Looking for a new way to squeeze some healthy omega-3 fats into your weekly lineup? These 6 ingredient salmon burgers is the answer!
I was 100% positive I had already posted this recipe for 6 Ingredient Salmon Burgers to the ol’ blog, but it turned out I hadn’t! Crazy, considering this is one of our staple protein sources for when we grow tired of chicken or beef. I’ve made countless batches, and they turn out great every time! They turn out looking like snickerdoodle cookies every time as well….I don’t hate it (though you certainly don’t want to get them mixed up!).
If you keep up with the health and wellness field at all, then you’ve heard how good salmon is for us. But…what exactly does salmon contain that makes it so great? Glad you asked! It’s a wonderful source of vitamin B12, vitamin D, selenium, and omega 3 fatty acids…just to name a few.
Next question, what makes these specific nutrients so important to us? Keep reading:
- Vitamin B12: simply put, it lends us energy! When we don’t have adequate levels of B12, we often feel tired and fatigued. Depression and poor memory are other negative effects of not enough B12.
- Vitamin D: it has been estimated that roughly 1/4 of Americans are deficient (I’d argue more). We can get vitamin D from sunlight, but that can be pretty darn tough when millions of us are stuck inside behind a screen for the majority of a work day! We know vitamin D helps with bone health, but it also boosts immune system function, as well as serve as an antidepressant as it can help regulate mood. If you’re tired and achey all the time, it could be a sign you could be low – get it checked! Salmon is one of the best food sources for it.
- Selenium: plays a big role as an antioxidant, and helps support thyroid and reproductive health, as well as a happy, healthy metabolism. It protects our cells from the nasty mutations that can lead to disease. Thyroid health is having a major moment in the spotlight right now, and so selenium is also getting a little extra (much needed, in my opinion) attention.
- Omega 3 fatty acids: our body can’t make these on its own, so we must consume them through foods or supplements!! Omega 3s serve as an anti-inflammatory powerhouse in the body, which is just the BOMB.COM, since inflammation can contribute to almost every chronic disease we are plagued with. It’s wonderful for bone, heart, and brain health, but it’s also the stuff that helps your skin glow from the inside out as well! Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s omega 3’s. Aside from that, they’ve also been studied to have a profound effect on preventing cancer – take that!!!
Well, can’t you just pop a few supplements back and get the same benefit? Not quite. Nutrients in their isolated form, such as when found in a supplement, may not be providing the full benefit as they would if consumed from a whole food source. We have to consider something called the whole food matrix, which includes the many hundreds (possibly thousands) of nutrient compounds found in foods. Compounds and nutrients present in the whole form of foods synergistically (work together to) favorably impact metabolism. Relying on isolated nutrients (or supplements) often does not offer similar benefits, partly because of the absence of co-factors (some nutrients are needed to activate or help the body absorb other nutrients). Isolated nutrients can also skew the balance between different nutrients within the body.
Food for thought 🙂
There you have it, a mini nutrition and science lesson all in one. Free tuition! Now that we’ve got those prerequisite courses out of the way, on to the upper level course…I mean, recipe!! 6 simple ingredients (that I ALWAYS have in my kitchen), 30 short minutes, and you’ll have these 6 Ingredient Salmon Burgers on your dinner table! Serve with your fav veggie and carb, and call it a meal.
Canned wild alaskan salmon is legitimately always in my pantry because it’s such a cost-efficient, shelf-stable protein source, but I make sure to steer clear from farm-raised and instead reach for wild-caught alaskan salmon. Other than that, the recipe is pretty straight forward. Eat them plain, eat then on a bun, eat them on a salad – do whatever you want! I love pairing them with cranberry sauce in the winter…it’s oddly an amazing combo. Make sure to check out the Notes section for other ways to jazz up the recipe!
6 Ingredient Salmon Burgers
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup oat, cassava, or almond flour
- 1 6-oz can wild Alaskan salmon, drained
- 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and rub oil on top to prevent sticking.
- Add all ingredients together into a food processor and pulse until just combined, being careful to not over-pulse it down to a paste.
- Use hands to form mixture into 4 mini patties (2 per serving). If mixture is too wet, add in additional flour a couple tablespoons at a time.
- Place patties the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, flipping halfway.
