Well seasoned breading and an oven fry method create this delightfully light and Crispy Oven Baked Fish. Serve it with creamy dill sauce for a meal that is guaranteed to be a hit with even the most finicky eaters!
If you love fried fish but don’t love the calories this recipe is for you! Air fryer cooks should also give my Air Fryer Fish Sticks a try.
This recipe came about as the result of a near disaster. In a half-crazed, manic state while preparing for my youngest sons departure for college, I removed a package of fillet of sole from my freezer, instead of chicken.
When I bought it, I had envisioned some sort of crab stuffed deliciousness but I had nothing like that on hand and a trip to the store was NOT in order.
After a quick Google search, I came across recipe for fish sticks from my dear friend, Martha Stewart (yeah, we’re not friends). I subbed my fillet of sole for the tilapia Martha used and whipped up my own creamy dill dipping sauce. And, that my friends, is how great things happen.
My recipe is quite a departure from Martha’s but I thank her for starting me on my crispy baked fish journey.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
Fish: Filet of sole, catfish, flounder, pollock, haddock, and tilapia are all thin white fish that will work well in this recipe. Thick white fish like halibut or cod will also work but may require a longer cooking time. Just make sure you are using boneless fillets and cut any large filets into serving size pieces.
Breading: The breading for the fish consists of all-purpose flour, whisked eggs, and a mixture of plain panko bread crumb seasoned with Old Bay Seasoning, dried parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Just enough olive oil is added to the bread crumb mixture to help the breading crisp up as it cooks.
Creamy dill sauce: This delicious seafood condiment is made with mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, either fresh or dried dill, onion powder, and garlic salt. The kiddos love condiments! Including a dipping sauce with any meal adds a kid-friendly component. See more ideas in the serving suggestions below.
How to Make Crispy Oven Baked Fish
- Prepare the breading: Grab three shallow dishes. Place the flour in one of them. In another dish, lightly whisk your eggs. In the last dish, mix together the plain panko bread crumbs, Old Bay Seasoning, garlic powder, dried parsley, just a touch of salt and pepper. Toss this mixture together with the olive oil.
- Flour the fish: Dredge each piece of fish through the flour and transfer all of the flour-coated fish to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
I have found this to be a much tidier process when I dredge all of the fish in flour first before completing the breading process. Or, see my “dry hand/wet hand” breading technique detailed in my Air Fryer Fish Sticks recipe.
- Finish breading: Line a baking sheet with foil and coat the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Using kitchen tongs or your fingers, run a piece of floured fish through the beaten egg, coating both sides. Allow the excess egg to drip off then immediately dredge the egg coated fish through the bread crumb mixture. Transfer the breaded fish to the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake the fish in a preheated 425 degree F oven for about 12 to 15 minutes.
While the fish is in the oven you can mix up the creamy dill sauce. I also serve this sauce with my Baked Salmon in Foil and it’s delicious with a wide variety of seafood recipes.
Serving Suggestions
Dipping sauces: If you want to branch out from the creamy dill sauce, classic choices include Homemade Tartar Sauce and my Cocktail Sauce Recipe which my kids always referred to as “fish ketchup”.
Side dishes: For a classic seafood meal, whip up some California Coleslaw and Oven Baked Fries. This fish is also delicious served with Lemon Garlic Roasted Potatoes, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Almond Rice Pilaf, or Orzo with Parmesan and Peas. Round out your meal with a veggie side like Zucchini and Sweet Corn with Feta or Brown Sugar Dill Carrots.
Crispy fish sandwiches: Carbs be darned! Slap a piece of this Crispy Oven Baked Fish inside a hoagie roll, slather it with the creamy dill sauce or tartar sauce and add pickles, sliced tomato, and lettuce for a tasty crispy fish sandwich.
Storage and Reheating Tips
- Refrigerate: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate promptly. Refrigerated cooked fish should be consumed within 3 to 4 days.
- Reheating: Breaded fish will also be at its crispy best immediately after cooking, however, you can reheat it in a conventional oven or toaster oven preheated to 375 degrees F, just until warmed through. Or, if you have an air fryer, a few minutes at the same temperature will do the trick!
More Seafood Recipes You’ll Love
- Blackened Mahi Mahi
- Sockeye Salmon
- Shrimp and Spinach Pasta
- Roasted Salmon with Maple Glaze
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp Salad
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Crispy Baked Fish with Creamy Dill Sauce
Ingredients
For the Crispy Baked Fish
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups plain panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 ½ pounds thin white fish filets, I used filet of sole (see notes below for more ideas)
- lemon wedges, optional for serving
For the Optional Creamy Dill Sauce
- ⅓ cup sour cream, light or regular
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon lemon, juiced
- ¾ teaspoon dried dill weed, or 2 tablespoons fresh
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray the foil generously with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place the flour in a wide shallow dish. In another shallow dish, combine the plain panko bread crumbs, Old Bay, garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil. In a third shallow dish, lightly beat the eggs.
- Lightly season the fish with a little salt. Then, dredge one piece of fish in all-purpose flour, coating both sides. Transfer floured fish to a separate piece of foil temporarily. Repeat with the remaining pieces of fish.
- One by one dip the flour coated fish first into the egg, allowing the excess to drip back into the dish, then into the panko mixture, coating both sides of the fish well. Place on the prepared, foil lined baking sheets and repeat the process with the remaining flour coated fish.
- Bake until lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom halfway through the baking time.
- Serve with lemon wedges and creamy dill sauce, tartar sauce, or cocktail sauce for dipping.
Optional Creamy Dill Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Ideas
This post was originally published on October 10, 2013. It has been updated with new text and images.
I have a question? Can I prepare the fish in advance? Can I dredge them in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs, place them on a prepared baking dish and refrigerate until I am ready to bake them later? By later I mean, prepare them in the morning and bake them later for dinner?
I’d be concerned the breading would get too soggy if it was allowed to rest too long before you cook the fish.
Thanks. Good to know.
This is the best sauce ever! Thank you for all the work you do.
So mom in law needs cardio diet…no more fried fish! Made this and my husband said even better than fried fish! Thanks for tip!
Your comment does my heart good (no pun intended!). So glad you all enjoyed it 🙂
There`s a positive to everything, right? I`m happy such a yummy fish dish came out from your little mistake. Haha~
I have this old bay seasoning (that my husband got for bbq) but rarely use it so I am happy to find a new way to use it. Love baked fish like this. I need to try your creamy dill sauce next time. The baked fish and the sauce match perfectly!
I’m going to try this with cod (which is Grumpy’s favorite fish). Looks yummy!
Looks yummy! I have tilapia in my freezer I have been needing to use. This will be perfect!
Hi Valerie,
This looks great. I love a good baked fish recipe, and this one looks like it has lots of flavor.
Looks wonderful! Dill is absolutely one of my favorite spices 🙂