Salmon Meatballs with Basil Cream Sauce

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Baked salmon meatballs made with canned salmon topped with a lovely green basil cream sauce. This dish is the perfect appetizer or addition to your meals.

If you have 30 minutes you have more than enough time to make these salmon meatballs with basil cream sauce. I’m still on a pantry meal kick these days. Something about coming home and preparing an entire meal from the pantry is ideal for me. With a few fresh ingredients these meatballs can be on your table in no time.

These meatballs are…

flavorful

have great texture

not as compact as traditional meatballs

yet filling

and perfectly ready to be drizzled in sauce!

[bctt tweet="Deliciously easy best ever salmon meatballs are here and ready to be made!"]

Tips to make the best salmon meatballs

Canned vs fresh salmon: Fresh salmon is a great option for making baked salmon meatballs but for this dish I specifically used canned salmon. Why? Because this meal is intended to feature a pantry inspired dish. For some odd reason I was opposed to any canned fished that wasn’t tuna. Let me tell you that canned salmon is just a good and still provides as level of convenience when cooking at home. If you are concerned about salt you can opt to purchase canned salmon with no additional salt added.

Drain it: The key to a good meatball first is draining the liquid from the canned salmon. Make sure that is done before adding to the bowl.

Binders: Another important tip for making the the best salmon meatballs are the binders. This recipe uses egg and panko bread crumbs to help mold tasty meatballs. Other binders can include ketchup or even grains like rice or quinoa.

Mix it real good: You can either mix the ingredients by hand or use a food processor. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty so I prefer to mix by hand. As long as the ingredients are already in small pieces then mixing my hand should work. Fresh salmon certainly works well. I’ve noticed the texture may be a bit different. With canned salmon there is definitely more defined texture because the salmon is already cooked.

How To Make Salmon Meatballs

You will need to start by preparing the ingredients. I cut the ends and peeled off the outer layer of a medium sized onion, cut in half, and used a grater (I used the side with the larger holes) to grate small onion chunks.

Add the canned salmon, panko bread crumbs, onion, garlic, egg, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Using clean hands mix everything together until well combined. Form small meatballs using a tablespoon measuring spoon as a scoop and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. I was a slightly more generous when packing the salmon mix into the tablespoon scoop. This recipe should yield roughly 20 mini salmon meatballs.

Bake salmon meatballs in oven at 350 degrees F for 14-18 minutes or until done and golden brown. While salmon is baking let’s prepare the basil cream sauce.

You’ll need a food processor. Add the basil and onion to the processor. Pulse until mixture is completely chopped into small pieces. Slowly add the olive oil to mix and continue to blend. Heat the cream in a small sauce span to heat up and then add cream to the food processor. Continue to mix until a light thin sauce is formed. Remove from processor in a small, air tight container or drawer. Remove the cooked salmon meatballs from the oven. Drizzle the finished basil cream sauce over the meatballs and serve.

Alternatives:

If you are looking for more compact or tightly bound salmon meatballs here is something you can do. Use a second egg to make the mixture more moist. This should create a more firm meatball. Mash the ingredients to almost a paste (like chunks of onion) to allow for a more uniform texture. Chop the parsley into teeny tiny pieces to fit with other ingredients of this salmon meatball mix.

Ways To Eat

As an appetizer: these meatballs work just well by themselves.

Over pasta: This basil cream sauce will work well as pasta sauce. Salmon meatball pasta is the perfect weeknight dinner option.

Added to a salad: place these meatballs over a bed of greens with additional veggies for a hearty salad.

Stuff into a sandwich: think a sub or pita to hold the meatballs in place.

Grain bowl– Add as many fixings as you please… rice, peppers, carrots, zucchini and drizzle on the basil cream sauce for a delicious bowl.

Other Basil Recipes!

Lemon Basil Pesto Zucchini Noodles

Kale and Basil Pesto