Even your picky eater will love this kid-friendly fish recipe! Learn the health benefits of fish for kids and how to make this delicious tilapia recipe.
I’m a little bit of a foodie. I love food and trying new things to eat. I guess I should since it’s my job as a pediatric occupational therapist to get kids to eat more!
I love fish, but I know many of you don’t feel the same way, so I am presenting you with Tilapia! Tilapia for kids is a great source of protein, healthy fats, and more importantly is delicious when prepared well!
If you haven’t heard of this fish, it is mild tasting and relatively inexpensive. My kids eat this and other parents have told me that they have a lot of luck with this fish in particular.
Of course, my hope is that you will be expanding the variety of food you eat as well. Remember, monkey see, monkey do! Your kid needs to see you eating it to give it a try!
Tilapia Recipe for Baby, Toddler, and Big Kids
I buy my Tilapia in a large frozen bag that has individual frozen filets in it. The best part is that if I forget to pull these out to defrost, I can just stick them in a bowl of water for 20 minutes at the most and they are ready to cook.
This simplifies things for me, but if you prefer fresh fish you shouldn’t have a hard time finding it. Most stores carry this now and the fllets will likely be larger so you can cut them into strips for fish sticks, if you would like.
Normally, I put 2-3 filets in a non-stick skillet with 1 tbs of butter and 1 tbs of olive oil. I let them cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side and top with a little lemon juice and parmesan cheese.
This is my favorite way to eat it, but I also want to expose Sam to a variety of cooking methods, textures, and variety, so I changed it last night. This is a kid friendly tilapia recipe because it is flavorful but also has great texture.
Feel free to add and omit spices to your choosing.
You could also dip the filets in egg, mayo, or honey mustard before placing in the breadcrumbs, which will give it a thicker coating. These would also work well on a sandwich.
Sam helped me by shaking in the spices, this wasn’t an exact science, so I just monitored to make sure too much didn’t go in. He also patted the fish dry and pushed the breadcrumbs into the fish.
If you’ve wondered how to cook tilapia for baby. I left one half of a filet plain so that Issac could eat some with us. It is that simple to make a baby friendly piece of fish.
Quinoa was our side dish. If you haven’t heard of this, it is a Peruvian grain that is high in nutrients and protein. It has an interesting texture and is very tasty. I boiled about 3/4 cup of this in chicken stock to give it more flavor and then drizzled olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic into it.
Sam really loved the quinoa last night. About 6 months ago he wasn’t that interested in eating this, even though he had many times as a baby. I think as he got older the texture started to throw him off a bit so he rejected it, but I just kept on presenting it and eating it in front of him.
It didn’t happen overnight, but last night he asked for seconds!
As for the veggies, they usually need some encouragement. Last night we pretended they were little white and green trees (cauliflower and broccoli) and chewed it up like bears (biting really hard because these veggies are a little tougher).
I made sure to give him smaller pieces that wouldn’t be too much to handle, but after eating those he surprised me and grabbed a big piece of cauliflower off his Dad’s plate and ate it. I was really proud of him for eating so many, this was a big improvement for him!
Read more about how to get your child to eat veggies along with our mega list of veggies for ideas!
Serving Tilapia for Babies and Toddlers as a Transition to Table Food
Now that we are transitioning to table foods, I try to have him eat what we are eating as much of the time as possible. He is in the very early stages of table foods (8 months old) so it is still fairly limited.
Tilapia works perfect though as a transition food. I mashed some of the fish into his defrosted, homemade broccoli and sweet potatoes on the left, as you can see it is pretty thick. I also put some small flakes aside for me to feed him individually.
The Tilapia is so soft that it is very easy to chew and he really liked it. He also tried a taste of quinoa, but this texture was still a little too much for him to handle. You can grind the quinoa up in a food processor and freeze, if you want.
Although Sam usually loves this fish, he didn’t go crazy on it like he usually does, which is okay, but with Isaac eating it he had some extra motivation and we needed that last night.
He took particular notice when we praised Isaac for eating the fish and then wanted to imitate so he could get praised! Praising another child can be very powerful motivation to a kid.
Some other factors that made the meal successful:
- I was a little organized ahead of time.
- Sam helped me cook the food and was thus invested in it. Having your child help cook is a game changer for picky eating and food exposure.
- We sat down and ate together once everything was ready. Again, eating together at the table is a great strategy for increasing the likelihood of your child trying new things!
If you enjoyed this recipe and would like your child to eat a wider variety of foods like tilapia, make sure to snag our Mega List of Easy Toddler Food & Meal Ideas Printable. This is NOT just for toddlers and has a ton of ideas to et your child eating more foods.
Easy Tilapia Recipe For Toddlers and Kids
Ingredients
- 3 Tilapia Filets
- 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1-2 Tbsp Buttler or Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Ground Mustard
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to Taste
Instructions
-
Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, and spices together in a shallow bowl.
-
Pat the Tilapia dry.
-
Place fish in the bowl and press mixture into the fish, coating all sides.
-
Put on a non-stick griddle or pan and cook for 3-5 on each side, depending on thickness of filet.
More Delicious Recipes for Toddlers and Kids
The Picky Eater Approved Chicken Nugget Recipe
Crispy Whole Roasted Cauliflower Recipe: A Perfect Veggie Recipe for Kids
Delicious Homemade Hot Pockets Your Kids Will Love
Scrumptious Gluten Free Meatball Recipe for the Whole Family
Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 19 years experience with expertise in sensory processing and feeding development in babies, toddlers, and children. Alisha also has 3 boys of her own at home. Learn more about her here.
Thank you for this recipe! I dont put mustard in it, instead I add some drops of lemon juice. My toddler loves it♡ She helps me cook too♡
Awesome Nina! Thanks for sharing, and so happy that your little one loves it!
Best,
Desiree
Tilapia is one of the unhealthiest type of fish you can find on the market as 100% of it is farm raised. If you are trying to eat healthy you should steer clear of tilapia and eat fish like cod or salmon, wild caught of course, preferably Alaskan as Atlantic ocean is too polluted. I would definitely not recommend giving tilapia to children.
eye roll not everyone can afford salmon and wild caught fish! I mean they could be having pizza instead….
Ironic you promote healthy habits but Tilapia or any farm raised fish is so unhealthy for anyone especially kids. Organic eating is the way the life. If you are curious look up farm raised fish is b, simple as that in google search.
It’s so funny to actually find you people in real life 😂
I was planning on Tilapia tonight, but wasn t sure how I wanted to cook it. I needed something kid friendly, and sure enough it was a hit!
My almost two year old loves tilapia! Will try your recipe soon 🙂