These Salmon Fritters with Sweet Potatoes are a delicious high iron meal or snack and are also baby led weaning friendly. Easy super to make and are make-ahead friendly!
Are you looking to incorporate more salmon in your child’s diet but don’t know how? Try these super easy salmon fritters with sweet potatoes. These salmon fritters are perfect as a snack and you can even make them into burgers for a healthy burger night! Due to the texture of these fritters and shape, they are an easy way to introduce your little one to fish.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
You won’t believe how easy it is to make these salmon fritters. Both the adults and the babies in your family will love these! On top of being easy, here are a few more reasons as to why you’ll love this recipe:
- Packed with healthy ingredients
- High in iron
- The perfect shape for babies to grab onto
- Freezer friendly
Key Ingredients
Salmon — Packed with omega-3s and healthy goodness like protein, the salmon is a great healthy base to these fritters.
Spinach — Spinach is an iron packed ingredient in these fritters. It’s super easy to slip into these salmon fritters that your little ones won’t even noticed that there’s veggies in them.
Oats — We use some old fashioned rolled oats to help bind the salmon fritters together. While some recipes may use panko or breadcrumbs, this is a gluten-free way to hold the fritters together.
Sweet Potato — Sweet potatoes are packed with fibre, minerals, and vitamins. Another healthy ingredient for our salmon fritters!
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 F. To a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and add the onion, garlic and ginger. Saute for 2-3 minutes until soft then add to a food processor.
Step 2: Return the pan to the heat and add in the spinach. Cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Set aside
Step 3: To the food processor, add the salmon, egg, cooked sweet potato flesh (discarding the skins), onion, garlic, ginger and oats. Pulse until the mixture comes together, then add in the spinach. Pulse just until you see it mixed through.
Step 4: Oil your hands and add another coating of oil to the pan. Roll the mixture into finger like fritters.
Step 5: Pan-fry the salmon fritters until golden brown. Transfer to a baking sheet. Continue with the remaining fritters, then finish in the oven until cooked to an internal temperature of 145 F, about another 10 minutes. Serve at room temperature or warm.
Expert Tips
Oiling your hands before shaping the salmon fritters helps prevents the fritters from sticking to your hands. It also gives the fritters a little bit of oil so you can pan fry them without adding oil to the pan.
This recipe uses fresh salmon. While canned salmon is cheaper, something to take note of is the sodium levels in canned salmon. Some may have high amounts of sodium which is not recommended for babies.
Since this recipe makes 15 to 20 salmon fritters, if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
Recipe FAQs
If you’re just getting started with BLW, I recommend you check this out first. So we know how important omega 3’s are for brain development, and salmon is one of the absolute best sources there is. Want to know my secret to easy BLW? Make everything a fritter – and a log shaped fritter, if possible. The long shape is easy for baby to pick up, and a fritter is a great way to combine literally anything you have in the house.
You can definitely skip pan frying these salmon fritters and just bake them exclusively! However, I like to try to get these nice and golden before baking.
These fritters are perfect for freezing! Make a big batch, let them cool and add to a freezer friendly container/bag. Reheat on a baking sheet in the oven for 10-15 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven.
Turn these salmon fritters into a meal by forming into larger patties. Just know that these will take a bit longer to cook. Use a temperature thermometer to know when it’s done. It’s recommended to cook fish to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F (62.8 degrees C).
More Recipes You Might Like
Want more BLW and toddler friendly recipes that your baby will love? Try these ones!
- Banana Baked Oatmeal Fingers with Cherries
- Pumpkin Waffles with Protein
- BLW Carrot Cake Waffles
- Healthy Toddler Finger Sandwiches
Now I want to know, what are some of your favourite healthy recipes for your baby? Leave me a comment below with your thoughts!
Salmon Fritters with Sweet Potato (Baby Led Weaning Recipe)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- To a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and add the onion, garlic and ginger. Saute for 2-3 minutes until soft then add to a food processor.
- Return the pan to the heat and add in the spinach. Cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Set aside
- To the food processor, add the salmon, egg, cooked sweet potato flesh (discarding the skins), onion, garlic, ginger and oats. Pulse until the mixture comes together, then add in the spinach. Pulse just until you see it mixed through.
