Pan-fried tuna cakes made from canned tuna and mashed potato offer a lower-fat alternative to deep-fried crab cakes, with cayenne pepper adding a spicy kick. The recipe yields eight fish cakes across four servings and takes 55 minutes from start to finish — 20 minutes of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking.
The ingredient list centers on one large potato and four 3-ounce cans of drained tuna, bound together with a chopped onion, one egg, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and a tablespoon of dry bread crumbs. Garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and a quarter-teaspoon of cayenne pepper season the mixture, with salt and black pepper to taste. A single tablespoon of olive oil is enough for pan-frying.
The potato is boiled in salted water until tender, roughly 20 minutes, then drained and left to steam dry in the pot for one to two minutes before being mashed. The tuna, onion, egg, mustard, bread crumbs, and seasonings are added and mixed until well blended. The mixture is divided into eight equal portions and shaped into patties.
The patties are cooked in olive oil over medium heat until browned and crisp, about three minutes per side. The recipe suggests serving them with hot sauce or mayonnaise.
Nutrition and Cooking Notes
Each serving contains 237 calories, 6 grams of fat, 21 grams of carbohydrates, and 25 grams of protein. The pan-frying method requires only a tablespoon of oil, which the recipe presents as a lower-fat option compared with deep-frying. The recipe does not specify whether the nutrition figures include the hot sauce or mayonnaise suggested for serving.
Editorial Notes