Air Fryer Fish Sticks
Today we are bringing you a homemade Fish Sticks, and it may become your new favorite way to cook fish, for yourself and the family! We once again are utilizing one of our favorite kitchen appliances, the Air Fryer. This cooking method allows us to use a fraction of the oil typically used when deep-frying, and still give us that same crispy, crunchy exterior within minutes!
These Air-Fryer Fish Sticks are an awesome alternative to the traditional store-bought frozen fish varieties! Those versions usually have a long list of foreign ingredients, are carb-dense, and are very slim on the nutritional contents. We made our Fish Sticks healthier by using white flaky fish and coating it with our homemade gluten-free breadcrumb mixture!
Making the breadcrumbs is easy! Simply crush Melba toast, add in freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, a few seasonings, and BAM! You have a breadcrumb coating that will make your sticks perfectly crispy on the outside and tender & flaky on the inside.
These Fish Sticks are so family-friendly, and they reheat so well! You can make them in a big batch for a quick lunches or dinners through the week. They are also great to make ahead and freeze! Store them in a freezer bag and heat up in your Air Fryer as needed. Simply spritz the bottom of the basket with oil, cook at 400 F for 9 minutes, and you have your own healthy version of Frozen Fish Sticks!
As far as picking your Fish. For this recipe we used Swai Fillets, but any white fish will do! Not familiar with your way around the seafood corner? No worries! The easiest and at times the most cost-effective thing to do is pick up a bag of frozen raw fish filets like Swai, Cod, or Tilapia from your local grocery store. With this approach you can store it and thaw out the number of filets needed depending on the servings you are wanting to make! The nutrition label on the back of the bag will tell you approximately how many ounces each filet weighs out to be, but to be sure, weigh your fish once thawed before coating.
Ingredients:
- 4-6 oz white fish, Frozen or Fresh
- 100 calories Saltines, Melba Rounds, or other plain crackers or breadcrumbs; crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tbsp Ranch seasoning
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan, grated
Directions:
- Slice fish into strips
- Mix crushed breadcrumbs, parmesan, chili powder, and ranch seasoning in bowl.
- Beat egg in another small bowl
- Dip each piece of fish in egg then the breadcrumb/Parmesan mixture
- Preheat air Fryer to 400 degrees for 4 minutes
- Place coated fish in a single layer in the air fryer basket, work in batches
- Set timer to 10 minutes, flip after 5 minutes. Then continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. You want the coating to start to turn golden, but not burn.
Servings: 2
Replaces: 4 oz protein serving, 1 carbohydrate/starch serving
What is an Air Fryer?
Think of Air Fryers like a mini countertop convection oven. Air fryers use a fan to circulate hot air evenly allowing the food to cook faster than many other methods. They only take a couple of minutes to preheat and most of the heat stays contained inside increasing the cooking speed 4x a typical stove or oven! And don’t let the word “Fryer” fool you, Air Fryers take less than a fraction of the oil typically used to deep-fry and yet is still able to achieve the same desired crispiness.
