This is the best air fryer fish no breading recipe we make every week with lemon butter! Lightly seasoned cod fillets make for a healthy, keto low-carb dinner that becomes fork-tender in a few minutes. Make with fresh or frozen fish in air fryer!

A plate of air fryer fish fillets seasoned with herbs and black pepper, topped with slices of grilled lemon. In the background, there are fresh parsley and halved lemons.

Have you given airfry fish a whirl yet?? It's pretty much a game changer for us. Whether you want to cook salmon, tilapia or cod it's going to come out solid every time with the right temperature and timing. Easy air fryer recipes to the rescue here.

Now let's talk what the possibilities might be, there are a lot. If you like a light flavor we might go for a fillet of cod or tilapia. Catfish is popular in the South with a cornmeal breading but air fryer salmon might be our all time favorite. A dark pink color so it's so pretty it is great with rice or veggies.

There are many ways to “fry” seafood in this hot air machine. You can of course load it up with coating too like air fryer fish and chips with french fries cooked quick and easy together but typically those are laden with calories.

Tips: My Favorite models are the Cosori or making Ninja Foodi recipes with the lid that is attached.

It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. This is how to preheat air fryer first before adding your food so it becomes as crispy as possible. For best results, here's a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.

A close-up photo of a hand pulling out the basket of an open air fryer on a light-colored surface. The interior of the air fryer basket is empty and features a mesh design, solid for cooking your favorite dishes like bang bang shrimp. The edge of the air fryer has a latch mechanism for securing the basket.

Air Fryer Fish with Frozen Fish

It's not how to cook fresh fish though, we have gone a step further with frozen salmon in air fryer too. Why? Because we happen to be forgetful and dinner doesn't always get defrosted in time. It's a great way of how to cook frozen scallops in must minutes or in this case this variety would need to follow our air fryer frozen cod directions. It is a slight variation in timing between the different varieties.

If you live in a smaller town like we do, you may need to buy frozen fish and thaw it out on your own. On the coast, the choices are limitless year-round. You don't need much. This time, we didn't use any breading at all for our air fried fish fillets. Below, we will share with you how to use a light layer of bread crumbs too.

We are speaking about defrosted cod specifically in this post. The printable recipe card at the bottom of this post speaks to this. There isn't a huge difference though if you chose a different variety.

Three raw fish fillets are placed on a white plate, solid for preparing air fryer fish. Beside the fillets are three whole lemons, one half lemon, a pile of fresh parsley, and a small dish containing brown and white spices. The image is set on a light-colored wooden surface.

An air fryer basket containing three pieces of seasoned fish fillets topped with lemon slices. The air fryer fish sits in a sleek black exterior unit with a visible latch. The interior of the basket shows some cooking marks and residue, evidence of its recent culinary success.

Ingredient notes

Fish fillets of your choice but they should be about the same size and thickness. Fresh or store bought with skin on is preferred to keep them as tender as possible but not required. They shouldn't overlap either so keep in mind the size of your basket.

Butter is nice for moisture and flavor, you could use olive oil instead, but salted butter is so much better. We have used a dairy free product too and that works great.

With all of our air fryer fish recipes you'll want to add a bit of tartar sauce and/or squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end for moisture with this.

Salt and Pepper are basic seasonings. Many times we will add Lawry's, garlic powder and/or Old bay on top too. Non stick cooking spray in air fryer basket is helpful too.

If you wanted a crunchy layer like you get with air fryer frozen fish sticks you could do that with an egg whisked and then pressed into crumbs. Breadcrumbs, crushed crackers or even cornflakes or cornmeal works too.

How Long to Cook Fish in Air Fryer

This is going to take about 12 minutes once it is set inside. First, preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F for 5 minutes. like how to smoke salmonyou always want to make sure that the heat is even the whole time when it comes to getting the outsides as crunchy as possible.

Air fryer fish fillet baked to perfection, topped with a lemon slice and garnished with parsley, served on a white plate with a fork.

Fish in Air Fryer Recipe

By Air fryer fish recipe with no breading is here. Lightly seasoned fillets are healthy and cooked fork tender in a few minutes. Prep: 5 minutes minsCook: 11 minutes minsServings: 4 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

3 fillets cod, 1-1.5 lbs. of cod was used
3 tbsp butter
3 slices lemon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F for 5 minutes.
Spray inside of air fryer basket with non stick spray. Lay fillets inside, do not overlap them.
Sprinkle on salt and pepper, lay slice of butter on top with lemon slice on top.
Cook for 10-13 minutes, timing will depend on how thick they are. Check at minute 10 if thinner and see if you want another minute or two more. Should be flaky with a fork.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Entree, Main CourseCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

Remember, you're probably going to serve this with other items on the side too. You can go comfort food style with fries, or sweet potato chips too. Make it fun if you do by using hot dog baskets or thick paper as cones. We will share a few other side dishes below too. Need this done quicker? Make air fryer fish nuggets!

How to serve

This is good as is with a side of Instant Pot or air fryer vegetableOR make a po' boy sandwich with hoagie rolls! You can serve any of these inside an air fryer fish tacos which is what we love to do. Stuffed with shredded cabbage, white sauce and avocado is the solid meal.

With cauliflower florets makes for a super healthy with some olive oil and seasoning. NO breading and no need for it either we swear. Here are a few pressure cooker fish recipes you can try as well. They're great, tender, and flavorful without any crispiness on the outside.

Is air fryer good for fish?

Absolutely! We have successfully made air fryer cod fish recipes, tilapia, and air fryer salmon too. Some dishes feature light breading, while this one is a low-carb keto meal idea with no breading A rectangular white plate holds a cooked piece of glazed salmon, crisped to perfection in an air fryer and garnished with chopped herbs. The salmon is surrounded by sprigs of fresh parsley and two lemon slices. The plate is positioned on a white wooden surface.

Other Air Fryer Fish Recipes You'll Love

These pictures feature cod fillets, but any white fish would cook similarly with the 12-minute cooking time. The biggest difference is the thickness of the fillets. Follow the directions on our air fryer tilapia and air fryer catfish posts and see which way you like the best.

Want to try some other type of seafood? We're sure you do if you have already made and enjoyed all of these above. The next would be as crunchy as deep fried but without submerging it in oil. That is…..”fried” air fryer oysters. Our naked tuna steak air fryer and/or air fryer scallops are good too.