These Tuna Patties with Sweet Potato are always a crowd-pleaser! Ready in just 30 minutes, they’re crispy, flavorful, and so delicious! This gluten-free recipe is perfect as a light meal or hearty appetizer.
I always love a healthy and satisfying recipe that I can make with just a few pantry staples. These tuna patties are made with canned tuna and sweet potatoes, plus a few other simple ingredients. They’re also super versatile, so I can enjoy them as a healthy meal, a satisfying snack, or a tasty appetizer.
If you have leftovers, they’re perfect for meal prep, too! I like to make a few extra and portion them out for healthy lunches, similar to these Salmon Patties with Coleslaw Meal-Prep Bowls.
Sweet potatoes are such a delicious addition to classic tuna patties! They help hold everything together, so the patties don’t fall apart when you cook them, like most fish cakes. Plus, it makes them soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, and absolutely irresistible.
How To Make Tuna Patties with Sweet Potato
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes — I use 2 small sweet potatoes for this recipe.
- Tuna — I recommend using good-quality canned tuna. Feel free to use whatever variety you prefer.
- Onions — For the best flavor, I like a combination of white and green onions.
- Breadcrumbs — I use gluten-free breadcrumbs, but you can use regular if you don’t need the recipe to be gluten-free. Or you can use almond flour too.
- Eggs — The eggs are what bind the ingredients together.
- Seasonings — I use a blend of garlic powder, chili pepper, and salt and pepper.
- Lemon— I juice half of the lemon, and cut the other half into wedges.
- Mayonnaise — I recommend trying my easy homemade mayonnaise for this recipe. Of course, you can use whatever mayo you have on hand.
- Cooking spray — For simplicity’s sake, I like to use olive oil cooking spray, but you can also use a drizzle of olive oil.
Instructions
Cook the sweet potatoes:
- In a medium pan or stockpot, bring water to a boil and add the cubed sweet potatoes. Cook them for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until they’re fork tender.
- Drain the sweet potatoes and run them under cold water to cool them down. Then, transfer them to a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork.
Combine the ingredients:
- Once the sweet potatoes have cooled, add the tuna, green onions, white onions, breadcrumbs, eggs, and mayonnaise. Season with garlic powder, chili pepper, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Then, mix until all the ingredients are well combined.
Shape and cook the patties:
- Using your hands, shape the tuna mixture into evenly sized patties or tuna cakes/tuna burger.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and add cooking spray, vegetable oil or olive oil.
- Cook the tuna patties for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides or until they’re golden brown.
Garnish and serve:
- Allow the tuna patties to cool slightly before serving.
- Garnish with chopped scallions or fresh herbs, if desired. Serve with lemon wedges, yogurt dipping and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- For perfectly uniformed patties, I use a large ice cream or cookie scoop to portion out the mixture.
- Be sure to chop the sweet potatoes as uniformly as possible so they cook evenly. Alternatively, you can buy pre-cut sweet potatoes in the produce section of your grocery store.
- A great time-saver that I recommend is to place the green onions and onions in a food processor to mince them up super finely.
- My secret to the perfect sear is to not overcrowd the pan or flip the patties too soon. Allow them plenty of space to cook and time to get nice and browned.
- If the patties are hard to form, I suggest letting them chill in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. You can also wet your hands with cold water to keep the mixture from sticking.
How To Store Leftovers
- To Store: This recipe is great for meal prep! Simply store the tuna patties in an airtight container for up to 4 days. I like to use a good glass container, but you can also use a silicon or Ziploc bag.
- To Freeze: I suggest flash freezing the patties for about an hour on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze them for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: These tuna patties reheat so well. The best way I’ve found is to heat them in a skillet for just a minute on each side until they’re heated through. This keeps the inside soft, while the outside is still nice and crispy. I don’t recommend to reheat them in a microwave.
What To Serve with Tuna Patties
- Flavorful sauce: These tuna patties are incredible on their own, and even better with a yummy sauce. I recommend a simple lemon aioli or this Whole30 creamy avocado sauce.
- Side salad: When I want a fresh meal that’s still cozy, I like to pair this recipe with delicious side dishes like this roasted sweet potato kale salad or arugula salad.
- Fluffy rice: For a warm, satisfying lunch or dinner, I like to serve these tuna patties on top of fluffy rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.
- Tasty appetizers: If I’m serving these as an appetizer, I’ll pair it with other hearty finger foods. A few of my favorites are bacon-wrapped dates, stuffed mushrooms, and cauliflower bites.
Recipe Variations
- Swap the tuna: These tuna patties are super versatile, so feel free to use whatever canned fish you’d like, such as salmon, mackerel, or even crab. I also like to make these with leftover homemade salmon and they’re just as delicious!
- Fresh herbs: When I have fresh herbs on hand, I’ll add them in for a nice bright flavor. Dill, fresh parsley, and chives are all delicious additions to this recipe.
- Spicy tuna patties: For an extra kick, I recommend adding diced jalapeño or a dash of your favorite hot sauce to the mixture.
- Other seasonings: You can also add lemon zest, Old Bay seasoning, and even a bit of Dijon mustard to the tuna mixture.
Recommended Tools
- Medium pan: You’ll need a medium pan or stockpot to boil the sweet potatoes.
