How long to cook frozen cod in air fryer so it’s fork tender. With no breading it’s a low carb fish recipe in Ninja Foodi or other brand. Cooking frozen fish to tender has never been easier!
If you never thought air fryer frozen cod, you have another thing coming. I am going to blow your mind. Not only can you make this white fish perfectly flaky when done but anything out of the sea works the same way. A healthy air fryer recipe you’re going to love. (affiliate links present)
Ninja Foodi Frozen Cod
We have showed you how to cook frozen tilapia all different kinds of ways, now it’s time for a few other white fish recipes. Focusing on this one in particular, once you have the hang of this the others are basically the same. As you can see there are no breadcrumbs or Panko used.
There are two reasons why. For one it cuts down on the calories, but more importantly it won’t stick if it is straight out of the freezer. You can add a bit about halfway thru the cook time just for a little crisp if you’d like. Use whatever hot air machine you have. AirWave, Foodi, or makes a great Cosori recipe.
If you love air fryer recipes too, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite Air Fryer is a Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more easy air fryer recipes here, we have Ninja Foodi recipes as well; bookmark them both!
- This is the best air fryer cookbook. It’s important to know and remember how to preheat air fryer for best results.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
- It has temp. and times for making the best frozen foods for air fryer too.
- Then join our Facebook page below where you can share and find more ideas you’ll love.
How to Cook Frozen Cod
This is a great choice because not only can you thaw it and cook it, but you can crisp the outside all in the same pan (or basket in this case). If you want it as tender as possible then you could cut down the timing by a minute or two. Once it flakes apart with just a touch of the fork it is done.
If you have time to submerge in cool water for an hour or so to defrost, that is ideal but you can cook fish from frozen quite easily. Just follow our directions here and you can go from rock hard to tender in under 20 minutes this way.
Once your white fish is defrosted you can pan fry it, bake in the oven until flaky or air fry it using the directions below. Frozen takes about 14 minutes vs. thawed fish in air fryer is closer to 6 min.
When it comes to where to buy this, you’ll find bags in the freezer section of your grocery store year round. That is what is great about cooking frozen meat to tender. Especially if you live in a non ocean touching state (like Idaho) you don’t always have access to great fresh seafood.
Frozen Cod Fillets in Air Fryer
If you are a forgetful Nelly, like me often times, you can literally go from in the bag to cooked in about twenty minutes flat friends. You may have your own favorite seasonings to use but here is what was used this go around and turns out nicely.
- Cod fillets, not thawed
- Salt and pepper
- Makes a great Old Bay recipe
- Fresh sliced wedges of lemon
- Olive oil spray
Serve cooked cod as is or with some white sauce for fish brushed on the top. My kids always seem to need some sort of sauce on everything so this usually goes over well with them.
How to Cook Frozen Cod in Air Fryer
We do have a printable recipe card for air fried fish at the very bottom but here is a quick step by step so you can get a quick peek.
- Spray your air fryer basket with olive oil spray so nothing sticks. Put frozen cod fish filets inside in a single layer so they aren’t overlapping.
- Cook at 320 F for 4 minutes. Then salt the fish fillets and sprinkle with spices of your choosing so it will stick now.
- Adjust heat and air fry at 360 F for another 5 minutes. Spray the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with lemon juice. Cook for 5 more minutes.
- At this point the cod will be almost done, but it may still be raw on the bottom, especially if the piece is thick. Flip and bake for another 2-3 minutes until done to your liking.
Total cook time is about 15 minutes keeping in mind that to get it to flake easily it may vary depending on how thick each piece is. If you air fry frozen foods it isn’t as necessary to preheat at the beginning either. Reason being is without that it gives your food time to defrost slowly at the start of things.
Air Fryer Cod No Breading
Want to try this on a baking sheet in your oven too?? I mean okay you can try that too if you would like. Refer to our how long to bake mahi mahi post for directions on how this is done at 350 degrees F. We have done this a third way as well, in our pressure cooker.
If you want to try our Instant Pot fish instructions you can do that too. Believe it or not the timing doesn’t really change much when under high pressure. You won’t get any crisp using that method but boy I will tell you that it sure turns out so very flaky that way.
Can You Refreeze Frozen Fish Once Cooked
You can but I wouldn’t recommend it. The texture changes once heated, reheated, frozen and cooked again and not in a great way. It is better to just store in a sealed container and reheated the next day or two in the microwave to enjoy again.
If you absolutely must freeze again, make sure you wrap in foil once at room temperature, and then slide into a freezer bag. Don’t again cook from frozen, instead allow to thaw in the fridge overnight and warm again for about 45 seconds in the microwave or a few minutes in a pan with a pat of butter on top.
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Frozen Cod in Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3-4 pcs cod frozen
- 3-4 pinches salt and pepper
- 1/4 tsp Old Bay
- 3-4 wedges lemon
- olive oil spray
Instructions
- Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray. Put frozen cod inside. Cook at 320 F for 4 minutes. Then salt the fish and sprinkle with spices.
- Bake at 360 F for another 5 minutes. Spray the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with lemon juice. Cook for 5 more minutes.
- After 5 minutes, the cod will be almost done, but it may still be raw on the bottom, especially if the piece is thick. Flip and bake for another 2-3 minutes until done to your liking.