Tuna Cakes with Garlic Lemon Aioli

These Tuna Cakes with Garlic Lemon Aioli are one of my top easy recipes.  If one of your goals for the New Year is to eat better, these tuna cakes are perfect!

Growing up, we didn’t eat a lot of tuna.  My father did not like it…at all.  Especially warm tuna.  That was a big no no!

So my mother rarely made it for us.  Every once in a while she would make tuna salad sandwiches.  But those days were few and far between.

However, my husband had tuna a lot as a little kid.  One of his favorite childhood dishes were tuna cakes.  My mother in law usually made them on Fridays.

He’s been asking me to make them so I thought I would take the basic recipe and try to impart more flavor into it.

The result were these light, crispy cakes that are full of flavor without a lot of fat or calories.

One of the keys to this recipe is to use good quality tuna.  I love Bumble Bee® Tuna packed in water.

I think it has the perfect flavor and consistency for this recipe.

Available in can or pouch, each Bumble Bee® product is an easy and delicious way to add a variety of nutrients to your diet, including lean protein, healthy fat, and important vitamins and minerals.

The other secret is to swap out fat and calorie heavy ingredients, like mayo, with healthier options, like Greek yogurt.  And, to add in lots of flavor like bell pepper, garlic, shallots and fresh parsley.  Then the cakes are coated in Panko bread crumbs, which give them a gorgeous crust.

With all of these flavors and textures, you won’t even miss the fat and calories.

I also whipped up a simple aioli with lemon, garlic and more greek yogurt.  It makes a decadent dipping sauce for the tuna cakes.

Tuna Cakes with Garlic Lemon Aioli

Red Velvet Muddy Buddies Recipe

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Main Dish

Servings: 4

Author: Christina Hitchcock

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5 from 1 vote

Ingredients

Tuna Cakes

• ▢ 12 oz can Bumble Bee tuna packed in water - drained
• ▢ 1 egg - beaten
• ▢ 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• ▢ 1/4 cup shallot - minced
• ▢ 1/4 cup red bell pepper - minced
• ▢ 1 clove garlic - minced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh parsley - minced
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil

Garlic Lemon Aioli

• ▢ 1/2 cup plain Green yogurt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic - minced
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a small bowl whisk together all of the ingredients for the aioli.
• Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve.
• In a medium bowl, combine the tuna, egg, yogurt, shallot, pepper, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.
• Mix together with a fork until combined. Be careful not to over mix and break up the tuna too much.
• Form the tuna mixture into 4 cakes.
• Place the the Panko on a plate and press each cake into the bread crumbs, coating both sides.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
• Place the tuna cakes in the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
• Remove from pan and serve immediately with Garlic Lemon Aioli.

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If you like this recipe, you will love these other easy recipes!  Make sure you pin them for later!

Game Day Salmon Burgers

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Crab Stuffed Tilapia

For more recipe inspiration, be sure to check out these pages on It’s a Keeper:

• Easy Crock Pot Recipes

• 70+ Quick Dinner Ideas

• More Breakfast Recipes

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.