If you are looking for a way to cook your fish just right, then you have come to the right place.

Yes, you can certainly cook fish in an air fryer. No matter what kind of fish is in question, an air fryer will certainly do the job. Whether it is fresh, frozen, battered, the air fryer will make it work.

Simply choose the recipe or the setting that applies best to the kind of dish you are making, and this is all you have to do. 

What is an Air Fryer?

In broad terms, an air fryer is probably most similar to an oven because it bakes and roasts the food that you put inside of it. The difference – other than the air fryer being significantly smaller – is that the heat produced comes solely from the top, and is powered by a large and powerful fan. Because of this powerful fan, the air fryer itself heats up very quickly, and the food too gets cooked evenly in a short amount of time. With no oil required, the food ends up being crispy rather than greasy and soaked in oil. 

Another great benefit of this product is that the process of cleaning is not that dreadful. The parts of the air fryer, such as the baskets and the racks are almost all dishwasher friendly. For the parts that are not dishwasher safe, a simple dishwashing brush will do just fine. 

The true beauty of an air fryer (yes, there is more) is that it cooks your food incredibly fast. Chicken breast can be ready in 10 to 15 minutes on 380 degrees, and the same counts for steak, only on 400 degrees. You can have a fully cooked meal ready in under 30 minutes, how amazing does that sound?

What Can You Cook in an Air Fryer?

As was said before, air fryers will have your food ready in no time. They can cook fresh meat, frozen meat, veggies, all with no required added oil. The only thing you have to do is add seasoning to your liking, keep in mind that dry seasoning is the best if you want to keep it extra crispy. If you want to add a more liquid dressing, for example that involves honey, wait with putting it on until the last few minutes of the cooking process. 

There will be instances where you should season your food with a little bit of oil before it goes in the air fryer. For example meat with little fat on it or vegetables. In these cases it is your best bet to use vegetable oil or canola oil when coating and seasoning, because these oils can resist more heat and higher temperatures compared to other oils. 

How to Cook Fish in an Air Fryer

You can cook any type of fish in the air fryer, however it is especially nice when it comes to frozen fish. Frozen foods, but also frozen fish are meant to taste ‘deep fried’, with a thick, crispy and crunchy outer layer; the air fryer is able to deliver this exact outcome, but without the unnecessary amount of oil that normally goes into a deep fryer. 

Let’s go through how to make frozen fish fillets, air fryer style. There are so many different brands selling frozen fish fillets that you will not have to worry about not being able to choose. 

The first thing you want to do is choose a brand of frozen fish that speaks to you, and the first batch of fish fillets that you make can be counted as your test batch. The best is to not overcrowd your air fryer when you put in the pieces of frozen fish fillets. This is because there might be some piece that are thicker, more heavy, and thus more difficult to fully cook through. Having more space between the pieces will ensure that all of your fish fillets are cooked. 

The next thing to do, once you have placed the frozen fillets in the air fryer, is to set it on 380 degrees and let them fish air fry for 12 minutes.

After this, check on the batch and flip the frozen fish fillets and let them air fry for another 3-4 minutes to achieve the ultimate crisp. All in all, you will have a delicious portion of crispy fish fillets ready in under 20 minutes. 

If you feel like taking it a step higher, read through the following recipe of air fryer fish with a twist; fish and chips. If you have a little more time for preparation, this is the perfect go-to meal. It’s not impossible to create this dish using a deep fryer or simply getting it at a restaurant, but if you want to avoid the large amounts of oil (or if you want to feel like a true chef) try using your air fryer to make this classic, tasty meal. 

Take your fish (frozen or fresh) and pat it dry on both sides, and season it with salt and pepper. Prepare three bowls, one filled with egg, one with flour, and one with panko. Coat your fish pieces in flour, egg, and lastly panko. Working with the pieces one by one, or in batches, place the fish in the air fryer for 10 to 12 minutes at 400 degrees, and flip them over halfway. 

Serve with sauce of your choice and lemon wedges, and lastly fries (which you can also make in the air fryer). All of this will be done in less than 30 minutes. 

Conclusion

To summarize, the air fryer is a quicker, cleaner, more compact, and less greasy way to cook and bake your food. Especially frozen foods that are meant to be deep fried can be made and consumed using an air fryer, perhaps tasting even better than intended, and using hardly any oil. 

The air fryer is compact in size and will fit in almost any kitchen, so you don’t have to worry about this object being too big. The air fryer is not only detachable, and easy to store, but most of its parts are safe to be put in the dishwasher. This means it is not as much of a hassle to clean the air fryer and can be put together with other places, knives and forks, bowls, etc.

There is almost no type of food that can’t be put in the air fryer, and the beauty of it is that even vegetables don’t have to be put in an oil bath, but rather a suble coat of oil, in particular vegetable oil; this is because vegetable oil is able to handle higher temperatures than for example sunflower oil. 

When it comes to putting fish in the air fryer, there are no limits. Surprisingly, frozen fish fillets might taste the best out of the air fryer. It is important to note that you should not overfill the batches that are being put in the air fryer, in order to ensure that each and every piece will be cooked to perfection, so rather take it bit by bit. Of course, you can experiment a bit with the fish and make it into a classic fish and chips. Either option will require less than 30 minutes of your time.