How about enjoying some crunch, hot and tasty fish fillets? It is very easy to enjoy relish tasty and crunchy fish fillets at home if you prepare the Air fryer frozen fish. Frozen fish fillets have been a Friday night staple at our home, and the same can be said about a lot of households. I know, you may be thinking about what has made this dish so much popular. Well, it the easy-peasy and fast cooking process and insane taste.
Yes, the thing that amazes me about this recipe is that it’s pretty straightforward and fast to cook frozen fish in an air fryer. You don’t even have to heat the oil in a pan or deep fryer. It is insanely flavorful and crunchy and goes perfectly fine with a heck of a lot of side dishes. So, it can also be your go-to meal when you are short on budget.
It will take only 2-minute preparation time and only around 15 minutes to finish cooking. So why waiting anymore? Let’s cook air fryer frozen fish fillets.
Battered fish fillets vs. Breaded fish fillets:
The fish fillets arrive in both battered and breaded. As a matter of fact, you can cook both of these types in your air fryer. So, you are at liberty to choose any of the types. But the advantage of taking battered fish fillets is that it gets much crispier and tastier in the air fryer than the breaded fish fillets. So, I usually use the breaded fish fillets.
Ingredients
- Oil (1/4 teaspoon), or
- Calorie-controlled cooking spray (1/4 teaspoon)
- Pre-packaged and breaded frozen fish fillets (2 packages)
Instructions
- At first, take out the frozen fish fillets and place them in an air fryer basket. It’s better if you can manage to place the fillets in a single layer.
- Then spray both sides of the fillets with calorie-controlled cooking spray or oil.
- Set the cooking temperature of your air fryer at 380-degree Fahrenheit (190-degree Celsius).
- Cook the fish fillets for around 4-7 minutes. Then flip over and cook for another 4-7 minutes or a little more. It will the fish thoroughly cooked and crispy.
- When the fillets are thoroughly cooked, crispy, and golden, removed them from the heat.
- Serve the air fryer frozen fish with the ingredients you prefer.
Recipe Note
- There is no way to determine how much time it will take to cook the fish fillets thoroughly. Usually, the time range varies like this:
- For small fish fillets: takes around 8 minutes.
- For medium fish fillets: takes around 10-12 minutes.
- For large fish fillets: takes around 12-14 minutes.
- There is no need to defrost the fillets. Instead, you can just go to the air fryer directly from the freezer.
- Always cook the first batch as a test run. It will give you a perfect idea about how much time and temperature you would need in the successive batches.
- Even if your air fryer is large enough to hold all the fillets at once, I recommend cooking in different batches for ideal cooking time and temperature.
- Besides, you can always start to enjoy the first batch while the successive one cooks.
Tips and tricks
Sometimes the fish fillets may seem dry after cooking. If the situation is such and you want to add more flavor and moisture, squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish fillets, and you will have what you want.
Serving options
As I mentioned earlier, this recipe goes with a heck of a lot of side dishes that we prepare in our everyday meals.
You can serve the frozen fish fillets with Captain D’s ColeSlaw, different fish fries, salad, cheese, chicken nuggets, chicken wings, or mac, or anything you have in your hand.
Interestingly this recipe can also be served as family favorite corndogs, best golden crispy fish, and, of course, the air fryer frozen fish sticks.
How to store
Make sure you don’t refreeze the fish fillets once they have been cooked already.
You can store the fish fillets for up to 2 days. Store them safely in the fridge, but you have to consume them in 2 days. Otherwise, they will lose their taste and texture.
Reheat: Another big advantage of air fryer frozen fish is: you can reheat it in the air fryer whenever you want.
- Set the air fryer temperature at 380-degree Fahrenheit (190-degree Celsius).
- Spray the fish with oil or calorie-controlled cooking spray again.
- Now, reheat the fish fillets for 2-3 minutes on each side.
- You can spray the fish fillets again while cooking so that the fish doesn’t dry out.
Nutritional Information
It is a pretty healthy dish despite its having only one major ingredient.
| Nutrient Fact (Per serving) | Value | Daily Value |
| Calories | 229 (1,007.6 kJ) | – |
| Protein | 10g | 9.6% |
| Alcohol | 0g | – |
| Carbohydrates | 25g | 32% |
| Dietary Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Total Sugars | 3g | 9% |
| Total Fat | 10g | 25.5% |
| Saturated Fat | 0.1g | 12% |
| Trans Fat | 1.2g | – |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 3g | 17.5% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 6g | 34% |
| Cholesterol | 510mg | 89% |
| Sodium | 510mg | 45% |
FAQ
Can you cook frozen fish without thawing?
Yes, you can cook frozen fish without thawing. To compensate for the thawing process, you might need a bit more time (a few extra minutes) while cooking the fish fillets. But if you want to steam, grill, broil, bake, poach or steam, you can just start the cooking process right after removing the fish fillets from the freezer.
So, skip the thawing process totally and start cooking directly after taking out the fish fillets from the freezer.
Should you rinse frozen fish before cooking?
Usually, you want to wash off the ice or frost, if there is any on the fish fillets. That’s why I recommend rinsing the frozen fish fillets before cooking. But when you wash them off, don’t forget to pat the fish fillets dry before you start cooking.
Are Frozen Fish Fillets Precooked?
Certainly not. These fish fillets are not precooked. They are mostly raw fish. So, it is very important that you cook the fish fillets thoroughly until turned golden before you serve them.
With only 2 ingredients and 15 minutes of cooking time, it is one of the best go-to meals out there.
If you are running out of budget or, you don have much time to prepare any other dish or you want or enrich your side dish menu, you have this air fryer frozen fish.
Don’t forget the share how frozen fish fillets taste in the comment box. Best of luck with your recipe!