Paleo Battered Fish

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Make this crispy, Paleo Battered Fish for a healthy, 30-minute meal that kids will love!

Paleo Battered Fish Recipe - Tastes of Lizzy T

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 little ground beef comfort zone today and show how quickly a paleo battered fish dinner can come together.

Paleo Battered Fish Recipe - Tastes of Lizzy T

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.

Alaskan seafood is high in protein, low in sodium and saturated fat, and full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It comes from a natural environment which produces lean flesh and firm texture, with a delicious flavor. I chose cod for this battered fish, but Alaskan seafood also includes salmon, shellfish and whitefish and can be purchased fresh, frozen or even canned.

Paleo Battered Fish Recipe - Tastes of Lizzy T

I was more than excited to share about Alaskan seafood in this battered fish recipe, which is one of my favorite comfort foods. I made this version paleo 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.

Don’t be scared off at the thought of making a fish dinner. 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.

1. Mix up the batter, which is simply ¾ cup tapioca starch, ¼ cup coconut flour, 1 teaspoon garlic salt, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 eggs and ¼ cup 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.

Paleo Battered Fish Recipe - Tastes of Lizzy T

2. Get ½ a cup of olive oil heating over medium-heat on the stove so that when you add the fish it sizzles immediately.

3. The 5 Alaskan cod fillets 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.

4. Coat the fish in the batter and place them carefully in the hot oil. 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. (Make sure you have paper towels under the rack to catch the drips.)

Paleo Battered Fish Recipe - Tastes of Lizzy T

It’s also important to not cook the fish to 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.

Paleo Battered Fish Recipe - Tastes of Lizzy T

I  hope your family will enjoy this paleo battered fish as much as we did!

Q: Do you get stuck in the ground beef and chicken ruts?

Q: What’s your favorite type of Alaskan seafood?

 

paleo-battered-fish-healthy-dinner-recipe
paleo-battered-fish-healthy-dinner-recipe

Paleo Battered Fish

4.70 from 90 votes
Make this crispy, Paleo Battered Fish for a healthy, 30-minute meal that kids will love! Gluten Free, Grain Free, Sugar Free and Whole30.
Servings 5 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

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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
  • 24 ounces Alaskan cod fillets
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, combine the tapioca starch, coconut flour, seasonings, eggs and water.
  • Heat ½ cup of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
  • Cut the cod fillets in half diagonally (if they are too big and you'd like smaller pieces). Use a paper towel to gently dry the cod fillets.
  • Once the oil is hot, coat the cod fillets with the batter 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.
  • Once the fillets are done, use a spatula to remove them from the oil and place them on wire rack so that they stay crispy. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 201g | Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 13g
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Calories 338

Find more paleo recipes here. 

About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Jeannine
8 years ago

We are from MN and always love to have fish fries. Looking for healthier options and this was the first grain free fish fry we’ve liked–even our 5 kids enjoyed. I completely agree with some above tips. We made this tonight for dinner, but the batter was very thick. I didn’t want to change ingredients since it was the first time we made this but next time, we will probably do a container with the dry ingredients and a container with the wet. So, we would alternate dipping into the dry ingredients and then the wet until the fish is… Read more »

Bill
8 years ago

First, Julie and Maddie, very nice work. This is an excellent recipe. I was going to go through my process to develop one but this one hit the mark so close I just did it with a few tweaks, and I am SO glad I did. For those that are planning on making it, a few tips that helped me. – 3/4 cup soda water – 1 tablespoon of salt – After dipping the fish in the batter, drain it for a full 30 seconds. Just hold it over the bowl. The grease needs to heat up anyway. – If… Read more »

Denise Fischer
8 years ago

5 stars
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!

Jade
8 years ago

I made the Paleo Battered Fish for dinner tonight. Also made sweet potato fries. For fish all I had on hand was haddock. The batter was so thick I had to spread it on the fish like peanut butter on bread. When it was done and cooled slightly, the batter slid right off the fish and I was left with plain fish. My kids weren’t impressed. The fries tasted ok but some of them burned. Perhaps I cut them too small? I cut 1/4 slices so I think the size was ok. I wish I had just boiled and mashed… Read more »

bruce kania
8 years ago

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!

Christine
8 years ago

This recipe is a huge, huge winner. That is all.

Jen
8 years ago

5 stars
Made this tonight. Absolutely delicious! Totally satisfied a craving! Thank you!

Lizzy T
9 years ago

Enjoy it Carolyn! 🙂

Shawn
1 year ago

Excellent with very minor mods. And I mean excellent! I’ve tried so many “healthy” fish batter recipes with really disappointing success. Crushed pork rinds (meh..), almond flour recipes that never seem to crisp up…etc… This is a big time keeper. I ended up using 3/8’s -1/2 cup of sparkling water (pineapple-coconut flavor) because I didnt have tapioca starch. Did some research and found out how much corn starch would substitute for the tapioca (1/2 the amount which is 1/3 cup instead of 3/4 cup for Tapioca). Corn starch requires a little more liquid. Added Creole Seasoning instead of the salt… Read more »

Jayna
1 year ago

5 stars
Amazing springboard recipe! After reading the comments, I used 3–4 times the amount of water (just plain water). I also replaced the garlic salt with onion powder and replaced 1/4 cup of the tapioca starch with almond flour. I dredged the fish (I used whiting fillets) in potato starch before battering. It got rave reviews from my family members, even the ones who usually eat “normal” breading. This is the first time I’ve been able to eat battered fried fish in several years, and it was such a blessing to find a great recipe that worked on the first try!

Emogene Schmeisser
1 year ago

Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but after going through many of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m certainly pleased I found it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back regularly!

kim
2 years ago

1 star
the batter turned to slime on me 🙁 I used sea bass and a cast iron skillet – maybe that was the issue.

Dan P
2 years ago

5 stars
I was very pleasantly surprised by this recipe. I used one teaspoon of garlic salt and left out the other teaspoon of plain salt as that seemed like an awful lot of salt. I also had to at least double the sparkling water to make the batter thin enough to handle, Be sure to dry the filets to make sure the batter sticks well. I used coconut oil and this recipe was absolutely delicious on some pike filets that I took out of my deep freeze from last Fall

Eliora
2 years ago

Tried it last night for the first time. I was pretty nervous, after reading all the previous reviews, which seemed like a mixed bag of ‘it worked’ and ‘ not sure what happened’. Mine turned out fantastic and was super simple, imho. I used it was Tilapia fillets. The batter did thicken a bit much once or twice, as it sat, but just added a touch more water each time. I’m assuming this was due to the coconut flour. It seems to be something you drag the fish through instead of dip, per-say, but it works great. I used the… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Eliora
Charity
2 years ago

5 stars
This is my go to recipe to fry fish, chicken etc. Goes well with both. It is excellent!!!