The Best Toddler Salmon Recipe is Already in Your Pantry
Some counterintuitively intuitive advice when you’re ready to see if your kiddo is ready for a straight-up hunk o’ salmon: it ain’t the recipe. The one that follows is pretty great, mind you, but far more important than the “right” take is the one most accessible to the needs and preferences of your child–and that’s the one that meets your child where he/she is on flavors, textures, presentation, etc.
Luckily, taste and texture alignment with the toddler palate is what this recipe does best. Peep the barbecue sauce baste for a slightly sweet taste; note the crusting of crackers–and you can and should use your child’s favorite crunchy cracker or chip: Goldfish, Veggie Straws, Ritz–to provide a slight crisp to contrast the soft interior. Best part of all? You’ll love it, too.
- 12 Ritz Crackers
- 3/4 lb Salmon Filets (roughly 6oz each)
- Barbecue Sauce (use whatever you got)
- dried Parsley
- grated Parmesan Cheese
- Set oven to 375. If salmon is not already cut into filets, halve your salmon piece horizontally to create two longer than wide pieces of fish.
- In a blender or food processor, blitz the crackers until fully pulverized. Pour the crushed crackers into a wide and shallow container, then sprinkle parmesan and parsley throughout; mix until blended.
- Rub or brush all sides of each salmon filet with your barbecue sauce, then place into the container holding the cracker crumbs; press the salmon down into the breading to ensure it sticks to the fish, then repeat for each side of the filet until fully coated.
- Place salmon on a foil- or parchment-lined baking pan.
Cook for 8 minutes (just past medium rare) to 10 minutes (more well done) depending on you and/or your child’s preferences.
In spite of what the recipe picture may suggest, don’t serve a whole filet, well, whole to your child (obviously). Our default is to cut vertically into the filet to create squarish pieces: easy to hold (and dip) and gets both the fish and the breading in every bite. This might be a good place to use cutouts to create fun shapes from the salmon, too.
You can use a different crusting source on this one, but you’ll likely need to alter how much of it you’ll need: i.e., you’ll need more than 12 Goldfish but a lot less than 12 matzoh. If your child is the sort that favors creamy flavors and textures, ditch the crackers altogether and do this: cook your fish–and pretty much any will work here–for four or five minutes at 375 and remove from the oven; turn your oven to Broil and allow it to heat up. Mix mustard and mayonnaise (or sour cream) and spread over the surface of the fish; dust the top with breadcrumbs and grated parmesan. Return to oven and cook until the top is browned and fish is cooked through, roughly 4 minutes.
If you're unsure if your kid will bite (literally) on this recipe, pull aside some salmon and make our salmon cakes: they never fail to please!
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
