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:
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
Air Fryer Fish
Ingredients
- 4-6 Whiting Fish fillets cut in half
- Oil to mist
Fish Seasoning
- ¾ cup very fine cornmeal
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 teaspoon old bay
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- OR
- Your favorite fish seasoning
Instructions
- Combine ingredients for fish seasoning in a Ziplock bag and shake. Set to the side. In the alternative, you could use your favorite fish seasoning.
- Rinse and pat dry your fish fillets with paper towels. They should still be damp.
- Place fish fillets in 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 basket and spray the fish on the side that is 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.
Video
Notes
Non-Aerosil Oil Sprayer Bottle
Silicone Kitchen Tongs
- 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.
Nutrition
Find more Air Fryer Tips and Trick here.
This post was updated with additional info on 5/2/2023.
Paul says
I have a Cuisinart toaster-oven style air fryer. Breaded or not, whole or filleted, fish always comes out consistently amazing. Totally hooked on this for fish, and of course for other uses as well.
I've never had better fish than when air-fried. Easy too.
Tanya says
I agree! Air fried fish is pretty amazing.
Jude says
Fabulous! I found you quite by accident wondering if I could use my Ninja Foodi air fryer for fish. Usually when I fry fish I use equal parts cornmeal and flour. This was 3/4 cornmeal to 1/4 flour and it was PERFECT. Loved it. You have a new best friend.
Thanks, Tanya.
Tanya says
Thanks Jude, so happy you liked the recipe.
Jim Yarrow says
Tried this for the first time with Catfish. It worked perfectly. I used my temp gauge to determine when it was done. The texture, flavor, and everything were as good as any fried fish I have ever bought from a restaurant. This will be a definite regular for the future for our family.
Tanya says
So happy you liked it Jim 🙂
Scott robnett says
What about an air fryer oven length of time ?
Tanya says
Hi Scott, that would depend on the brand but I found that most air fryer ovens just need a few minutes more than the basket time.
Jim says
Turned out dry and tough. Maybe whiting fillets too small, but all I could get - frozen from supermarket. Cut back cooking times but still that poor result
Ernest says
@Jim,
Do your fish like I just wrote about and you will be an air fryer Master Chef!
Audrey Wilcox says
Your fish looks so good. My fish don't don't turn out like yours. I am doing something wrong. But what?
Ernest says
@Audrey Wilcox,
Do your fish like I just wrote about and you will be an air fryer Master Chef!
Matt says
The cooking times and temperature is spot on. But for the spice and breading I just put cornmeal with some garlic and onion powder mixed in a bag. Salted the fish prior to breading.
Kathy says
Matt, I used everything low sodium. Even low salt creole seasoning. Anything low sodium is the only way to go! I hate to salty anything!
Joyce says
Cooked some flounder this evening and my husband loved it and so did I. Thank you so much, I will use this again, again, again.....
Tanya says
Thanks Joyce! So glad you liked it.
Double T says
You are my “go to” recipe for fried fish! It turned out delicious! Thanks
Sandy says
I tried your recipe but used a different coating of ritz cracker seasoning and used an oil mister. Turned out wonderful, used haddock!
Thanks for the tips and recipe!
Linda Guhe says
Tonya. First of all I love your cookbook. But to my point of writing this comment, my husband and I love to catch and eat fresh lake fish. I have not made this recipe yet, but I am rating it based on your other recipes I have made. I'll let you know how this air fried fish recipe turns out in a couple of days! Linda Guhe
Dorothy Brown says
@Linda Guhe, you used fresh fish? How did it turn out?
Garrett P. says
I'm new to the whole air fryer concept. I purchased a pre-owned and wasn't getting the results I wanted and had start to blame it on the air fryer. It was actually the air fryer-fryer(that would be me) that had the problem. LOL I didn't know to spray down the food after the batter. I Thanks to this post, I am having nice crispy perch and parmesan zucchini dinner tonight.
Kia says
I used your recipe and it turned out delicious. My family loved it. I tweaked it a little because I sprayed both sides with oil and shortened the time because my pieces were a little smaller. A couple of sprays of oil instead of two inches is a much healthier way to have fried food. Guilt free indulgence.
Joe says
We love It!
Tanya says
Thank you 🙂
Leonard K says
Hi Tanya
Been looking for someone who has optimized a crispy air fryer fish COMPLETELY OIL FREE. See yours and so many others do this but still spray oil on the fish. Would be lots healthier if you did not. Air fried fish was the litmus test when I got my Innsky 10.6qt, wash fish, coat in Louisianna Cajun spicy dry batter and cook in air fryer. Was looking for a beer batter for air fryer without ANY oil. Wonder if one of you creative cooks could figure this out?
Looks good tho.
Tanya says
Hi Leonard, I tried it without the oil and it just didn't get as nice and golden. It wasn't bad, it just didn't have the shine I'm used too. Beer batter may be different. My guess is that you would need to coat the fish, then freeze it, and then fried. However, I don't think those results would be the same as deep fried.