How Long To Cook Fried Fish In Air Fryer

These golden fish fillets are cooked in the air fryer until crispy and delicious. Covered in a tasty crust, the fish remains soft and velvety from the inside. Ready in just 20 minutes! Serve air fryer fish with homemade tartar sauce, and lemon wedges.

Crispy Air Fryer Fish Fillets on a gray plate

You guys LOVED my air fryer chicken breast recipe that I shared with you on the blog, so I thought that it would be a good idea to also share my air fryer fish recipe. The fish turns out crispy, moist and absolutely delicious! I'm sure that you will love it as much as I do.

Air Fryer Fish Recipe

Ever since I got my air fryer, I've been obsessed with it! It's just so easy to use, and I love the fact that I can still cook my favorite food in it without all the grease. Every time my husband wants to bake, roast, or fry something, he just throws it in the air fryer instead (I'm not kidding!).

This is a wonderful way to cook fried style fish with very little oil, which makes it an easy and guilt-free meal that you can enjoy at any day of the week.

We make this air fryer fish recipe quite often to serve for dinner, as this is a healthier version of traditional fish and chips that we all! Of course, this doesn't mean that I never deep fry fish because I just love it so much, so if you're after a traditional crunchy and light beer battered fish recipe then I also have the recipe for you!

So back to the Air Fryer fish recipe, I've seen many recipes on the internet where you need to spray oil over the breading before you air fry the fish. I found that this method causes the breading to fall off, and as I find cooking sprays not so healthy and avoid them when I can, I came up with a healthier version that tastes great, ensures that your breading stays on, and turns out super crunchy and delicious!

A white plate with 6 pieces of crispy air fried fish, lemon wedges, and tartar sauce

What Kind of Fish Can Be Cooked in the Air Fryer?

This air fryer fish recipe works with any kind of fish fillets! Use cod, tilapia, catfish, pollock, hake, haddock, or even salmon.

Thawing Fish

The best way to thaw fish is by leaving it in the fridge overnight. Or, if the piece is not too big, you could just leave it on the counter for an hour submerged in ice-cold water until it's thawed.

An Air Fryer. This is my favorite air fryer, I got it after I shared this recipe that's why you see a different one in the pictures of this post.
Stainless steel locking tongs
I love these stainless steel measuring cups and use them every time I cook, as well as those measuring spoons.
These are the mixing bowls that you see in all of my pictures, they're honestly the best!
This air fryer magnetic cheat sheet is very handy, it contains cooking time and temperature to cook 66 most common ingredients which I find very useful for air fryer recipes.
I also really like these air fryer parchment liners, they're not just for steaming and you can use them for cooking things like fries or chicken without worrying that the food will stick to the basket. They're also quite cheap and there are 100 pcs in a package.
And for a full set of air fryer accessories, I recommend this set.

How to Air Fry Fish

I normally use fresh fish fillets to make this. But you could also use high-quality frozen fish fillets, just make sure that they're completely defrosted/thawed before you bread and air fry them.

You will need oil to coat the fish fillets before coating in the breading. I usually go for olive oil (love the flavor!), canola, or vegetable oil.

For the breading, use either homemade or store-bought dried bread crumbs. Mix with any spices that you like, onion and garlic powders, black pepper, salt etc

The seasoned dried breadcumbs in a shallow dish

Coat each fish fillet in the seasoning breadcrumbs, and remove any excess breading before you cook in the air fryer.

Cook in the air fryer at 200°C (390°F) for 12-15 minutes, flipping halfway through at 8-10 minutes.

Serve hot with tartar sauce and lemon wedges.

3 pieces of fish that are breaded and air fried, in the air fryer basket.

Top Tips

You could use either fresh fish fillets or frozen fish fillets that are completely thawed. The fillets should not be too thin as thin strips won't work in this recipe. For smaller pieces of fish, try this Air Fryer fish sticks recipe.
Make sure that your air fryer basket is not overcrowded as that will prevent the fish from crisping.
You might need to adjust the cooking times depending on the kind and the thickness of the fish that you're using and the model of your air fryer. Fish is ready when it's easily flaked with a fork.

What to Serve It With

Air fryer asparagus and mushrooms
The best ever oven-baked fries
Cheesy mashed potato cakes
And of course, tartar sauce, and maybe some hot sauce.

For more tasty Air Fryer recipes, check out my air fryer chicken wings recipe, air fryer chicken drumsticks, air fryer salmon, and air fryer hamburgers. Or visit my Air Fryer recipe collection!

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Easy air fryer fish that is crispy and golden from the outside, soft and moist from the inside. Cooked in just 15 minutes!

8 servings

Easy air fryer fish that is crispy and golden from the outside, soft and moist from the inside. Cooked in just 15 minutes!

▢ 8 (28oz, 800g) fish fillets
▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
▢ 1 cup (50g) dry bread crumbs If following a gluten-free diet, use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
▢ ½ teaspoon paprika
▢ ¼ teaspoon chili powder
▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder or granules
▢ ¼ teaspoon onion powder
▢ ½ teaspoon salt

If using frozen fish fillets, defrost them. Drizzle with olive oil, and make sure that the fish is well coated with oil.
In a shallow dish, mix the bread crumbs with paprika, chili powder, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and salt.
Coat each fish fillet in bread crumbs, and transfer to your air fryer basket.
Cook in the air fryer at 390°F (200°C) for 12-15 minutes. After the first 8-10 minutes, open the air fryer and flip the fish fillets on the other side then continue cooking.

You could use either fresh fish fillets or frozen fish fillets that are completely thawed. The fillets should not be too thin as thin strips won't work in this recipe. For smaller pieces of fish, try this Air Fryer fish sticks recipe.
Make sure that your air fryer basket is not overcrowded as that will prevent the fish from crisping.
You might need to adjust the cooking times depending on the kind and the thickness of the fish that you're using and the model of your air fryer. Fish is ready when it's easily flaked with a fork.

Calories: 153 kcal , Carbohydrates: 11 g , Protein: 21 g , Fat: 3 g , Cholesterol: 50 mg , Sodium: 269 mg , Potassium: 302 mg , Fiber: 1 g , Vitamin A: 70 IU , Vitamin C: 2.7 mg , Calcium: 10 mg , Iron: 1.5 mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.