Egg-free Tuna Fish Cakes Recipe (Gluten-free)

Richard and I love my Fantastic Shrimp Cakes Recipe, however, Sam doesn't. She's 8 years old and much more prefers my Tuna Fish Cakes. So on the nights I make shrimp cakes, Sam gets tuna instead. These tuna cakes are super easy to make using a few basic ingredients from your pantry. Sam has been eating these cakes off-and-on for years and it's the only way I can get her to eat tuna. It's a great kid recipe, and served with a green vegetable, it's a complete meal. The picture above shows the tuna cakes served with my Best Brussels Sprouts recipe on the side.

Tuna Fish Cakes Recipe

2/3 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1 can tuna packed in water
1 cup Rice Krispies cereal or Rice Chex cereal (divided)
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil for frying

First, make the mashed potatoes. In a small pot over High heat, add the water, 1 tbsp of olive oil, and salt. When boiling, add the potato flakes and mix it until you have firm mashed potatoes.

Put the mashed potatoes in a medium-size mixing bowl. Open a can of tuna and drain the water. Add the tuna to the bowl. Use a coffee grinder to grind the cereal into fine crumbs. Add 2 tbsp of the rice crumbs to the bowl and put the rest of the rice crumbs on a small plate. Mix the potatoes, tuna, and rice crumbs until well-combined. Divide the tuna cakes mixture into 4 pieces. Take each piece and roll them into balls in the palm of your hand, then flatten them into 1/2" thick patties. Gently press each side of each patty onto the rice crumbs on the plate to coat each side. Lightly salt and pepper each patty. You can make these ahead of time and refrigerate them for frying later.

In a medium skillet, add the cooking oil and heat the skillet to High heat. Wait for the oil to get hot enough to sizzle when you drop a small crumb in it. When a crumb sizzles, you can set the patties in. Let them fry for about 3 minutes per side until both sides are golden brown. When done, set them on a paper towel and blot off any excess oil. Makes 4 tuna cakes. Serves 1-2 people as a main course.

Tuna Salad Recipe (No Mayo)

We haven't had mayonnaise in our house in years due to Sam's egg sensitivity. All of the no-egg mayos have oils or starches in them that she also can't have. So I gave up, and we eat our turkey sandwiches with a little olive oil and salt, or occasionally cream cheese, on the bread. The one thing I missed pretty quickly when we cut out mayo was tuna fish sandwiches. So I came up with a flavorful dressing for the tuna that completely replaces mayo for me. This recipe is great for anyone with an egg sensitivity or allergy.

Tuna Salad Recipe

For the dressing:

1/4 tsp dry yellow mustard
1/4 tsp sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the tuna:

1 can of chunk white tuna in water (5 oz.) - drained
1+ tbsp finely diced Mexican style hot chile peppers (optional)
1+ tbsp finely diced dill pickle (optional)

In a small bowl add the dry ingredients for the dressing and mix them together. Add the oil and vinegar and whisk it together until it is well combined.

Drain the tuna and put it in a bowl. Finely dice a few small hot chile peppers and a small dill pickle, or use whatever you want for a little crunch and flavor like celery or onions, and add them to the tuna.

Pour the dressing over the tuna mixture and stir it all together. You can eat the tuna salad by itself over some lettuce, or put it in a sandwich. Serves 1 to 2 people.