Baby-Friendly Easy Baked Salmon
Try this as an easy weeknight dinner for the whole family - baby included…
One of my favorite benefits of baby-led weaning is that baby eats what the family eats - no need to make two different meals or stress about pureeing in advance. With some minor modifications, so many foods work well as breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the entire family, babies included.
This recipe for Baby-Friendly, Easy Baked Salmon is no exception. It’s simple to make, ready in a matter of minutes, ridiculously healthy and readily accepted by toddlers, kids, babies and adults. I can attest! It has been a staple in my rotation of healthy meals since before my girls were born. They each ate it frequently as babies and to this day, they all still love it.
The fish flakes off easily into finger-food sized pieces that are easy for babies to grasp during baby-led feeding - both for babies who are using a palmar and/or pincer grasp to self-feed. Bites of fish can also be pre-loaded onto a fork or spoon or mashed into some avocado, mashed potato or even plain full-fat Greek yogurt. Whatever soft, nutritious foods you have available that work well for scooping with hands!
Many types of fish can be a great source of iron, protein, vitamins B12 and D, and brain-building omega-3 fatty acids.
When it comes to feeding babies and kids, the importance of brain-building omega-3 fatty acids is often overlooked. As babies start eating solid foods, the most efficient way to meet the recommendation for omega-3 fatty acids is by introducing 2-ounce portions of low-mercury, high omega-3 fatty fish, once or twice per week.
Omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA and EPA support an infant’s:
cognitive and behavioral development
developing eyes
developing brain
developing nervous system
Don’t worry if your baby makes a face or doesn’t accept fish the first few times you offer it. It can take an average of 10-15 exposures before a child will accept a new food, so it’s important to continue offering and allowing your child to build familiarity and acceptance toward fish over time.
Fish is among the top 9 most allergenic foods. As with all the top allergens, when you’re offering for the first time, serve either alone or along with foods your baby has had before and tolerated. Start with a small portion and offer a tiny taste to start. Then wait 10 minutes. If there is no reaction, continue to feed to rest, increasing the amount served over time. Feed it again the next day and then again the next, which is usually enough to establish that a food is well tolerated. Once you’ve introduced fish, it’s important keep it in your baby’s diet frequently, to help reduce the risk of the development of fish allergies. Aim to serve it once or twice a week going forward.
If you’re looking for more ways to serve seafood to your babies and kids, check out my recipes for Salmon and Shrimp Sliders and Shrimp and Vegetable Fritters. And if you need guidance on a baby-led feeding approach to starting solids as well as early and frequent introduction of top allergens, you’ll love my online course, Safe and Simple Baby-Led Feeding which is based on my best-selling book on Baby-Led Weaning.
If you found this recipe enjoyable, would you mind giving it a rating and leaving a comment? Your feedback helps others discover my recipes and articles. Thanks a bunch!
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Baby-Friendly Easy Baked Salmon
Baby-Friendly Easy Baked Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 (6-ounce) fillets of salmon
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter, divided evenly into fourths (optional)
- Sprinkle of garlic powder (for baby’s portion)
- (Sprinkle of garlic salt for adult/kid portions)
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place fish skin-side down on a baking sheet* lined with foil.
- Drizzle a teaspoon of olive oil and place a small piece of butter on top of each fish fillet. Sprinkle garlic powder evenly over the portion that will be served to baby.
- Sprinkle garlic salt over the fillets that will be served to kids and adults.
- Sprinkle panko bread crumbs evenly over the top of each fillet and bake for 18-20 minutes or until fish flakes apart easily with a fork, then serve.
Notes
- This recipe tastes great right away, but also keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
- This recipe contains fish, a top allergenic food. Introducing top allergenic foods help reduce the risk of the development of fish allergies.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
319Fat
18Sat. Fat
4Carbs
3Fiber
0Net carbs
3Sugar
0Protein
34Sodium
125Cholesterol
101
