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Air Fryer Cod will change the way you eat fish! Crispy golden outside and flakey tender inside. It’s the perfect choice for dinner with its light, mild flavor! Everyone in the family will love it!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Make: This air-fryer cod is perfect for busy weeknights or a nice weekend dinner. Serve it with some rice, vegetables, potatoes, or salad.
- Air Fryer Perfection: Air frying fish is one of the best ways to cook this delicate, tender meat. The air-fryer basket is perfect because it allows the circulating air to cook the outside and the inside while keeping the fish intact.
- Seafood Lovers: We love fish at our house, especially when it tastes this amazing! More favorites include Fish and Chips, Baja Tacos, and Salmon.
Crispy Parmesan Air Fryer Cod
You guys have to believe me when I say that cooking fish in an air fryer is an absolute revelation. The way the hot air circulates around the entire fillet makes for the most crispy, crunchy texture! It’s everything you love without the fat from frying in oil. My kids don’t even know they are eating healthy. Wins all around!
Ingredients Needed
Making Crispy Air Fryer Cod
This super easy air fryer cod recipe is going to become a family favorite. Simply bread the fillets and stick them in the air fryer. The air fryer makes them so crispy and delicious!
- Season: Season the cod filets with salt and pepper to taste on both sides.
- Coat in Flour: Create a breading station for the cod by gathering three bowls. Add the flour to the first bowl. Dip each cod filet in the flour first.
- Dip in Egg Mixture: Whisk together the eggs and salt in the second bowl. Then, dip the floured filet in the egg mixture.
- Coat in Panko Mixture: Combine the panko bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, old bay seasoning, and garlic powder in the third bowl, then dip each egg-coated filet in the panko mixture.
- Air Fry: Spray the bottom of your basket with olive oil spray then place the breaded filets in the basket of the air fryer. Cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Carefully flip the fish and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve your air fryer cod with tartar sauce, yum yum sauce, or a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.
Tips For Breading
Breading any food can be messy. Here is a surefire way to at least keep it manageable.
- Wet hand: With one hand, dip the cod into the flour mixture and coat evenly. Then, using the same hand, dip it into the egg mixture and shake off any excess egg. Then, drop into the panko mixture.
- Dry Hand: With your other dry hand, press the panko evenly onto the cod, making sure it sticks. Take your time to coat it well so you get that perfect crispy crust! Then, you place it in the air fryer basket and repeat.
Tips for the Best Air Fryer Cod
- What if I don’t have an air fryer? If you don’t have an air fryer, this bakes up perfectly in the oven! Cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Carefully flip the fish. Continue to cook for 3-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Don’t Over-Crowd: Give the fish space to breathe. If they are too close together, they will steam instead of “fry,” and they won’t get crispy.
- Can I use frozen Cod? Use good quality cod fillets. Fresh or frozen is fine. You don’t want them too thin, or the fish won’t have time to crisp up before it starts to dry out. Thaw frozen cod according to package directions. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture. This will help the crust crisp nicely.
- Can I spray the fish with a cooking oil? Using oil is optional but can help it become crispy. Use an oil-only spray. Do not use a non-stick spray, such as Pam. They have additives that will ruin your air fryer.
- Do I have to use Panko bread crumbs? Panko bread crumbs are larger and absorb less moisture, so they will produce the best crust. Your air fryer cod will be crispy and golden. Regular breadcrumbs will not give you the same results.
- Do I have to use Cod? This recipe works with any type of white fish and turns out amazing. Think snapper, tilapia, bass and haddock.
How to Store Leftover Cod Fillets
- Refrigerator: You can keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Reheat instructions: Reheat the fillets in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. It won’t have the same crunchiness, but it will still be good. Crispy Air Fryer Cod is best right out of the air fryer.
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Air Fryer Cod
Air Fryer Cod will change the way you eat fish! Crispy golden outside and flakey tender inside, you are going to love this!
