Julie Clark
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Paleo Fried Fish
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Make this crispy, Paleo Fried Fish for a healthy, 30-minute meal that kids will love! A gluten free fried fish batter that you will not believe is good for you.
Do you ever get stuck in the chicken and ground beef rut for dinner?
I know we do. To many of us, chicken and ground beef are the safe, easy meats to prepare at home. It’s true that they are easy, but I’m going to push you out of your ground beef comfort zone today and show how quickly a paleo battered fish dinner can come together.
Healthy fried fish even the kids will love.
I know a lot of times kids (and even adults) can cringe at the idea of fish. This Paleo Battered Fish will become a favorite. How do I know? Because two of my kids were not happy with my choice of fish for dinner, but as soon as they had one bite of this crispy, fried cod, they suddenly thought fish was the best dinner ever.
I developed this version of paleo fried fish which means it is grain-free, gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy free. Healthy, but still fantastically delicious.
And the kids still loved it. Success.
Ingredients in Paleo Battered Fish
- Tapioca starch and coconut flour. These are two naturally gluten-free flours. The coconut flour adds flavor and texture while the tapioca starch helps the breading hold together. If you don’t like coconut flour you could try almond flour.
- Garlic salt, salt, ground black pepper. Simple seasonings to this fish can go with just about any side dish, but “chips” and dill pickles are a favorite! Just like a traditional fish fry.
- Eggs. Eggs help the batter be nice and thick and help it stick to the fish.
- Sparkling water. Why sparkling water? It’s a replacement for the beer in beer battered fish. If you’d like, you can just use plain water.
- Alaskan cod. The 5 Alaskan cod fish filets that I used were large. I cut the fillets into two triangles to make 10 smaller pieces of fish. Make sure the cod fillets are defrosted and pat them dry with a paper towel so the batter sticks better. You can also use halibut, haddock or even shrimp.
- Olive oil. Coconut oil or avocado oil are two good alternatives.
Before you begin.
Two things to think about before you make this paleo fried fish.
- When using gluten-free/grain free ingredients, it’s important to handle the fish the least amount possible. The breading doesn’t stick on as well as with regular white flour. I placed the fish in the oil, then didn’t touch it for 4 minutes until I turned the fish. Then the fish cooked for another 3-4 minutes and I gently removed the fish to wire rack so that they can drip but stay crispy.
- Don’t cook the fish too long. Depending on the thickness of the fish fillets, it will only take 3-5 minutes of frying on each side before it is done. Test the fish carefully with a fork and it should be white and flaky. If you cook the fish too long, it may get tough.
How to Make Paleo Fried Fish
Don’t be scared off at the thought of making a fried fish dinner. Paleo fish is easy to prepare and cooks quickly, making this a meal you can get on your table in under 30 minutes, and here’s how you’ll do it.
- In a shallow bowl, combine the tapioca starch, coconut flour, seasonings, eggs and water. Whisk well. Add more sparkling water if the mixture gets too thick.
- Heat ½ cup of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- While the oil is heating, cut the cod fillets in half diagonally (if they are too big and you’d like smaller pieces). Use a paper towel to gently pat the cod fillets dry.
- Once the oil is hot, coat the cod fillets with the batter, let any excess batter drip off and place them into the hot oil.
- Allow the fillets to cook for 4 minutes, then gently flip the fillets and allow them to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until they are white and flaky inside. Be careful not to overcook. Fish is safe to eat with an internal temperature of 145ºF. Use our favorite instant read thermometer!
- Once the fillets are done, use a spatula to remove them from the oil and place them on wire rack with paper towels underneath so that they stay crispy. Serve immediately.
Recipe Variations
- Cut the fish into strips to make fish sticks! The kids will love this.
- We’re often asked if you can use your air fryer for this recipe. I wouldn’t recommend it because of the batter would stick in the basket grates. If you try it, use foil or a pan to air fry the fish in.
- Cut the fried fish into pieces and make fish tacos! Place it in a flour tortilla and top it with pineapple salsa or mango salsa and Mexican coleslaw.
What to Serve with Paleo Fried Fish
Looking for side dishes? Try one of these:
If you don’t need paleo, serve our pineapple coleslaw with this gluten free fried fish recipe.
Paleo Battered Fish
Make this crispy, Paleo Battered Fish for a healthy, 30-minute meal that kids will love! A gluten free fried fish batter that you will not believe is good for you.
Servings 5 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sparkling water or more depending on thickness you'd like
- 24 ounces Alaskan cod fillets
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the tapioca starch, coconut flour, seasonings, eggs and water. ¾ cup tapioca starch, ¼ cup coconut flour, 1 teaspoon garlic salt, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 large eggs, ¼ cup sparkling water
- Heat ½ cup of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Cut the cod fillets in half diagonally (if they are too big and you'd like smaller pieces). Use a paper towel to gently pat the cod fillets dry.
