This Crispy Oven Fried Fish is so much better than store-bought. It gets really crunchy and will become a new favorite for both kids and adults.
I always have a few tricks up my sleeve to make anything oven-fried taste really great. This is basically baked breaded fish. My homemade breaded fish blows frozen fish sticks out of the water by far!.
What can I say? I love everything that’s baked in the oven. And breaded fish might be my favorite way to bake fish.
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!.
Breading fish filets is a great way to add crunch and flavor to an otherwise bland piece of fish. However, we’ve all experienced the frustration of breading falling off during cooking, leaving you with a soggy, naked filet. Fortunately, with the right techniques, getting breading to adhere to fish is easy. In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk through the entire process to help you make restaurant-quality breaded fish at home.
Why Does Breading Fall Off Fish?
Before we dive into solutions, it helps to understand why breading often detaches from fish during cooking. There are a few key factors at play:
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Moisture – Fish naturally contains moisture and oils. If the surface isn’t properly dried before breading, steam pushes the coating off.
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Insufficient Binding – The breading needs something sticky underneath to adhere, An egg wash or buttermilk provides this tacky binding
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Delicate Fish – Thin, flaky fish like sole can’t handle heavy breading and tend to fall apart.
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Oily Fish – Fattier fish like salmon and tuna repel breading. Choosing a lean fish is best.
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Frozen Fish – Ice crystals in frozen fish lead to release of extra moisture during cooking.
By understanding the causes, we can now focus on solutions for perfectly adhered breading.
Selecting the Right Fish
Choosing an appropriate fish variety is the first step to success. Aim for fish that are:
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Firm – Meaty, flaky varieties like cod, halibut, and tilapia hold up well.
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Low Oil – Lean fish prevents soggy breading. Tilapia, cod, and catfish are great choices.
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Fresh – Fresh fish has less surface moisture than thawed frozen fish.
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Thick Fillet – Thin fillets overcook too quickly. 3/4 to 1 inch thickness is ideal.
Ask your fishmonger for recommendations if you are unsure which fish works best! Now that we have the right fish, we can move on to prep.
Prepping Fish for Breading
Properly preparing the fish is crucial before breading. Follow these key steps:
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Pat Dry – Use paper towels to remove excess surface moisture. Allow to air dry further.
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Season – Lightly season with salt, pepper, spices. Avoid wet marinades.
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Chill – Place fish on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 mins – 1 hour.
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Dredge in Flour – Lightly coat fish in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Shake off excess.
These prep steps extract moisture, boost flavor, and ready the fish for the coating process. Now we’ll learn how to create the all-important binding layer.
Creating a Binding Agent
An egg wash or buttermilk soak acts as the “glue” to make breading stick to the fish.
Egg Wash
The classic binding technique.
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Whisk 1-2 eggs with 1-2 tbsp water or milk
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Thoroughly coat fish with egg mixture
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For extra flavor, season the egg wash
Buttermilk Soak
A tangy Southern-style binder.
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Pour buttermilk into a shallow bowl
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Soak fish 5-10 minutes, turning to coat
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Remove fish and allow excess buttermilk to drip off
Both egg wash and buttermilk work great to help the coating adhere. Choose your preferred binding agent.
Choosing Breading
With a binding layer in place, next up is selecting the actual breading. Consider these options:
Dry Breadcrumbs
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Panko – Light, crispy Japanese-style crumbs
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Fresh breadcrumbs – Toast bread, then pulse in food processor
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Store-bought dried breadcrumbs – Look for low/no salt/sugar
Wet Batter
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Beer batter – Light and crispy coating made with beer & flour
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Cornmeal – Adds crunchy texture and subtle sweetness
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Cracker crumbs – Crushed saltines, Ritz, etc for flavor
Mixtures & Add-Ins
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Flavored breadcrumbs – Lemon pepper, ranch, garlic parmesan, etc.
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Shredded cheese – Parmesan, cheddar, etc.
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Chopped nuts – Pecans, almonds, etc.
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Dried herbs – Rosemary, thyme, oregano work well
Get creative with flavors, textures, and coatings! Firmly press the breading onto the fish so it sticks.
Frying Breaded Fish
To fry breaded fish:
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Preheat Oil – 1/2 inch depth in skillet. Heat to 350°F.
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Fry Fish – Gently add fish and fry 3-5 minutes per side.
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Avoid Crowding – Don’t overcrowd the pan to prevent sticking. Work in batches.
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Drain and Season – Drain fried fish on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt.
