Crispy Pan Fried Fish Fingers
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Prepare a fun hands-on weeknight dinner with these pan fried fish fingers — juicy on the inside, golden and crusty outside, with delicious lemon-garlic mayo for dipping.
If you’re looking for a way to introduce your kids to fish, these pan fried fish fingers might just be the trick. They’ve got all the hallmarks of kid-friendly fare—crunchy and easy to eat with your hands—yet they appeal to grown-ups too. The fish fillets are lightly breaded with panko, pan-fried until golden-crisp, and paired with a tangy garlic and lemon mayonnaise. It’s my go-to recipe for turning ordinary tilapia into something special.
If tilapia isn’t your preference, cod or haddock also work nicely, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand. And for more crispy fish recipes, don’t miss my panko-crusted baked salmon, tortilla-crusted tilapia, and panko-coated fresh salmon cakes.
“My family LOVES this meal! My pickiest eater requests it weekly and that’s fine by me as I also love it and it’s easy to prep ahead of time. The lemon-garlic mayo really elevates the dish.”
What You’ll Need To Make Crispy Pan Fried Fish Fingers
- Tilapia fillets: A mild, versatile, and readily-available fish, perfect for breading and frying.
- All-purpose flour: The first step in the breading process, it helps the egg wash adhere to the fish.
- Eggs: Act as a binding agent between the flour and panko, ensuring the breading sticks to the fish.
- Panko: Provides the outer layer, giving the fish sticks their signature crunchy texture.
- Olive oil: Used for pan-frying, it gives the fish sticks a golden color and crispy texture.
- Lemon: Brightens the flavor of the fish when squeezed over just before eating; also brightens the flavor of the dipping sauce.
- Mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann’s or Duke’s: Serves as the creamy base for the dipping sauce.
- Garlic: Infuses the dipping sauce with a pungent, aromatic flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Cut the tilapia into “fingers” by first cutting the fillets in half. Leave the thin sides long, then cut the thicker sides in half on a diagonal so they appear longer.
Set up three large shallow bowls in an assembly line. Put the flour in the first bowl; the beaten eggs in the second; and the panko in the third.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Dredge the fish fingers in the flour mixture, shaking excess into the bowl so just a light coating remains; then dip in the eggs and turn to coat evenly.
Finally, dredge in the panko, turning several times to coat evenly.
Set the breaded tilapia fingers on the prepared baking sheet and season generously with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook (this can be done several hours ahead of time).
Line a plate with 3 paper towels and set by the stove. Coat a large non-stick skillet generously with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the pan is hot, place the first batch of tilapia fingers in the pan, without crowding, and cook until the first side is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until done, about 2 minutes more.
Transfer the fish fingers to the plate with paper towels and let sit for a minute to drain any excess oil. Remove any brown bits out of the pan, add more oil if necessary and continue to cook the fish in batches until done. Season the cooked tilapia fingers with more salt if desired.
To make the sauce, combine the mayonnaise, lemon, and garlic in a small bowl.
Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve the fried fish fingers with the sauce and lemon wedges.
Frequently Asked Questions
The fish sticks can be breaded and refrigerated up to 3 hours ahead of time. However, it’s important to pan-fry just before serving for best results.
Yes, you can freeze the fish sticks before frying for convenient future meals. After breading the fish sticks with flour, eggs, and panko, lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze them on the baking sheet until they’re solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. They can be stored for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to cook, allow them to defrost slightly so they’ll lay flat in the pan, then follow the cooking instructions.
Yes, after frying, let the fish sticks cool completely. Then, freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet before transferring to a freezer bag or container, preventing them from sticking together. Reheat in an oven preheated to 350°F until they are hot and crispy again.
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Crispy Pan Fried Fish Fingers
Prepare a fun hands-on weeknight dinner with these pan fried fish fingers — juicy on the inside, golden and crusty outside, with delicious lemon-garlic mayo for dipping.
Ingredients
For the Fish
- 2 pounds tilapia fillets (cod or haddock may be substituted)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups panko
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Olive oil
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
For the Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise
- 1 cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Tilapia Fingers
- Cut the tilapia into "fingers" by first cutting the fillets in half. Leave the thin sides long, then cut the thicker sides in half on a diagonal so they appear longer.
- Set up three large shallow bowls in an assembly line. Put the flour in the first bowl; the beaten eggs in the second; and the panko in the third.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Dredge the fish fingers in the flour mixture, shaking excess into the bowl so just a light coating remains; dip in the eggs and turn to coat evenly; then dredge in the panko, turning several times to coat evenly. (This can be a messy job...it's best to use one hand for the flour and eggs and the other for the panko.) Set the breaded tilapia fingers on the prepared baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook (this can be done several hours ahead of time).
