A Canned Sardine Recipe: Mini Fish Cakes

Name: A Canned Sardine Recipe: Mini Fish Cakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 15 people
Ingredients: 2 tins sardines (~4oz) packed in chili + oil, oil reserved (King Oscar Spanish Style Sardines Recommended); 1/2 cup plain yogurt (whole milk); 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs; 2 twigs fresh thyme; 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning; 1 egg; 1/2 cup plain yogurt (whole milk); 1 TB Dijon mustard; 1 TB capers; 1 TB capers brine (from capers jar); 1 tsp Worshteshire sauce; 1 tsp cayenne powder, to taste; 1 tsp salt, to taste

Original Post: December 5, 2017 Updated: May 16, 2019 By Sarah 28 Comments

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Love Canned Sardines? This delicious canned sardine recipe uses chili-infused sardines to make mini Sardine Fish Cakes! Serve them with a Spicy Yogurt Sauce as Tapas or Hors D’Oeuvres.

This post is sponsored by King Oscar.

Sardine Fish Cakes in a stack with sauce on the serving tray

Canned Sardine Recipe: Mini Fish Cakes

About a year ago, I discovered a quirky little tapas restaurant downtown. To get inside, I wandered down an indoor staircase, past the loud furniture upholstery and dimly lit chandeliers, following the smell of something delicious.

That night, as I shared tiny plates of very fancy food with friends– one dish in particular surprised me.

As we passed food from person to person, I took a bite of some tiny fish cakes– expecting them to be familiar and mild.

Instead, I bit into a spicy flavor explosion! Those cakes stayed in my mind, and months and months later, when I saw tins of spicy chili-oil sardines, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.

These mini Sardine Fish Cakes are perfect as a party appetizer, or as a tapas dish shared with friends.

Want more sardine recipes ideas? Read this: How to Eat Canned Sardines

King Oscar Spanish Style Sardines

Why Eat Sardines?

Have you tried sardines yet? If you haven’t– you should! Why? For one thing, it’s easy to find sustainably sourced sardines, and they’re on the Marine Stewardship Council’s list of “Fish to Eat.”

Plus, unlike tuna, sardines have incredibly low levels of mercury! In other words, choosing to eat sardines is a healthy choice for both the environment and for you!

Want more canned fish tips? Check out this Ultimate Guide to Canned Fish.

One of my favorite things about sardines, though, is that they can make cooking easier. Browse through the canned sardine section at your local grocery store, and you’ll realize something amazing– Canned sardines come packed in infused oils and sauces!

And that, my friends, means there is LESS WORK for you while cooking!

Now, quite honestly– I don’t always recommend fish that comes canned in flavoring or sauces.

Why not?

Because I haven’t always been impressed with the quality of the fish. Recently though, I tried some sardines that changed my mind.

The flavor-packed sardines that won me over are from King Oscar. Their Spanish Style Sardines are packed in olive oil and chili pepper, and they are INCREDIBLE.

As soon as I opened the first can, I was impressed with the plump, shiny fish and the flavor of the chili-infused oil.

One bite, and I was sold! These fish are delicious, high-quality, and just a little spicy!

Mix Ingredients Together with a Fork

How to Make Fish Cakes Without Mayonnaise

One thing always holds me back from making fish cakes– normally they use an INCREDIBLE amount of mayonnaise.

Or at least, it seems like a lot to me, because I rarely use mayo in anything.

I decided to see if I could swap out the mayo for yogurt– and it was DELICIOUS.

At first, I was worried that skipping the mayonnaise would give me dry fish cakes.

Then I remembered that I was using an oily fish that had been packed in more oil, and was fairly sure it would work. I tried out a few variations of this recipe, and this one is my favorite!

Unbaked sardine fish cakes on a baking sheet with a scoop.

Scoop fish cake ingredients out, and shape by hand into small patties.

How to Make Sardine Fish Cakes

First of all, for this delicious canned sardine recipe you need two cans of chili oil-infused sardines. Remove the sardines from the cans, reserving the oil and discarding the chili peppers.

Add the sardines to a mixing bowl, along with two tablespoons of the reserved oil. Add the Old Bay seasoning, along with rest of the fish cake ingredients, and gently mix everything together with a fork.

Next, scoop out small balls of the batter. (I tried this with two different small scoops– one 1 tablespoon scoop and also a 1 1/2 tablespoon scoop– both worked, they just gave me slightly different size patties.)

Press the cakes into disks about two inches across, and chill them for a half hour. While the cakes chill, mix together the ingredients for the sauce, and set the sauce in the fridge to chill.

Next, broil the cakes for about five minutes per side. Make sure to use an oven-safe container with raised edges– a baking sheet, a cast iron skillet, a casserole dish– any of those will work.

As you broil the cakes, oil from within the cakes will drain out, and the fish cakes will fry in the pan.

Note: I tried this recipe with less added oil, and the cakes tasted dry inside. Make sure to add the full two tablespoons.

Once the cakes finish cooking, remove them from the pan, and serve them while they’re still warm along with the spicy yogurt sauce.

Enjoy these along with other small plates (like loaded crab fries, mini shrimp tacos, and of course– a cocktail or two), or serve them at your next dinner party for a tiny, but flavorful, appetizer!

How to Eliminate Fish Smells: Since these fish cakes are party food, there’s a reasonable chance that you’ll have guests over while cooking or immediately after, and don’t want ANY fishy smells. Simply clean up immediately!

Rinse the sardine cans out as soon as you’re done with them, and throw them away. Make sure to clean off the pan you used to broil the fish as soon as it cools down. And that’s it! Any fish smell should be gone!

Sardine Fish Cakes

Want more SARDINES? Try these: