Grab your Air Fryer and make this Crispy Air Fryer Fish ASAP. Covered in a crispy delicious crust, you can have guilt free fried fish as often as you like. This post may contain affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.
Summer fish fries are my favorite outings to attend. You know, the ones they have when your uncle who can season the fish like a champ comes over, fries up some amazing white fish, and the whole family gets together and enjoys. I’m talking that fried fish with that amazing golden fried glow. I’m talking that catfish, whiting, perch, yummy! I have those days that I want that amazing fish at home BUT I don’t want to deal with frying in oil.
Now thanks to my air fryer, the one I bought on a whim during my pregnancy, I can make delicious golden fish filets whenever I want without all the grease, and guilt.
Now I bet a few people are reading in disbelief that I made these golden beauties in my air fryer. How is this air fryer fish so golden? How is it so crispy and flaky? It’s all about the method, which I’ll explain below in the recipe instructions as well as the step by step photos below.
How Do I Air Fry Fish?
Great Question! Air Fried Fish is pretty easy and takes about four simple steps. The beauty with 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:
Place fish in your favorite fish seasoning
Place in greased air fryer basket
Cook, spray, turn, cook some more
All done.
I like to make my own fish breading for this air fried fish recipe as I always have the ingredients and I like to season my fish some more after it’s cooked. I do the salt and pepper after it’s cooked for extra flavor. You can create your own or use the store bought kind, both would work.
Tips for Air Fried Fish
- I’d suggest using fresh fish fillets for this recipe or good quality frozen fillets. If you’re fillets are too thin, they won’t do well in this recipe as they won’t have enough time to crisp well.
- Spray your oil only halfway through cooking as this will increase crispiness.
- Do not use the over the counter misting sprays in your air fryer (For Example, Pam). For whatever chemical reason, those things can take the coating right off your air fryer basket. Your best bet is to invest in a good oil mister. I use this one
. If you really love your over the counter spray and want to use it anyway, remove the fish from the air fryer basket before spraying to make sure it doesn’t land on your basket. - 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.
- I use whiteing fish in this recipe however this method will work for any other white fish. If using catfish, follow my method for soaking in milk first, which can be found on my very first my forking life blog post, Fried Catfish..
- Eat fried fish immediatley. All fried foods are better that way.
- You must have hot sauce. I mean, it’s just a must.
. If you really love your over the counter spray and want to use it anyway, remove the fish from the air fryer basket before spraying to make sure it doesn’t land on your basket.
If you’re looking for a delicious side to thit Air Fried Fish, try these Air Fryer Potato Wedges.
I’m having so much fun with my air fryer that I’m looking forward to sharing more Air frying recipes with you all. Make sure to check out my Marinated Air Fried Salmon, Lobster Tails in the Air Fryer, Perfect Air Fryer Steak , Crispy Air Fried Coconut Shrimp, Healthier General Tso’s Chicken in the Air Fryer, Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts, Air Fryer Fried Chicken.
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 tsp old bay
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp 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 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 other side for 7 minutes. Remove fish and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Step by Step photos of Air Fryer Fish
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- Combine fish seasoning in a ziplock bag OR use your own favorite brand.
-
- Rinse fish fillets dry with paper towel. Make sure they are still damp. Place in ziplock bag and coat with fish seasoning. Shake any excess flour off.
-
- Spray bottom of air fryer basket and place filets on top. Cook at 400 for 10 minutes.
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- After 10 minutes, your fillets should look like this. Spray lighlty with olive oil, covering any flour spots and flip fish. Cook for an additional 7 minutes.
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- Remove fish when done and enjoy with tartat sauce, cocktail sauce, hot sauce, or as is.
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Find more Air Fryer Tips and Trick here.
Ernest says
July 13, 2019 at 2:33 pmI notice you do something that my mother did that I do not…when it come to whiting fish: you leave the skin on! I once bought whiting were the skin was removed and it was a whole different world of taste! Now I still buy whiting frozen, however, I place the frozen fillet in room temperature water for about 30 seconds, after which the thin skin will peel off easily without destroying the fillet. Another thing you do is shake your fish in the coating. I also did the same for years, but now I find the most perfect way for air-frying is to ‘encrust’ the fillet. I do this by taking a thawed skinless fillet and placing it in a plastic bag with my coating, then first shaking like you do. However I follow up with laying the bag with the fish still inside on the counter- making sure to have extra coating above and below the fillet. I then use my hands to apply light pressure to the fillet so that the extra coating above and below embeds itself. The fillet is now beautifully encrusted and remains perfectly so during the cooking process! This extra step takes 10-15 seconds and the end product is slamming and looks as good as it taste! I have even used finely crushed ranch nachos, or regular tortilla chips to supplement/ mix with my coating. Another real plus is that when done this way, no eggs or milk are needed to adhere the batter! Just press and fry…air-fry!
Tanya says
July 13, 2019 at 5:44 pmHi Ernest, I love your tips about the coating. I’ll give that a try next time. Oh I love the fish that has been fried with the skin on, lol. I guess because it brings back memories for me 🙂
Andrew says
July 9, 2019 at 11:11 pmCan I do this without breading? I generally grill but it sticks badly and I lose some of it to the grill, I just season it and grill, can that be done?
Tanya says
July 9, 2019 at 11:14 pmYes, you can do it without breading. It won’t be crispy, just really flavorful flaky fish 🙂
Donna says
July 5, 2019 at 3:56 pmJust for the record, I have been using over the counter oil sprays (my favorite is the olive oil and the coconut oil one is good too) for over 3 years in my air fryer with no problems or loss of my finish on the basket. Sounds like someone was wanting to sell something to you when they told you that!
Tanya says
July 7, 2019 at 7:44 amHi Donna, I’m glad to hear that your basket didn’t peel. My experience was a bit different. In my first Air Fryer, I used over the counter sprays a bit and my basket started to peel badly. I had to toss that one after a year. I’ve since purchased 4 additional brands of Air Fryers and none have peeled. I don’t use commercial sprays in those. I actually received this information about the spray bottles from multiple sources and realized that it was probably why my basket peeled. Not all over the counter sprays are bad. It depends on what the ingredients are. I also found the cost of my spray bottle cheaper in the long run as I use the same oil I cook on the stove with in that bottle.
James Wright says
May 1, 2019 at 6:29 pmWhat if catfish still have bones in? Do I need to alter recipe?
Tanya says
May 4, 2019 at 5:51 pmHi James, no, you don’t.
Donna says
April 20, 2019 at 5:52 pmGoing to try this next, I tried a recipe that you put mustard on fish before breading it never got crispy I think the mustard was to much moisture, and when I turned it all the breading stuck to the bottom even tho I greased the bottom. Hopefully your recipe works for me or I’m going to have to go back to the frying pan 🤞
pat says
April 15, 2019 at 5:16 pmMade the crispy fish for lunch and it turned out wonderful. Just as pictured. Husband said it was better then any restaurant we have eaten at. That’s saying something. Because we are on low carb, I used ground flaxseed for the cornmeal and almond flour for the flour and the taste was just like a regular fish fry. Super recipe.
Connie says
August 5, 2019 at 7:02 pmI’ve made this twice now. The first time I tried spraying the fish with canned spray and it wasn’t very crispy, but the coating still had such good flavor that I tried again after purchasing an oil mister. What a difference! They were beautiful. I really love your coating mix, it is just right, light and a good compliment to the mild fish.
Robert says
March 19, 2019 at 8:49 amHi,
What would have change in the recipe for air frying Smelt. Or can’t it be air fried this way.
Thanks,
Robert
Tanya says
March 19, 2019 at 9:58 pmHi Robert, I’ve never tried Air Frying Smelt but now you’ve got me thinking, lol. I’d probably decrease the cook time a bit since it’s a smaller fish.
Shirley says
February 17, 2019 at 8:49 pmLove the breading. Light but crusty and flavorful. I recommend this.
China says
May 8, 2019 at 6:18 pmCame out perfect thank you!
Ronald Bryant says
February 9, 2019 at 4:50 pmI love your recipes but I have one question to you or anyone out there. I am nervous about frying fish in my air fryer. I am afraid that it will leave a fishy smell in my air fryer. Can someone please tell me if this is true or not? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Tanya says
February 9, 2019 at 5:00 pmHi Ronald, Thanks so much for the comment. As far as the smell, my Air Fryer doesn’t smell like fish after air frying in it. It’s another advantage of using the Air Fryer for frying fish.
Scott F says
February 10, 2019 at 8:58 amI have done Cod and shrimp. First off, I am pleased to tell you the house did NOT smell like a fish processing plant.
When you get done eating the fish, the sooner you clean the air fryer with a soap sponge the better…. My next air fryer food did NOT smell or taste like fish…:
CYNTHIA E FABELA says
June 5, 2019 at 6:47 pmOnce you clean the air filter on top (Air fryer Elite) the smell goes away. Make fish sticks all the time and throw the tray racks and filter into the dishwasher and they always come clean with no smell.
Barbie says
February 4, 2019 at 6:34 pmI’m going to try this tonight I hope it works.i never made that before..it looks good.