Looking for a simple and delicious tuna cake recipe? Look no further! These tuna cakes come together quickly and are perfect for any night of the week.
Are you in need of some fresh recipe ideas for lent?
I love all the traditional Mexican dishes prepared during lent. This recipe for tuna cakes with a Mexican spin has plenty of vegetables for more flavor. Tacos are my #1 favorite Mexican food, but there is more to explore when it comes to authentic Mexican recipes.
We all need a basic red chile sauce in our lives!
In my experience as a Mexican food blogger, people are in search for that perfect red chile sauce (salsa). I am not saying this is the all perfect recipe, but I stand by it for being easy and delicious! No doubt about that! Experiment with the recipe. You can use all dried chiles or add some fresh green chile peppers into the mix for more flavor.
Tuna Cakes (Tortitas de Atun)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Grapeseed or Olive oil
- 1/3 cup onion finely diced
- 1 serrano or jalapeño seeded and mince
- 1/3 cup carrot peeled and finely dice
- 1/3 cup celery finely diced
- 1 large clove of garlic minced
- Pinch of salt and pepper or to taste
- 12-14 oz of tuna in water drained well
- zest of 1 lemon or lime
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice or lime
- 1 tablespoon Mexican-style hot sauce
- 18 saltine crackers finely crushed
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
Garnish
- 1 cup your favorite salsa see link for chile sauce
- Lemon or lime wedges
- Cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In a skillet at medium heat add 2 tablespoons of oil. After a minute, add the onions, serrano, carrots and celery. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for one more minute. Remove from heat at let cool completely.
- When ready, in a large bowl add the tuna, cooled vegetables, lemon zest and juice, hot sauce, saltines, cilantro and eggs. Mix well and set aside.
- To a medium skillet, add the remaining oil and preheat to medium for a few minutes. While oil preheats, line a baking pan with wax or parchment paper. Form 10 equal tuna cakes and place onto parchment paper.
- Before frying, test the oil to make sure it's not too hot. Otherwise the tuna cakes will burn on the surface before cooking all the way through. Fry for 3-4 minutes per side. Do not over crowd the pan or it will be difficult to flip the cakes over. Transfer fried cakes to a plate lined with paper towels or transfer to a low temperature heated oven to keep warm.
- Serve tuna cakes with your favorite salad, rice and beans. Garnish with lemon, hot sauce or salsa and cilantro. Cool completely before storing in the refrigerator.
Notes
Buen Provecho!!
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Just beautiful photos! My Swedish family made similar tuna patties. I really like your take on this! Will definitely make this recipe!
Thank you!
Ahhh! I was waiting for this recipe. It looked delish when I saw you make it on your IG stories. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome Ana!!
From the time I saw your picture, I decided to make it. Instead of grape oil, I used canola oil. I mini diced everything so was very colorful. For mexican hot sauce, I used Valentina (family favorite with popcorn). And for salty crackers, used half Ritz and half Thins. I am a lover of lime flavor and tend to over use it sometimes. Today, I went straight with the recipe, but even then my husband and daughter said it was a bit too much. So just keep in mind. To me it was perfect! I used a whole lime zest for a 12 portion recipe. Don’t cut on the juice, maybe on the zest.
Respectfully, I substituted the oil and crackers. And cilantro used the stack very tiny chopped.
All together this recipe is nothing, but OUTSTANDING! It is rich in protein and veggies, perfect for KIDS!
I believe this is one of those things that can be prepared for grandparents for week meals to either have cold or hot dinner, very light for digestion!
This has become a must in my personal cook book, Thanks for sharing this AMAZING RECIPE! 💯💯💯💯💯
I use grapeseed oil because it’s a natural oil. Canola is not a natural oil. I encourage my followers to make the recipes their own, love it! Sounds delicious the touches you added! Thank you for the feedback!