These four-ingredient salmon nuggets are crispy, gluten-free, filled with flavor and so healthy. They are like my miracle nugget, and especially great if you are pescatarian but just craving a *hit* of fast-food flavor. C’mon, we all need it every now and then!
These salmon nuggets are easy to make, they take minutes to assemble and then all they need to do is get all crispy in the oven. I love making these with wild sockeye salmon to keep them extra healthy, but they will work with any variety of salmon you have access to!
Table of contents
Ingredients you will need to make salmon nuggets
Here is everything I use for this super-simple recipe!
- 24 ounces wild caught sockeye salmon, or any salmon you have access to. The skin can be on or off!
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup yogurt greek yogurt or skyr, 56 grams / 2 ounces
- 2 tablespoon mild harissa paste 35 grams / 1.2 ounces
- 2/3 cup almond flour 80 grams / 2.8 ounces
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt, plus more as needed
- Avocado spray oil, optional
It’s that small of a list!
How to make these salmon nuggets dairy-free and gluten-free
Now, these nuggets are already gluten-free, but triple check your harissa paste to make sure no sneaky gluten is in there.
For a dairy-free nugget, use a coconut yogurt or a cashew cream to mimic what the yogurt is doing here. You just want something with a bit of fat that can adhere to the salmon and make it tender while allowing the breading to crisp up in the oven.
How to prepare these crispy healthy salmon nuggets
- Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F convection.
- Season both sides of the salmon with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Slice the salmon into 1-inch cubes.
- Add the salmon pieces to a large bowl, add in 1/4 cup of greek yogurt and 2 tablespoons mild harissa paste. Mix well so that the salmon is fully coated. See Note.
- In a small dish to the side, add the 2/3 cup of almond flour and season with 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt. Toss to break up any clumps.
- Prepare a parchment-lined baking sheet to the side. Take each salmon nugget and lightly toss it in the almond flour to get it coated on all sides. Add these to the baking sheet. If your salmon has skin on it, make sure you place these skin-side-down.
- Lightly spray the nuggets with spray avocado oil. This is optional, but will help them get some color.
- Bake at 425°F for 20-22 minutes or until golden and crisp on the bottoms.
- Serve warm!
How to make oven-baked nuggets crispy
A lot of people think you need an air-fryer to make salmon nuggets crispy, and that’s simply not true! An air fryer is just a smaller convection oven, which circulates air in your oven to bake things more evenly and at a slightly higher heat.
The key to getting a nugget crispy in the oven is a few things:
- Use your convection setting on your oven! This will mimic an air fryer and circulate air all around the nuggets, giving them an even, crispy cook.
- Bread the exterior of your nuggets, don’t just toss the almond flour in with the coating. Dipping each nugget individually into the almond flour will make it so that the almond flour adheres to the outside of the nugget and it can hit the hot air in the oven and crisp up.
- Spray the tops of the nuggets with spray oil, such as avocado spray oil or olive oil spray. This will help the tops brown and crisp! It’s a tiny amount of fat, but helps with both flavor and texture.
Looking for similar recipes?
Here are a few for the salmon or nugget lovers out there!
And that’s it for these crispy, healthy Salmon Nuggets!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Crispy Healthy Salmon Nuggets
Ingredients
- 24 ounces wild caught sockeye salmon or any salmon you have access to, skin on or off
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup yogurt greek yogurt or skyr, 56 grams / 2 ounces
- 2 tablespoon mild harissa paste 35 grams / 1.2 ounces
- 2/3 cup almond flour 80 grams / 2.8 ounces
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt plus more as needed
- Avocado spray oil optional
Instructions
- Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F convection.
- Season both sides of the salmon with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Slice the salmon into 1-inch cubes.
- Add the salmon pieces to a large bowl, add in 1/4 cup of greek yogurt and 2 tablespoons mild harissa paste. Mix well so that the salmon is fully coated. See Note.
- In a small dish to the side, add the 2/3 cup of almond flour and season with 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt. Toss to break up any clumps.
- Prepare a parchment-lined baking sheet to the side. Take each salmon nugget and lightly toss it in the almond flour to get it coated on all sides. Add these to the baking sheet. If your salmon has skin on it, make sure you place these skin-side-down.
- Lightly spray the nuggets with spray avocado oil. This is optional, but will help them get some color.
- Bake at 425°F for 20-22 minutes or until golden and crisp on the bottoms.
- Serve warm!
So, SO easy and SO delicious. Thank you for another winner!
Unrelated (and apologies for doing this, but how else do you ask your culinary heroes for recommendations?!)– what would you prepare for lunch for friends when they arrive to your home after a 6 hour travel day? (They’re the ones traveling, not me 🙂
The perfect way to use up salmon that’s been in the freezer a while. I subbed out seasonings using what I had and these were delicious and so quick and easy. Thank you for a new back pocket technique for salmon. Yum!
I have an allergy to tree nuts.
Can I sub another nut free flour for almond flour?
Cassava flour or oat flour are great subs!