Air fryer frozen fish and chips

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If, like me, you’re a big fan of a takeaway, but are looking to save a little time, money and perhaps a few calories too, then be sure to check out this air fryer frozen fish and chips recipe. it’s VERY simple, you can keep the items in your freezer until you want to enjoy your dinner and it takes less time to cook than oven cooking.

An air fryer is one of the best EVER items that we’ve purchased for use in the kitchen. Over the years I’ve owned all sorts of kitchen gadgets but the air fryer is my absolute best. I’ve owned one for several years now, various different ones, and now I have a Ninja Foodi that I absolutely love! If you’ve got a Ninja Foodi be sure to check out my Ninja Foodi roast potatoes.

If you want to liven up your chips be sure to check out my toppings for chips. This is a great post packed full of fantastic ideas for topping chips or fries.

My air fryer allows me to make the simplest of meals, in a hurry, which is perfect as I’m quite busy these days as a working mother of 2! Even things like frozen chicken nuggets can be made extra crispy and delicious by cooking in the air fryer.

When you’re looking for a quick dinner next, be sure to try this recipe out. It takes just seconds to get it cooking and then you can get on with setting the table, tidying your kitchen or perhaps just getting your children ready to sit at the dinner table!

Ingredients for air fryer frozen fish and chips:

A box of frozen battered or frozen breaded fish fillets. I also make air fryer frozen fish sandwiches sometimes.

A bag of frozen chips or steak cut chips. I’m sure these ingredients are not a surprise to you given this is such an easy recipe!

Salt and vinegar.

Tomato ketchup, mushy peas or whatever other delicious sauces and accompaniments you fancy with your meal! See below for some more suggestions.

You can choose any brand of fish and chips that you like. Recently I tried a Co-Op fishless fish fillet and chips, which came with a little pot of mushy peas. Instead of oven cooking this I air fried it and the results were actually fantastic!

Method for air fryer fish and chips:

Cooking frozen food in your air fryer is a breeze. A lot of potato products, and fish, are already coated in a batter or breadcrumbs with seasoning. This means they have lots of flavour, and you really don’t need to do anything before you place them in the air fryer and start cooking.

A mixture of oil, flour and herbs or spices are often what makes up the outside of a frozen chip or frozen fish fillet or fish goujon. This means you can just get the bag, tip some of the contents into your air fryer basket and then start the cooking.

Frozen fish and chips will crisp up wonderfully!

Turn on your air fryer, set it to 10C less than the required temperature on the packet. Personally I always start with 1/2 of the recommended cooking time for oven cooking too, as advised on the packet of the fish I’m cooking.

I then build up to 2/3 of the cooking time and that is always sufficient to cook foods wonderfully golden and crispy.

Halfway through the initial 50% cooking time I will give the air fryer basket a good shake. Then I will continue cooking.

Keep a close eye on the cooking, as foods brown very quickly in the air fryer!

I find that 15 minutes is usually more than enough, at 200-210C, to cook all types of fish, including large cod fillets, and chips too, but you may want to check the cooking times to see if you start both fish and chips off at the same time or not.

Homemade chips will take longer to cook than the ones from the supermarket already frozen, as they have often been part cooked already. If the chips are large, or covered in beef dripping, these tend to take a few minutes extra to cook.

Use a little common sense when cooking frozen food in your air fryer of course. If you notice that your food is not browning then it is going to be in need of a little more cooking time. If the cooking temperature of the frozen chips is higher than your air fryer cooks, then just use the highest setting and work to cooking for 2/3 of the listed time.

Are air fryers good for cooking frozen food?

Absolutely! Just about ANY frozen food seems to be improved by cooking it in the air fryer. I love the convenience, as it is on the worktop right there, and I don’t have to keep bending down to the oven, which is ideal for my high pain days.

Can you cook fish and chips at the same time in the air fryer?

Yes, definitely. You’ll probably want to give the fish a few extra minutes, and then add the fish once they’ve started to cook.

I like to layer the chips on the bottom for the first 5-10 minutes (depending on what chips I’m using), and then I will move to one side and add the fish. I use an air fryer basket in my Ninja Foodi, and then it gives me a little reminder to shake the basket during the cooking time.

Want a little extra inspiration for cooking some chips?

• Air fryer chips
• Frozen sweet potato fries in the air fryer
• Air fryer cheesy chips
• Air fryer frozen french fries
• Potato wedges in the air fryer

Want to cook fish fingers or fish sticks in your air fryer?

What is the best frozen fish for air frying?

If you’re looking to buy ready made ones then I love the Tesco Finest and Youngs ones, they are both chunky and great for air frying.

Just about any frozen fillets will work, and I particularly love cod, basa and even salmon if I’m going to be adding breadcrumbs or batter myself. Beer batter works wonderfully for cod.

Want to make your own frozen fish fillets?

I would recommend you make these up with FRESH fish, and then freeze them flat on a baking tray with greaseproof paper. As soon as they are frozen you can transfer to a freezer safe bag or container, and then you’ll be able to cook from frozen with your frozen chips.

This is a great way to save a little money, and make something to your own taste!

Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!

If you’re looking to get the most from your air fryer these these are some of my favourite air fryer accessories and cookbooks:

Can you cook other foods at the same time as air frying fish and chips?

Yes! We love to cook something to go alongside with the chips, such as scampi,, air fryer bacon or air fryer frozen chicken nuggets.

If you’ve read this post, and don’t fancy making yourself air fryer frozen chips then why not check out my homemade air fryer potato wedges? So convenient!

Is frozen fish and chips healthy?

It IS a lot healthier than buying it from the chip shop, where it is deep fried in oil, but sometimes you can’t beat that nice takeaway can you!

The good thing with cooking yourself is that you can control both the calories and the oil, by shopping savvy and making some healthy switches.

Do you need to defrost frozen french fries before air frying?

Absolutely not. You can cook from frozen, at a high temperature, and save both effort and time.

If you’re going to defrost first, or you need to cook up a bag that has been accidentally defrosted, then you’re going to want to reduce the cooking time by 3-5 minutes at least. Check an extra time while cooking!

What to serve with your frozen fish and chips?

We love a soft white roll, or air fryer bread roll, mushy peas, salt and vinegar, mayonnaise or tomato ketchup. Nice and simple here!

From time to time I will whip up a homemade tartare sauce, or even serve with a selection of different items such as tomato and chilli salsa and garlic and herb dip. Yum!

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