When can babies eat mahi-mahi?

From around 6 months, once your baby is ready for solids, served in a safe shape and texture for their age.

Mahi-mahi

Firm, mild and meaty. An occasional fish, with low-mercury picks for most weeks.

Checked against official guidance on October 18, 2026 · How we review

Quick answer

Babies can eat mahi-mahi from around 6 months, once they show signs of being ready for solids. Prepare it as shown below.

From 6 monthsLow choking risk as servedAllergen: Fish

How to serve mahi-mahi by age

6 months+

Soft flakes or fish cakes

Bake or poach mahi-mahi until it is opaque and flakes easily (145°F / 63°C), remove the skin and every bone, then break it into soft flakes. Its flesh is firm, so mash the flakes with a fork into mashed potato or another food your baby eats, or shape into finger-sized fish cakes.

Size: Soft flakes, or fish cakes shaped like a finger, about 6–8 cm long and 2 cm wide (2½–3 × ¾ in).
Check before serving: Run your fingers through every flake to feel for bones. Squash a flake between your thumb and finger: it should break apart easily. If it's firm or dry, mash it into a moist food.

US and UK advice differ here. The AAP suggests mashed food or soft pieces no larger than ½ inch; the NHS suggests soft finger-sized pieces your baby can hold in their fist. Both agree the food must squash easily.

Always have your child sit upright in a high chair or at the table, and stay with them the whole time they eat. Keep to the size and texture for their stage. Every baby develops on their own timeline.

How to prepare mahi-mahi

1
Buy mahi-mahi from a cold counter or the freezer, and get it into the fridge quickly.
2
Bake a skinless fillet at 200°C (390°F) for about 10 to 15 minutes, or poach it, until it's opaque and reaches 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part. Don't add salt.
3
Let it cool, then pull it apart with your fingers, feeling every flake for bones. Remove the skin.
4
Mash flakes into a soft food, or mix with mashed potato and shape into finger-sized cakes.
5
First time? Pick a day your baby is well and at home, so you can stay nearby for several hours afterward. Fish can cause a delayed reaction: see when to call the doctor.

How much to offer

For the first taste, offer a small amount: a few flakes or one small fish cake. Mahi-mahi is on the FDA's 'Good choices' list, which has more mercury than its 'Best choices'. For children, the FDA's advice is 2 servings of fish a week from the 'Best choices' list (about 1 oz, or 28 g, per serving at ages 1 to 3). It gives no 'Good choices' amount for children: its '1 serving and no other fish that week' rule is for adults who are pregnant or breastfeeding. So use 'Best choices' for your baby's usual fish meals. Our suggestion is to serve mahi-mahi only now and then. Your baby decides how much to eat.

Common mistakes

Making it the everyday fish

Mahi-mahi is a 'Good choice' on the FDA list, not a 'Best choice', and the FDA's advice for children is to choose fish from the 'Best choices' list. For most meals, pick low-mercury fish such as salmon, cod, pollock or trout, and keep mahi-mahi as an occasional meal.

Serving big firm chunks

Mahi-mahi is firmer than cod or salmon. Flake it and mash it into a soft food at 6 months, and keep pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) from 9 months.

Undercooking it

Cook it to 145°F (63°C), until it's opaque and flakes easily. Never offer raw fish such as sushi, poke or ceviche.

Leaving it out of the fridge

Mahi-mahi is one of the fish that can cause scombroid poisoning if it isn't kept cold, and cooking or freezing doesn't fix it (CDC). Buy it chilled or frozen and refrigerate it straight away.

Where US and UK guidance differ on mahi-mahi

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

Mahi-mahi is on the FDA's 'Good choices' list, with more mercury than 'Best choices'. For children, the FDA suggests 2 servings a week from 'Best choices' (about 1 oz each at ages 1–3) and gives no 'Good choices' amount for children. Its '1 serving of a Good choice and no other fish that week' rule is for pregnancy and breastfeeding, so our suggestion is to treat mahi-mahi as an occasional fish for your child.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS doesn't single out mahi-mahi. Children under 16 shouldn't have shark, swordfish or marlin. The NHS weekly limits are for oily fish, and mahi-mahi isn't on its oily fish list. Baked, steamed or grilled fish is a healthier choice than fried.