- Oil your hands and add another coating of oil to the pan. Roll the mixture into finger like fritters and pan-fry until golden brown. Transfer to a baking sheet. Continue with the remaining fritters, then finish in the oven until cooked to an internal temperature of 145 F, about another 10 minutes. Serve at room temperature or warm.
Video
Notes
- Oiling your hands before shaping the salmon fritters helps prevents the fritters from sticking to your hands. It also gives the fritters a little bit of oil so you can pan fry them without adding oil to the pan.
- This recipe uses fresh salmon. While canned salmon is cheaper, something to take note of is the sodium levels in canned salmon. Some may have high amounts of sodium which is not recommended for babies.
- Since this recipe makes 15 to 20 salmon fritters, if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
Nutrition
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Sara Bakelaar says
I don’t have a food processor. Would an immersion blender be OK?
Abbey Sharp says
You can try that or use a blender if you have it available.
Cor says
Can you bake this right away without having to pan fry it? If so, how long? Have you tried adding greek yogurt?
Abbey Sharp says
Yes you can. Cook for 10 mins and see how they look and check the internal temperature. Cook for an additional 5 minutes if not cooked through. We want to aim for an internal temperature of 145F.
Katherine says
What could I substitute for egg? My son has an egg allergy.
Abbey Sharp says
You can try using a flax egg instead.
Sarah says
They look great. Are these freezable?
Abbey Sharp says
Yep
Bonnie says
just tried making this recipe and found the mixture way too soft to handle, even after adding more oats (1 extra cup)and constantly oil my hands. wonder what happened with my batch?
Abbey Sharp says
It may help if you chill the mixture a little.
Skip says
I was cautious about not adding salt or pepper or any other aromatics. I followed the recipe exactly. And I can not even stomach them. They are very soft and not very much flavor at all. I may try them again but will for sure add aromatics and more “bread crumb”. Thinking I might be able to throw all this mush back in a bowl and add more bread crumbs and herbs and Salt and try to bake again
Maria says
Baby loves them!
Gila says
I’ve been making these for my daughter since she was 6 months old and now 18 months later they are still one of her all time favourites. Hubby loves them too. I just keep making them and freezing them for easy defrost and protein addition to meals. I use rolled oats made into flour in the blender and they are perfect. I think it would be helpful to note that a medium sweet potato is about 235g in the ingredients list as I had to find this out from another recipe and the first time I made them before knowing this I’d inadvertently used too big a sweet potato and they came out soggy but other than that perfect!!
Abbey Sharp says
Ah thank you for the tip!
nora says
ooh i wish i read that before making it…
Leah says
Did you freeze these before cooking or after cooking?
Abbey Sharp says
After
Kaitlynn says
If freezing should we do so before we cook them or after?
Abbey Sharp says
After! Just make sure they cool all the way.
Fran says
do you cook the salmon first?
Abbey Sharp says
No, it’s raw
Marie-Therese Gummer says
I’m a first time mom and struggled to find recipes to make my daughter that were simple, nutritious and tasty. Truthfully, I’m no master chef so finding something simple was my #1 Priority. This was the first recipe I made from Abbey’s website and I was so happy with how easy they were and how they turned out. My daughter absolutely LOVES these and I love that they are so healthy!
Abbey Sharp says
Yay! I am so glad to hear. Thanks for the rating 🙂
Alyssa says
Could you use precooked salmon. We have some already cooked and I’m thinking it would be an easy switch!
Abbey Sharp says
yep! might be a bit more dry though so maybe add a little more fat
Silvia Pinho says
What can I use instead of eggs? Can I leave them out?
Thanks!
Abbey Sharp says
The egg acts as a binder, so if you leave it out the fritters will have a harder time sticking together. If you want to make these egg free, id suggest trying it with a flax egg instead.
Paula says
I would like to avoid the frying part. can these be baked or broiled instead
Abbey Sharp says
They may not hold together as well but you can absolutely try it with a coat of oil
Danielle says
Great recipe! These are some of the few things my 11-month-old will eat! Thank you for sharing!
Abbey Sharp says
Hi Danielle 🙂 thats great. We have tons of baby led weaning recipes on the blog for your little one to enjoy
rae says
is it possible to use canned salmon instead of raw/fresh
Abbey Sharp says
Absolutely!
Mel says
I tried these and the mixture was way too soft even after adding in more oats. It cooked okay but there were random bits everywhere as I couldn’t roll them properly
Sarah says
Can I still feed this to my 9 month old if not everything processed like a “puree”? I had to use a blender and there were some pieces of diced onion in the mix.