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Oven Alternative – For healthier baking, coat in breadcrumbs and bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Follow these tips if you encounter any problems with your breading:
Falling Off
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Fish wasn’t dried properly before breading
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Not enough egg wash or buttermilk used
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Breadcrumbs weren’t pressed into the fish firmly enough
Patchy Coverage
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Egg wash or buttermilk wasn’t applied evenly
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Breadcrumbs weren’t distributed evenly
Soggy Coating
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Oil wasn’t hot enough for frying
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Fish released extra moisture during baking
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Excess wet batter soaked the breadcrumbs
Burned Coating
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Oil was too hot for frying
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Fish cooked too long, breading over-browned
Storing and Reheating Breaded Fish
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Refrigerate breaded fish up to 2 days before cooking
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Reheat fried fish in 375°F oven for 5-10 minutes
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Microwave breaded fish 1-2 minutes with splash of water
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Enjoy leftover baked breaded fish cold or reheated
With proper techniques and a bit of practice, you can make restaurant-worthy breaded fish at home any night of the week. Let us know how your breaded fish creations turn out using the tips from this guide!
Printable recipePrintable Recipe Card
How to make Oven Fried Fish
1. Start by preheating the oven to 430°F. Place a dark-colored sheet pan in the oven to heat up.
2. Get the ingredients for the breading ready. Put the dry ingredients in a shallow dish and beat the eggs in a bowl. Cut the fish into 8-10 equal pieces and lightly season with salt/pepper.
breading ingredients
breading prepared
3. To bread the fish, toss the pieces carefully in the dry mixture first, to create a thin coating. Shake off any excess.
Then, dredge each piece through the beaten eggs, and finally thickly bread with the dry breading mix.
toss fish in flour
dredge through egg
breaded fish
Note: How to get the breading to stick
Pay close attention to the breading method (thin coating of dry ingredients, dredge through egg, thick coating of dry ingredients) so the breading sticks.
To make the breading stick well to the fish, I suggest the following steps for the thick coating of dry ingredients:
scoop on dry breading
pound breaded fish
- To move the egg-washed fish from the bowl with the eggs to the bowl with the dry ingredients without touching the flour, you should always use the same spoon. This spoon is your “wet spoon,” and you don’t want it to touch the dry ingredients because it will get messy.
- After putting the fish fillet into the dish with the dry breading mix, use a different spoon or small measuring cup to add more dry breading on top of it. Be careful not to get this spoon wet with the egg wash.
- To put the breading on the fish, use the measuring cup or the back of the spoon. Pressing down on the breading will make the fish a little flatter, but it will also help the breading stick very well.
- Mix in more dry bread crumbs and pound the fish some more.
For a super-thick coating, repeat the egg wash and breading once more. If you want a very thick layer of “batter” on your fish, you can double the breading. No need to do this, though.
4. Melt the butter in a pan that has already been heated, or grease it with a lot of vegetable oil. Spray both sides of the fish with a lot of cooking spray.
On the pan, put the fish pieces. Make sure there is enough space between each piece; don’t stack them! Bake for 10 minutes, flip (add more fat as needed) and finish baking for 5-10 minutes.
You can finish it under the broiler for 1-2 minutes for a super crispy finish.
There are some things you HAVE to do in order to cook the best battered fish in the oven. Nothing is optional in this recipe ?):
The Best Baked Breaded Chicken Breast Recipe! #shorts
Does breading stick to fish?
To get breading to stick to fish, it is important to start with a dry surface. Use paper towels to blot the fish dry and remove any excess moisture. This will help the breading to adhere better and create a crispy texture when cooked. Another tip is to let the fish sit in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 30 minutes before breading.
How can I prepare fish for kids?
This is really dependent on the personal preference of your children. Some children will eat fish the same way adults do for others you may need to make this more interesting by creating things like homemade fishcakes, fish burger patties, fish balls or by adding this to toast or even pasta. Involving your children in the preparation and cooking process can also encourage them to consume the fish.
How do you bread fish before cooking?
Use paper towels to blot the fish dry and remove any excess moisture. This will help the breading to adhere better and create a crispy texture when cooked. Another tip is to let the fish sit in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 30 minutes before breading. This will help to dry out the surface of the fish and give the breading something to stick to.
How do you get a crust to stick to fish?
Here are some principles for getting a crust or batter to stick: Start by patting your pieces of fish dry with a clean dishtowel or paper kitchen towels. This is because crust and batter will stick better to dry fish than wet fish. This uses the same principle that anything will stick better to dry fish than wet.