Air fryer frozen fish sandwich

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Like most people we’re a fan of a takeaway or two. Getting something delivered to home, that you don’t have to cook, is convenient and all but also VERY expensive. That’s why I’ve started making these air fryer frozen fish sandwiches lately! They are super convenient, quick, cheap and great for those nights you just don’t fancy cooking much from scratch but want something tasty too.

Using the air fryer makes it really simple to make meals, particularly dinner. It cuts down on the cooking time, is very simple to use and I love that frozen food takes less time to cook in the air fryer than in the oven and goes super crispy too.

We’re big fans of a variety of air fryer side dishes, and love to serve air fryer chips or air fryer frozen halloumi fries alongside this fish sandwich.

When we want a delicious hot lunch the air fryer helps us make something super tasty, and in a rush too. Whether I want to make a batch of air fryer roast potatoes or I want to make something more lavish, such as a full roast dinner, the air fryer is great! Everything cooks fast and is really easy to cook too.

With the use of my air fryer I don’t have to use heavy baking trays and lift them in and out of the oven. My air fryer, the Ninja Foodi OL750UK, sits on the kitchen worktop and is at a great height just to pour a few frozen goods in and let them cook for 10 minutes or so. I love that I can add different items during the cooking time and have a meal ready at the same time.

This air fryer mahi mahi would work great too if you’re looking for something a little different.

A cooked air fryer fish burger in a sesame seed topped bun with burger cheese, mayonnaise and lettuce.

Ingredients for air fryer frozen fish sandwich:

Frozen fish burger / sandwich fillets. We love to use the Youngs fish fillet quarter pounders. They are easy to find in store in many UK supermarkets and they can be kept in the freezer for months without the quality dropping.

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!

Cooked battered fish fingers in a white and blue enamel tray.

Method for cooking an air fryer frozen fish sandwich:

Cooking fish burgers in the air fryer is really easy. Just get them from the freezer, open the box, pour into the air fryer basket and you’re good to go.

For the Youngs fish fillet quarter pounders I like to line the basket with a little baking paper. These fillets have quite a lot of oil in the batter and this will leak out. If you want extra crispy fillets then skip the baking paper, but this is really simple to help aid the cleaning of the air fryer basket afterwards.

Cooking frozen food in the air fryer is a breeze, just start with a temperature that is 20C less than the recommend temperature on the packet. If there is a temperature listed for a fan oven then use this temperature, and start with 1/2 of the cooking time, moving up to 2/3 of the cooking time as needed.

Just use your judgement when cooking frozen fish sandwiches and cook for 1-2 extra minutes at a time if needed. Things CAN burn super quick in the air fryer, so keep a close eye on it!

I like to use a meat thermometer to make sure that the fish fillets have reached a safe internal temperature before cooking, as well as being brown on the outside.

Usually I will flip these fish burgers once during cooking, just to ensure that they are brown all over. This avoids them sticking to the basket of the air fryer and makes it easy to serve them up too.

With the fish burgers I don’t shake them up during cooking, as they don’t tend to stick thanks to the added batter and/or oil using in the coating.

A white and blue enamel dish with air fryer fish fillet, chips and mushy peas with a brushed aluminium fork on a blue backdrop

Which fish burgers are best for the air fryer? Homemade or frozen?

If you’re going to make them from scratch you’ll want to freeze them before cooking, to help the batter stay on while air frying.

Personally I feel that frozen fish burgers work the best, as they are super crispy and delicious while being soft and moist inside.

If you want to make your own they’d be great too, but this is designed to be a low effort recipe.

When you can’t find fish burgers specifically you can use frozen breaded fish, frozen fish fillets, breaded fish fillets or just about any fish fillets really. These all work very well in buns, with a nice dollop of sausage and some lettuce or other salad leaves.

Battered fish, chips and mushy peas in an enamel dish with baking paper and a brushed steel fork.

What goes well with fish burgers?

The classics are tomato ketchup or tartare sauce. I also love a little English mustard, pickles or air fryer onions. An air fryer frozen onion ring works really well and I love to serve with air fryer frozen french fries or air fryer diced potatoes instead.

When you’ve got fussy little ones you can serve up air fryer fish fingers instead. We’ve got lots of great recipes here including air fryer frozen salmon and air fryer frozen hash browns.

When I need to make some fresh rolls I like to make either these soft white rolls or air fryer bread rolls. These are both really simple recipes to make and I love them.

Why not try some of my other air fryer recipes while you’re here?

Can you reheat fish fillets in an air fryer?

If you’ve made these fresh then you’ll be able to re-heat once, however, I wouldn’t really recommend this.

Fish is best enjoyed fresh and frozen fillets definitely should not be re-heated for food hygiene and safety reasons.

roasted tomato pizza sauce in a glass jar with red tomatoes to the side and a patterned lid

How to air fry frozen fish sandwiches in Ninja Foodi:

Use the crisper plate for fish burgers to get the best results. Follow the time method mentioned above as no other changes should be required based on specific models.

Do you need to defrost frozen fish burgers before air frying?

No! Just cook from frozen, at a high temperature, and you’ll save time and effort. IF you have fresh fish burgers, or have made your own fish sandwiches, then reduce the cooking time by a few minutes and check one additional time during air frying.