Just look at that golden crust! These spicy tuna pumpkin patties are first baked and then shallow fried in ghee. They make for the perfect snack or meal. You can serve these patties on top of some greens or stuff ’em in a bun to make tasty tuna burgers (try them with my paleo hamburger buns OR paleo naan).
I know, I know. It’s pumpkin season and while it seems like every blogger is sharing recipes for pumpkin desserts… I’m sitting here making you this savory pumpkin recipe. And this, just two days after sharing a recipe for savory paleo pumpkin chili! I hope you still love me!
Do you prefer pumpkin in sweets or in savory dishes? Truthfully… I think I prefer pumpkin in savory recipes. It holds flavor really well, which is great because I looove flavorful food.
This recipe makes over a dozen tuna patties – I like making a large batch and freezing extras. I always shallow fry the patties first, then freeze them. That way, all I have to do is reheat them in a skillet!
Want to try some of my other savory pumpkin recipes?
Spicy Tuna Pumpkin Patties
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can organic pumpkin
- 3 (5 ounce) cans wild caught tuna, drained
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 3 eggs
- 1 serrano pepper, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Ghee or Grassfed Butter, to shallow fry
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Using a large disher, pour the mixture into a muffin pan with parchment muffin liners (you’ll want these!).
- Bake at 350F For 30 minutes.
- Allow the patties to cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, melt butter or ghee in a cast iron skillet. Fry the patties for a few minutes on each side, until a nice golden crust develops.
Notes
If you decide to freeze these, I suggest shallow frying them first. Then freeze them on a sheet pan individually before putting them in a ziplock bag – this way, they don’t stick together.
These made for a very delicious and light dinner! Perfectly complimented with a green salad.
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Awesome! Glad you liked the recipe, Amber! 🙂
What amount of real mashed pumpkin would you suggest instead of canned pumpkins please? I don’t think we even sell canned pumpkin in Australia. Thank you in advance. I am looking forward to trying this recipe, it sounds delicious.
I usually have some cooked pumpkin in the freezer. I puree it with a tiny little bit of cooking water so it’s pretty smooth before freezing. I used the same amount in this recipe.
I think whatever variety of pumpkin that goes into canned pumpkin here in the States is kind of sweet. Whatever kind it is, it’s definitely not the larger pumpkins that are carved for jack-o-lanterns. Normally I’ll cook a hubbard, jarrahdale, or kabocha. Really, I just buy pumpkins in the fall that I think are lovely and cook from my decorations. Sometimes I’ll buy butternut or acorn squash because they seem to be easier to find year round.
You can get canned pumpkin at Woolies in the international food section. Or I may have bought it at Coles… one of the main shops
Didn’t have pumpkin. Made them with potatoes instead. Perfect lunch to go. Thank you again for a great recipe.
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Hi Stefanie! Glad to hear it worked well with potatoes! 🙂
Today was my baking day and I used some jarrahdale pumpkin that I cooked in the instant pot to make these! My short person doesn’t like peppers so I omitted it, but otherwise made them as written.
I think the next time I make these I’ll leave them in the paper wrappers to freeze. While my crust doesn’t look as lovely as Ashley’s (not enough oil I am sure) I think leaving out the extra step would be easier and less smelly for my kitchen!
Thanks for letting me know how these turned out for you, Michele 🙂
This is one of my favorite recipes. I make a batch each week, freeze them, and then can eat them as a snack or with scrambled eggs for breakfast or with baked sweet potato fries for lunch…it’s gotten so that, if I don’t have any in my freezer I must make more. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi Kelly! I’m so happy to hear that – thanks for letting me know how much you like it – makes my day! 🙂
I made these with drained, diced chilis instead of green onions (I almost never have green onions in the house!) and they were delicious. My husband tasted one to choose condiments and pronounced them so good they didn’t need anything on them! I love serving seafood, but we are on a very tight budget and canned is it for us. Thank you for this one. (even my dog loved them. Don’t laugh, she eats human food with a little extra grain 🙂 )
★★★★★
Cyndi – wow, no need for condiments is definitely a compliment! I’m so glad you all loved it (even the dog, lol). Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you all 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe. The ingredients don’t “look” like they go together, but it makes such a delicious snack or side dish. Even my picky eater friend loved them. It’s so hard to just eat a few. Thank you for sharing all your hard work!
★★★★★
Naomi, I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for letting me know how much you and your picky eater like them 🙂
I doubled the recipe and made it this weekend for packed lunches this week and it was delicious. Very simple to make and the seasoning was perfect. Really like the crust that comes with the shallow frying after baking. Thanks for sharing this unique recipe mixing tuna and pumpkin together!
Reena, I’m so happy to hear that you tried and liked these pumpkin tuna patties 🙂 Thanks for letting me know how they turned out for you!
Is there any way to make these without an oven? I really want to try this recipe but I don’t have an over or a microwave..just a portable stove. Can it work somehow on just stovetop???
You can add bread crumbs or rice flour to the mixture, put it in the fridge for a few hours to firm up and then pan-fry in oil – that’ll likely work 🙂 These are somewhat similar to my tuna croquettes and that’s how I make those.