- Once the oil is hot, coat the cod fillets with the batter and place them into the hot oil. 24 ounces Alaskan cod fillets
- Allow the fillets to cook for 4 minutes, then gently flip the fillets and allow them to cook for an additional 3-5 minutes until they are white and flaky inside. Be careful not to overcook.
- Once the fillets are done, use a spatula to remove them from the oil and place them on wire rack with paper towels underneath so that they stay crispy. Serve immediately.
Notes
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 5, with 1 serving being 1 piece of fish. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **
Nutrition
Serving: 201g | Calories: 321kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 133mg | Sodium: 1047mg | Potassium: 595mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.5g | Vitamin A: 163IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg
This looks great! To get the batter to stick correctly you just mix the eggs separate from the dry ingredients. You dip in egg, then in the tapioca mixture. I can’t wait to try!
Absolutely delicious! Made this with haddock and it was amazing. Even the leftovers were good! My husband, who never prefers the paleo version of anything, said this recipe is a keeper. Thank you!
This batter was amazing! So nice to have an option without almond flour for a change. Worth converting the measurements to metric. For any Aussie peeps, it is 91g of Tapioca, 28g Coconut flour, 90ml sparkling water and the rest is the same. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Julie. Please replace my previous comment with the one below. Auto-correct on my phone messed up my “P.S.” 🙁
Delicious! My husband and I felt like we were eating at a restaurant! I did increase the club soda to 3/8 cup, replaced the garlic salt with garlic powder, and increased salt to 1 1/2 tsp., as others recommended. We have already added this to our dinner rotation. We had it with sweet potato fries. Thank you!
P.S. Here is the BEST recipe for sweet potato fries: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014647-sweet-potato-fries
Best Paleo batter I’ve ever tried and I’ve tried many-it actually sticks.
I do use lard rather than olive oil for high temperature frying. The fish turned out great
I haven’t yet, but plan to try it on veggies: asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower. I think it should work.
I can’t eat eggs and I am on stage one of AIP so I’m really limited. But I used your tapioca starch and coconut flour idea with salt and pan fried it. It gave it the crunch I was looking for! Thanks!!
WOW. Thank you for creating this recipe! I made it using kudzu starch, which is all I had. I also added twice the amount of garlic powder (a bit less salt) and used the liquid of some fermented tofu to give a cheesy flavor (instead of sparkling water). AMAZING. I am so pleased with how the batter held together so well and is scrumptious around fish. This satisfied my breaded fish craving!!!!
This was AMAZING!!!!! Thank you!!!!! It reminded me of a batter that is used in a Puerto Rican dish call Bacalaítos, where dried salted cod is used instead of fresh/frozen cod. I can’t wait to make them! I thought that I would never be able to eat them since my gluten intolerance. I am so happy I can have battered fish and Bacalaítos!
I didn’t have tapioca starch so I used arrowroot instead. Worked like a charm! It was easy and delicious and the kids LOVED!
I never leave comments but we had this tonight and it was fantastic! I dried my fish (Alaskan haddock) well before battering and had no problems with batter sliding off.
Hubby is French and has pretty high standards for food but he’s still raving about the fish an hour later 🙂 We had it with home fries baked in duck fat and herbs, and it hit the spot perfectly.
Hello, We just had fish, and I forgot all about doing this with battering my 2 fillets, so I probably could down-size this by half, and then with the rest of the batter, either make a huge pancake with some sweetener and cocoa powder, or use it in a hurry to batter something else and eat dessert right after, like some banana, but since there is no oil or butter I can store this in the fridge and batter hopefully sweet potato french fries. I think the one person had a problem with the batter sticking to her fish because… Read more »
This was the best battered fish I EVER ate! This breading is TOO good and easy to make and use. I use it to make breaded zucchini and eggplant parmigiana! One night for dinner, I had your fish and wings with blue cheese and my husband picked your fish! First time ever for him not to eat wings first! BTW, I do use one cup of sparkling water. Thank you!
Just heard about this on “splendid table”. Tried it last night with bluegill fillets…very nice! Substituted corn flour for coconut, which worked. Went to a 5 to 1 ratio though. Also added a blend of tumeric dominated spices…about two spoonfuls. This worked too! Thanks!
It was a great hit in our family. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Did you get a chance to experiment with sweet rice flour? It makes coating crispy as well. Thanks for this recipe, because I’ve always loved beer battered fish. I agree with Bill about the fluid correction. I read recently to allow gluten free flour to sit after they’re mixed to allow them to absorb the fluids used. I’ve made better pancakes because of this. In light of lent coming soon, this is a timely post. Thanks, Lizzy!