9 Different Types Of Fish Breading And Batters To Try

Battered and breaded fish takes on many forms, whether it be fish tacos, pub-style fish and chips, a fish burger, frozen fish sticks, or an oven-baked, panko-crusted fish fillet. From frying in a shallow pan or busting out the deep fryer, high heat and a fast cook adhere whatever breading you choose to the fish, locking in flavor. For some, this is the ultimate way to cook and eat fish. If you're unfamiliar or curious about the different styles, breading fish is simply the process of coating meat in dry, crumbled starches — usually breadcrumbs, but also cornmeal — with seasoning, before frying or baking. Battering is a method of preparation that involves a thick, wet batter of flour and water — sometimes with beer — that coats the meat, later encasing it in a golden brown shell after being fried.

Most home cooks stick with favorites like panko or other store-bought breading packs to get the job done. But there's a whole world of flavor and texture waiting for those cooks who want to branch out and get adventurous. From crushed Doritos — yes, that's right — to sourdough crumbs, cornflakes, and Rice Krispies, there are so many fun options to try. And whether shallow frying in a half-inch of oil, deep-frying, or baking, you can achieve an Instagram-worthy golden brown crust without a ton of effort. Here, we also interviewed two culinary experts for insights on how you can spruce up your weeknight fish. Let's dive in!

Tempura is fried food done to perfection, and a staple in most Japanese restaurants. It's light, it's airy, it's salty, and it perfectly wraps each piece of fish, shrimp, or vegetable in a golden blanket. To some, it may seem like a complicated technique, but it's actually not that hard to do at home with some patience. Home cooks who want to try their hand at tempura should be comfortable with deep-frying, whether in a Dutch oven, or proper fryer. However, it is possible to shallow fry a tempura battered fish.

For some excerpt insight, we asked chef Miguel Olmedo, chef instructor at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, in Austin, Texas about his thoughts on this wonderful batter style. "Tempura batter is ... great for deep-frying as it will coat the fish and give it a more crisp light texture," he says. "Tempura batter is best because it is light, cooks fast, and is easy to make." He adds, "It is also crispier, more translucent, and aesthetically pleasing to the eye."

Further echoing this sentiment, when we asked chef Mazen Mustafa, of Los Angeles restaurant The Lonely Oyster, what his favorite way to bread or batter fish would be, he told us, "By tempura, [it's a] classic, you can never go wrong." To really nail this classic, use some club soda in the batter, and additionally, per chef Olmedo, "It is recommended to use cornstarch to dredge the fish before dipping it into the tempura batter."

If you offered most fans of pub food a piece of fried fish in regular batter, and another fried in beer batter, odds are they could tell them apart and may even prefer the deeper flavor imparted by the ale. This style of fish batter has been around for ages and offers home cooks a chance to experiment with different types of beer styles. If your favorite pub has a stellar beer-battered fish — served with chips, of course — you're lucky, but you can achieve similar results at home. If you're comfortable with a deep fryer and can use one safely, this provides a close approximation to a pub-style fried fish. Shallow frying here may not get you what you're looking for, so preheat that deep fryer, open up all the windows, and embrace that unmistakable deep-fry smell.

According to chef Miguel Olmedo, cod fish could work well here in this style of wet batter application. "[It's] versatile, [has] flaky meat, neutral in flavor — batter works really well with it," he says. "Beer batter is best to serve for fish and chips," he says, adding, "it tends to be a bit thicker, sealing the fish." When it comes to beer choices, chef Olmedo has his preference. "When working with a beer batter, use an amber bock beer," he tells us. "Make the batter recipe, then dredge the piece of fish in cornstarch, then in the batter before deep-frying," he instructs. "The cornstarch gives the fish a crispier crust."

Sure, standard breadcrumbs may sound boring on paper, but it's a classic for good reason. It's inclusive and accessible, widely available at most supermarkets, but also allows home cooks to make use of that stale piece of baguette on the counter. With this method, you're simply going to take some breadcrumbs like panko, add it to a bowl with seasonings like salt and pepper, with another bowl nearby for your wet dredge. The dredging liquid can consist of just beaten eggs, or eggs and milk, which acts as the glue for the breadcrumbs. However, don't forget to thoroughly dry the fish fillet before beginning the breading.

"I think one of the most important things that people don't do is (...) dry the fish off well enough," chef Mazen Mustafa tells us. "So you want to blot the fish on paper towels, get it nice and dry on the outside so that the batter, regardless of what it is, has the ability to stick to it a lot better. I think that's the biggest key."

Chef Miguel Olmedo says home cooks can use any type of leftover bread, even bagels, to make a homemade, sustainable breading. "They are the best because they are dry," he explains. Thrown into a food processor or blender, that rock-hard bagel could just well become a new favorite breading for your repertoire.

So many food obsessives love their sourdough, with weekly trips to the local bakery built into routines. Some may even still have their starters from the first COVID lockdowns going strong, with homemade sourdough popping out of the oven every now and then. Regardless, we all can agree that it tastes incredible, with a signature depth of flavor and tang that is hard to top. If the aforementioned standard breadcrumb option sounded too boring for you, perhaps consider your morning sourdough toast repurposed for fish breading. That's right, it would work and could really zhuzh up a standard pan-fried haddock.

