Air fryer fish finger sandwiches are the perfect quick lunch or easy, budget-friendly dinner. Air frying frozen fish fingers is super easy and means your fish fingers are always perfectly crispy and golden.
We eat really well. Casseroles, curries, homemade stir fries and the rest. I love to cook from scratch, and the kids eat almost everything.
But sometimes, nothing beats a jar of store-bought spaghetti sauce or a frozen dinner. They feel like a treat, they are great time savers, and as part of a balanced diet, they are fantastic!
Fish finger sandwiches, for me, are right up there with chicken nugget pasta salads for an easy meal.
This recipe is for one air fryer fish finger sandwich. This is because it’s also one of my go-to work-from-home lunches, and I tend to be alone.
You can, however, double it or quadruple it for air fryer frozen fish fingers for the whole family!
Also, calling it an air fryer fish finger sandwich recipe pushes it. It’s more of a list of instructions!
Can You Air Fry Frozen Fish Fingers?
Yes, you can air fry frozen fish fingers.
They won’t be healthier unless you are usually deep frying your fish fingers. But it will be cheaper because you are heating a much smaller space. Air frying fish fingers means they are beautifully golden and crispy and don’t go soggy like they sometimes do in the oven.
It’s also a little faster.
How to Air Fry Frozen Fish Fingers
Air-frying frozen fish fingers is super simple!
Step One
Place the crisper tray in your frier if necessary. This helps air circulate and helps your fish fingers crisp.
Step Two
Preheat your air fryer to 180 degrees C and set it for 12 minutes.
Some air fryers don’t have a specific preheat setting, so turn it on at 180 with nothing in it.
Some have specific temperatures (often 200 degrees) for preheating, which is fine.
My particular model preheats at whatever you set it on, so I go 180 for 12 minutes.
Step Three
Once preheated, carefully place the fish fingers on the air fryer’s crisper tray and close the drawer.
Step Four
Air fry for 8 minutes.
Step Five
Open the draw and carefully flip your fish fingers. If you’ve got silicone tongs, these are ideal. If not, a silicone, plastic or wooden spatula is fine. Don’t use metal.
Step Six
Return to the machine and finish cooking.
Step Seven
Remove carefully.
How Long to Cook Fish Fingers in Air Fryer?
It takes 12 minutes to cook 4-8 fish fingers in my air fryer.
I turn at 8 minutes. If, at 8 minutes, your fish fingers look close to done, they may not need the full 12. If they aren’t at all golden, they might need longer.
If you are cooking more than 8 fish fingers, they might take a few minutes longer. Check at 12 and return for 2-4 minutes if necessary.
If in doubt, cut one of your fish fingers in half to make sure the fish in the middle is piping hot before serving.
Ingredients for an Air Fryer Fish Finger Sandwich
For a fish finger sandwich, as well as frozen fish fingers, I use:
- Sliced Seeded Bread – this is my personal favourite store-bought bread. If I’ve got any, I’d use crusty homemade bread instead. Use your favourite.
- Butter – Now, this is optional, and I think contentious. Generally, I don’t butter a warm sandwich, but I know some people do. I butter a cheese sandwich, but not a sausage sandwich. Fish fingers are the exception. I like butter on fish finger sandwiches.
- Ketchup.
How to Make an Air Fryer Fish Finger Sandwich – Step-by-Step Instructions
Start by air frying your fish fingers following the instructions above.
When there are 2 minutes left, if you have a tray or other insert to separate your fryer drawer, add the bread to this. You can also add the bread around the fish fingers if there’s space, or warm it at 180 degrees in your air fryer’s second drawer if it has one.
This step isn’t essential, but it’s really lovely.
Liberally butter the warm bread, add the fish fingers and a squeeze of ketchup, cut in half and serve.
Easy air fryer fish finger sandwich – done!
What Sauce Should You Put on a Fish Finger Sandwich?
I like ketchup on my air fryer frozen fish finger sandwiches.
Tartar sauce is a popular choice, too, which I sometimes have if we’ve got any. You could also try a homemade tartar sauce recipe.
You can also add some lettuce and other garnish if you want to.
What Should You Serve with an Air Fryer Fish Finger Sandwich?
If I’m having an air fried fish finger sandwich for lunch, I often eat it on its own or with a packet of crisps.
For a bigger meal, I might add some chips, wedges, sweet potato wedges, or vegetables.
Can You Cook Fish Fingers and Chips in the Air Fryer at the Same Time?
This depends on your particular fryer, how much space you’ve got, the inserts at your disposal and how many fish fingers you are cooking.
If you have a two-drawer fryer, you can cook chips in one and air fryer fish fingers in the other.
Mine is a single-drawer air fryer basket with plenty of space, so for 4-8 fish fingers, I could fit a couple of portions of chips in, too. Another option could be cooking chips on the bottom and then adding my tray/shelf thing to place the fish fingers on top of.
If you air fry fish fingers and chips simultaneously, I recommend giving the chips a five-minute head start, depending on how thick they are.
Other Air Fryer Ideas You Might Like
This list is quickly expanding, but for now, you might want to take a look at:
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Chilli
- Air Fryer Chicken Pasta Bake
- Air Fryer Halloumi Cheese
- Easy Air Fryer Burgers
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- Air Fryer Cottage Pie
- Easy Air Fryer Victoria Sponge Cake
- Parsnips
- Mini Air Fried Mac and Cheese
- Cheesy Tuna Melts
- Air Fryer Cod in Foil Parcels
Air Fryer Fish Finger Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 Frozen Fish Fingers
- 2 Slices of Bread
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 1 Tablespoon Ketchup
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 180 degrees C and set it for 12 minutes.
- Once preheated, carefully place the fish fingers on the air fryer’s crisper tray and close the drawer.
- Air fry for 8 minutes.
- Open the draw and carefully flip your fish fingers.
- Return to the machine.
- When there are 2 minutes left, place the bread in the machine, either around the fish fingers or on a rack insert.
- Remove carefully, making sure the middle of the fish fingers is piping hot.
- Butter the bread, add the fish fingers and a squirt of ketchup.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
- I recommend cutting one of the fish fingers in half to make sure it’s piping hot. If not, return to the air fryer and check every 2 minutes.
- Use other sauces if you prefer.
- If you are air frying more than eight fish fingers, add 2 minutes to the cooking time.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
