Air Fryer Fish is a crunchy and juicy main dish that will make you forget deep frying! This 30-minute tilapia recipe is perfect for your weeknight rotation.
Air Fryer Fish Recipe
Fish fry season is upon us, but I like to skip the deep frying for this flaky Air Fryer Fish recipe.
This can 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!
Our air fryer tilapia 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!
This recipe takes less than half an hour and will wow your friends and family.
In need of more seafood recipes?
Try our Air Fryer Salmon for more fish recipes and our Air Fryer Shrimp for a delicious surf and turf dinner!
How to make Air Fryer Fish
This tilapia in the air fryer is as fast as it is delicious!
- Dry fish filets with paper towel.
- Spray filets with a spritz of oil before seasoning and set aside.
- Mix seasonings in a small bowl.
- Add breadcrumbs and seasonings to ziplock bag.
- Put one filet into ziplock bag at a time and gently press breadcrumb mixture into the fish. Repeat for each filet.
- Cook filets at 400°F or 200°C for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway. Serve and enjoy!
Can you cook raw fish in an air fryer?
Absolutely! There isn't much you can't make in an air fryer!
The most important step is to leave space between your filets because air fryers work by circulating hot air to cook quickly and evenly.
Parchment paper or aluminum foil can always be a barrier between the basket and the fish for faster cleanup.
Can I cook frozen fish in the air fryer?
Previously frozen fish that has been thawed will absolutely work here, but the breadcrumb mixture won't stick to the frozen filets.
Luckily fish can be thawed in a jiffy!
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.
Be sure to change the water every half an hour to keep the fish thawing but safe and cold.
We don't recommend thawing fish in a microwave because the sporadic heat can both partially cook thinner sections of the fish or cause the fish to be rubbery.
More Yummy Air Fryer Recipes
We have so many air fryer recipes to choose from!
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
Pro Tips
- Use Any Air Fryer: This recipe can be made in an air fryer unit with a basket or an air fryer oven. If you're using an air fryer oven, place your food on the middle rack and select the "air fry" function.
- Check your food as it cooks! Since each air fryer runs differently, sometimes air frying is a trial and error process. When cooking a new recipe, be sure to check on your food often. This will help you avoid over or undercooking, and help you learn your air fryer's specific ways!
Have you made this recipe? Please leave a comment AND rating below! It helps other readers!
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Air Fryer Fish
Equipment
- Small bowl
- Ziplock bag
Ingredients
- 4 Tilapia filets
- Spray oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Spray fish filets with a little bit of oil and set aside.
- Combine spices in small bowl.
- Put breadcrumbs in ziplock bag. Add spices to bag and shake well to combine.
- One at a time, place fish filet into bag and gently press 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 air fryer basket. Flip filets halfway through cooking.
Notes
Nutrition
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.
Karen C
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!
Cindy
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!
Kathryn
OMG that breading on the fish looks incredible! I can't wait to try out this recipe soon!
Cindy
Please come back and let me know how it turned out for you!
Jen
Such an easy weeknight recipe when everything feels hectic but you want real homemade food. Awesome.
Cindy
Thanks so much Jen, glad you liked our Air Fryer Fish as a weeknight meal!
Andrea Metlika
The fish looks crunchy and delicious. Bonus, Less oil! Yay!
Cindy
Yes, bonus with less oil!
Biana
This fish looks so delicious and so simple to make in the air fryer! Saving for next week meal plan.
Cindy
Enjoy, please come back and let us know how you liked it!
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
All these recipes are making me want to buy an air fryer!! This looks so good, I will keep my eye out for a sale on air fryers 😉
Cindy
There are always a good deal happening on amazon or khols!
Dawn VanDell
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!
Cindy
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!!
Pierre
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.
Cindy
Thank you so much! So glad that you've made it several times and used different fish!
Cheryl
I made this with cod and it turned out great! I liked the breading.
Cindy
Thanks for coming back and letting us know it turned out well and that you used cod! So glad you liked this air fryer fish!
Joan
I love that this recipe is simple enough to use with many kinds of fish! My favorite for this recipe is tilapia.
Cindy
Hi Joan! I am so glad you loved our air fryer fish recipe!
SarahP
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.
Cindy
Hi Sarah, thank you for the compliment on the pictures, so glad you liked our air fryer fish!
Kristyn
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 😊
Cindy
Yay for the first recipe you tried! So glad you liked it!!
Josh
I was searching for a Air fryer fish recipes today and I found yours. I made this for lunch and it was really good
Cindy
Hello josh and welcome to the page! So glad you found the recipe, made it and liked it! Thanks even more for coming back and letting me know!
Ben
I used cod for this recipe and it turned out great. Thank you
Cindy
Fantastic Ben, so glad you liked it and thanks for letting us know it worked with Cod!
Gerald
So delicious and so easy I used cod with this recipe.
Cindy
So glad you liked it, thank you for coming back and leaving a review and comment!