- Line a plate with 3 paper towels and set by the stove. Coat a large non-stick sauté pan generously with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the pan is hot, place the first batch of tilapia fingers in the pan (do not crowd) and cook until the first side is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until done, about 2 minutes more. Transfer the fish fingers to the plate with paper towels and let sit for a minute to drain any excess oil. Remove any brown bits out of the pan, add more oil if necessary and continue to cook the fish in batches until done. Season the cooked tilapia fingers with more salt if desired. Serve with lemon wedges and Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise.
For the Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise
- Mix the mayonnaise, garlic and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: You can freeze the fish sticks both before and after frying for convenience. To freeze before frying, bread the fish sticks according to the recipe, lay them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet to freeze solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container and store for up to 3 months; allow them to thaw slightly so they'll lay flat in the pan, then fry them according to the instructions. If you prefer to freeze them after frying, let the fish sticks cool completely, then freeze them on a baking sheet before transferring to a freezer bag. Reheat frozen, pre-fried fish sticks in an oven preheated to 350°F until they are hot and crispy.
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Comments
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I hate frying food! Can these be baked in the oven? Maybe finish them with a little broiling for extra crunch??
Hi Janet, Yes, but I would spray them with oil first so that the breadcrumbs crisp up.
How does the cooking time differ if you bake & then broil them?
Hi Marlene, I prefer these cooked on the stove, but you can bake them at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until they are golden and flake easily with a fork. (I would spray them with oil first so that the breadcrumbs crisp up.) Hope you enjoy!
My little one loves this! So easy to make.
Great recipe! What is the best way to reheat after freezing?
Hi Michelle, I would reheat in a 350 degree oven.
I used your recipe for fish fingers and garlic mayonnaise today and it was amazing! The only difference is i prepared my own breadcrumbs for the fish and used orange juice instead of lemon for the mayonnaise but I loved it! Thank you! I will not be using any other recipe to do fish fingers
Another winner with my kids! Thanks again for a simple, straight forward and delicious recipe. I froze half the batch and look forward to another easy and tasty meal in a few weeks.
You occasionally publish calorie counts but not for the tilapia fingers and for other recipes. Without knowing the calories in a dish, I won’t try the recipe no matter how fabulous it seems. I control my weight by consuming a limited amount of calories. I hope you will publish this type of information more frequently in the future. I’m giving this recipe a 5 star because I know it would be amazing if I did make it. Thank you.
You can try purchasing a nutritional kitchen scale. I used calorie counting measures to lose weight and I wouldn’t make it without it. Plus you can be more comfortable substituting ingredients and its waaay more accurate compared to being given the values with the recipe. Just my 2 cents 🙂
could I substitute halibut or salmon or cod for tilapia (not easily found where I live)
Hi Glynis, You could easily substitute halibut or cod.
Hello Jenn, thank you for sharing your knowledge and your great website. Question…how do you feel about prepared garlic in a jar ??? A lot of your recipes call for garlic and chopped or minced garlic in a jar is easy to use. Don from New Jersey.
Hi Don, I don’t love prepared garlic in a jar because the preservatives give it an off taste. I would say it’s fine to use it in a pinch, but only in recipes where the garlic gets cooked; not in salad dressings, dips, etc. Hope that helps!
What would suggest to go with the crispy talapia? ?
Hi Fanny, My French green beans with shallots or roasted broccoli would both be good.
Can I use catfish instead. I did your peruvian chicken and Mexican rice and french string beans with shallots and the green sauce. I LOVE YOU IT CAME OUT JUST THE WAY I HAD IT AT A PERUVIAN RESTAURANT. YOU ARE AMAZING,the recipes are so simple to follow. My grandson is going to learn how to cook b/c of u he loves to be in the kitchen he is my little helper.
Hi Fanny, Yes, any white fish will work with this recipe — just be sure to cut the pieces the same size as shown in the photos so they cook properly. (Tilapia is pretty thin so the inside cooks through just when the outside is crisp and golden.) So glad to hear you are enjoying the recipes!
This was awesome. I had to use butter instead of olive oil though. Very tasty treat!
This is THE best fish recipe ever! Even people who don’t care for fish seem to enjoy it. The garlic mayo makes it addicitng. Wonderful–and so easy too.
I made these tonight with cod and even my fussy “I never eat fish” daughter scarfed them down. I was out of panko so I used Italian bread crumbs and it still work great!
The Tilapia came out perfect. I just made some homemade tartar sauce instead though. My picky kids, ages 2 and 6 loved them and even wanted seconds. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks
These were really tasty! I only had Italian style panko crumbs and I used coconut oil to fry them, and they turned out delicious! I have 2 kids, 6 and 3, and everyone was happy! A keeper in my family!!
Loved this, very easy but I thought the fish needed a little extra seasoning, maybe some cajun spice added to the flour. Next time I will get some good french bread, lettuce, tomato and make these into Poor Boys with that sauce they will be AMAZING!
