Air Fryer Tilapia

This post was originally published on A Food Lover’s Kitchen.

This Air Fryer Tilapia is a great way to get crispy fried fish without all the oil and grease of deep frying. The crunchy exterior gets golden brown in the air fryer in just 15 minutes, like these crispy shrimp that we love.

This recipe uses and egg wash and breadcrumbs with flour and spices to make an easy breading for the fish. You won’t need a lot of oil, but a quick spray on both sides of the breading will help make it that crispy, golden brown exterior you crave.

The only thing you want to keep in mind when cooking in the air fryer is that you can really only cook what fits on the surface of the basket. You can overlap the fish a little bit, but the more it overlaps, the less crispy the exterior will get. It needs air circulation to crisp up.

I have a 5-quart air fryer basket, and I can easily fit 2 pieces of tilapia in the basket with very little overlap. If you want to make 4 or more servings, they’ll turn out best if you cook them in 2 batches.

You can place the cooked pieces of fish on a wire rack while you’re waiting for the other pieces to cook. Then reheat them all for 1 minute in the air fryer at the end.

» You might like Frozen Salmon in the Air Fryer.

Air Fryer Tilapia Ingredients

I like to bread the tilapia before cooking it in the air fryer. With just a little bit of oil on the breading, it makes a perfectly crispy piece of fish that can be eaten alongside your favorite side dish. You can use it for fish tacos or fish sandwiches, as well.

Of course you don’t have to bread the fish, if you’d rather not add those extra calories from the breading. Just season the fish directly and cook it for 5-6 minutes per side.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

• Two tilapia filets (you can also use cod, halibut, mahi mahi, etc)
• Egg
• Buttermilk or cream (optional)
• Breadcrumbs
• All-purpose flour
• Paprika
• Garlic Salt
• Salt
• Ground black pepper

Stovetop Directions

Don’t have an air fryer? No problem!

Follow the first 3 steps down below.

Heat cooking oil in a frying pan over medium high heat until shimmering. Place the tilapia filets in the pan, spaced apart so they aren’t touching. Cook for 3 minutes per side, until golden. The internal temperature of the fish should be 145 degrees F when done.

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