Air Fryer Fish Fingers (Fish Sticks)

You can’t get much more simple than this guide for how to cook fish fingers in an air fryer. Once you’ve cooked these Air Fryer Fish Fingers, you won’t even think about oven cooking or grilling them again!

Why use an air fryer and not an oven or grill?

Air fryers have been gaining momentum over the last few years but have sky rocketed in popularity in the last few months. People are looking for more cost effective ways of cooking and air fryers are a great option.

Air fryers cook food quicker than a standard convection oven which is great for saving energy and pennies but also for busy families that want to be able to cook food quickly.

Another advantage is that air fryers are smaller than ovens and grills so you’re not heating up a full-sized oven and instead a smaller air fryer. This means you’re using less energy because you’re heating up a smaller appliance as well as cooking the food faster.

So although fish fingers only take 12 minutes to cook in an oven or grill, you’re also saving the approximately 10 minutes they take to heat up to reach temperature.

which fish fingers are best to use?

Fish Fingers or Fish Sticks if you’re from the US, are frozen rectangles of white fish coated typically in breadcrumbs.

Which fish fingers are best really comes down to personal preference. I will always look for pollock fish fingers because I don’t eat cod. I’m pretty sure they used to be haddock which I do eat but they switched to pollock.

Whether you opt for breaded or battered fish fingers shouldn’t affect how long they take to cook in the air fryer.

However if you go for some of the fancier chunky fish fingers they are likely to take a bit longer because they are thicker. I would start at 10 minutes for those and see if they need more time after that.

how many fish fingers can you cook at once?

That depends on how big your air fryer is. I have a Ninja 7-in-1 multicooker which has a 3.7L basket. I can comfortably fit six standard sized fish fingers in mine. In a pinch I could go as far as squeezing in another two to make it eight but this really would be the limit for mine.

However big your air fryer is, don’t be tempted to pack the fish fingers in so they are touching. Air fryers are able to cook quicker because the air can circulate around the food. If you overcrowd your air fryer the fish fingers will take longer to get nice and crisp.

do you need to preheat an air fryer?

That depends on your air fryer, some require preheating whilst others don’t. I have a Ninja 7-in-1 multicooker and I have never preheated mine.

If your air fryer does require preheating, check the fish fingers a few minutes sooner than the recipe states. If your air fryer is warm, food is likely to cook a few minutes faster.

can you use an air fryer liner?

Air fryer liners are a great time saving addition because they are usually easier to wash than the basket of your air fryer.

Most reusable air fryer liners are silicone and although they are handy to have, I wouldn’t recommend using them for all recipes.

Personally I wouldn’t usually use a liner when cooking fish fingers. You want them to be able to get nice and crisp and a liner is likely to prevent the bottom of the fish fingers getting as crisp as they should be.

I’ve written a whole post on whether you should use an air fryer liner, check it out for more information.

how to serve air fryer fish fingers

Now I don’t think people really need too many suggestions on how to serve fish fingers because they have probably been eating them for many years. But I will give some anyway!

I like nothing more than a fish finger sandwich. Put a few of these Air Fryer Fish Fingers in a delicious Bread Roll with some ketchup and to me that is the perfect lunch.

Another obvious way of serving fish fingers is with chips; either homemade or frozen. Whether you then opt for baked beans or peas is your choice.

If you want to be a bit more creative, but still keeping it super simple; you could make Fish Finger Tacos. A slightly elevated, but delicious way of enjoying the humble fish finger.

Other recipes you might like

• Baked Haddock Fishcakes
• Spiced Haddock Rice (Kedgeree)
• Air Fryer Sausages
• Homemade Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
• Simple Air Fryer Whole Roast Chicken

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