Making frozen fish fillets in your air fryer is the best way to make them! Quicker than in the oven, ready in 15 minutes, and crispier too! Flaky and golden fish fillets cooked to perfection in the air fryer.
These golden fish fillets are cooked in the air fryer until crispy and flaky in under 20 minutes! The battered fish crisps up while the inside is delicate and soft. The best way to make frozen fish fillets by far!
Serve your fish fillets with some quick vegetable sides like my Air Fryer French Fries, my Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges, or Frozen Sweet Potato Fries in the Air Fryer.
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🐟 Ingredients
All you need for this recipe is your preferred brand of frozen fish fillets, your favorite sauces, and sides to serve.
Serve your fish fillets with some easy air fryer vegetable sides like my French Fries or my recipe for Sweet Potato Wedges. These Frozen Sweet Potato Fries made in the air fryer also would be great to serve with the fish.
To make frozen fish fillets in the air fryer, you'll need:
- Frozen fish fillets - you can use any brand that you prefer for this recipe. Unbreaded and breaded fillets both work for this recipe. Use as many fillets as will comfortably fit into your air fryer basket without overcrowding.
- A fish spatula or tongs - the fish fillets will be hot and fragile after cooking so use a fish spatula or tongs to gently handle the fish.
- No oil is needed for this recipe! You are welcome to spray a light coating of vegetable oil onto the fillets to make them extra crispy but this is completely optional.
See the recipe card for precise quantities and instructions on cooking.
📖 Instructions
Place the frozen fish fillets (no need to thaw them) into the air fryer basket in a single layer. You do not need to preheat your air fryer.
Air fry the frozen fish fillets at 380 °F (190 °C) for 12 minutes.
Flip the fish fillets gently with a fish spatula or tongs and air fry for another 4 - 6 minutes until golden, crispy and cooked through.
Remove from the air fryer and serve with tartar sauce and French fries or your preferred sauces and side dishes.
Hint: Depending on the brand of fish fillets used, you might have to adjust the cooking time. Thicker, breaded frozen fish fillets will need a couple more minutes to cook fully. Un-breaded and thinner fish fillets might need to be cooked less to prevent burning.
❓ FAQ
16 to 18 minutes is all the time you need to perfectly cook frozen fish fillets in the air fryer. Flip the fish halfway through cooking for even cooking and crisping.
380 °F (190 °C) is the temperature for air frying frozen fish fillets. Air fry them at this temperature for 16 to 18 minutes for flaky, crispy fish fillets!
Yes, you can cook frozen fish in the air fryer without thawing it. You'll get the best results for this recipe if cooking the fish fillets frozen.
No, this recipe doesn't call for preheating your air fryer for the frozen fish. I would preheat my air fryer if I wanted the fish fillets more crispy or if I was air frying fresh, unfrozen fish to crisp up the skin on the bottom.
Air fryers are great for making all types of fish recipes! You can air fry all types of fresh and frozen fish in the air fryer, including shrimp, cod and tilapia.
🍶 Substitutions
Here are some substitution and serving suggestions based on what you have on hand!
- Brands of Frozen Fish Fillets - You can use any brand of frozen fish fillets that you prefer for this recipe as they are all similar. If the fish fillet is thicker or covered with a thicker layer of batter and breading, increase the air frying time by a couple of minutes.
- Breaded or unbreaded fish fillets - Unbreaded fish fillets cook for a couple of minutes less than breaded fillets. Handle unbreaded fish fillets very gently as they are more fragile without the batter and breading.
- Serving suggestions - You can't go wrong serving fish fillets with French fries and tartar sauce, the classic fish and chips. You can also serve them with grilled or steamed vegetables for a healthier meal.
If you want to make your own breaded fish fillets from scratch and cook them in the air fryer, check out this amazing recipe from littlesunnykitchen.com!
⏲ Equipment
Air Fryer: This recipe has been developed and tested using a Cosori Max XL Large Cooker. It has a capacity of 5.8 quarts.
I love making quick lunch and dinner recipes in the air fryer - it uses so little oil and all the food comes out crispy and delicious every time! Cleaning up is a breeze, and I can stick it in the dishwasher too!
Oven Thermometer: Another piece of equipment I find useful for air fryer cooking is an oven thermometer. It can be placed inside the air fryer and measure the temperature very accurately.
Air fryer temperatures vary from model to model so this is a great way to make sure your air fryer is the correct temperature for cooking.
🥣 Storage
You can store leftover fish fillets in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store them in an airtight container once they have cooled to room temperature.
I wouldn't recommend freezing any leftover fish fillets as they have already been frozen and cooked so they will fall apart if frozen and reheated again.
❗️ Top tips
- Cook from frozen: There is no need to thaw the frozen fish fillets before air frying them. Best results from frozen!
- Preheating air fryer: You do not need to preheat your air fryer for this recipe.
- Oil and seasonings: You do not need to spray the fish fillets with oil or add any extra seasonings.
- Handling: Use a fish spatula or tongs to flip and move the fish fillets as they will be hot and fragile while cooking.
🍽 Recipe Card
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Frozen Fish Fillets in the Air Fryer
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Fish Spatula or Tongs
Ingredients
- 4 - 6 Frozen fish fillets (use as many as will fit in your air fryer)
- Tartar sauce for serving
- French fries for serving
- Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- Place the frozen fish fillets (no need to thaw them) into the air fryer basket in a single layer. You do not need to preheat your air fryer.
- Air fry the frozen fish fillets at 380 °F (190 °C) for 12 minutes.
- Flip the fish fillets gently with a fish spatula or tongs and air fry for another 4 - 6 minutes until golden, crispy and cooked through.
- Remove from the air fryer, generously squeeze lemon juice over and serve with tartar sauce and French fries or your preferred sauces and side dishes.
Video
Notes
🍳 Related Recipes
- How to Make Frozen French Fries in Air Fryer
- Frozen Corn Dogs in the Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Nuggets
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