SARDINE CHEESE BITES

If you eat sardines, then these are tasty, satisfying little bites that can be eaten warm or stored in the fridge for a quick snack later on, eaten cold. I use hard cheeses that have a strong flavor profile to mask the strong taste of sardines. I made a double batch in the pictures below, using sharp chedder for one batch and parmesan for the other. Asiago also works well.

THE INGREDIENTS

1 can of sardines in spring water, well drained.

2/3 cup of shredded asiago, sharp chedder or asiago cheese. Medium slices of cheese also works

Fresh ground black pepper

A sprinkle of dried dill weed

THE PREPARATION

Using a griddle or large cast iron pan, arrange 5 piles of shredded cheese into a rough rectrange shape. Use 2 tablespoons of cheese for each pile. Use a spatula to push the cheese around to shape the rectangle. You want the cheese to be roughly the length of the sardines and the width of 2 sardines. Whatever sardines you have you can make it work.

Begin heating your griddle or pan on low. Let the cheese melt down some then fit 2 sardines on each cheese rectangle. Pieces of sardine is fine too.

Increase the heat a little bit. As the cheese melts it will spread out and some of the fat will release. No worries, just use the spatula to keep the cheese in its original shape by pushing the 4 outsides of the rectangle inward. As the pieces cook they hold their shape better. It doesn't have to be perfect as long as you have cheese under the sardines. Slowly heating the pieces works best.

You want a brown crust to form on the bottom of the cheese. Once the cheese melts you can carefully and begins to brown, you can move the pieces around on the hot surface for even browning. You can turn up the heat towards the end too if necessary.

Once you are happy, turn off the heat and let the pieces set for a few minutes until they can move without falling apart. They become quite sturdy. Once they are set give each piece a couple grinds of black pepper and a pinch of dried dill. Remove from pan to a paper towel. Eat warm and store leftovers in the fridge for later.

Let me know what you think. I just started a carnivore diet and I am not sure what kind of carnivore recipes exist. I just make up my own recipies.

Carnivore Chef

Edited July 26, 2025Jul 26 by Carnivore Chef
For clarity

I made some sardine patties for lunch today!

That looks great! I will definitely be trying this recipe soon.

7 hours ago, Miranda said:

That looks great! I will definitely be trying this recipe soon.

16 hours ago, Kat said:

I made some sardine patties for lunch today!

Hey Kat, curious what do you use for a binder?

7 hours ago, Miranda said:

That looks great! I will definitely be trying this recipe soon.

Asiago has the strongest flavor followed by the parmesan cheese then the chedder, but i like them all. Let us know what you think

Hey Carnivore Chef, an egg served as a binder. I just drained a can of sardines, mashed it up with one egg and one slice of goat cheese. Scooped onto a hot skillet with lard or ghee and fried. Topped with big grain salt after. Not fancy, but a nice change up. I eat a lot of sardines 😁

Edited July 27, 2025Jul 27 by Kat

1 hour ago, Kat said:

Hey Carnivore Chef, an egg served as a binder. I just drained a can of sardines, mashed it up with one egg and one slice of goat cheese. Scooped onto a hot skillet with lard or ghee and fried. Topped with big grain salt after. Not fancy, but a nice change up. I eat a lot of sardines 😁

Thanks! That's really helpful here. I like the idea of incorporating the goat cheese for more flavor. Since the Carnivore diet is so restrictive in what ingredients can be used i think that using unique and flavorful cheeses is one of the keys to variety.