How To Cook Crunchy Air Fryer Fish: A Simple And Budget-Friendly Recipe

Have you ever tried cooking fish in your air fryer? Here's a great starter recipe for you that's delicious, easy, and incredibly affordable.

The UK Cooperative Extension Service recently published its 2025 Food & Nutrition Recipe Calendar.

The March recipe is for Crunch Air Fryer Fish. It's a recipe that costs just $7.72 cents to make and it feeds four people. Here's how to make it!

CRUNCHY AIR FRYER FISH

1 pound of white fish fillets (tilapia, catfish, perch)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup panko crumbs

Nonstick cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

1) Place fish between clean paper towels to allow any water to drain. Wash hands after handling raw fish.

2) Create an assembly for coating the fish. First, in a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, onion powder, black pepper, and salt. Set aside. Then, in a shallow pan or plate, whisk the egg. Set aside. Place panko crumbs into another shallow pan or plate. Set aside.

3) Coat fish on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle both sides with the seasoning mixture. Dip fish into the egg and coat both sides. Then dredge the fillets through the panko coating both sides thoroughly.  Allow the coated fillets to rest about 10 minutes before cooking. Rewash hands after handling the raw fish.

4) Preheat the air fryer to 390 degrees F while the fish rests. Coat the preheated air fryer basket or pan with cooking spray. Add the fish, taking care not to overfill the basket or pan (you may need to work in batches). Cook for 10 to 13 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees F as measured on a meat thermometer.

5) Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. Reheat leftovers in the air fryer for a few minutes to revive the crunchy coating.

**Pro tip! If you don't want to use an air fryer, you don't have to. You can bake these fillets in a traditional oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees F as measured on a meat thermometer.

Earlier, I mentioned that the recipe costs just $7.72 and yields four servings. That's just $1.93 per serving.