I do no comprehend the necessity for this step, I thought at first they would be baked, put on sheet just to salt and pepper?
Lay the fish fingers on a baking sheet and season with them salt and pepper. Looks good already, right?
Hi Pavlo, You have to put them somewhere, especially if you want to prep them ahead of time and store them in the fridge, and a baking sheet is just the right size. A plate would be too small.
These were very yummy. I made no changes in the recipe, and my family enjoyed every bite.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Trying to eat fish as part of a healthier diet; frying in oil with breadcrumbs defeats that – forget about adding mayonnaise too…Might as well have some friend chicken at that rate
These were great!
My kids really ate these up.
Added lemon pepper seasoning to the flour. Worked really well.
The garlic/lemon/mayo sauce was excellent! The kids (though they LOVE to “dip” things, went wild with this one. my 3 year old was practically licking his plate. He did his fingers…
Excellent.
I made this tonight for the first time and everyone loved it!! Thank you for a quick easy yummy recipe
I made them last night and my three, and 5 year old boys went back for seconds. They loved them we all did. Everything from everyone’s plates was gone. I never thought of cutting up the fish into fingers,,,great idea. Great Friday-fish night meal.
Thank you so much. No I’m gearing up for the southern shrimp barbeq,,,, Pretty jazzed, been waiting, but it’s time,,,
Is there a need to season fish with salt and pepper before dredging procedure?
Hi Mary, No it’s not necessary.
A trick from my mom included putting the fish in milk then flour then panko. Does the egg make them fluffier?
Hi Lauren, It makes the panko stick better.
My wife and I made these a few weeks ago, and they were phenomenal! Even our picky-eater 14 month old daughter loved them (her first fish dish that she liked). We of course made too much, so we froze the leftovers for later. With a quick reheating at 350F in the oven they were just as good the first go around. For the mayo-dip I jazzed it up a little bit with some fresh dill, made it pop, just a little bit more. Keep these wonderful recipes coming!
Thanks for the simple recipe! I was planning on Tilapia tonight, but wasn’t sure how I wanted to cook it. I needed something kid friendly, and sure enough it was a hit! My 20 month old and 5 year old gobbled them up quickly. I made some tartar sauce instead and it tasted great! Thanks for a go-to recipe!
These are perfect to throw in tacos with lettuce, cheese, and a zesty aoili!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Will this be just as good baked and not fried?
Hi Eliana, Probably not. Sorry!
I make these for my daughter instead of buying frozen fish sticks, and she loves them. She even asks me to make them for her. The one thing I don’t do is the mayonnaise sauce since she likes to dip her’s in ketchup.
We are not a big mayo family so I used apricot jam and diluted it slightly with a few tsp of OJ (could use water) and added about 1/4 tsp asian chili paste for a dipping sauce that everyone loved
Can’t wait to try this . I like that you can prepare then freeze them.
We had halibut on hand so we used that instead, and they disappeared! Delicious!
Have tried this with a little diversion and it is so yummy, Anything that is seafood is better than meat..
These were a hit- the kids gobbled them up. Great recipe.
This is the recipe that got my family hooked on Tilapia. So easy and so delicious. Thank you!
So delicious! This has become a staple in our house – the tilapia always comes out perfectly crispy and the lemon-garlic mayo is the perfect accompaniment.
My family loves tilapia, so I have made your tilapia fingers with garlic mayonnaise many times. Even my 2 year old will eat it! I like, too, that I can assemble the tilapia (bread them and stuff) then put them in the fridge until it’s time to cook! Super easy and super yummy!
Delicious! Made this tonight and my hubby couldn’t get enough. We will definitely keep this one hand.
I made this tonight and my guy and 6 yr old daughter gobbled it up! YUM.
My husband made this recipe without changing a thing, except we baked the fish, and it was really great!
mmm fish and chips might be on my menu this week!
Huge hit with the family!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!! It will be a new favorite one for us
Hi, I made these tonight for dinner and they were very, very good. Quick to put together and very tasty indeed. I will be making these on a regular basis.
Thanks so much.
Made these for dinner last night and, WOW, sooo yummy. Even my picky kids ate them. Love the recipes…keep ’em comin!
I can’t wait to try this, I know from experience panko is good on anything. Never tried it with Mayo base……this should be entresting.
Just wanted to let you know we made your tilapia fingers. SO GOOD! My mom was here and everyone loved them– simple, easy and delicious!
Tried this and the whole famly loved it. The dipping sauce was delicious!
looks fantastic! 🙂
I’ve stumbled upon your blog and I soooo will try this!!! I’ve made breaded tilapia before but not with panko!! Looks easy! Thanks!
-Ms B
http://www.inadvertentlydomesticated.com
Those look so good! can you make me some for lunch?