Layered with crispy add-ons and spreadable cheese, these salmon sliders are just what you need on your summertime grilling menu.
Garlic-Herb Salmon Sliders Recipe photo by Taste of Home

If your weekly burger night needs a bit of a refresh, turn to salmon sliders. These ultra-savory burger bites give you a new way to cook that salmon fillet that’s been waiting patiently in your freezer. The mini burgers feature tender, buttery salmon mixed with panko, fresh herbs and zesty horseradish. Tucked into dinner rolls along with soft, spreadable cheese and crispy lettuce, even your kiddos will enjoy dinnertime with these sliders on the menu.

Ingredients for Salmon Sliders

  • Bread crumbs: A bit of bread crumbs in the salmon mixture keeps the moisture inside the burgers as they cook. No one wants hockey puck sliders, after all!
  • Herbs and spices: Delicate flavors like dill and shallot flavor the salmon without overpowering it.
  • Egg: The egg works as a binding ingredient in these sliders, keeping the burgers from crumbling apart once they’re cooked.
  • Salmon: There are several types of salmon to choose from, but we recommend a basic Atlantic salmon fillet for these sliders. You’ll want to make sure to remove the salmon skin before cooking since you’re processing the raw fish with other ingredients to make a burger mixture.
  • Dinner rolls: Bake buttery dinner rolls from scratch, or buy fresh bakery buns at your local grocery store. You could even use Hawaiian rolls in a pinch.

Directions

Step 1: Mix the burger ingredients

In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, shallot, dill, horseradish, egg, salt and pepper. Set the bowl aside. Place the cubed salmon in a food processor, and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer the chopped fish to a bowl, and add the bread crumb mixture. Mix it lightly just until incorporated (overmixing could result in tough sliders). Shape the mixture into eight 1/2-inch-thick patties.

Step 2: Grill the burgers

Salmon Sliders served on a wooden plate with onion and lettuceTMB Studio

On a lightly greased grill rack, grill the burgers, covered, over medium heat (or broil 4 inches from heat) until a thermometer inserted into each patty reads 160ºF, three to four minutes on each side. Serve on rolls with spreadable cheese, lettuce and red onion.

Recipe Variations

  • Swap the spreadable cheese for aioli: If you don’t love the idea of mixing salmon with cheese, smear the buns with homemade aioli before filling them with the salmon and lettuce.
  • Add bacon: While the burgers cook, fry a few bacon slices. Cut the slices in half to fit the buns, and layer them over the salmon patties.
  • Top it with coleslaw: A crunchy, chilled topping might be just what you need if you’re serving these on a hot summer day. Whip up your favorite slaw recipe, and layer about 1 tablespoon over each salmon patty.

How to Store Salmon Sliders

Storing the sandwiches assembled could result in soggy buns and wilted lettuce. Instead, store the precut lettuce, cheese, onions and salmon patties in separate containers for up to three days. This also makes reheating easier because you can just microwave the salmon and assemble as many burgers as you want to reheat.

Salmon Sliders Tips

Salmon Sliders served with whote sauce on a wooden plateTMB Studio

What should I serve with salmon sliders?

Sweet potato fries, Parmesan and garlic fries or a platter of crudités all pair with salmon sliders. If you serve the fries, pair them with an aioli, and if you serve up a side of chopped vegetables, add a dish of hummus or dill dip to complement the flavors in the burgers.

Can you eat a salmon burger cold?

The USDA recommends reheating all leftovers to 165°, so you want to reheat your burgers to be safe. Here’s our guide on microwaving leftovers properly!

Salmon Sliders

The fresh flavors of the salmon and herbs are just unbeatable. I serve these as full-size burgers on kaiser rolls, too. —Margee Berry, White Salmon, Washington
Garlic-Herb Salmon Sliders Recipe photo by Taste of Home
Total Time

Prep: 25 min. Grill: 10 min.

Makes

4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 4 teaspoons finely chopped shallot
  • 2 teaspoons snipped fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 pound salmon fillet, skin removed, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 8 whole wheat dinner rolls, split and toasted
  • 1/4 cup reduced-fat garlic-herb spreadable cheese
  • 8 small lettuce leaves
  • 8 slices red onion

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Place salmon in a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped, and add to bread crumb mixture. Mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into eight 1/2-in.-thick patties.
  2. On a lightly greased grill rack, grill burgers, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from heat until a thermometer reads 160°, 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve on rolls with spreadable cheese, lettuce and onion.

Nutrition Facts

2 sliders: 446 calories, 17g fat (5g saturated fat), 112mg cholesterol, 719mg sodium, 43g carbohydrate (7g sugars, 6g fiber), 30g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 3 starch, 3 lean meat, 1 fat.