When can babies eat smoked salmon?

From around 12 months, served in a safe shape and texture for their age.

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Smoked salmon

Salty and not always cooked, so it's an occasional extra for toddlers: a little, cooked into a hot dish.

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

Quick answer

Children can have smoked salmon from around 12 months. Prepare it as shown below.

From 12 monthsLow choking risk as servedAllergen: Fish

How to serve smoked salmon by age

12 months+

A little, cooked into a hot dish

If you serve smoked salmon, use just a little, and only once your child has had plain cooked fish without a reaction. Chop it small and cook it into a hot dish, such as scrambled egg, pasta sauce or fish pie, until the whole dish is steaming hot, then let it cool. Never give cold slices. Smoked salmon is salty, so keep it occasional.

Size: Small pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), stirred into a soft, moist dish.
Check before serving: The dish should have been steaming hot all the way through before cooling. Feel the pieces for bones and remove any skin.

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 smoked salmon

1
Check the label: cold-smoked salmon (thin, silky slices, also sold as lox or nova) and hot-smoked salmon (thick, flaky pieces) both need cooking in a dish for young children. Keep it in the fridge and use it by its use-by date.
2
Chop a small amount into pieces about 1 cm (just under ½ inch), feeling for bones and removing any skin.
3
Cook it into a hot dish, such as scrambled egg, pasta sauce or fish pie, until the whole dish is steaming hot, 165°F (74°C). Don't add any other salt.
4
Let it cool before serving. First time with fish? Start with plain cooked fresh or canned fish instead, on a day your child is well and at home: fish can cause a delayed reaction (see when to call the doctor).

How much to offer

Use smoked salmon as an extra: a spoonful of chopped smoked salmon cooked into your toddler's portion is plenty, and not every week. For ages 1 to 3, the FDA suggests a fish serving of about 1 oz (28 g), twice a week, and fresh, frozen or canned salmon is a better way to meet it. Your child decides how much to eat from what you offer.

Common mistakes

Serving cold slices

Cold-smoked salmon and lox aren't cooked, and the CDC says cold smoking doesn't kill listeria, while cooking does. The FDA says children should avoid refrigerated smoked seafood, such as lox, nova-style or kippered fish, except in a cooked recipe. Cook it into a hot dish until steaming hot.

Treating hot-smoked salmon as ready to eat

Hot-smoked salmon looks cooked, but the FDA's advice names refrigerated smoked seafood (labeled 'kippered' or 'smoked' as well as 'lox' and 'nova-style') and makes no exception for hot-smoked fish. Cook it into a hot dish too.

Offering smoked salmon to babies

Smoked salmon is salty: FoodData Central lists about 672 mg of sodium per 100 g (about 1.7 g of salt). The NHS says babies should not have much salt, because their kidneys are not fully developed, and they need less than 1 g of salt a day. Use fresh, frozen or canned salmon, fully cooked.

Using it as a first taste of fish

Fish is a common allergen. Introduce fish with plain cooked fish, such as fresh or canned salmon, and offer smoked salmon only once that has gone well.

Where US and UK guidance differ on smoked salmon

United States(AAP and CDC)Your setting

The FDA says children should avoid refrigerated smoked seafood (labeled nova-style, lox, kippered, smoked or jerky) except in a cooked recipe, such as a casserole; canned or shelf-stable smoked seafood is acceptable. The CDC says the cold-smoking process doesn't kill listeria, and cooking smoked fish does. Salmon is on the FDA/EPA 'Best choices' list for low mercury: for ages 1–3, a serving is about 1 oz, twice a week.

United Kingdom(NHS)Your setting

The NHS says babies should not have much salt, and lists smoked and cured fish among the chilled, ready-to-eat foods behind most listeria infections. It tells people at higher risk (pregnant, or with a weakened immune system) to avoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked fish such as smoked salmon unless it's cooked until steaming hot. Its baby pages don't name smoked salmon, so cooking it until steaming hot for young children is our suggestion, following that advice. The NHS suggests up to 2 portions of oily fish a week for girls and 4 for boys.

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

Questions parents ask

Can smoked salmon be a choking hazard for babies?

Smoked salmon cooked into a soft dish and cut small is a low choking risk, but bones are a hazard: the CDC lists bones in fish among choking hazards. Feel the pieces for bones and remove any skin before cooking. Never give cold smoked salmon to young children. Stay with your child during meals.

Can babies be allergic to smoked salmon?

Fish is a common allergen. Introduce it on its own first, in a small amount, and watch for signs of a reaction. Smoked salmon is still salmon, so offer it only after plain cooked fish has gone well. If your child reacts to salmon, talk to your pediatrician before offering other fish. The NHS says cooking fish doesn't make someone with a fish allergy less likely to have a bad reaction.

Is smoked salmon healthy for babies?

A source of protein, omega-3 fats (DHA and EPA), vitamin D and vitamin B12, but salty. FoodData Central lists about 18 g of protein, 17 µg of vitamin D and 672 mg of sodium (about 1.7 g of salt) per 100 g of smoked chinook salmon, above the NHS 'high salt' level of 1.5 g of salt (0.6 g of sodium) per 100 g.

Can babies eat smoked salmon?

Not before 12 months. It's salty, and the NHS says babies should not have much salt, because their kidneys are not fully developed. Cold-smoked salmon also isn't cooked. Offer fresh, frozen or canned salmon, cooked until it flakes, instead.

What's the difference between cold-smoked and hot-smoked salmon?

Cold-smoked salmon, the thin slices often sold as smoked salmon, lox or nova, isn't cooked, and the CDC says the cold-smoking process doesn't kill listeria. Hot-smoked salmon is smoked with heat, so it's firm and flaky. The FDA's advice for children names refrigerated smoked seafood and makes no exception for hot-smoked fish: avoid it unless it's cooked in a dish. So cook either kind into a hot dish until steaming hot.

Can my toddler have a bagel with smoked salmon?

Not with cold smoked salmon. The FDA says children should avoid refrigerated smoked seafood except in a cooked recipe. If you'd like your toddler to share the flavor, cook a little chopped smoked salmon into scrambled egg until steaming hot, let it cool, and serve it on soft bread cut into strips.

Is canned smoked salmon OK?

The FDA says canned or shelf-stable smoked seafood is acceptable for people at higher risk, and the CDC says shelf-stable smoked fish has been heat-treated to kill germs. It's still salty, so for a toddler, use a little now and then, cooked into a dish, and choose plain canned salmon most of the time.

If your baby refuses smoked salmon

There's no need to keep offering smoked salmon. It's an occasional extra, and fresh, frozen or canned salmon gives the same fish with much less salt.
If your toddler wants what the family is eating, cook a little into a food they already like, such as scrambled egg or pasta.
Its strong, smoky taste can take getting used to. Try a smaller amount mixed into mashed potato.
Funny faces don't mean they dislike it. They're getting used to a new taste and texture.

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

Buying and storing smoked salmon

Keep smoked salmon in the fridge and eat it by its use-by date. Once opened, use it within 2 days unless the pack says otherwise.
Cooked dishes made with smoked salmon keep 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.
Reheat leftovers 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 child 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.
Your child has a fever, diarrhea or vomiting, or is feeding less and seems irritable, after eating smoked salmon that wasn't cooked until steaming hot. The NHS lists smoked and cured fish as a cause of listeriosis, so get medical advice the same day: call your pediatrician (in the UK, ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111). If your child has a seizure, is floppy, very sleepy or hard to wake, seems suddenly confused, has a stiff neck, or has a rash that doesn't fade when you press it, call your emergency number instead.
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 smoked salmon?

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