Easy Southwestern Baked Tuna Patties

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

Tuna patties always had a bad rap for me.

That was until I combined tuna with southwestern flavors and made a delicious, slightly spicy tuna cake.

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Easy Southwestern Tuna Patties

Tuna cakes aka tuna patties are a delicious, simple recipe filed with flavor. This easy recipe for Tuna Patties make a healthy, quick meal and are easily adaptable to dietary restrictions and flavor profiles.

The cilantro brightens these tuna patties, 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.

How to Make Tuna Patties

Step One: Mix together binding ingredients.

• Mix together eggs, panko bread crumbs, cilantro, jalapeno, lime zest, corn, onion, and spices together until well combined.

Step Two: Add Tuna

• Mix in flaked tuna gently into the mixture.
  • I prefer using pouched tuna as it has a fresher taste. Canned will work, just be sure to drain well.

Step Three: Form Tuna Patties

• Using your hands or an ice cream scoop, form tuna cake mixture into a patty–sort of like a tuna burger.
• Each patty should be made with about 1/3 cup and be even in size.

Step Four: Bake Tuna Patties

• Place tuna patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and bake.

Step Five: Make Avocado Cream

• While these Healthy Baked Spicy Tuna Cakes are baking, make the avocado cream.
• In a blender, mix together cilantro, lime juice, avocado and salt until smooth.

Step Six: Serve Tuna Patties

• Serve each tuna cake with a wedge of lime and avocado cream.

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.

More Delicious Seafood Recipes

• Easy Avocado Tuna Salad
• Easy Skillet Tilapia Veracruz
• Chili Lime Pan Seared Tilapia with Apple Salsa
• Salmon Patties from Self-Proclaimed Foodie

Tuna Patties Recipe

5 from 2 votes

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Southwestern Tuna Patties

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

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Tuna Cakes, Tuna Patties

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 59 kcal

Ingredients

Spicy Tuna Cakes

• 9 ounces flaked tuna drained, well
• 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 Patties

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.