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Air Fryer Cod will change the way you eat fish! Crispy golden outside and flakey tender inside, you are going to love this!
We love fish at our house, especially when it tastes this amazing! More favorites include Fish and Chips, Baja Tacos and this Salmon.
Air Fryer Cod Filets
Air frying fish is one of the best ways to cook this delicate tender meat. The air fryer basket is perfect, it allows the circulating air to cook the outside and the inside while keeping the fish intact. So many times I have lost chunks down between the slats of a grill or they stick to the pan. Air frying gives you delicate delightful fish that looks and tastes better than any restaurant. The panko breading is perfectly seasoned and the cheese adds a touch of saltiness and nuttiness. It’s so easy to make and tastes just as delicious!
Air fried parmesan cod is the perfect dinner choice. It has a light mild flavor and it is good for you. Serve it up with some rice, vegetables, or potatoes and a nice salad. Perfect for a busy weekday or a nice weekend dinner. Put this air fryer cod in your recipe rotation.
Ingredients for Parmesan Cod
Fresh and basic, this Cod could not be any easier or taste any better! It is so good!
- Cod Fillets: You can use fresh or frozen.
- Salt and Pepper: Season just to taste.
- Flour: All purpose or unbleached will work.
- Eggs: Large lightly beaten.
- Salt: Adds flavor
- Panko: I do not recommend breadcrumbs but they will work.
- Parmesan: Grated will stick best to the fish.
- Bay Seasoning: A classic flavoring for fish.
- Garlic Powder: Adds more flavor.
- Olive oil spray: Use this only if you need it.
Making Crispy Air Fryer Cod
Super easy parmesan cod is going to become a family favorite!
- Cod: Pat the cod dry and salt and pepper.
- Breading Station: Create a breading station for the fish. In one bowl add the flour. In the second whisk together the eggs and salt. Then in the last bowl add the Panko, parmesan cheese, old bay seasoning, and garlic powder.
- Flour: First dip the cod in the flour.
- Egg: Then in the egg mixture.
- Panko: And lastly in the panko.
- Air Fryer: Spray the bottom of your basket with olive oil. Place the fish in the basket of your air fryer.
- Bake: Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Carefully flip the fish. Continue to cook for 3-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
Tips For Dipping and Breading Cod
Breading any food can be messy. Here is sure fire way to at least keep it manageable.
- One hand: With one hand dip the cod into the flour mixture and coat evenly. Using the same hand dip it into the egg mixture, shake off any excess egg. Then drop into the panko mixture.
- The Other Hand: Use your other dry hand to press the panko into the cod evenly and all over. Coat it well. Then you place in the air fryer basket. Repeat.
Tips for the Best Air Fryer Parmesan Cod
I love cooking with an air fryer for lots of reasons but one of them is that it is hard to mess up your food. Air frying makes it easy to make luscious meals, every single time.
- Don’t Over Crowd: Given the fish space to breath, if they are too close together, they will steam instead of “fry”
- Cod: Use a good quality cod fillet. Fresh or frozen is fine. You don’t 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 both dry with a paper towel to remove any extra moisture. This will help the crust crisp nicely.
- Oil: Using oil is optional but can help it become crispy. Use an oil only spray. Not a non-stick spray, such as pam, they have additives that will ruin your air fryer.
- Panko: Panko bread crumbs are larger and absorb less moisture so they will produce the best crust. It will be crispy and golden. Regular breadcrumbs will not give you the same results.
- Fish: This will work with any type of white fish and turn out amazing. Think snapper, tilapia, bass and haddock.
What to Serve Crispy Air Fryer Parmesan Cod with
This crispy cod is awesome all by itself but you can add to it as you like.
- Sauce: Tartar sauce is a fan favorite. Malt vinegar, ranch, yum yum sauce, or a squeeze of lemon might be all you need.
- Use it in: Use this fried cod for fish tacos, mix into a salad, or make a fish sandwich to remember.
How to Store Cod Filets
Keep leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes or till 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.
More Seafood Favorites
We love a good seafood recipe at our house. Even the kids love it. Fish is a healthy protein that is good to put in your mix of recipes on a weekly basis. Some seafood is rich like lobster and some is mild and light like shrimp. Whatever you prefer to eat I have a recipe for you. Here are a few tried and true to get you started.
- Incredible Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Amazing Creamy Tuscan Garlic Scallops
- The Best Lobster Tail Ever!
- Sticky Honey Garlic Butter Shrimp
- Easy Salmon Croquettes
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Air Fryer Cod
Ingredients
- 1 pound cod filets
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Panko
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 2 teaspoons old bay seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- olive oil spray if needed
Instructions
- Salt and pepper the cod filets.
- Create a breading station for the fish. In one bowl add the flour. In the second bowl whisk together the eggs and salt. In the last bowl add the Panko, parmesan cheese, old bay seasoning, and garlic powder.
- First dip the cod in the flour.
- Then in the egg mixture.
- And lastly in the Panko.
- Spray the bottom of your basket with olive oil. Place the fish in the basket of your air fryer. Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Carefully flip the fish. Continue to cook for 3-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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