Keto tuna cakes made with onion and herb and drizzled with a delicious lemon aioli sauce. Tuna patties are protein packed giving these patties not only a boost in health but a knockout in flavor!
When searching for something quick for lunch or an easy dinner tuna cakes are perfect. They are delicious and can be made in less than 30 minutes. Like most seafood tuna is low in fat and high in protein. With keto recipes it’s understood fats out friend which is perfect because that’s how we put the moisture back in and make these amazing. All while keeping them at only 1g net carb each.
To add, you can drizzle these babies with a delicious lemon aioli sauce I created just for this recipe with fresh garlic, lemon zest and lemon juice all wrapped into one.
How To Make Keto Tuna Cakes
Ingredients needed
- Canned tuna
- Diced onion
- Shredded Cheese
- Parsley
- Garlic, salt and pepper for seasoning
- Large eggs
- Mayonnaise
Cooking The Recipe
To start, there is a little bit of prep work. Take you can of tuna and drain all the excess water. Dice your onion and also chop up your parsley. To note, dried parsley can be used as well.
Now, in a mixing bowl add in drained tuna, eggs, mayo, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cheese. Give this a really good mix to combine everything.
In a heated pan or skillet on medium heat add in oil or a fat of choice. Things such as coconut oil, avocado oil or my favorite is animal fat such as lard or tallow is perfect.
Then, spoon your keto tuna cake mix into the heated pan. You won’t be able to shape them by hand but spooning them into the pan works perfectly. Allow them to cook and brown for about 3 minutes each side. Remove from pan and serve.
Making the lemon aioli sauce is super simple. Simply combine all the ingredients and give it a mix. Like all dressings and sauce the longer it sits the better it taste. That may be something you want to make the day before or a few hours ahead if possible.
Helpful Recipe Tips
- The cheese matters. As far as the type of cheese goes you can use anything from cheddar, gouda you name it. But, what the cheese does is help the egg keep everything together. Also adding moisture because tuna is a very low in fat fish.
- Dried or fresh parsley. I personally enjoy fresh for its fragrance but dried works just fine in this recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which tuna is best for the keto diet?
There are a few different types of tuna in your grocery store. On average you will find 3 different kinds:
- Solid white albacore tuna
- Chunk white albacore tuna
- Chunk light tuna
Chunk light will be the best for this keto tuna cakes recipe. The solid white is more steak-like which will make it more difficult for mixing. Chunk white will give you bits of chunked tuna patties with great texture.
The chunk light will be very mushy and shredded. This will be more ideal for mixing into the patties themselves.
Is canned tuna keto approved?
Yes, the only downside I can say about tuna is that there isn’t much fat. Fat is the basis for the keto diet. So adding in more moisture such as eggs, mayo and the cheese crank up the flavor as well as the fat too.
Tuna to avoid!
Avoid all canned tuna in vegetable oil! This includes cottonseed, soy and rapeseed. Tuna in water or olive oil is best. Be sure to read the ingredients on the nutrition label to make sure they don’t sneak anything in.
What To Eat With Tuna Patties?
Keto Tuna Cakes
Ingredients
Tuna Cakes
- 12 ounces drained can of chunk light tuna
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 tablespoon parsley (dried or fresh)
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Lemon Aioli Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 zested lemon
- 1 squeezed lemon
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley (1 tsp if using fresh)
Instructions
Tuna Cakes
- Drain tuna of all excess water then add the drained tuna into a large bowl made for mixing.
- Dice 1/2 of an onion finely and chop up parsley if using fresh then add to mixing bowl with tuna
- Then add in eggs, cheese, mayo, salt, garlic powder, pepper then combine.
- Cook on medium heat in a non-stick pan with oil to help reduce sticking. Flip when one side has browned which takes about 3 minutes.
- Cook the other side then remove from heat. You can eat them as soon as they are removed or wait for them to cool a little.
Lemon Aioli
- In a bowl combine mayonnaise, grated garlic, parsley with salt and pepper
- Then zest a lemon over the mix. Take that same lemon then squeeze the juice over the mix as well removing any seeds. Give everything a good mix and you're ready to serve.
I was needing to cut carbs and wanted something different. Ate these actually for breakfast. Tired of same old breakfast food. I usually hate Blue Cheese, but boyfriend loves it, so I decided what the heck try it. Didn’t have mint so did not put any herbs in. Super easy recipe. We both loved them. Thanks for the recipe
I’m happy you enjoyed them!
The tuna patty where great…I added almond flour to hold them together better turned out great.
My husband and I have been trying to cut carbs for awhile now, so are always looking for new low-carb recipes. Tried this one last night and we loved it! Will definitely making again! Thank you!
Where does the mayo go?
You add it with everything in the mixing bowl before forming the tuna cakes
Omg….saw this video and I just had to make them. They are delicious. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Tuna cakes were good but mine didn’t hold together as well as yours. However the lemon aioli sauce was awesome! I could have eaten it by the spoonful. I will make this again.
I found this recipe yesterday on instagram (and first time noticihg this instagram account. I’ve been on keto for a long time and I love to try new things plus I had always wanted to test tuna cakes. They blew my mind. I loved them and the dip makes them heavenly. My son is not on keto and he loved them too. I will make those on a regular basis. They are so tasty. I had lettuce with them which was a good match. Thanks a lot for this delight ❤ I plan to try as many of your recipes as I can 🥰
How/where is the tuna juice used?
tuna juice? Drain the tuna and discard the juice.