Want to make frozen fish sticks in the air fryer? It’s quick and easy to enjoy golden brown fish sticks in minutes!
Air fryer frozen fish sticks make a simple snack or dinner when you’re craving something breaded – and they are best enjoyed with a dipping sauce like ketchup or creamy tartar sauce!

Recipe Tips/Substitutions
Before you make air fryer frozen fish sticks, have a read through these recipe tips so you achieve best results:
- We don’t add any additional oil to our frozen fish sticks. Often, the breading has oil already in it so the frozen fish sticks get nicely crispy on their own.
- Be sure to heat/cook the fish sticks through to the middle. You don’t want uncooked/undercooked fish. At the same time, depending on the type of frozen fish sticks, watch that the breading doesn’t split open/come off with overbaking.
We use this air fryer for our recipes and it has been great.

Step by Step Instructions
For those wondering how to cook frozen fish sticks in the air fryer – it’s pretty simple. But just in case you’d like to see how we do it, you can have a look at the photos in this section if you are unsure.
For the more confident frozen fish stick chefs: You can find the detailed recipe card at the bottom of this post!

First, preheat the air fryer to 385 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it’s hot, add the frozen fish sticks (there’s no need to defrost them first).
They should not be touching so they can cook evenly and get crispy. So, if you have a small air fryer, just reduce the number of fish sticks you cook at the same time.

Cook the frozen fish sticks for a total of 10 minutes. Flip them halfway through.
We use silicone tongs in our air fryer so that we don’t accidentally scratch the non-stick coating.

There are many different brands of fish sticks out there. They all vary in size, thickness, and breading.
As a result, your cook time can vary. This will also depend on the air fryer you have since they all cook a bit differently.

Once cooked, remove the fish sticks and serve with a dipping like ketchup or tartar sauce. Enjoy!
Storage Tips
We wouldn’t recommend making extra fish sticks to have leftovers.
Once they cool, these types of fish sticks generally get soft and/or soggy if you store them in the fridge a sealed container (because of moisture).
Enjoy them hot and fresh while you can!
What to Serve Air Fryer Frozen Fish With
Fish sticks are great as a snack on their own. They are best enjoyed with a dipping sauce like ketchup or even a creamy tartar sauce.
Fish sticks from frozen also make a great summer finger food that people love. You can pair crispy fish sticks with a potato side like French fries (made fresh) or with potato wedges – from fresh or frozen!
Related Recipes
For more great fish ideas made in the air fryer, try out these classics:
- Air Fried Frozen Breaded Fish
- Air Fryer Frozen Salmon
- Fresh Salmon Fillets in the Air Fryer
- Frozen Tuna Steaks in the Air Fryer
- Frozen Fish Fillets (Unbreaded) in the Air Fryer

Air Fryer Frozen Fish Sticks
Ingredients
- 10 frozen fish sticks
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 385 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once it’s hot, add the frozen fish sticks. They should not be touching so they can cook evenly and get crispy. So, if you have a small air fryer, just reduce the number of fish sticks you cook at the same time.
- Cook the frozen fish sticks for a total of 10 minutes, flipping them halfway through. There are many different brands of fish sticks out there. They all vary in size, thickness, and breading. As a result, your cook time can vary. This will also depend on the air fryer you have since they all cook a bit differently.
- Once cooked, remove the fish sticks and serve with a dipping like ketchup or tartar sauce.
Nutrition
This nutritional information has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator. It should only be seen as a rough calculation and not a replacement for professional dietary advice.