We cover US and UK guidance in detail. Elsewhere, check your national health service's advice too.

Questions parents ask

Can mahi-mahi be a choking hazard for babies?

Cooked, flaked mahi-mahi is a low choking risk, but the CDC lists bones in fish as a choking hazard. Its flesh is firm, so flake it small or mash it for babies, and check every flake with your fingers before serving. Always cook mahi-mahi fully, and never offer raw or undercooked fish.

Can babies be allergic to mahi-mahi?

Fish is a common allergen. Introduce it on its own first, in a small amount, and watch for signs of a reaction. If your baby reacts to mahi-mahi, talk to your pediatrician before offering other fish. Mahi-mahi can also cause a reaction that looks like an allergy but isn't one: scombroid poisoning, from fish that wasn't kept cold after it was caught. It usually starts within minutes to an hour, with a flushed face, itching, headache or tummy cramps, and cooking, smoking or freezing doesn't prevent it (CDC). Buy fish from a cold counter or the freezer and refrigerate it quickly. If your baby has breathing trouble, swelling of the lips, face or tongue, or becomes floppy, call your emergency number.

Is mahi-mahi healthy for babies?

A lean source of protein and selenium: FoodData Central lists about 24 g of protein and 47 µg of selenium per 100 g of cooked mahi-mahi, with little fat (about 0.9 g). It has much less omega-3 fat than oily fish such as salmon, and it is not a major source of iron (about 1.5 mg per 100 g).

Can babies eat mahi-mahi?

Yes, from around 6 months, cooked until opaque and flaky, with every bone removed and the firm flesh flaked small or mashed. It's on the FDA's 'Good choices' list, so our suggestion is to serve it now and then rather than every week, and lean on 'Best choices' such as salmon, cod and pollock the rest of the time.

Is mahi-mahi high in mercury?

It's in the middle. The FDA lists mahi-mahi as a 'Good choice': higher in mercury than its 'Best choices', but not one of the fish to avoid. Shark, swordfish and marlin are the ones both US and UK advice say never to give children.

Is mahi-mahi the same as dolphin?

No. Mahi-mahi is a fish, also called dolphinfish; the FDA lists it as 'Mahi mahi/dolphinfish'. It isn't related to dolphins.

Can I use frozen mahi-mahi?

Yes. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, then cook it until it's opaque and reaches 145°F (63°C).

If your baby refuses mahi-mahi

Many babies need 10 or more tries before they accept a new food. Keep offering it alongside foods they already like.
Mix flakes into foods your baby already likes, such as mashed potato, rice or pasta.
Try fish cakes: they're easier to hold than loose flakes.
Eat some yourself at the same meal. Babies copy what they see.

Never force or pressure your baby to eat. Some days they'll eat more, some days less, and that's normal.

Buying and storing mahi-mahi

Keep raw mahi-mahi in the fridge and cook it within 2 days, or freeze it, and thaw frozen mahi-mahi in the fridge overnight. Fish that wasn't kept cold can look and taste normal but still cause scombroid poisoning, and cooking won't fix it.
Cooked mahi-mahi keeps for 3 to 4 days in a covered container in the fridge. Rice dishes are the exception: cool them within 1 hour, keep them in the fridge for no more than 1 day, and reheat them only once.
Fish cakes can be frozen for 3 to 4 months. Reheat them only once, to 165°F (74°C), until steaming hot, then let them cool before serving.
Throw away any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if it's hotter than 90°F / 32°C).

When to talk to your doctor

Contact your pediatrician, GP or health visitor if:

Your baby vomits a few hours after eating fish. This can be FPIES, a delayed type of food allergy that fish can trigger. If they vomited once or twice and seem alert and like themselves, call your pediatrician or GP. If they vomit again and again, or are pale, floppy, very sleepy or hard to wake, call your emergency number.
You notice mild signs of an allergic reaction after eating, such as a few hives or a little vomiting. See signs of a reaction.
You're worried about how much your baby eats, their growth, or they refuse most solid food for weeks.

Call 911999your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia) now if your baby has trouble breathing, wheezing, can't cough or cry, has lips, mouth, tongue or throat that suddenly swell, or becomes pale, bluish, floppy or unresponsive. Also call if hives come with repeated vomiting.

Offered mahi-mahi?

Add it to your first 100 foods.

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