These Air Fryer fish sticks are made in just 25 minutes from start to finish! They’re so easy to make, much healthier than deep-fried fish sticks, and the kids love them!
I love my Air Fryer and use it at least once every couple of days. It’s great for easy dinners such as Air Fryer Fajitas, Air Fryer chicken breast, Air Fryer chicken wings, and Air Fryer chicken drumsticks! I mean, you can even make a whole chicken in the Air Fryer and it turns out SO good! The Air Fryer is also great for cooking vegetables and quick sides. I always make things like corn on the cob, roasted cauliflower, baked potatoes, and mushrooms in my Air Fryer!
I also love cooking fish in the Air Fryer, it makes it taste so good and I think that Air Fryer is so great for fish. Air Fryer salmon turns out so juicy and flaky, and this Air Fryer fish fillet recipe is one of the most popular recipes on the blog! So here I am sharing my Air Fryer fish sticks recipe that I love, and I’m sure that you will love it too!
Fish Sticks in Air Fryer
One of my favorite things to Air fry is fish sticks! They’re so easy to make, and when they’re made from scratch, they taste so much better than frozen store-bought fish sticks!
Fish is cut into smaller pieces, then dipped in flour, egg, and dried breadcrumbs to make a delicious and perfectly crispy breading.
How to Make Air Fryer Fish Sticks
Now there are 2 methods to make these Air Fryer fish sticks, you either make a thick breading using flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs as I did in this recipe for super crispy fish sticks. Or you keep things simple and just coat the fish with oil and seasoned breadcrumbs like I did in my Air Fryer fish recipe.
Both methods result in golden crispy breading, and your family will devour them! So let’s get straight to the point, and I’ll show my method to make these fish sticks super crispy with a golden color!
The Ingredients
- Fish. Any fish works here except for lean fish such as tuna and swordfish as they tend to dry out. I used cod, but feel free to use catfish, pollock, basa, halibut, haddock, hake, ling, or any whitefish.
- Breadcrumbs. Use dry breadcrumbs and the key to extra crispy golden finger sticks is to use toasted breadcrumbs. To make your own homemade breadcrumbs, place stale bread in a food processor until coarsely ground then toast on a sheet pan in the oven at 280F (140C) for 15-20 minutes turning halfway through.
- Flour. I use all-purpose flour, always season it with salt and pepper and any other seasonings that you like. Dredge the fish in flour, then shake off any excess flour before dipping in eggs.
- Eggs.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
The Directions
- If using frozen fish, thaw completely before using. Season the fish with salt, and let it sit for at least 20-30 minutes (up to 1 hour). This will help to extract the moisture from the fish and make it firmer for crispy fish sticks. It’s also your chance to season the fish before breading.
- Season the flour with salt and pepper, and you can do the same with the breadcrumbs. Also feel free to add other seasonings such as garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Or choose any aromatics that you like, I love adding fresh dill!
- Using the dry and wet hand method, dredge the fish in flour, and shake off any excess flour. Then dip in egg, and coat with breadcrumbs. To learn more about the ‘dry hand’ that works with the flour, and breadcrumbs, and the ‘wet hand’ to work with the eggs and avoid getting the breading to stick to your hands and cause a mess, watch my video below.
- Once the fish sticks are thoroughly coated, place them in the Air Fryer basket, make sure that they’re not overlapping. You can spray them lightly with oil for extra crispiness and color then Air Fry at 400F (200C) for 10 minutes, flip, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Remove the fish sticks from the Air Fryer, and serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for extra flavor, and homemade tartar sauce.
The fish sticks are suitable for freezing. If you decide to freeze them, then freeze them raw immediately. Cook from frozen for 15-18 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
Sauce for Fish Sticks
My favorite sauce for fish fingers or fish sticks is homemade tartar sauce, it’s a classic and definitely the best sauce to be served with fish fingers (I recommend that you make your own at home!). However, if you’re not a fan, then go for something like a thousand island dressing, or simply mix mayo with ketchup and sriracha hot sauce.
Or just dip in mayo, ketchup, and/or mustard!
What to Serve With Fish Sticks
You either serve these Air Fryer fish sticks with just a dipping sauce on the side. Simple and good! But I love serving them with Air Fryer fries, or oven-baked fries.
To keep things healthy, you can serve the Air Fryer fish fingers with a salad or even make a sandwich, wrap, or a burger. Think crispy fish stick burger with tartar sauce, and a slice of cheese!
Recommended Tools
- An Air Fryer. At the time I posted this recipe (and pictures), I used an older Air Fryer but I’m updating this post with this recommended Air Fryer as I recently purchased it and love it! So this is the one that I’m currently recommending.
- Sharp knife. This is the knife that I use all the time, a sharp knife is so important and if you want to invest in a new knife then a high-quality chef knife is what I recommend. This one is also currently on sale and well worth the money.
- Kitchen tongs – I use these kitchen tongs to flip all types of food including these fish sticks, but also use them in all of my air fryer recipes.
- To avoid the fish sticks from sticking to the air fryer basket, check out these air fryer parchment paper liners. They’re cheap, and great for easy clean up too!
- This air fryer magnetic cheat sheet is very handy, it contains cooking time and temperature to cook 66 most common ingredients which I find very useful.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Air Fryer Fish Fingers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 grams) fish fillets* patted dry and salted*
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (50 grams) dried breadcrumbs If following Gluten free diet, use gluten free breadcrumbs.
For Serving
- tartar sauce
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- If using frozen fresh, thaw completely before using. Season the fish with salt, and let it sit for at least 20-30 minutes (up to 1 hour). This will help to extract the moisture from the fish and make it firmer for crispy fish sticks. It's also your chance to season the fish before breading.
- Season the flour with salt and pepper, and you can do the same with the breadcrumbs. Also feel free to add other seasonings such as garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and smoked paprika. Or choose any aromatics that you like, I love adding fresh dill!
- Dredge the fish in flour, and shake off any excess flour. Then dip in egg, and coat with breadcrumbs.
- Once the fish sticks are thoroughly coated, place them in the Air Fryer basket, make sure that they're not overlapping. You can spray them lightly with oil for extra crispiness and color then Air Fry at 400°F (200°C) for 10 minutes, flip, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Remove the fish sticks from the Air Fryer, and serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for extra flavor, and homemade tartar sauce.
Notes:
- Any fish works here except for lean fish such as tuna and swordfish as they tend to dry out. Use cod, catfish, pollock, basa, halibut, haddock, hake, ling, or any whitefish.
- If using frozen fish, always thaw completely.
- It’s very important to pat dry the fish and salt it before cooking with it, and let it sit for at least 20-30 minutes (up to 1 hour). This will help to extract the moisture from the fish and make it firmer for crispy fish sticks. It’s also your chance to season the fish before breading.
- You can either use large panko breadcrumbs or regular fine breadcrumbs, they all work.
- Serve with tartar sauce, or mayo, ketchup, and/or mustard.
- The fish sticks are suitable for freezing. If you decide to freeze them, then freeze them raw immediately. Cook from frozen for 15-18 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
Video
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
KT says
This is so good! Made it twice. My family is obsessed.
David Shaw says
This fish was much better than restaurant deep fried fish, can’t wait to do it again.