Crispy Air Fryer Fish Recipe

Please grab your Air Fryer and make this Crispy Air Fryer Fish as soon as you can. Covered in a crispy, delicious crust, you can have guilt-free fried fish as often as you like.

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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the 
recipe card at the bottom of the post. 
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.

Summer fish fries are my favorite outings to attend. I’m talking about catfish, whiting, perch, and yummy! I had those days when I wanted that amazing fish at home, but I didn’t want to deal with frying it in oil.

I bought an air fryer on a whim during my pregnancy. Now, I can easily make delicious golden fried fish filets without all the grease. I can make them whenever I want.

Simple to prep and cook, the floured and seasoned white fish is perfectly flavorful, and the crust is addictively crispy.

Be sure to try my Easy Oven-Baked Fish too!

Ingredients for Crispy Air Fryer Fish

Fish and Oil

• Whiting fish fillets, or other suitable types of white fish, like cod, tilapia, haddock, or halibut
• Oil (for misting) – any high-heat oil will do. I use olive oil or avocado oil.

Fish Seasoning

• Old Bay seasoning
• Salt
• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper
• Very fine cornmeal
• Flour

How to make Crispy Air Fried Fish

Air Fried Fish is pretty straightforward and takes about four simple steps. The beauty of this recipe is that you don’t need any extra ingredients outside of your typical fish breading and a little bit of oil in a spray bottle. All you’ll do is:

Add fish seasoning in a sealable bag, like a Ziplock bag, and shake. Set to the side. In the alternative, you could use your favorite fish batter mix.

Rinse and pat dry your fish fillets with paper towels. They should still be damp.

Place fish fillets in a ziplock bag and shake until fillets are fully covered with seasoning.

Place fillets on a baking rack to allow any excess flour to fall off.

Grease the bottom of your air fryer basket and place the fillets in the basket. Cook filets on 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes.

Open the basket and spray the fish on the side facing up before flipping, ensuring that the fish is fully coated.

Flip and cook on the other side for 7-8 minutes. Remove fish and serve. 

What’s the best fish to use?

I use whiting fish in this recipe; however, this method will work for any other kinds of fish. If making a fried catfish version, follow my method for soaking in milk first.

Can you make this recipe with frozen fish?

I’d suggest using fresh fish fillets for this recipe or good quality frozen fillets. If using frozen, make sure that they are fully thawed before seasoning them, and pat them with a paper towel to remove excess water.

Is it healthier?

Fish is a great high protein and low-fat food, and it’s recommended that you eat two portions a week as part of a well-balanced lifestyle. Because this fried fish is cooked in the air fryer, you only need a fraction of the oil compared to traditional frying and it comes out way crispier than oven baking. It’s the best of both worlds!

What do you serve it with?

This crispy air fryer fish is perfect to serve for an easy weeknight family dinner with potato and veggie sides, and of course some hot sauce, remoulade sauce, and tartar sauce! Serve it up with some of these favorites:

• Air Fryer Potato Wedges
• Vinegar Coleslaw
• Air Fryer French Fries

Recipe Notes and Tips

• Spray your oil only halfway through cooking as this will increase crispiness.
• Do not overcrowd your air fryer basket or your fish will steam rather than fry.
• Make sure when spraying, the fish is fully covered in oil and all seasoning has been fully covered with no flour spots showing. If flour spots are showing, you will not get that good golden color.
• Eat fried fish immediately. All fried foods are better that way.
• You must have hot sauce. I mean, it’s just a must.
• Serve with lemon wedges.
  

More Air Fryer Fish Recipes

• Lobster Tails in the Air Fryer
• Marinated Air Fryer Salmon
• Air Fryer Tilapia
• Air Fryer Whole Fish

Find more Air Fryer Tips and Trick here. 

This post was updated with additional info on 5/2/2023.