December 22, 2018
updated
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If you’re looking for a way to get your kids to eat more fresh fish these simple baked salmon nuggets will do just the trick!
I love making these healthy salmon nuggets because it’s a great source of fish protein, Omega-3s, potassium, antioxidants, and healthy fats that are great for my kids’ growing bodies.
While my husband and I love salmon, my kids need a little more convincing to eat it. Hence, this recipe. Making it couldn’t be any easier.
The kids will eat fried fish ANY day of the week; but when it comes to broiled or grilled fish, that’s another story. Until… I made these Baked salmon nuggets.
Why my Kids Love Baked Salmon Nuggets
Something about breading and baking the fish changed everything. It creates a tender nugget with a crispy, crunchy coating. I mean, who can resist?
When it comes to making Homemade Chicken Strips, Copy Cat McDonald’s Nuggets, or Homemade Chick-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets and these Salmon Nuggets, I prefer baked over fried. It’s healthier and way easier to clean up.
Salmon Nugget Ingredients
To make these healthy baked salmon nuggets you will need:
- salmon fillets
- all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- eggs
- grated Parmesan cheese
- Panko breadcrumbs
This recipe can also be made gluten-free with 1:1 gluten-free flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs.
I have a great recipe for gluten-free Panko breadcrumbs made with rice cereal in a food processor. It’s quick and creates the perfect, crispy breading for recipes like this.
Should I Use Fresh or Frozen Salmon?
For this recipe, either works just fine. I like to use frozen, it’s easier to keep on hand and in many cases tastes just as good as the fresh option. When using frozen salmon, all you have to do is thaw it out and follow the recipe as shown.
If using fresh, make sure the skin is removed before cutting into nuggets and breading.
How to Make Salmon Nuggets
For golden, crispy salmon nuggets, this process involves breading and coating. However, since we aren’t frying anything in oil, assembly, and clean-up are easy. Here’s what to do:
- Get the oven hot
Preheat the oven to 450F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. - Grab the salmon and a sharp knife
Pat each salmon fillet dry with paper towels, then slice into 1-inch cubes. - Grab a few dishes
In one shallow dish, whisk the eggs and set them aside. In a separate dish combine the flour, salt, and pepper. *Pie pans work great for recipes like this. - Make the breading
Add the breadcrumbs and cheese to the third dish and stir to combine. - Bread the nuggets
Coat the salmon nuggets in the flour and give them a shake before dipping into the egg wash. Transfer them to the breadcrumb mixture and toss to coat, pressing the crumbs onto each nugget. - Bake to perfection
Place the breaded fish nuggets onto the baking sheet and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
All that’s left is to grab a few salmon nuggets and serve them with your favorite sauce.
Watch how to make this recipe from start to finish in the video below:
Can these be made in an air fryer?
Of course! If you have an air fryer, simply add a teaspoon or two of oil and “fry” them as you would traditional chicken nuggets.
If you are feeding picky eaters, I get you! Trying new foods IS A BIG DEAL but creating kid-friendly recipes with healthy foods is one way to get the kids onboard, hence- salmon nuggets!
Can these baked salmon bites be frozen?
YAS! Double the batch, bake and reserve the extra that you’d like to freeze. Make sure to allow them to cool down to room temperature before freezing in a large freezer bag for up to 2 months. To eat, bake in the oven until heated through and crispy.
These are perfect for an easy dinner with a salad or baked fries on the side for a sheet pan dinner.
Salmon Nuggets vs. Mini Salmon Cakes
Compared to salmon nuggets, salmon cakes are made with finely chopped, cooked fish, breadcrumbs, shaped into patties and cooked stove top while these nuggets are whole pieces of fish, breaded, and baked. Both are super delicious and two very good reasons to eat more fish!
These are perfect for an easy dinner with a salad or baked fries on the side for a sheet pan dinner.
Easy Salmon Nuggets
Ingredients
- 1 lb center cut salmon fillets, sliced in 1″ thick pieces, skinned
- ½ cup all-purpose-flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Rinse the salmon fillet and pat dry with paper towels. Slice it 1″ thick pieces. To make nuggets, slice horizontally right over the skin and vertically every ½″.
- Place the flour, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs.
- Combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a third bowl.
- Coat the salmon pieces in the seasoned flour and pat to remove any extra flour. Dip into the eggs and then the Parmesan mixture, gently pressing the mixture into the fish.
