Description
Make your kitchen feel like a Southern seafood restaurant with this foolproof air fryer catfish recipe that brings restaurant-quality results to your home.
This crispy air fryer catfish recipe brings together classic Southern flavors and modern cooking methods. You’ll get perfectly golden-brown filets that are crunchy outside and tender inside. The best part? It needs minimal oil but packs maximum flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 catfish filets (6–8 ounces each).
- ½ cup buttermilk.
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal.
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour.
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning.
- ½ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning.
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
- Olive oil spray.
- Hot sauce (optional, for buttermilk soak).
Instructions
- Soak catfish filets in buttermilk with a few dashes of hot sauce for 30 minutes.
- Mix cornmeal, flour, Cajun seasoning, and lemon pepper in a shallow dish.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F.
- Take filets out of buttermilk, shake off excess, and pat them dry.
- Cover each filet with the seasoned cornmeal mixture.
- Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil and add filets without crowding.
- Air fry for 8 minutes, flip them over and cook for another 8 minutes.
- Give them one final flip and cook for 2-4 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
Notes
Cook in batches if needed – space in the basket matters.
Your cooked filets will stay warm in a 180°-200°F oven while you finish the rest.
A good coating of cooking spray helps achieve extra crispiness.
Cut larger filets into smaller pieces if they don’t fit.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Air Frying