Artificial Food Coloring Free Ginger-Turmeric Snapper Cakes with Carrot

Total time51 min

Prep time20 min

Cook time16 min

Artificial Food Coloring Free Ginger-Turmeric Snapper Cakes with Carrot

These golden fish cakes are a serious crowd-pleaser — crispy on the outside, tender within, and packed with warm, earthy flavor from fresh ginger and ground turmeric. Finely chopped red snapper gives them a satisfying texture that a food processor simply can't replicate, and the grated carrot adds a subtle sweetness that ties everything together beautifully. Every single ingredient here is whole and recognizable, which means no synthetic dyes or mystery additives sneaking into your meal — just real food doing all the heavy lifting. The cool ricotta dipping sauce with parsley and apple cider vinegar is the perfect counterpoint to the warm, spiced cakes, and it comes together in about thirty seconds. Coconut oil gives the exterior a gorgeous, deep golden crust without any of the processed fats you'd find in a store-bought alternative. Whether you're cooking for someone with sensitivities or just trying to keep things clean and colorant-free, this recipe delivers on flavor without any compromise.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the cakes

1 lb fresh red snapper fillets, skin removed, pin bones removed
Private Selection Frozen Wild Caught Snapper Fillets H-E-B Wild Caught Fresh American Red Snapper Fillet Snapper Fillet Wild Caught Frozen (sustainably sourced)Rogges Red Snapper
Marketside Wild Caught Snapper Fillets
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1 cup finely grated carrot (about 2 medium carrots)
2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 large egg
3 tbsp rice flour
¾ tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp coconut oil, for frying

For the dipping sauce

½ cup fresh ricotta
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp fine sea salt

For serving

2 tbsp fresh parsley sprigs (optional)

Instructions

1
Make the dipping sauce: stir together the ricotta, parsley, apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl until smooth. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the cakes.
2
Pat the snapper fillets completely dry with paper towels, then finely chop them by hand into pieces no larger than 1/4 inch — do not use a food processor, as the fish should have some texture, not become a paste. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

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