These homemade crunchy air fryer fish sticks are waaaaay better than any frozen store-bought variety! Bonus: the crispy crust is made with crushed plantain chips so this kid-friendly finger food is both paleo and gluten-free!
If you’ve been missing crunchy fish sticks since you went paleo or gluten free, you should make these nomtastic fish sticks IMMEDIATELY. They’ve got an impressively crispy coating while the inside stays flaky and moist—and they seriously taste amazing. My boys are now clamoring for fish sticks all the time!
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to gather to make paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, and oh-so-delicious air fryer fish sticks!
- Boneless and skinless white fish fillets: I use cod fillets, but any firm white fish will work (e.g., halibut, haddock, pollock, sea bass, etc.).
- Plantain chips or strips: As I said in my Chicken Nuggets recipe, crushed plantain chips are the secret to a crunchy grain-free batter. They’re an amazing paleo substitute for panko breadcrumbs! Just make sure you process the plantain chips until they’re the texture of coarse sand—that way, they’ll adhere better to the foods you’re coating.
- Eggs: The eggs help the coating adhere to the fish. Unfortunately, I’m not sure of a good replacement if you have an egg allergy, so if you come up with one, leave it in the comments below!
- Cassava flour: This flour gets whisked in with the eggs and spices to thicken the batter and coat the chicken pieces properly. Tapioca and arrowroot powder also work in a pinch.
- Spices: I use a blend of onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika to season the batter. If you decide to use Old Bay seasoning in place of my seasoning blend, don’t add salt to the batter because Old Bay has salt in it.
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Avocado oil cooking spray: I generously spritz avocado oil on the fish sticks to ensure a crispy end product.
Can I make fish sticks in the oven?
Yes, but they will not come out quite as crispy as when you air fry them. The 2 keys to baking in the oven are to cook the fish fillets elevated on a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and to have the oven set to convection mode if you have that function. More details are in the instructions below.
How to make homemade air fryer fish sticks
Prepare the fish
Pat the fish fillets dry with a paper towel and cut the fish into 3×1-inch strips, until you have about 16 uniform pieces.
Sprinkle the the fish fillets on both sides with Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
Prepare the gluten free coating
Dump the plantain chips into a food processor or blender and process until a coarse powder is formed. You should end up with 1½ cups of plantain crumbs.
Set up your dredging station
Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Set it aside.
Pour half of the plantain chip crumbs in a shallow bowl. (If you put all of them in the shallow bowl at once, they’ll clump up as you coat the fish.) Add more crumbs as needed to the plate as you dredge the fish—that way you won’t run out of plantain crumbs prematurely.
In another shallow dish, add the eggs, cassava flour, spices, and salt. Whisk together until a uniform sticky paste forms.
Coat the fish sticks with batter
In batches, dip the fish in the egg mixture, shaking off any excess batter.
Coat the fish with the plantain chip crumbs, gently patting the crumbs on top.
Coat the fish stick completely with crumbs and place it on the prepared wire rack in the rimmed baking sheet.
Continue coating the fish sticks until finished.
Air fry the fish sticks
Now, we’re going to air fry the fish stick in batches. (Before you ask: my favorite Air Fryer is the 6-quart Instant Pot Vortex Plus.) Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. As the air fryer is heating up, spray the tops of the fish sticks with avocado oil.
When the air fryer is hot, lightly spray the bottom of the air fryer with avocado oil spray. Place the fish sticks with the avocado oil sprayed side down in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Spray the tops of the fish sticks with avocado oil.
Air fry at 400°F for 7 to 9 minutes, flipping the the fish sticks over at the halfway point (at around the 4 minute mark). The fish sticks are ready when the outside is golden brown and the center is opaque and flaky. The final temperature of the cooked fish should reach 140°F.
No air fryer? Oven bake the fish sticks
If you don’t have an air fryer, don’t worry: you can bake these babies in the oven. Heat your oven to 425°F convection with the rack in the middle. Place the fish sticks on a greased wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Spray the fish sticks with avocado oil and bake for 10 to 13 minutes, flipping the fish sticks at the halfway point (at around the 6 minute mark). The fish sticks are ready when the outside is golden brown and the center is opaque and flaky. The final temperature of the cooked fish should reach 140°F.
What do you serve these fish sticks with?
These paleo and gluten-free fish sticks taste terrific when dunked in my homemade tartar sauce. It only takes a few minutes to make from stuff you may already have in the fridge and pantry! If you don’t want to bother making a sauce, simply serve the fish sticks with store-bought paleo ketchup or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Can you freeze the fish sticks?
Yes! You can definitely make a double batch and freeze them for future meals. I freeze the uncooked fish sticks on a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet for about 4 hours or until they’re solid. Then, I transfer the frozen fish sticks to a sealed container or freezer bag and chuck ’em in the freezer for up to 4 months. To cook up frozen fish sticks, air fry them for 10 to 14 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown on the outside.
