Air Fryer Fish No Breading

Best air fryer fish recipe with no breading is here. Lightly seasoned fillets are a healthy, keto and low carb dinner. Cooked fork tender in just a few minutes. We even figured out how to cook air fryer frozen fish perfectly.

How to Cook Fish in Air Fryer

It’s not just how to cook fresh fish though, we have gone a step further than that. Why? Because I happen to be forgetful and dinner doesn’t always get defrosted in time. I shared at the top how to cook it right out of the freezer too. Yes I have those moments often and surprisingly it works great too.

If you’re forgetful like me, this tip will come in really handy when you want to make any air fryer fish recipes for dinner. You’ll want to add a bit of tartar sauce and/or squeeze of lemon at the end for moisture with this.

We are speaking about defrosted cod specifically in this post. The printable recipe card at the bottom of this post speaks to this. There isn’t a huge difference though if you chose a different variety.

Air Fryer Fish Fillets

If you live in a smaller town like we do you may need to buy frozen and thaw out on your own. On the coast the choices are limitless year round. You really don’t need much.

This time we didn’t use any breading at all. Below I will share with you how to use a light layer of bread crumbs too. These are the ingredients you will need for this version:

1. Fish fillets
2. Salt and Pepper
3. Butter
   1. could use olive oil instead, but salted butter is so much better
4. Lemon

Seasonings are really up to you. If you put garlic salt or garlic powder on everything, then by all means use that. This is just a suggestion as far as that goes.

• If you like a bit of tartar sauce you can make a bit of that to serve on the side too. It’s a must when we are making air fryer fish sticks for sure.

We are focusing on no breading fish filets here. If you wanted a crunchy layer like you get when they are frozen out of the box you could do that with an egg whisked and then pressed into crumbs. Breadcrumbs, crushed crackers or even cornflakes or cornmeal works too.

Baked Fish in Air Fryer

I guess another plus to this way of cooking seafood is if you or someone in your house is sensitive to the smell, it will stay more contained. For us, all 5 in this house are kinda’ obsessed with anything out of the sea. Whether it’s caught on a line out of the nearby river, or store bought it is always a winner for dinner.

• If you’re new and just testing out air fried foods you may just have the Instant Pot CrispLid.
• Yes you could use this to make air fried fish.
• It is a great way to start but I do recommend getting a separate unit if you start using it a lot.

Having a designated, contained air fryer basket just gets everything crispier, believe me. With that said over the years I have bought several different brands too. I wanted to ensure that AirWave, Ninja Foodi, Cosori all needed the same timing and temperature to get foods done just right.

They do. Now I can say definitively that it doesn’t matter which you choose. The biggest difference is the size and shape of the baskets. Larger will cook more pieces at the same time and I like square over circular any day of the week.

Air Fryer Cod

These pictures feature cod filets. Any white fish would be fairly similar when it comes to the 12 minute cooking time. The biggest difference is how thick they are. I suggest medium sizes, not too thick.

How Long to Cook Fish in Air Fryer

First, preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. You always want to make sure that the heat is even the whole time when it comes to getting the outsides as crunchy as possible.

1. Spray inside of air fryer basket with non stick spray. Lay fillets inside, do not overlap them. Sprinkle on salt and pepper, lay slice of butter on top with lemon slice on very top.
2. Cook for 10-13 minutes, timing will depend on how thick they are. Check at minute 10 if thinner and see if you want another minute or two more. Should be flaky with a fork.
3. Serve with air fryer french fries to serve as air fryer fish and chips. With a side of ketchup and tartar sauce, it is a quick and easy meal everyone in your household will really love.

Simple with just butter and seasoning, this is similar to our air fryer scallops recipe. Nothing on the outside, just the seafood itself so you can taste all the goodness.

Remember, your pieces will shrink. Each one is quite high in protein though so unlike a burger or pasta you won’t need a huge serving for each person. Typically 1/2 lb. uncooked weight is good per person.

Fish in Air Fryer No Breading

Remember, you’re probably going to serve this with other items on the side too. You can go comfort food style with fries, or sweet potato chips too.

Make it fun if you do by using hot dog baskets or thick paper as cones. We will share a few other side dishes below too. Mix it up and figure out which are your all time favorites.

How do you cook fish in an air fryer?

We will show you how to do just that right here!! Whether you have frozen fillets, fresh, or frozen fish sticks we have directions for them all here! In just 12 minutes you’ll have tender flaky fish in an air fryer everyone is sure to enjoy. Need quicker? Make air fryer fish nuggets!

Want to add a bit of light breading on the outside now? It is a nice change to add a bit of flavor and texture. You can use Italian breadcrumbs, or Dot’s pretzel crumble on the outside for a TON of over the top flavors.

How to Cook Seafood in Air Fryer

You can serve any of these inside an air fryer fish taco which is what we love to do. Stuffed with shredded cabbage, white sauce and avocado is the perfect meal.

Want to try some other type of seafood? I’m sure you do if you have already made and enjoyed all of these above. The next would be as crunchy as deep fried but without submerging it in oil.

That is…..”fried” air fryer oysters!

Air Fryer Fish Fillet

We shared a ton of easy air fryer fish recipes here, but you might be craving more ideas once you make this! Here are a few of the best side dishes you can serve alongside each one of these.

• Air fryer cauliflower florets are super healthy with just some olive oil and seasoning. NO breading and no need for it either I swear.
• If you haven’t made air fryer corn yet it is truly a game changer. You will never ever boil water to make this vegetable again.

Here are a few Instant Pot fish recipes you can try as well. They’re great, tender, and flavorful without any crispiness on the outside.