- Large bowl: To save time and dishes, I mash the sweet potatoes and prepare the tuna patty mixture in the same large bowl.
- Frying pan: To get a nice crispy sear, I recommend a heavy frying pan or cast iron skillet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you certainly can! This tuna patty with sweet potato is one of my favorite make-ahead recipes, along with these tuna salad meal prep bowls! They’ll stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also combine and shape the patties in the morning, leave them in the fridge, and then just sauté them when you’re ready for dinner.
If you’re having trouble shaping the patties, I recommend putting the mixture in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes to firm up a bit. Then, when you shape them, be sure to press them tightly together. Once they’re in the pan, let them get nice and crispy before you flip them.
Yes, tuna is such a great budget-friendly healthy food to incorporate into your diet! It’s an excellent source of protein and contains lots of healthy fats, vitamins, and essential amino acids.
Tuna Patties Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 small sweet potatoes peeled and sliced into chunks
- 2 cans tuna drained and flaked
- ½ cup green onions
- ½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup white onions
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon chili pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper for taste
- Olive oil cooking spray
- Lemon wedges for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium pan, bring water to a boil and add sweet potatoes. Cook them for about 10-15 minutes or until tender.
- Drain and run them under cold running water. Transfer to a large bowl and mash with a fork.
- Add the tuna, green onions, breadcrumbs, eggs, onions, garlic powder, chili pepper, lemon juice, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Mix well until all ingredients are combined.
- Use your hand to shape mixture portions into patties.
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil or cooking spray.
- Cook patties for 3-4 minutes on both sides or until golden brown.
Tips
- For perfectly uniformed patties, you can use a large ice cream or cookie scoop to portion out the mixture.
- Make sure to chop the sweet potatoes as uniformly as possible so they cook evenly. Alternatively, you can buy pre-cut sweet potatoes.
- You can place the green onions and onions in a food processor to mince them up super finely.
- My secret to the perfect sear is to not overcrowd the pan or flip the patties too soon.
- If the patties are hard to form, let them chill in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. You can also wet your hands to keep the mixture from sticking.
- To store: Store the cooked sweet potato tuna patties in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- To reheat: You can reheat the patties quickly in a skillet.
- To freeze: Flash freeze the patties on a lined sheet pan and transfer them to a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
You can watch the Web Story of this recipe HERE.
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Barb says
These sound delicious! I’m wondering though how many patties it makes? Just trying to get an idea of size.
Thanks!
Olivia says
Hello, Barb. It is about 12-15 patties. It will depends on the size you make the patties. Thanks for your question.
Maria says
Just made these for our evening meal and they were absolutely delicious. My son is a very fussy eater and he also cleared his plate. I initially thought they appeared a bit wet So I chilled them for half hour before cooking. I need not have worried, they cooked perfectly. I will be making these again and again, thankyou for posting. I got 10 large fish cakes for my batch so have plenty left for lunch tomorrow
Fiona says
Just made these – amaaaaaazing! Mine fell apart a bit when I fried them (due to my bad catering skills, rather than the recipe), but they still taste fab.
I have a lot of mixture left over, so I’m gonna have more tomorrow, but I was wondering if they would freeze well once they’ve been fried?
Andrea Bastias says
They are delicious, but I baked the patties , and for faster cooking I microwave the sweet potatoes.
Jordan Sanchez says
These didn’t bind very well for me 🙁 I don’t know what’s up with them but I can’t flip them without them falling apart. Is it me or the recipe?
Olivia says
Jordan, I don’t know why it happened to you. It never happened to me. Do you add the right about of sweet potato and breadcrumbs? Or what was the type of sweet potato you used? If you add more breadcrumbs it will help to stay together. Let me know if it solves the problems 😉
Rhonda says
While I’m sure that your exact recipe is delicious, I just made these and they were awesome!!! I used three large sweet potatoes, and five cans of tuna. I seasoned them with salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and onion pwd, and cayenne. I didn’t even add bread crumbs or eggs because I didn’t have them. This made the patties a little looser, but they stayed together and came out fine. I tried them in a hot cast iron skillet with olive oil. On some,i sprinkled some shredded cheese, and on others I squeezed on a little lime juice. Both were delicious. Super easy, super delicious base recipe that lends itself to endless variations.
Rhonda says
Before I went gluten free, I always loved making a tuna patty that used ‘Saltine crackers’ as the binder, which is obviously not healthy. I think from now on I’ll always use sweet potato instead…such a better option. I always seasoned them very heavily with lemon and thyme, and served them with a white sauce with green peas in it. Delicious!. (Now I just need to learn how to make a gluten free white sauce.) Thank you for improving my family recipe!. Well done!
Amanda van Niekerk says
lovely!
Olivia says
Thanks 😉
Amanda van Niekerk says
I used leftover couscous instead of the breadcrumbs and they came out nicely. Thanks for this recipe
Olivia says
Wow that’s great. I’ve never thought about adding couscous in this recipe. Thanks for the feedback 😉
Karen says
Would this recipe work for school lunch?
Olivia says
I believe so, Karen!
Sharyn says
These look delicious, would they freeze ok?
Olivia says
I think so, Sharyn. Although I can’t say for sure since I’ve never froze them before.