An easy weeknight dinner, tuna potato cakes will be sure to be a part of your meal rotation! Prepared potatoes, canned tuna, shredded cheese and a few pantry staples whip up a stress-free, make ahead dinner that can be easily finished on the stove after a long day.

This weeknight dinner can be easily tailored to suit different tastes. Not a fan of smoked cheese? Use cheddar. No time to cook the potatoes? Use instant – although I’d recommend making them a little thicker than the recipe calls for. Picky eaters sure to find that finely minced onion? Sprinkle a bit of onion powder instead, also a great shortcut when short on time.

These taste great on their own or with a side of sour cream / plain Greek yogurt to dip in. Leftovers are best consumed within 3 days.

Tuna Potato Cakes

A simple, chaos-free, weeknight meal. Canned tuna, cooked potatoes and cheese come together in a little 'cake', perfect for little appetites or dressed up with fresh arugula and herbs for more refined tastes.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 6 medium potatoes
• 2 cans tuna – in water
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion minced
• 1 tbsp garlic minced
• 1 cup smoked cheese use your favorite flavor!
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream plain
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup flour all-purpose
• 1/4-1/2 cup vegetable, grapeseed or avocado oil

Instructions

 

• Peel and either steam, bake or boil potatoes. Mash and set aside to cool completely.
• Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until onion is just soft. Set aside to cool.
• Drain tuna.
• Mix drained tuna with half of the beaten egg mixture, sour cream, cheese, salt, onions/garlic. Add mashed potatoes, mixing until completely combined.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to 1 day. *This step is optional but highly recommended for ease of handling. If you don't time, skip this step and move on to the next*
• Pour a shallow amount of oil into a pan (cast iron is ideal) and heat over medium high heat. Until oil is shimmery and hot. Reduce heat to medium.
• Grab a plate or cookie sheet and line with paper towels or brown paper sack.
• Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, measure out approximately 1/3 cup of the potato mixture. Flatten with hands (wet hands in cool water if the mixture is sticky) and dip into the flour.
• Next dip the flour-coated potato cake into the beaten egg.
• Then dip the coated potato cake into the bread crumbs, being sure to coat all sides evenly.
• Carefully place into the prepared pan and fry for about 3-5 minutes. Flip and fry another 3 minutes, or until deep golden brown.
• Remove from pan and let drain on paper towel/paper sack. Keep in a warmed oven while cooking the other batches.

Notes

• Substitute onion and garlic for 1/4 tsp onion powder and 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• Use Greek yogurt (plain) in place of sour cream 
• Substitute the smoked cheese for your favorite flavor
• Refrigeration is great if you have time, but if you don’t be sure to wet your hands with water before shaping.
• If using cast iron, preheat the skillet in the oven at 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes before cooking. This helps give an even cooking surface. If short on time, skip the oven preheat and let it heat up on the stove over low heat for about 5 minutes before increasing the temperature to medium-high. 
• Use a splatter guard over the pan, especially if the pan is shallow.
• Plain panko crumbs were used in this recipe, but homemade crumbs work well too. 
• When adding more oil to the pan, wait a minute or two for it to come to temperature before adding more potato cakes. This actually helps your food absorb less oil and cook more evenly. 
• Tuna Potato Cakes are best eaten within 3 days. 

Keyword dinner, easy weeknight, potatoes, tuna