You can't go wrong with a meal of easy homemade fish cakes! Everyone loves them, even the fussiest eater. And what's not to love? Chunks of flaky fish mixed with creamy mashed potatoes, in a crispy crunchy coating. Serve with a salad for a light lunch or team with peas and chips for a more substantial supper. Either way, this is a winner!
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Easy homemade fish cakes
Fish cakes are said to have originated in the 19th century in England as a way of using up leftover fish and potatoes. However, a quick search on Wikipedia shows that every country has its own version of fish cakes. In China, for example, fish cakes have been popular for over 4000 years.
This recipe for fish cakes was first published by Mrs. Beeton in her Book of Household Management in 1861.
INGREDIENTS.—The remains of any cold fish, 1 onion, 1 faggot of sweet herbs; salt and pepper to taste, 1 pint of water, equal quantities of bread crumbs and cold potatoes, ½ teaspoonful of parsley, 1 egg, bread crumbs.
MODE .— Pick the meat from the bones of the fish, which latter put, with the head and fins, into a stewpan with the water; add pepper and salt, the onion and herbs, and stew slowly for gravy about 2 hours; chop the fish fine, and mix it well with bread crumbs and cold potatoes, adding the parsley and seasoning; make the whole into a cake with the white of an egg, brush it over with egg, cover with bread crumbs, and fry of a light brown; strain the gravy, pour it over, and stew gently for ¼ hour, stirring it carefully once or twice. Serve hot, and garnish with slices of lemon and parsley.
Title: The Book of Household Management
Author: Mrs. Isabella Beeton
Luckily, times have changed since then, and I think you'll find that my recipe for homemade fish cakes is a whole lot easier to make 🙂 .
You may also like to try my new recipe for Salmon fishcakes that I've just added to the site.
A good fish cake has to contain large pieces of flaked fish. Minced fish just doesn't taste the same. The big secret to the perfect fish cake is the crispy coating. You get this by using panko breadcrumbs, which for those of you who don't know, are special dried Japanese breadcrumbs, which have a much crispier texture than normal breadcrumbs. If you can't get hold of these, you could just toast your own breadcrumbs lightly in the oven before using them.
So let's get on to the real recipe!
Recipe notes
- Prep time - 20 minutes
- Chilling time - 30 minutes
- Cooking time - 15 minutes
- Calories - 362 per fish cake
- Main equipment - large frying pan with lid.
How to make crispy fish cakes
**For the complete list of ingredients and instructions for making these crispy fish cakes, see the printable recipe card at the end of this post.**
You will need some fillets of white fish which will be poached gently in milk until they just start to flake. Any firm white fish such as cod, haddock, pollock, or hake will be suitable. Don't use an oily fish such as mackerel or sardines. For 6 large fish cakes, you will need about 225 grams (or 8 ounces) of fish.
If you have leftover mashed potatoes you can use these, otherwise, just boil up a couple of potatoes, mash them and allow them to cool before mixing with the fish. For 6 fish cakes, you will need about 1 cup of mashed potatoes.
For colour and extra flavour, you will need some finely chopped spring onions and parsley, and a small amount of salt.
To bind the whole lot together you will need a beaten egg.
And finally, for the coating, you will need flour, a beaten egg, and your choice of breadcrumbs. I use panko breadcrumbs because I like the crunch they provide. If you prefer you can just grate a couple of slices of day-old bread. For extra crunch, you can spread the crumbs on a baking sheet and place them in a hot oven for a few minutes to allow them to dry out. Keep your eye on them though because they burn easily. Allow them to cool before using.
Step-by-step instructions
Prepare the fish
- If the fish is frozen, allow it to defrost first.
- Place the defrosted fish in a saucepan containing about ½" of milk, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer until the fish starts to flake. Depending on the size of your fillets this could take between 5 and 10 minutes.
- Drain the cooked fish in a colander and then break it up with a fork into large flakes.
Form the fish cakes
- Place the mashed potato into a bowl, break in an egg, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix well.
- Finely chop the spring onion and parsley and mix into the egg and potato mixture.
- Add the fish and mix gently, taking care not to break up the flakes.
- Form the mixture into round cakes
Coat the fish cakes
- Prepare 3 dishes - one containing about 3 tablespoons of flour seasoned with salt; one containing a beaten egg, and the third containing the breadcrumbs.
- The amount you will need depends on the number of fish cakes you are making. You will need sufficient to coat each cake. 1 egg will coat about 6 fish cakes.
