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 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.
Are you gluten-free? Me too! We also have a sister site where EVERYTHING is gluten-free. It is called VegetarianMamma.
Always be sure to read ingredient labels to make sure that the product/ingredients fits your dietary restrictions!
Generally, we make simple enough recipes where you can sub the ingredients.
Common subs in our recipes include: Bread = Canyon Bakehouse Bread Crumbs = Ian's GF Bread Crumbs Flour = GF Jules All Purpose GF Flour.
Because our household is mixed between gluten and gluten-free, we have made almost everything on our site both ways. (except some of the frozen foods).
If you have any questions, please ask!
Meat Air Fryer Resources - We have a Meat/Veg Air Fryer Newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. We also have several Air Fryer Facebook Groups that you can join (see below for links).
Vegetarian Air Fryer Resources – We have a vegetarian air fryer newsletter, which you can subscribe to here. We also have a specific vegetarian air fryer recipes group on facebook.
If you are looking for vegetarian recipes beyond air fryer ones, we have a Vegetarian Newsletter as well as a Vegetarian Recipes facebook group. This newsletter and FB group offers up recipes that on the stove, in the oven, on the grill, in the instant pot and more!
Have you made this recipe? Please leave a comment AND rating below! It helps other readers!
Be sure to tag @AirFryerEats on instagram, if you share a picture on the gram!
Let's get social, you can follow me on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or join one of our Air Fryer Facebook Groups: Air Fryer Recipes, Air Fryer Recipes for Seniors and Gluten Free Air Fryer Recipes.
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Air Fryer Fish
Equipment
- Air fryer
- 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.
Video
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.
Meat Air Fryer Bundle - Click here
Vegetarian Air Fryer Bundle - Click here
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!
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!
OMG that breading on the fish looks incredible! I can't wait to try out this recipe soon!
Please come back and let me know how it turned out for you!
Such an easy weeknight recipe when everything feels hectic but you want real homemade food. Awesome.
Thanks so much Jen, glad you liked our Air Fryer Fish as a weeknight meal!
The fish looks crunchy and delicious. Bonus, Less oil! Yay!
Yes, bonus with less oil!
This fish looks so delicious and so simple to make in the air fryer! Saving for next week meal plan.
Enjoy, please come back and let us know how you liked it!
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 😉
There are always a good deal happening on amazon or khols!
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!
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!!
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.
Thank you so much! So glad that you've made it several times and used different fish!
I made this with cod and it turned out great! I liked the breading.
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!
I love that this recipe is simple enough to use with many kinds of fish! My favorite for this recipe is tilapia.
Hi Joan! I am so glad you loved our air fryer fish recipe!
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.
Hi Sarah, thank you for the compliment on the pictures, so glad you liked our air fryer fish!
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 😊
Yay for the first recipe you tried! So glad you liked it!!
I was searching for a Air fryer fish recipes today and I found yours. I made this for lunch and it was really good
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!
I used cod for this recipe and it turned out great. Thank you
Fantastic Ben, so glad you liked it and thanks for letting us know it worked with Cod!
So delicious and so easy I used cod with this recipe.
So glad you liked it, thank you for coming back and leaving a review and comment!