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Trout

An oily fish with a flavor milder than salmon, loaded with the omega-3s and vitamin D growing brains thrive on.

Trout
Starting age
6+ months
Choking risk
Moderate
Common allergen
Fish

Choking risk

Trout is a moderate choking risk - the hazards are pin bones, tough skin, and dry, overcooked pieces that are hard to swallow.

Flake it finely and check every flake for bones, peel off the skin, and loosen dry trout with a little yogurt or oil. See how to serve for age-by-age prep.

Allergens

Trout is one of the nine major allergens - fish - and there's no reason to delay it. Waiting doesn't prevent allergies, and allergens can start alongside other solids from around 6 months.[1]

Fish and shellfish are separate allergens, so doing fine with one doesn't tell you anything about the other. Offer it from around 6 months, once solids are going well.

Start with about ¼ teaspoon of well-cooked, finely flaked trout mixed into a familiar food, earlier in the day, not near bedtime. Wait 10 minutes, and if all looks well, carry on with the meal.

Watch for a reaction over the next couple of hours. Build up gradually from there, and keep fish in the diet a few times a week.[2]

If baby refuses

Trout's smell can put some babies off. Mix flakes into mashed potato, pasta, or a creamy sauce, or bind them into soft fish cakes. Keep offering it - tastes change with repeat tries.

Food safety

Cook trout until opaque and flaking easily all the way through - 145°F - and never serve it raw or undercooked. Babies are more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults. Skip smoked trout too: it's heavily salted, and cold-smoked fish is cured rather than cooked.

Trout is low in mercury - it's on the FDA and EPA's "Best Choices" list for young children - so plain cooked trout can be a regular part of the week.[5]

How to serve

6+ months old

Finger-length piece, or flaked into soft food

Strips about 2 to 3 inches, or fine flakes stirred in

Offer a finger-length piece of cooked trout for baby to hold, or flake the fish finely and stir it through mashed potato or soft vegetables. A soft trout fish cake works too - make it palm-sized, too big to fit in the mouth in one go. Check every flake for bones and peel off the skin first.

How to cook

Bake, poach, or steam until opaque and flaking easily all the way through - 145°F - and never serve it raw or undercooked. Babies are more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults. Cool to lukewarm, then flake and check carefully for bones.

9+ months old

Flakes, soft pieces, or fish cakes

Bite-sized pieces, or a finger-length strip to hold

As baby's pincer grasp develops, offer small flakes or bite-sized soft pieces for picking-up practice, and keep a finger-length strip or soft fish cake on hand to hold. Stir flakes into mashed potato, a little yogurt, or olive oil to keep them moist. Check every flake for bones and peel off the skin first.

How to cook

Bake, poach, or steam until opaque and flaking easily all the way through - 145°F - and never serve it raw or undercooked. Babies are more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults. Cool to lukewarm, then flake and check carefully for bones.

12+ months old

Soft pieces, flakes, or fish cakes

Bite-sized soft pieces, or flaked into dishes

Offer small soft pieces or flakes of cooked trout on their own or mixed into family dishes, and let your toddler practice with a fork. Trout works well now in fish cakes, pasta, risotto, and traybakes - keep it moist, skip dry, firm pieces, and skip smoked trout. Check every flake for bones and peel off the skin first.

How to cook

Bake, grill, pan-fry, or poach until opaque and flaking easily all the way through - 145°F - and never serve it raw or undercooked. Babies are more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults. Cool to lukewarm, then flake and check carefully for bones.

Tips

  • Find the bones before you cook. Run a fingertip along the raw fillet from head end to tail - pin bones sit in a neat line and are much easier to pull out with tweezers while the flesh is firm. Cooked-flake checking then becomes the double-check, not the whole job.
  • Cook first, peel after. Trout skin comes away in one clean strip once the fish is cooked - far easier than skinning it raw, and it keeps the flesh moist while it cooks.
  • Rainbow trout is the easy buy. It's mild, affordable, sold year-round, and usually the trout on the FDA and EPA's "Best Choices" list at the counter - a gentle first fish if your baby hasn't taken to stronger ones.

Sources

  1. Fish - FARE
  2. When to Introduce Egg, Peanut Butter & Other Common Food Allergens - AAP HealthyChildren
  3. When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods - CDC
  4. Advice About Eating Fish - FDA
  5. EPA-FDA Advice about Eating Fish and Shellfish (Best/Good/Avoid chart) - EPA
  6. Fish, trout, rainbow, farmed, cooked, dry heat (FDC 173718) - USDA FoodData Central

See also: Tilapia, Smoked Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines, Haddock, Catfish