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Home Method Air Fryer

Air Fryer Fish Sticks

Healthier Air Fryer fish fingers cooked in the Air Fryer in just 15 minutes. The result is juicy and moist fish in perfectly crispy breading!
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By: Diana Last updated on November 10, 2020

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

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!

Fish sticks stacked on each other, with fresh lemon wedges on the side.


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

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

  • 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.
Ingredients needed to make Air Fryer fish sticks

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.
Dredging fish sticks in flour, egg, and seasoned 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 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.
A collage with 2 images, fish sticks in the air fryer basket. Before air frying and after.

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).

A close up shot of air fryer fish sticks showing the crispy breading

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!

Dipping a fish stick in homemade tartar sauce, garnished with chives

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!

A close up showing the inside of the fish sticks or fish fingers

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!

Recipe
5 from 20 votes
(Click stars to rate!)

Air Fryer Fish Fingers

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 15 minutes mins
Total Time: 25 minutes mins
Author: Diana
Print Rate Recipe
Healthier Air Fryer fish fingers cooked in the Air Fryer in just 15 minutes. The result is juicy and moist fish in perfectly crispy breading!
2 servings
Healthier Air Fryer fish fingers cooked in the Air Fryer in just 15 minutes. The result is juicy and moist fish in perfectly crispy breading!

Recipe Video

Equipment

  • Air fryer

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).

Nutrition Information

Calories: 99kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 466mg, Potassium: 180mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Calcium: 6mg, Iron: 1mg

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

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  1. BJHK says

    Posted on 9/3/23 at 15:30

    5 stars
    Easy peasy; made in our oven, on air fry mode! Prepped fish night before; feel this helped to “set” the seasoned Panko. Placed on wire rack-wrapped in cling wrap. When ready to bake, lightly sprayed fish with oil mister and placed entire rack in oven on air fry at 400 for ten mins. Perfectly done and grandkids gobbled them up with Greek yogurt, dill dip. Truly much better than the processed, frozen versions.

    Reply
    • Diana says

      Posted on 9/3/23 at 22:43

      Glad to hear the grandkids loved it! Prepping ahead and a Greek yogurt dill dip were smart choices. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  2. flee says

    Posted on 6/21/23 at 14:37

    5 stars
    I made this in my new Kaloric Air Fryer. I used fresh thin fish fillets. Done in 10 minutes and perfect recipe!
    Crunch, no fishy or oil smell, this is going to be my go to recipe for fish, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  3. KT says

    Posted on 3/28/23 at 04:32

    5 stars
    This is so good! Made it twice. My family is obsessed.

    Reply
  4. David Shaw says

    Posted on 2/25/23 at 17:06

    5 stars
    This fish was much better than restaurant deep fried fish, can’t wait to do it again.

    Reply
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Welcome to Little Sunny Kitchen! I'm Diana and I’m here to teach you how to make easy meals that are quick, family-friendly, and delicious!

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