The air fryer is all-the-rage for a reason. In under 15 minutes, my Crispy Air Fryer Cod has a perfect outer crust, a juicy and tender inside, and a fraction of the calories of traditionally fried fish.
Not familiar with an Air Fryer? In short, this popular appliance can use under a tablespoon of oil or a couple sprays of cooking spray to create super crispy meat, potatoes, vegetables, and just about anything! It is great for cutting down on calories and cholesterol, while also mimicking the texture of your favorite fried foods.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about my recipe for Crispy Air Fryer Cod is that it requires no breading. Celiacs and gluten-free dieters rejoice!
Since my husband Tim and my son Jacob are seafood addicts, we like to have fish at least once a week in my house. Investing in an air fryer has allowed me to quickly put perfectly cooked fish on my dinner table on busy weeknights.
Tips for Cooking Air Fryer Fish
- Season your fish generously with salt and pepper. Since you won’t be actually “frying” your fish, you will need to make sure that it is well-seasoned. In traditional frying, a lot of flavor comes from the immense amount of oil used to cook it. Since you are skipping the fat, don’t skip the flavor!
- In order to make sure your fish comes out moist, put a pat of butter on top of each filet.
- If you can, air fry the cod with its skin on. Air frying fish with the skin on locks the flavors and moisture inside the fish. Don’t like skin? Don’t worry! When your fish air fries, the skin will stick to the bottom of the air fryer and you can easily pull off the skinless filet. If you are a fan of the skin, use a spatula to remove the filet.
- If the bottom of your fish filet loses its crisp, flip it over and cook it for 1 more minute. Be careful not to cook it for too much longer! You don’t want it to lose its crispiness and juiciness.
- Really craving fish and chips? Garnish your Crispy Air Fryer Cod with some fresh lemon wedges and tartar sauce and use my recipe for 15-Minute Air Fryer French Fries.
How Long do I Cook Fish in the Air Fryer?
Typically, fish cooked in the air fryer takes about 10 minutes at 400 °F. However, this depends on the thickness of each filet. I know I often preach the importance of investing in a meat thermometer, and you guessed it, I will preach it here again! Due to the variation of filet sizes, you will want to check that the internal temperature has reached 145 °F to ensure doneness.
At the moment, I use the Thermapen for the thermometer. As a less expensive alternative, you can find other thermometer options on Amazon.
Frying Frozen Fish Sticks in the Air Fryer
Here’s a little bonus tip for all the fish stick lovers out there. Air fryers are awesome for cooking your favorite frozen fish sticks in a fraction of the time. Preheat the air fryer to 360 °F and cook the sticks for only 8 minutes! We have been doing this in our home for a while and we absolutely LOVE the outcome.
Gourmia 5 Qt Air Fryer
There are some pretty expensive air fryers on the market. But, if I am being completely honest, I love my Gourmia 5 Qt Air Fryer. It’s only $59.99 and it never leaves you disappointed. Originally, I purchased it to see what the hype was about without breaking bank. To my delight, I haven’t had to upgrade, despite using it several times a week for quick and healthy dinners. If you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on your first (and only!) air fryer, I definitely recommend it!
Recipe
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients for the air fryer cod fillets. Season fillets with your favorite seasoning.
- Brush the air fryer basket with oil. Place fillets in the basket. Top it off with butter and lemon slices.
- Cook cod in the air fryer at 400°F for 10-13 minutes, depending on the size of fillets. The internal temperature should reach 145°F.
If I have half a pound of cod should I do half the cooking time?
Cooking time would only change if the piece is really thin. I would recommend using a thermometer.
Making my cod right now. Super excited!
Hey Thoma, I am so glad. I hope you love it!
Hi, great share. I bought philips air fryer. Can I make those all recipes using my philips air fryer?
Hey Charlie, I think you can. Most air fryers are very similar unless you have an air fryer oven. Enoy!
Can you use lemon juice instead of lemons?
Juice will run off the sides but you can do a little drizzle on it.
Thank you !!!!
Love your recepies, very good and easy while learning this new way of cooking. What does BUSHING your basket mean please
Lol, Mark! You got me in a weak spot. I meant to say brushing 😉
I just got a Gotham steel air fryer fir Christmas and am totally intimidated by it , guess I’ll just have to start simple . Thanks fir accepting me into the group , saw some good recipes but nit sure what to try first . Just wondering if this is a good air fryer
I think you will love it. Just read the instructions that come with the air fryer. It is pretty simple to use.
What would cooking times from frozen be?
It's hard to say because it would depend on thickness. I would recommend using a thermometer to check the doneness of the cod, it should be at least 145F.
Wow I thought fish would be a healthy choice because if my high blood pressure. Guess I can't eat cod either, sodium is unreal.
I was shocked by the sodium in a serving too! It looks like the nutrition info is for the entire recipe/not broken down into servings.
1 pound of cod alone is about 400 calories. A teaspoon of salt is about 2320 mg of sodium, and a teaspoon of seasoning salt is about 1520mg. That's not counting if salted butter is used!
I added up all the ingredients (for my own diet needs) - the total was 830ish calories...so if this were 4 servings, each serving would be about 210 calories with 960 mg of sodium + any sodium in butter you choose. I didn't measure for fat, potassium etc like the recipe creator!
Carrie, thank you for sharing this. We use a program that calculates it and its not always 100% correct. I appreciate your sharing your information.
Sodium is in salt, if you don't season your food with salt you can do the same with this recipe. 1 tsp of salt has 2300 mg of sodium.
Is that really the sodium content???
The nutrition label is never exactly correct but it’s about 1500-2000mg.