Ingredients
- 1 pound cod filets
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup flour
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons old bay seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- olive oil spray
Instructions
- Season 1 pound cod filets with salt and pepper to taste on both sides.
- Create a breading station for the cod by gathering 3 bowls. Add ½ cup flour to the first bowl. Dip each cod filet in the flour first.
- Whisk together 2 large eggs and ½ teaspoon salt in the second bowl. Then dip the floured filet in the the egg mixture.
- Combine 1 cup panko bread crumbs, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons old bay seasoning, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder in the third bowl. Dip each egg-coated filet in the panko mixture.
- Spray the bottom of your basket with olive oil spray then place the breaded filets in the basket of the air fryer. Cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Carefully flip the fish and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 303kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 32gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 153mgSodium: 689mgPotassium: 576mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 315IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 211mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
This recipe is a keeper. Next time I make this dish I will cut back on the salt. There’s salt in the old bay seasoning and parmeasean. That should be enough. I wouldn’t salt the fish prior to dipping or add salt to the eggs. It’s too much. Be mindful when using frozen fish as it may have an added solution to help preserve it. Other than that it’s a great seasoning.
I used corn flake crumbs vs panko … delicious!
I preheated my air fryer and then checked at 9 minutes. The smallest pieces were done. I had 3/8 inch filets cut into “fingers”.
Made as directed. Even used frozen Cod from Meijer. It was amazing!! Served with malt vinegar and homemade tartar sauce. A new favorite!
I saw your recipe on you tube, Mandy in the Making. Her family loved it and I can’t wait to try it. However, I have a couple of questions. Do I need to preheat the air fryer? I will be using Tilapia, do I need to make an adjustment in the cooking time?
I don’t have an air fryer Can I shallow fry the fish
Yes or you could try baking it instead! Baked Cajun Garlic Butter Cod
Can you recommend a particular brand of air fryer please. Thanks Erin
I love my Gourmia air fryer, the Ninja air fryer or the Drew Barrymore “Beautiful” air fryer. Let me know if you wnd up getting any of those and how you like them!
This was so delicious. Just got started using the air fryer. Best meal yet. Thank you so much.
Excellent! Crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside. A new fish favorite!
Fish breading stuck to the basket and fish broke when flipping. What to do?
You can spray the basket beforehand with some oil or try and use a liner!
I am in asia and I don’t know what Old Bay seasoning is… haven’t encountered it even in the import section of our grocery… is there alternative for it?
Try using 1/2 teaspoon of celery salt and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika instead!
My husband and I really enjoyed this ! Turned out nice and crispy will definitely be adding this to our rotation. Served it with a lemon aioli and coleslaw
Thank you for a great easy addition to a weeknights dinner
This was fantastic! Mine was cooked perfectly! It was a little thick so I cooked it for 14 minutes. The flavor was awesome and the crust was nice and crunchy! Thank you for sharing! I loved it! Even the skeptical husband liked it! Lol
What setting? Air fry? Bake?
If you’re cooking this in an air fryer, then you just need to set the time! If you have an air fryer oven then you can go ahead and use the air fryer setting.
Fantastic! Just perfect! This recipe has pretty much killed it for fast food fish and chips for me. I didn’t use the Parmesan (this time!) because I had run out but even without it, the cod was great! Threw some Ore-Ida Crispy Crinkle fries when the fish was done and had the best fish ‘n chips ever. Thank you for this great recipe.
A total of 13 minutes was way too much cooking time in an air fryer. It was way overcooked. I like parmesan cod though so I will try it again but only cook it a total of 8 minutes.
This was fantastic! Mine was cooked perfectly! It was a little thick so I cooked it for 14 minutes. The flavor was awesome and the crust was nice and crunchy! Thank you for sharing! I loved it! Even the skeptical husband liked it! Lol
I cut the flour etc in half and cooked for 10 minutes. Old bay seasonings is not available in Canada so I substituted. This was delicious and easy to make. Thank you for the recipe.
Old bay seasoning is available in Canada 🙂 I found it and can’t wait to try this recipe