More air fryer paleo recipes!
- Air Fryer Cracklin’ Chicken
- Air Fryer Carrots
- Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets
- Air Fryer Calamari
- Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Air Fryer Fish Sticks (Gluten Free, Paleo)
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless white fish fillets cod, halibut, pollock, or sea bass are good choices
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 6 ounces plantain chips
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons cassava flour
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Avocado oil spray
Instructions
- Pat the fish fillets dry with a paper towel and cut the fish into 3×1-inch strips, until you have about 16 uniform pieces. Sprinkle the the fish fillets on both sides with Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Dump the plantain chips into a food processor or blender and process until a coarse powder is formed. You should end up with 1½ cups of plantain crumbs.
- Place a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Set it aside.
- Pour half of the plantain chip crumbs in a shallow bowl. (If you put all of them in the shallow bowl at once, they’ll clump up as you coat the fish.) Add more crumbs as needed to the plate as you dredge the fish—that way you won’t run out of plantain crumbs prematurely.
- In another shallow dish, add the eggs, cassava flour, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Whisk together until a uniform sticky paste forms.
- In batches, dip the fish in the egg mixture, shaking off any excess batter. Coat the fish with the plantain chip crumbs, gently patting the crumbs on top. Place the battered fish sticks on the prepared wire rack in the rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining fish sticks.
- Air Fryer Instructions: Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. As the air fryer is heating up, spray the tops of the fish sticks with avocado oil. When the air fryer is hot, lightly spray the bottom of the air fryer with avocado oil spray. Place the fish sticks with the avocado oil sprayed side down in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Spray the tops of the fish sticks with avocado oil. Air fry at 400°F for 7 to 9 minutes, flipping the the fish sticks over at the halfway point (at around the 4 minute mark). The fish sticks are ready when the outside is golden brown and the center is opaque and flaky. The final temperature of the cooked fish should reach 140°F.
- Oven instructions:Heat your oven to 425°F convection with the rack in the middle. Place the fish sticks on a greased wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. Spray the fish sticks with avocado oil and bake for 10 to 13 minutes, flipping the fish sticks at the halfway point (at around the 6 minute mark). The fish sticks are ready when the outside is golden brown and the center is opaque and flaky. The final temperature of the cooked fish should reach 140°F.
- Serve with lemon wedges, ketchup, or homemade tartar sauce!
Video
Notes
- Freeze the uncooked fish sticks on a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet for about 4 hours or until they’re solid.
- Transfer the frozen fish sticks to a sealed container or freezer bag and chuck ’em in the freezer for up to 4 months.
- To cook up frozen fish sticks, air fry them for 10 to 14 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown on the outside.
roberta soggiu says
Can I use frozen cod fish fillets ?
Michelle Tam says
I thaw my cod fillets first!
Jean says
I have frozen cod. Assuming I keep the cod very cold while prepping, can I turn them into fish sticks, then refreeze half the uncooked fish sticks?
Michelle Tam says
It’s hard to coat the fish sticks if they’re still frozen. I would thaw them, coat them, and then freeze them.
Charlie Wolter says
Can almond flour be used in lieu of cassava flour?
Michelle Tam says
I’m not sure because I haven’t tried it. I think something starchier would work better like arrowroot or tapioca.
Sam says
So so good!! Made them tonight with tilapia, they turned out delicious. Will totally be making again. Simple recipe and the outcome is totally worth the work. Can’t wait to make again!
Jen says
Could you actually fry them in a deep fryer?
Michelle Tam says
Yes!
Mothersfoods says
so good!
Rosemary says
For an egg replacement, I use a rubberized “brush” to coat fish on both sides with olive oil and then coat with the batter. I suppose one could also immerse the fish sticks in a bowl of any oil first and then cover with the flour mixture.
Florence says
I am not much of a fish eater, but these were good. The only problem I had the coating kept falling off the first batch. The second batch went well. Thank you for sharing. Next time, I think I will let them sit for a moment for the coating to dry out a bit before adding it to the air fryer.
Heather says
For an egg replacement, I tend to use a mixture of vegan mayo and Dijon mustard. It’s got a nice thickness and adds a touch of flavor.
Murrielle says
I’d like to try this but plantain chips are hard to get here. What can I use as substitute?
Regina Chan says
You could try Amazon for the plantain chips, or another reader mentioned that she used Siete tortilla chips and it turned out great!
Jenny says
I made this but with chicken tenders instead of fish. They were so good, everyone loved them!
C. Warnock says
These look great! Just wondering if I could use another flour in place of the cassava flour? Tapioca or Arrowroot flour maybe?
Regina Chan says
Yup, as Michelle says in the post, tapioca or arrowroot would work in a pinch.
Christie says
Turned out great! My little man doesn’t like fish and he loves this. Maybe I’ll get more plantain chips next time. Ran out at the end.
Michelle Tam says
I pour half of the crushed plantains in the bowl first and add more as needed so I don’t run out!