- Carefully dip each fish cake in flour and shake off the excess. Handle carefully - these fish cakes are quite fragile. You may need a flat knife or a spatula to help you move them from dish to dish.
- Now dip each flour-coated fish cake in the beaten egg.
- Finally cover with a layer of breadcrumbs, patting down firmly so that the breadcrumbs stick to the fish cake.
- Transfer to a plate and leave in the fridge to firm up for about 30 minutes.
Fry the fish cakes
- Heat about half an inch of oil in a frying pan and fry the fish cakes on one side until brown.
- You may want to use a spatula to place the fish cakes in the oil.
- Once brown, turn the fish cakes over using a spatula and brown on the other side.
- You only need to fry these long enough for the breadcrumbs to brown and turn crispy, and it should take about 3 minutes per side. The fish and potato mixture has already been cooked, so just needs to be in the pan long enough for the fish to heat through and for the coating to become crispy.
- Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper.
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How do I serve these homemade fish cakes?
You can serve these easy fish cakes for lunch with a simple lettuce and tomato salad or serve them to your family as a quick supper with crispy fries or scalloped potatoes and peas.
If you make them a little smaller, they even make a great starter, with a bowl of tartar sauce for dipping.
I also like to serve them inside a hamburger bun with a slice of tomato, a little shredded lettuce, and a drizzle of mayonnaise or ranch dressing, and serve as a fish burger.
Can I freeze fish cakes?
You certainly can freeze these fish cakes. In fact, I normally double the recipe and freeze half for another meal. These little fish cakes are so handy to have on standby for those times when you want a quick and easy meal.
- Once you have coated and crumbed the fish cakes, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Place this in the freezer and leave until the fish cakes are frozen solid.
- Then transfer them to a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 6 months.
To use, remove from the freezer and fry from frozen. Keep the heat quite low so that the inside has time to defrost and heat through completely before the outside browns.
You could also let them defrost in the fridge first, before frying.
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Other fish recipes
Visit my fish and seafood recipes page for more delicious recipes using fish. Here are a few you might enjoy:
📋The recipe
Easy homemade fish cakes
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Frying Pan
- Mixing bowl
- Flat dishes to hold coating
Ingredients
- 8 ounce / 225 grams white fish fillets (cod, haddock, pollock, hake)
- 1 cup leftover mashed potato
- 2 tablespoons spring onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup milk approximately
- salt to taste
- ¼ cup sunflower oil for frying the fish cakes
For the coating
- 3 tablespoons plain flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (or grated bread,toasted)
Instructions
- Place the milk in a frying pan and add the fish fillets1 cup milk, 8 ounce / 225 grams white fish fillets (cod, haddock, pollock, hake)
- Poach gently for between 5 and 10 minutes until the fish starts to flake and is cooked through
- Remove the fish from the pan and drain in a colander
- Place the mashed potato in a bowl, season with salt and break in 1 egg.1 cup leftover mashed potato, salt to taste, 1 large egg
- Mix thoroughly to combine
- Finely chop the spring onion and parsley and mix in to the potato.2 tablespoons spring onion, 2 tablespoons parsley
- Add the flake the fish with a fork and mix gently into the potato taking care not to break up the flakes.
- Using your hands, form the fish into 6 patties
- Place the ingredients for the coating into 3 separate bowls, mix a little salt into the flour and lightly beat the egg.3 tablespoons plain flour, 1 large egg, 1 cup panko breadcrumbs (or grated bread,toasted)
- Dip the fishcakes into the flour, then into the egg, and finally press into the breadcrumbs.
- Place the fishcakes in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes to firm up.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan then, using a spatula, carefully lower the fish cakes into the hot oil.¼ cup sunflower oil
- Fry gently (don't allow the pan to become too hot) until the underside of each fish cake is brown and crispy, then carefully turn the fish cakes over and fry the other side.
- Remove from the pan and allow to drain on kitchen paper.
Notes
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!
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Gwynn Atkinson
Why did no one else have a problem? I followed the recipe but it was just a wet, gloopy mixture.
VJ
Hi Gwynne
I'm sorry the recipe didn't turn out well for you. I've been making these fishcakes for years with no problem. Let's try and see what could have gone wrong.
Did you drain the poaching liquid from the fish and discard it? If you added it to the mixture then it would definitely cause the mixture to turn gloopy. The other problem might be that your potatoes were mashed with a lot of milk which would have made them soft, and finally perhaps the egg was jumbo-sized which might have caused the mixture to become too wet.
