Fishcakes are one of the British family favourites: easy to make, budget-friendly and, of course, delicious! We decided to elevate this humble meal into a fancy, but still inexpensive dish that will not only fill your bellies but also aesthetically impress! We present to you, our Tinned Tuna Fish Cakes and Poached Eggs with homemade Hollandaise Sauce!
We love making things from scratch, so when we make this Tuna Fishcake bonanza, we cook our own rice, make our own fish cakes and hollandaise sauce. However, if you want to make this an effortless meal, simply use shop-bought Hollandaise and even microwave rice, if you wish. The fish cakes themselves, are not hard to make: once you have your potatoes cooked, they come together in 15 minutes and only need 30 minutes in the fridge to firm up, before cooking.
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Are Tuna Fish Cakes Cheap to Make?
It is an impressive looking meal, but extremely cheap to make. I was intrigued to see how much it actually costs to make. Using 2022 Aldi (UK) prices, I’ve priced it as follows:
- 200 g potato: £0.25
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise: £0.10
- 160g tinned tuna £0.75
- 200 g sweetcorn £0.08
- 5 g parsley finely chopped £0.13
- 1 egg beaten £0.13
- 70 g dried breadcrumb £0.38
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar £0.05
- 2 egg yolks medium £0.25
- 120 g butter melted £0.78
- 1 tbsp lemon juice £0.10
- 240 g white rice £0.15
- 4 eggs medium £0.50
- 1 tbsp vinegar £0.01
- 1 spring onion 0.07
With an addition of some oil for frying, some salt and pepper, we have a meal for four for £4.00 or £1 per portion!
How to Make Tuna Fish Cakes with Poached Eggs & Hollandaise Sauce?
Tinned Tuna Fish Cakes:
Cook potatoes in boiling salted water, for about 15-20 minutes. Drain, place in a large bowl and mash. Stir in the drained tuna, thawed (or drained) sweetcorn, mayo and parsley. Using your hands, shape into 4 patties.

Dip each patty into the beaten egg and then roll in the breadcrumbs. Place the fish cakes on a chopping board and chill for 30 minutes.
At this point, cook the rice following instructions on a pack.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the tuna fish cakes for 3 minutes on each side. Keep warm in the oven.



Poached Eggs:
Poach an egg in boiling water with a tbsp of vinegar in it. It should take 3-4 minutes. If in dought, we have a step-by-step tutorial on how to poach an egg.
Homemade Hollandaise Sauce:
Place a large heatproof bowl over a pan with simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Place egg yolks in a heatproof mixing bowl. Using a whisk, beat the egg yolks, then add in the vinegar. Keep whisking, and gradually, in a slow stream, add melted butter, continuously whisking. Once all the butter is incorporated, you should have a silky smooth, thick sauce. Take it off the pan with simmering water, add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
To Serve:
Place a pastry ring in the middle of the plate and spoon the rice into it pressing down gently. Lift the ring off. Then place a golden brown Tuna Fish Cake on top, followed by a soft poached egg. Spoon the Hollandaise sauce all over and sprinkle some spring onion on top!

Recipe FAQs:
This recipe is for a filling main meal (approx. 670kcal), but Fish Cakes are a perfect choice for a starter too! Simply skip the rice, make your fishcakes smaller, top with the egg and Hollandaise and serve warm to start the meal!
We recommend a simple green salad, a courgette ribbon salad or some griddled asparagus (that also goes extremely well with the Hollandaise sauce!).
For other budget-friendly meals, have a look at our recipes below:
- Vegetarian Glamorgan Sausages with Rich Tomato Relish
- Spicy Bean Stew with Cheesy Dumplings
- Berbere Lentils | Ethiopian Staple

Tuna Fish Cakes with Poached Eggs & Hollandaise Sauce
Ingredients
For Tuna Fishcakes:
- 200 g potato peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 x 160g cans tuna in brine or in spring water drained
- 100 g sweetcorn defrosted if using frozen
- 5 g parsley finely chopped
- 1 egg beaten
- 70 g dried breadcrumb
For Hollondaise Sauce:
- 2 egg yolks medium
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 120 g butter melted
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Extras:
- 240 g white rice
- 4 eggs medium
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 spring onion sliced thinly
Instructions
- Cook potatoes in boiling salted water, for about 15-20 minutes. Drain, place in a large bowl and mash. Stir in the drained tuna, thawed (or drained) sweetcorn, mayo and parsley. Using your hands, shape into 4 patties.
- Dip each patty into the beaten egg and then roll in the breadcrumbs. Place the fishcakes on a chopping board and chill for 30 minutes.
- At this point, cook the rice following the instructions on the packed.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the cakes for 3 minutes on each side. Keep warm in the oven.
- Poach an egg in boiling water with a tbsp of vinegar in it. It should take 3-4 minutes. See tips in the notes.
To Make Hollandaise Sauce:
- Place a large heatproof bowl over a pan with simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Place egg yolks in a heatproof mixing bowl. Using a whisk, beat the egg yolks, then add in the vinegar. Keep whisking, and gradually, in a slow stream, add melted butter, continuously whisking. Once all the butter is incorporated, you should have a silky smooth, thick sauce. Take it off the pan with simmering water, add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
To Serve:
- Place a pastry ring in the middle of the plate and spoon the rice into it pressing down gently. Lift the ring off. Then place a golden brown Tuna Fishcake on top, following by a soft poached egg. Spoon the Hollandaise sauce all over and sprinkle some spring onion on top!
I always have tuna in the cupboard. It can be used in so many delicious ways, like this. Great for brunch or dinner.
We love a good budget meal with cupboard ingredients! 🙂
Holy wow! I have never seen tuna done quite like that before. It looks so good and so fancy. I’ll definitely be trying this.
Thanks, Beth! We love how budget-friendly and inexpensive this meal is to make 🙂
Okay these were really fun to try, I’d never had anything like it before. Delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
You are most welcome, Nic! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
These tuna cakes were so delicious…and paired with the hollandaise sauce! Made for dinner and we loved it!
Thanks so much, Heather! Such lovely feedback! 🙂