of winter. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. All the best,
Sonila