I can't see how combining mashed potatoes with flakes of poached fish would turn into a wet gloopy mixture.
Gwynn Atkinson
Thanks for your comprehensive answer. I followed your recipe to the letter and can only assume that the culprit was the egg. It WAS huge and it was when I added it that I thought ”oops!” So I’ll definitely try this again, adding egg slowly.
VJ
Thanks for letting me know. I hope they turn out well next time - I hate to think that my recipes don't work! If that happens again, I'd add some mashed potato to thicken it up a bit more.
Georgina Lynch
Lovely easy to follow recipe
VJ
Thank you!
Sherrie
I have made this recipe several times. Over time I have put my own spin on it. Couple things I have done that have brought out flavour, but not taken over the beautiful fish. I cook my potato s in the left over milk stock from cooking the fish and I add chopped onion also in the stock with the potatoes. I also recommend as suggested in the recipe to toast your breadcrumb. It adds a great nutty flavour. I love this recipe! Thanks
VJ
Thanks Sherrie, cooking the potatoes in the leftover milk is a great tip!
elaine Sahady
I doubled the recipe and put half in the freezer. My family all enjoyed them, and it's nice to have enough for another meal in the freezer.
VJ
They're a good standby to have on hand. Glad you enjoyed them!
Linda
Added some frozen peas and a pinch of garlic pepper and pinch of chilli. Delicious, served with Parmesan roasties and green veg
VJ
That sounds lovely - I like the sound of the parmesan roasties!
Emily
Wow! I didn’t know what to expect from these, but I happened to have some pollack that needed using and all the other ingredients on hand. They were easy to assemble and absolutely delightful! I will definitely make these again. (The single serving pre-made mashed potatoes from the deli are perfect for this!)
VJ
So pleased you enjoyed them. Thanks for letting me know!
Ellendra
I tried a variation on this, using canned chicken instead of fish, 2 tablespoons of cream of chicken soup mixed in with the potatoes, and mixed 3 parts breadcrumbs with one part ground pecans. I also use ghee for the frying, because it was what I had on hand.
It was FREAKING AWESOME!!!!!
That's my new favorite food. I'm now thinking of ways to streamline the process so I can make mega-batches to keep in the freezer.
(If you fry them before freezing, just enough to "set" the breading, you can reheat them in an oven for an even crispier coating.)
VJ
Haha - you changed my fish cake recipe into chicken fritters. Sounds good. I think that's what cooking is all about - getting inspiration from a recipe and changing it to suit yourself.
Louisa Hissey
My 7 year old made these with me tonight, they were perfect.
VJ
Brilliant - nothing like teaching them young 🙂
Maureen
I will definitely be using this recipe. I really like how you list the ingredients right with the instructions. Sure beats a lot of hopping back and forth. This is the first time I’ve come across this. Thanks.
VJ
I hope you enjoy them when you make them. It's one of my most popular recipes.
Thanks for letting me know you like the way I've included the instructions. I've been doing it for a while, but I've still got a couple of hundred older posts to update. You've just given me the incentive to get stuck in and add the ingredients to all of them 🙂
Paula
I loved this! My family went deep sea fishing and brought home a ton of fish. We had so many leftovers and I didn't know what to do with them all. This recipe was perfect to use up all the fish leftover from that trip. It completely renewed the fish and allowed the delicate flavors to come through SC shine once again. And it was super easy to make, too!
VJ
Thank you - I'm delighted you enjoyed it!!!!
MARY
I have been making and buying Fish Cakes for years, but these, Yes THESE are the finest I have ever eaten, thank you so much for this recipe.
I'm now going to try some of your other lunch and dinner meals x
Mary from Durham, England x
VJ
That's great - I'm so pleased - thank you for letting me know. Hope you enjoy my other recipes too 🙂
Lisa
Prep time suggested is very misleading and doesn't account for prepared mashed potatoes or the 30 mins chill in the fridge. Hungry family had to have a completely different meal and wait to have these as leftovers the next day since they weren't close to ready at suppertime.
VJ
Thank you for your comments Lisa. I've updated the recipe card to include the chilling time and also mentioned in the recipe notes that you will need extra time if you are making mashed potatoes from scratch. I do specify in the recipe that this is for leftover mashed potatoes.
The body of the post does mention the chilling time - I unfortunately forgot to add it into the prep time on the recipe card, and I'm grateful to you for pointing it out.