Jessica says
Can you use regular flour rather than oat flour?
Abbey Sharp says
shouldnt be a problem!
Gila says
Can you use porridge oats or rolled oats instead of quick cooking oats?
Abbey Sharp says
If you purée them enough to soften / break them up then yes!
Emily says
It says quick oats in the ingredient section then oat flour in the instruction section?? Help please
Abbey Sharp says
Sorry about that! Meant to just say oats but it basically becomes oat flour when in the food processor! Will adjust now!
Gila says
I used rolled oats and blended to oat flour and worked perfectly without adding any water to soften. Just want to add my daughter LOVES these – been making them for her for months! My husband loves them too. Highly recommend!
Cheri says
Can you skip the oven part and just fry them longer?
Thank you!
Anna, BLW recipes blog says
They look delicious! I love fritters, I think they are great for BLW, but I’ve usually made it in a sweet way (fruit, sweet potato, carrot) with homemade date paste. I will definately try your recipe, thanks for sharing it 🙂
Abbey Sharp says
Amazing, enjoy!
Taylor Owen says
Can you use canned salmon instead?
Kristen says
Is it okay if I used regular oats and didn’t pulse them in to oat flour prior? Excited to try them when they come out of the oven!
Abbey Sharp says
You can try that but I’d suggest using a smaller flake in that case (like one minute oats for example).
Vanessa says
Just made these and they taste great! I’ve noticed the inside is a bit mushy- like almost seems uncooked or like mashed potatoes but it was cooked to 145. Is that right? Maybe my sweet potato was too big
Abbey Sharp says
Could be because of the large sweet potato. I would cook a little longer if using larger potatoes.
Kyleen says
Do you cook the salmon first or put raw into the food processor with everything else?
Krista says
Do you put the salmon raw in the food processor?
Looking forward to making these this weekend!
Abbey Sharp says
Hi Krista. Yes you add raw salmon to the food processor with the rest of the mixture and then pan fry and bake the fritters.
Jessica says
is there a way to make these egg-free?
Abbey Sharp says
You could try using a flax egg.
Melissa says
Would these work with canned salmon instead of fresh?
Abbey Sharp says
Yes I would just choose a no salt added one if possible
Kyleen says
Do you use raw salmon or do you have to cook it first before combining with the rest of the ingredients?
Abbey Sharp says
Raw salmon
Kate says
Can you use Canned Salmon?
Abbey Sharp says
yes absolutely
Jessica says
Cooking this right now for my 8 month old. Smells so good already. Do you add the egg in the food processor with the first batch of ingredients? It looks like you’ve skipped that part.
Abbey Sharp says
oh yes ill update that now, sorry about that!!
Jan says
I love your recipes, so does my 9-month-old baby! This is the second recipe I tried, and he ate three of these in one sitting. Thank you for great, healthy recipes!
Abbey Sharp says
amazing! So happy to hear
Abbey Sharp says
Yes, sorry. Add to the food processor. Enjoy!
Jessica says
Thanks!!
Chrisa says
How many times a week can a baby have salmon/fish?
Heather Johnstone says
Hi, these sound lovely! Are these good to batch cook and freeze for a later date too? Thanks
Abbey Sharp says
Definitely!
Jennifer says
Getting ready to make for my son. It says to add the egg with the ingredients and then again to add the egg with the spinach. Which one is correct? Thanks!
Abbey Sharp says
Sorry about that. Add the egg with the first ingredients (salmon, potato..).
Angela Cardamone @marathonsandmotivation.com says
Yum! This is a unique combo that I can not wait to try. I am pinning it for later…thank you!!! 🙂
Abbey Sharp says
Yayy enjoy Angela!
Kim says
Have you tried freezing these?
Julie @ Running in a Skirt says
These sound soooo good! Love that the babies get fish this way. Def reading up on BLW for the twins
Abbey Sharp says
Amazing! Do it 🙂
Deborah Brooks says
Never would have thought to combine sweet potato and salmon in this way. Very creative!
Abbey Sharp says
Works really well! Thanks love
Jennifer says
You say to use quick cooking oats and then oat flour. Which one, please?
Abbey Sharp says
I turn the cooking oats into oat flour by pulsing the oats in a food processor.