How to Air Fry Fish from Frozen

The air fryer is a simple countertop appliance that brings dinner to the table faster and more hands off than other cooking methods. The great thing about utilizing the air fryer to cook fish from frozen is that it frees up your stovetop to work on delicious sauce pairings and sides.  

When cooking fish from frozen, some recipes will advise you to rinse off any ice crystals or ice glaze from the fish. However, this can result in fish that has a more waterlogged texture once it’s done cooking. For the best texture, don’t bother rinsing off the icy exterior — place it directly into the air fryer basket in its frozen state. Be sure to spray the inside of your air fryer basket generously with cooking spray before beginning to cook or your fish will stick. 

To get the best texture when cooking fish from frozen, it's worth it to "pre-cook" the fish for about 5 minutes — without any oils, sauces, or seasonings. This first step will melt off any ice glaze on the exterior of the fish, ensuring that it will air-fry rather than steam as it cooks.

Pro tip: Most fish from WAC is coated with a layer of ice glaze to help preserve freshness while it's in your freezer. This is why, when cooking defrosted fish, it's always best to "gently pat the fish dry" before cooking to remove excess moisture and get the best texture and color on the fish.

Simple Tips for Air-Fried Fish from Frozen

• Preheat the air fryer to its highest setting (usually around 400F). 

• For best results, DON’T rinse the ice glaze off the fish before cooking.

• Cook the fish with nothing on it for about 5 minutes to melt the exterior ice glaze, then add oil and seasonings.

How to Air Fry Fish from Frozen

Gather your materials and ingredients: Your fillet(s), cooking spray, olive oil, salt and pepper, spatula. 

1. Preheat air fryer to 400F. Spray air fryer basket with cooking spray.

2. Add fish to air fryer (skin side down if applicable). Set timer per species times/temperatures listed below and start cooking. Keep in mind that you will pause air-frying at the 5-minute mark to brush with olive oil and season the fish. 

Suggested total cook times and temperatures:

• COHO or SOCKEYE: 13 to 15 minutes (120F to 125F internal temp.)

• PACIFIC HALIBUT: 12 to 14 minutes (125F to 130F internal temp.)

• PACIFIC COD: 11 to 13 minutes (130F internal temp.)

• ROCKFISH: 8 to 10 minutes (130F internal temp.)

3. After 5 minutes have elapsed, pause cooking to check fish. Exterior of fish should no longer be icy. Add a minute more of cook time if there is still any remaining ice glaze. Then, brush both sides of the fish with olive oil and season with salt & pepper and continue air frying for the remaining cooking time.