My roots are straight up Mississippi so you know I was practically raised on fried fish and regular fish fries. When I first created this oven fried fish recipe, I was trying so hard to get all that Southern flavor with a crunchy flavorful crust but tender flaky inside. And trust me, I tested it over and over until I straight up nailed it without a pot of grease in sight. My fam absolutely adores this recipe so much that they request this as much as my OG fried catfish. Now that’s saying something.
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Video Tutorial
How to Make Oven Fried Fish
Step 1: Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper liberally sprayed with non-stick olive oil spray. In a brown bag or ziploc bag, add cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon pepper, and paprika and shake together.
Step 2: In a deep pie plate or large shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and hot sauce.
Step 3: Add each fillet to the beaten eggs on both sides.
Step 4: Then add back into the cornmeal breading and shake liberally to coat well. Place the fillet on the coated baking sheet. Repeat with each fillet.
Step 5: Liberally spray the tops of each fillet with non-stick baking spray coating the fish well until completely covered in spray.
Step 6: Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on thickness of fillets until golden brown but still juicy in the inside. Remove fish and cool for 5 minutes before serving.
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Oven Fried Fish Recipe
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
- Non-stick olive oil spray
- 2/3 cup fine yellow cornmeal
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2-2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1 pound catfish fillets or other fish like tilapia, flounder, and cod
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper liberally sprayed with non-stick oil spray. I usually use olive oil spray but any other neutral spray will work.
- In a brown bag or ziploc bag, add cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon pepper, and paprika and shake together.
- In a deep pie plate or large shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and hot sauce.
- Add each fillet into beaten eggs on both sides, then add into the cornmeal breading and shake liberally to coat well. Place the fillet on the coated baking sheet. Repeat with each fillet.
- Liberally spray the tops of each fillet with non-stick baking spray coating the fish well until completely covered in spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes depending on thickness of fillets until golden brown but still juicy in the inside.
- Remove fish and cool for 5 minutes then serve with lemon and chopped parsley.
Video
Notes
To Store
To store any leftovers, allow it to cool completely and then place it in an airtight container lined with paper towels to absorb any excess moisture. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. When reheating, warm it in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 to 15 minutes to help recrisp the coating and ensure the fish heats through evenly. An air fryer also works really well. Avoid the microwave as it can make the fish soggy. ÂNutrition
Recipe Tips
- Go fresh: The smell will tell you a ton. If you smell a super fishy scent coming from your fish, it ain’t fresh boos. I sometimes will buy frozen and it works well.
- For more crunch: Double dredge. You can dip the fish in the cornmeal batter then into the egg then back into the batter for more crunch.
- Spray really well: And I’m really talking well. Coat every ounce of that fish so that it is oil sprayed and lacking any dry spots. The dry spots won’t get crisp and golden if you don’t.
- Remove from baking pan: After the fish cools a little, I remove the fish and serve pretty quickly because the bottoms can get soggy if they sit too long.
Serving Suggestions
- Fish Fry Faves: Sides like hush puppies or creamy coleslaw work well with this recipe.
- Chicago Style: We love our mix of fried fish with spaghetti boos. Baked spaghetti is also fantastic.
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I love the idea of oven fried! I don’t make catfish nearly as often as I should and can’t wait to try this recipe!
I think I will probably be making this all the time now that I have lightened it up without sacrificing flavor.
This looks ridiculously crispy and delicious. Need to pin this to try later!
Oh yeah!
Fun fact of the day, my hometown is home of the World’s Biggest Fish Fry. I am so not kidding! haha!
We have catfish races, a parade and everything. The whole town shuts down for fish fry!
This catfish looks SO good! And it made me miss home! 🙂
OMG Annie seriously? Girl I need to visit your hometown like yesterday!
You could fool me that you weren’t a born and bred southern gal! 🙂 And fried catfish is about as southern as it gets! I love that you oven fried this and added a little spice! Yum!
Thanks so much Robyn!!!! From one almost Southern gal to another!
Oh my gosh! This fish looks fried, and I could devour it right now! My dad always cooked catfish, which he fished for, brought it home, and cooked it for my family. The cornmeal was what made it so delicious!
There is something oh so special about cornmeal right?
I swear every time you post something new, I want to devour my computer screen. Stop it will you! This spicy oven fried catfish looks amazing and I love that it’s all done in the oven! Pinning!
Woot woot hooray!!
holy moly this looks good!
Thanks so much Kelsey!
This seriously looks fried. You did an amazing job, and it’s so much healthier! Now I just want some hot weather and sunny skies to eat this under!
Yep that sounds good to me girl!!
I’m not a huge fan of deep frying because of the mess — I think I need to suck it up and do it more! With this perfect oven-baked catfish, it doesn’t look like I need to yet! haha Pinned. 🙂
Yep the mess can totally deter you from frying. I know the feeling Marcie.
I love the idea of a fish unfry! I would have never guessed that this fish was baked. It looks amazing, Jocelyn!
Thanks so much Jen!