Easy Southwestern Baked Tuna Cakes

Easy Southwestern Tuna Cakes with Avocado Cream: Tuna patties get a Mexican Spin with the addition of jalapeno, cilantro, corn, and paprika. Served with a bright Avocado Cream that pairs perfectly with these light and healthy tuna cakes. 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Blue Harbor Fish Co., all opinions are my own as always.

Do you think you don’t like tuna fish?

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Yeah, that was me too. Until I tried Blue Harbor Fish Co sustainably-caught, wild Albacore tuna.

Blue Harbor tuna is hand-selected,  and each pouch is packed with only water, or water and sea salt, offering a delicious, mild, clean flavor–and mild flavor for me (and my kids) is key. Plus, they use only Maine Stewardship Council certified fisheries, ensuring that fish will still be around for future generations to enjoy.

I introduced you to my new found love of Tuna Fish with my Easy Avocado Tuna Salad a few months ago and after deciding that bright southwestern flavors pair beautifully with flaky tuna. So why not use those same flavors in baked tuna patties?

Easy Southwestern Tuna Cakes

Tuna cakes aka tuna patties are a delicious, simple recipe that make a healthy quick meal and are easily adaptable to dietary restrictions and flavor profiles.

I decided to take my SERIOUS love of cilantro and avocado and use that to flavor these easy tuna patties, turning them into a Southwestern Tuna Cake.

The cilantro brightens these tuna cakes, while the jalapeno and onion give spice and crunch to the patty. And while the corn is optional, the sweetness is a natural pair with the flaky tuna.

Steps to Making Baked Tuna Cakes:

Step One: Mix together eggs, whole wheat panko bread crumbs, cilantro, jalapeno, lime zest, corn, onion, and spices together until well combined.

Step Two: Mix in the Blue Harbor Fish Co tuna gently into the mixture.

Step Three: Using your hands or an ice cream scoop, form tuna cake mixture into a patty–sort of like a tuna burger.

Step Four: Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and bake.

Step Five: While these Healthy Baked Spicy Tuna Cakes are baking, make the avocado cream.  Cilantro, jalapeno, onion, and corn work magically with the tuna to form a Southwestern Tuna Cake but the avocado cream takes these tuna patties over the top.

Step Six: Serve.

Notes on this Healthy Baked Tuna Cake Recipe:

• You can use traditional panko bread crumbs in place of the whole wheat bread crumbs. But I strongly recommend panko bread crumbs over traditional bread crumbs, as they keep the tuna cakes light and fluffy.
• Feel free to use gluten-free panko bread crumbs to make Gluten-Free Baked Tuna Cakes. I have even used ground up gluten-free corn chips to make gluten-free breadcrumbs. That corn flavor works perfectly in these spicy tuna cakes.
• Don’t like cilantro? No big deal. Replace it with parsley instead in these easy tuna patties.
• I love the sweetness the corn gives to these Tuna Cakes, but you can omit if you don’t care for corn. The corn does make these tuna patties a bit more delicate to shape–so don’t stress if a few corn kernels don’t shape easily into the patties. 
• If you don’t have limes, you can use the zest and juice of lemons for these Southwestern Tuna Cakes–but be sure to use FRESH citrus.
• If you can’t handle the heat, be sure to remove the membranes of the jalapeno and mince very finely, or omit the jalapenos altogether from baked tuna cakes.
• The avocado cream is just a simple mixture of cilantro, lime juice, avocado and salt. You can mix in 2 tablespoons of sour cream for a creamier topping.

5 from 2 votes

Print Review

Southwestern Tuna Cakes

Tuna patties get a Mexican Spin with the addition of jalapeno, cilantro, corn, and paprika. Served with a bright Avocado Cream that pairs perfectly with these light and healthy tuna cakes. 

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Southwestern Tuna Cakes

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 59 kcal

Ingredients

Spicy Tuna Cakes

• 3 3 ounce Blue Harbor Tuna Packets
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 small onion minced
• 1/4 cup frozen corn defrosted
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 minced jalapeno seeded
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• zest of one lime

Avocado Cream

• 1 avocado ripe
• 1 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt
• juice of one lime

Instructions

For the Tuna Cakes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2. Mix together eggs, bread crumbs, cilantro, onion, cilantro, corn, jalapeno, salt, garlic, paprika, and lime zest together until well combined.

3. Add in tuna and mix gently until just combined.

4. Form into 6 patties--about 1/3 cup each with your hands or ice cream scoop. 

5. Place on Baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, flip and bake another 10 minutes.

For the Avoacado Cream

1. Blend together the ripe avocado, lime juice and salt until creamy and smooth. Serve with tuna patties. 

Recipe Notes

If your tuna burgers start falling apart around the edges, add up to 1/4 cup more binder at little at a time before reshaping.

 

 

Nutrition Facts

Southwestern Tuna Cakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 59 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 1g 2%

Cholesterol 54mg 18%

Sodium 658mg 27%

Potassium 62mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates 7g 2%

Protein 3g 6%

Vitamin A 4.9%

Vitamin C 0.8%

Calcium 2.2%

Iron 4.1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Blue Harbor Fish Co. but all opinions and recipe are my own.