The process simply entails using older, stale sourdough bread that is hard and dried out, otherwise inedible. Leaving it out on the counter until all of its moisture is gone works, but you could speed up the process by throwing it into an oven at a low temperature, and watching it carefully to further dry it out. All you need to do then is crush it up into crumbs via a blender or food processor. The same depth of flavor you get in your morning toast will now coat the fish of your choice, surprising your guests as a foodie hack. It's also a wonderful way to mitigate food waste. As chef Miguel Olmedo says, "Using leftover repurposed ingredients ... Yes!" A solid endorsement.

Time to get wild. Well, it certainly may seem so, but you can indeed bread your fish with corn chips of any variety. You have to trust us here. Though, two renowned chefs backing this technique certainly doesn't hurt. Chef Mazen Mustafa likes to do a combination of corn chips with some breadcrumbs to find the right balance of crispiness and binding. "Sometimes I get a little crazy and I'll throw some Cool Ranch Doritos in there," he says. "Makes it a little bit of fun." Home cooks would need to source their favorite flavor of Doritos or Fritos — even Cheetos — and then break them up for the breading.

"Crush Cheetos and coat a piece of ahi tuna and sear it rare — the Cheetos give the tuna a crunchy umami flavor," chef Miguel Olmedo shares. This sounds so fun, and would be a great dinner party trick to impress and entertain guests with. He was kind enough to offer up another quick recipe here: "Coat a piece of salmon steak with tri-color crispy tortilla chips, bake it and pair it with pico de gallo for a Southwestern salmon dish with a crispy crust," he tells us. Yum. If you like the flavor of corn chips, this breading style might become your new favorite.

Consider this the more conservative version and cousin to the aforementioned corn chips. Here, we have standard breakfast fare, found in so many pantries around the globe, the humble yet nourishing cornflake. This breakfast cereal can be repurposed as a breading for fish, and one that may pleasantly surprise.

Perhaps you've even had it before in an unsuspecting, traditional, pan-fried fish presentation, at a fancy restaurant trying to impress customers. Either way, it's a stellar breading option. Unlike corn chips, cornflakes will not be so salty and covered in seasonings, offering a more one-note flavor profile, and one that embraces corn's inherent subtle sweetness. Paired with the right fish, this is a winning combination. "Cornflakes can be used to coat a delicate fish like halibut or flounder and baked in the oven for a crispy, crunchy crust," chef Miguel Olmedo tells us.

But you have to be careful here when frying. "Cornflakes are going to get cooked faster and get darker faster than, say, panko will," chef Mazen Mustafa warns. He recommends testing small pieces of breaded fish in the oil first, watching how long it takes to get brown, to calibrate cook times. When in doubt, you can pull it out early, per chef Mustafa's advice. "I'll always finish them in the oven," he says. For those who aren't into frying, it's nice that you can let the oven do all the work here, as both Olmedo and Mustafa affirm.

For a spin on fish and chips, why not try fish with chips? OK, word play aside, this is yet another unconventional but totally delicious breading option for you to try. This one could help scratch that itch when you're craving fish and chips at home, combining potatoes and fish into one gloriously golden and crispy breading. Much like corn chips, here you can try different flavors to have some fun, but perhaps starting with plain potato chips and testing that out first is best. You can also consider different oils to fry with, finding the best option for deep-frying fish shouldn't be difficult. When in doubt, go with a neutral oil.

We also recommend all of the same tips we've covered with the other breading options, reiterating chef Mazen Mustafa's advice to always make sure you pat the fish dry intensely, which helps the breading stick. Chef Mustafa also notes the potential for textural delight here, with some wiggle room to find the right consistency. "I would crush them up really fine," he says. "Not super fine — so they add a little bit of texture." This one is for all the fried food lovers out there, with the chips in the breading getting yet another dip in some hot oil, only this time protecting the delicate and flaky fish. A noble sacrifice.

Cornmeal for a fish breading scenario is underrated and rarely used by home cooks, but this doesn't have to be the case. It's such an easy option as a pantry staple, and one that lasts long, at the ready for when you want a nice and light breaded fish. Consider cornmeal a blank canvas to work with when frying fish, and one that can be turned up a notch with some imagination. This allows you to raid your spice cabinet and bust out that seasoning blend you got for Christmas last year but haven't had the chance to use yet.

By adding a blend of spices into the cornmeal breading, it will, in turn, stick to the fish and season it wonderfully. Chef Miguel Olmedo backs this option with his own spin. "When using a cornmeal breading, season it with Old Bay spice or blackened seasoning and of course soak the fish in buttermilk first overnight," he recommends. "The buttermilk removes some of the fishy taste and makes the fish crispier." You can have that chef tip for free, just make sure to shout out chef Olmedo when you get compliments on your fried fish.

With the last option in our list, we offer readers the chance to experiment and come up with customized, unique breading and batter options. This opens up a myriad of possible combinations to try out, and should be embraced as a chance to really have some fun in the kitchen. If you're the type of home cook who likes to follow recipes to the word, leaning into the predicability and repeatability this affords, then perhaps this won't appeal to you. But if you're more adventurous, we suggest mixing and matching breading options for your next fish fry, playing with ratios and textures.

For example, adding some wheat germ — an ingredient that may have flown under your radar — to a breading mix with standard panko, combined with a few pinches of Old Bay seasoning, becomes an absolute knockout fried fish burger patty. The nuttiness of the wheat germ pairs really well here, and adds an extra depth of flavor that panko simply doesn't have. Combining different chips, both corn and potato-based, could also be fun, either incorporated into your breading for a shallow fry, or your batter for incredibly tasty, golden deep-fried seafood. Just be sure to control your variables closely, like the frying oil temperature, to ensure that when you batter and fry your fish, it doesn't fall apart.