- Place the breaded salmon fillets onto the baking sheets. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
Starr
I made this, minus the parmesan cheese. I added a tsp. If ginger, garlic and onion powder. It’s pretty good the fish is still tender.
Laura Fuentes
Adding the ginger + garlic + onion powder combo sounds so good! Thanks for sharing you enjoyed them.
Wayne
Love the salmon nuggets recipe! Do my frozen cooked leftovers need to be defrosted before cooking in the oven, or can I cook from frozen?
Laura Fuentes
You can heat them up from frozen since they’ve already been cooked. Either in the oven or air fryer. Enjoy!
Sandra
Hi, I’m looking to make healthy recipes for a picky eater and these look like a great idea! I was just wondering if other fish would work as well?
Thanks!
Laura Fuentes
Absolutely. I sometimes use this recipe with salmon, cod, or any white fish.
Laura Fuentes
Hi Sandra! I recommend fish with a firm texture, Cod and Mahi-Mahi are both good options.
Toni Rayne
I have never made anything fish and the family devour it!! The kids loved this! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Laura Fuentes
Awesome! I am so glad these baked fish nuggets were a hit!
Angie
Could you make this with canned salmon?
Laura Fuentes
Angie, with canned salmon, you can make these cakes, just make them smaller and make “nuggets” Enjoy!
Eliane S
Hi! I plan on making these tomorrow. What dip do you recommend for this? Thanks!
Laura Fuentes
ranch, ketchup, yogurt dip… whatever your child might like to dip veggies in.
Anonymous
I was nervous to try this because salmon is not a big hit in our home. But the kids LOVED this recipe and the hubby insisted that I need to make this again! I did, however, make a few changes. I baked them at 400° and used thin frozen salmon. I also make sticks. I used cheddar cheese with the crumbs. I noticed in the comments that not all of the breading was used, so I just made up less to save on ingredients. 🙂 Thank you so much for this recipe! Would give more than 5 stars!
Laura Fuentes
I’m so glad these were a hit Tiffany!
Amy
Tried this tonight. It’s crunching than I expected for oven fried, so I was pretty please. The panko makes a nice difference. My 14 month old loved the breading! She once loved salmon, but is going through a carbs and dairy only phase, so would not eat much of the salmon tonight. This is definitely something we’ll make again. I trust my LO will come back around.
Sue
In my family, salmon is king! We do very little to it (cook a side of salmon at about 270 for 20-25 minutes), and the kids absolutely hoover it up. My 4yo g’daughter is starting kindergarten, and I’ll be making her lunches every day, so I wanted to find something a little different. I made these tonight, and they are great! I cooked them at 400 (we like our salmon soft) for about 22 minutes–perfect!
However, it took me well over 30 minutes to cut and bread my 1.5# of salmon, so I wondered how you managed a 5-minute prep time. Do you have sneaky, fast breading techniques (I did cut them as you suggested, and you were right–that is easy) or something?
Laura Fuentes
to make this process faster, I pre-slice all the salmon. Then, put the egg in a bowl and the dry ingredients in a zip bag. I bread in bulk not one piece at a time. I hope this makes sense. I’m so glad they came out delicious for you though!
Isabel Tsantes
Delicious!!!!! I made it and Love it.
Rein R.
Made this for my son and let me just say, this is delicious! They’re not just for kids.. I already snagged some of my son’s lunch! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Brittany
My 14-month-old is not picky at all but she doesnt seem to like texture of fish without breading. She LOVED these! 🙂
Laura Fuentes
I’m so glad she loved these!
Margo
Could these be made with canned salmon? Thanks
Laura Fuentes
Unfortunately not these. I’m working on a recipe with canned salmon.
Courtney
I am new to eating grain free and am wondering how I could make these grain free. I have used almond flour/meal a little bit. Would I just substitute the almond flour for the flour AND bread crumbs? Thank you so much for your help and all of your amazing recipes!
Laura Fuentes
Courtney, I have breaded these salmon nuggets with the same breading as these chicken nuggets plus a little parmesan cheese. Delish!
tammy
Have you ever used a cheese substitute?
Thanks
Laura Fuentes
I have not. Sorry Tammy! If you do use one successfully, please let me know so I can make a note. Thank you!
Nancy
Can I use tilapia instead of salmon? My daughter won’t eat salmon.
Laura Fuentes
absolutely! cooking time will be shorter because it’s thinner.
