Our air fryer fish is coated with seasoned breadcrumbs with chili powder and garlic salt, and it looks as good as traditionally fried fish filets with less fat and more flavor! Done in 30 minutes!

breaded fish with green beans on a white plate

What You’ll Need

  • Fish filets: This will work with any white fish, such as cod or catfish, but I prefer tilapia because it’s easy to add flavor and easy to find!
  • Spray oil: I prefer avocado oil
  • Chili powder: For a bit of kick!
  • Garlic salt
  • Pepper
  • Breadcrumbs: Easy to make if you don’t have any on hand.

How to Make It

steps to make air fryer fish
  1. Dry the fish filets with a paper towel.
  2. Spray the filets with a spritz of oil before seasoning and set aside.
  3. Mix seasonings in a small bowl.
  4. Add breadcrumbs and seasonings to a ziplock bag.
  5. Put one filet into a ziplock bag at a time and gently press the breadcrumb mixture into the fish. Repeat for each filet.
  6. Cook filets at 400°F or 200°C for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway. Serve and enjoy!
cooked air fryer fish in a black air fryer basket

More Air Fryer Recipes

If you are having trouble figuring out which one to try next, we suggest: Air Fryer Carrots, Air Fryer Steak, Mexican Corn on the Cob in the Air Fryer, Air Fryer Pork Chops and Air Fryer Broccoli

steps to make air fryer fish
Can you cook raw fish in an air fryer?

Absolutely! The most important step is to leave space between your filets because air fryers work by circulating hot air to cook quickly and evenly.

Can I cook frozen fish in the air fryer?

Yep! They just need to be thawed first.

How do you thaw frozen fish?

Overnight in the fridge…or if you forgot to thaw your filets overnight, place them in a ziplock bag before submerging them in a cold water bath in a bowl or plugged sink.

Change the water every half an hour to keep the fish thawing but safe and cold.

Can you thaw frozen fish in the microwave?

I don’t recommend thawing fish in a microwave because the sporadic heat can either partially cook thinner sections of the fish or cause the fish to be rubbery.

breaded fish with green beans on a white plate
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5 from 16 votes

Air Fryer Fish

This 30-minute tilapia recipe is perfect for your weeknight rotation.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time22 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 109kcal
Ken

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 4 Tilapia filets
  • Spray oil
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • ½ tsp garlic salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs

Instructions

  • Spray the fish filets lightly oil and set them aside.
  • Combine the spices in small bowl.
  • Put the breadcrumbs in a ziplock bag. Add spices to the bag and shake well to combine.
  • Place fish filet into bag and gently press the breadcrumb mixture into the fish. Make sure all sides are coated. Repeat for each filet.
  • Cook filets for 10-12 minutes at 400°F or 200°C in the air fryer basket. Flip filets halfway through cooking.
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Notes

Line your basket with parchment paper or aluminum foil for easier cleanup!
Gluten Free? We used Ian’s GF Bread Crumbs in this recipe. You can find that product on Amazon and other grocers.
Pro Tip: This recipe can be made in the air fryer unit with a basket or the air fryer oven. If you are using the air fryer oven, use the middle rack and select the “Air Fry” function.

Nutrition

Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 497mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 148IU | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg
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Air Fryers can vary greatly. Please take the time to learn your specific air fryer. You may need to adjust times and temperatures based upon your air fryer. All though this website attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, the information should only be considered an estimate. Varying factors such as different product types, different brands, etc. can change nutritional information. It is your responsibility as a consumer to read all labels to make sure the ingredients fit your dietary needs as well as calculate your own nutritional information as a double check.

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30 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I’ve been looking for an air fryer fish recipe. We got some fish fillets and Adli and wanted to cook them in our air fryer. This made the fish so delicious. Thanks for an easy to follow recipe!

    1. Hi Karen, thanks for coming back and leaving a comment after you tried the air fryer fish recipe!! So glad you loved it and we love Aldi too!

  2. 5 stars
    This fish looks so delicious and so simple to make in the air fryer! Saving for next week meal plan.

  3. 5 stars
    Made this last night. We used catfish . Was skeptical because my husband has always fried our fish. We both loved it. Definitely will do again. Next time i will cut the chili powder in half. Just a little spicy , but loved the texture and crispness!

    1. Hi Dawn! Catfish is a GREAT choice! Thank you for coming back and letting us know that air fryer fish recipe works well for catfish! So glad the texture and crispness was on point! Yes, play with the amount of chili powder so it fits your taste buds! Enjoy!!

  4. 5 stars
    This is a great all around recipe for air fryer fish. I used it several times. The latest time I made it using cod. So easy but yet so good.

  5. 5 stars
    I love that this recipe is simple enough to use with many kinds of fish! My favorite for this recipe is tilapia.

  6. 5 stars
    It was your beautiful pictures that drew me in. Thanks for showing me how to do this. I really liked it. I am so glad I tried it.

  7. 5 stars
    This was my first ever air fryer recipe and it was awesome! I usually over-over-over cook fish but this was juicy but still flaky, if that makes sense. The only thing I did was add a bit of cayenne because I like a little spice. Thank you so much for the great recipe 😊

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