Let me show you how to cook frozen fish 3 ways! Cooked to tender without defrosting in an air fryer, in the oven, or Instant Pot is possible and very delicious. Start with baking frozen fish into flaky fillets for a healthy dinner and go from there!
We are always cooking frozen fish at home, because I am forgetful. I don’t always remember to defrost and thaw our cod, tilapia, catfish, salmon, shrimp or scallops the night before. NO worries, we will explain cooking frozen meat to tender right here.
Of course there are a ton of varieties out there. I’ll focus on the “regular” fillets that most of us buy at the store here. For the most part all white fish up to 12″ in length will cook at the same rate no matter what method you use. Larger varieties like salmon and tuna would need to be cut into smaller pieces.
For those I prefer for them to be in 3″ wide fillets like we did with our air fryer frozen salmon. If it were already frozen whole you will be limited to baking it in the oven. Cook time will be longer than posted below in our printable recipe card, we will discuss this more in depth down below.
We will show you how to cook frozen tilapia (and other varieties) without all this extra work though, just straight out of your freezer from solid to tender in no time.
If you do this then you can follow any sort of easy fish recipes you might find online (or on my site here). This is the only way to add breading which we love, if hard it won’t stick. This is how to cook walleye that way with a bit of whisked egg.
How to Cook Frozen Fish
Ok so I will separate this into air fryer fish recipes and Instant Pot fish recipes. Like I said, as long as your pieces are no longer than 8″ x 4″ wide the cook time would be almost the same. Whether you had white fish or pink salmon the biggest difference in cook time beyond that would be the thickness.
Instant Pot Frozen Fish Recipes
Instant Pot frozen salmon turns out so perfectly moist with high pressure and steam. You can use the same timing for Instant Pot fish whether it would be fresh or rock hard, same goes for our Instant Pot crab legs really, just a difference of 2 min. We share here how to cook frozen scallops and how to cook frozen shrimp this way too.
Frozen Fish in Air Fryer
Air fryer frozen shrimp is great and only takes a few minutes. We just shared how to make air fryer frozen tilapia this week. You can use the instructions and timing for air fryer frozen fish to cook air fryer frozen cod, mahi mahi, catfish or any other type of white fish.
We have even shared how to grill frozen fish here, which is kinda’ crazy but so good.
How to Bake Frozen Fish
You always want to start this by preheating oven to the right temperature. You want to add food when it is hot or it will defrost during that time and the texture will not be ideal.
Since all fillets are rather delicate you want to line baking sheet with parchment paper or some non stick aluminum foil works too.
Place 3-4 slices of fresh lemons under each frozen, previously fresh fish to add flavor. Drizzle or brush with some melted butter (or olive oil) with a sprinkle of chili pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and parsley on top too.
Cook fillets for approximately 20-23 minutes. (smaller pieces may be closer to 15 minutes, check often)
Can you cook a whole fish from frozen?
Yes but I don’t think it turns out very well. By the time the middle is flaky the outside layers are overcooked and dried out. You can decide for yourself with a medium sized piece preheated at 425 F. for about 30 minutes and then take the temp in the thickest part reaches a safe 145 degrees F.
Tips and Tricks
If you want a bit of crisp at the end, pat the fish dry with a paper towel and spray top with olive oil. Set inside an air fryer on top of parchment at 380 F for just a few minutes and then serve.
If you are cooking breaded fillets out of the box similar to what you see with our oven fried fish make sure that they are in a single layer and not overlapping. Unfortunately you cannot bread frozen fillets as the coating won’t stick with the ice crystals.
Left hard like you see here below you’ll want a few slices of fresh lemons to add some flavor and seasonings of your choice. Simple Lawry’s seasoned salt and pepper is just great.
How to Cook Frozen Fish Recipe
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Place 3 slices of fresh lemon under each frozen fillet on sheet.
- Top the fillets with melted butter and then sprinkle with chili pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and parsley. Bake approx. 20-23 minutes or until fillets are cooked thorough to the center and fork tender.
- Timing will vary depending on how thick yours are and what type of fish you're baking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
FAQ
1. If it is in a vacuum sealed bag, bonus, keep it in that. If not then you’ll want to transfer it into a freezer Ziploc bag, remove air inside and seal shut.
2. Fill a large bowl in your sink with cold water.
3. Submerge your bag and let it sit there for a good 20 minutes, then rotate to the other side in the bowl and continue doing this until it has defrosted fully.
4. Lift out of cold water to remove it from the bag, pat dry with paper towels and follow your directions on how to bake it.
Technically you can keep it frozen and cook forever, but it won’t taste that good after a while. Ideally it should be cooked within 3 months of being frozen, if done properly. You do NOT want air to be trapped inside the bag where this is stored so it is important to use a vacuum seal bag or freezer bag.