MrsJennyK
oh wait…. LOL it’s not so much a coincidence after all! You ARE Easy Lunchboxes AND Momables (to which I have just subscribed) AND Superglue Mom! You’re a busy and talented woman.
Laura Fuentes
Thanks Jenny! You are correct in your calculations…. and in the fact that you don’t actually use all the breading. I am Mrs. MOMables too … but not EasyLunchboxes. That’s my good friend Kelly. But as you can see… I love good family food. Thank you for being part of my community!
MrsJennyK
Like you Laura, I’m a fan of good, healthy fats and whole foods and am not a fat or calorie counter. I actually did a nutritional count of this recipe though. Based on 5 servings (which would equal about 3oz of salmon for a serving, which is what is considered a healthy serving) each serving provide 370 calorie, 15 grams of fat, and a whopping 32 grams of protein! And that’s IF you used every single bit of the dredging ingredients. That sounds just perfect to me. (btw, It’s kismet that I happened across this blog and recipe sort of randomly, and just received an order of Easy Lunchboxes in the mail yesterday!)
Anon
Erm, very tasty recipe, but it has around 500 calories per serving and 24g of fat and that is without drizzeling it with olive oil for the oven. Not sure that this should be labelled “healthy” just because it includes salmon and isn’t fried. There is fat from salmon, from the cheese, from the egg and from the panko.
Laura Fuentes
thank you for calculating “calories” Anon. Unfortunately, I am a “real food” person not a calorie counter. All the ingredients in these salmon nuggets are homemade and unlike store bought fish nuggets don’t contain a trail long list of things one cannot pronounce. They ARE healthy. Salmon is healthy. I has healthy fats and loaded with nutrients. I’m sorry to burst your bubble but fat isn’t bad for you. They are baked instead of deep fried and have way too many health benefits for me to not serve them. Thanks for your input!
Mary
just because something has a lot of calories, and even fat, does not automatically make it unhealthy, all people, esspecially growing LITTLE people, NEED a good amount of natural fat in thier diet in other to properly digest certain fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E & K). I make a version of these FRIED in Ghee and would still label it healthy, with all the right kinds of fats. I suppose it really just depends on what school of thought your description of healthy subscribes too. We follow Dr. Weston Price’s suggestions of traditional, whole foods, pasture/nature raised animals and raw dairy (we leave out the bread crumbs out of our fish nuggets).
Laura Fuentes
Amen, Mary. Thank you!
Jaya
Just because a food contains some fat, doesn’t mean it’s not healthy.
Laura Fuentes
“Good fat is good for you” is what I say.
Cera
You do know calories aren’t unhealthy, and that most of the fats in salmon and olive oil are good for you right? Don’t be indoctrinated by diet culture.
Jessica
Laura! I made these tonight with gluten free AP flour egg and homemade gf bread crumbs… My kids LOVED them! And asked for seconds! Thanks a billion for all you do 🙂
Jessica
Laura! Is there a gf option? I have a nice slab of salmon in my freezer waiting to be made into something yummy!!
Laura Fuentes
Jessica, you can use gluten free breadcrumbs for sure!
Carolyn
Have you tried cooking then freezing them? Can’t wait to try these 🙂
Laura Fuentes
I freeze them all the time, just not cooked. I pull them out when I need them.. and then cook them.
Annie
How long do you cook the nuggetts when cooking from frozen?
Laura Fuentes
I cook them an extra 5minutes or so.
Dana from CT
These look fabulous!! Any thoughts on what I could use instead of eggs to bind the breading? Food allergies are such a bummer 🙁
Laura Fuentes
Can you use milk or milk substitute? Basically skip the egg, wet the salmon and bread it.
Nicole
great looking recipe! They look as good as the breaded fish I pan fry – I am totally trying this tonight. Thanks so much.
Sarah
Any ideas for making this work with canned salmon (or tuna)?
Laura Fuentes
unfortunately i have not tried it with canned. In order to hold the canned tuna or salmon together you are going to have to form a “cake” like consistency. I am in the middle of developing a “tuna nugget” -something like that as we speak. if you are subscribed to the email newsletter, you’ll be the first to know when they come out! 🙂
Tiffany C
I can’t believe these are baked. They look so delish! I am totally trying this. I used to give the boys whiting and tell them it was chicken because the wouldn’t eat fish. This is a great way to sneak it in. xo