Tender, juicy, keto-fried fish, coated in seasoned, gluten-free breading, fried golden brown, and served with your favorite fatty dipping sauce… YUM! This recipe is so legit! You can make it into fish sticks for the kids and it also works great on chicken. Golden, crispy fried food is back!
Table of Contents
Typically, fried fish is made with breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs, and neither option is gluten-free. While food isn’t technically keto or not keto, there are certain foods that will help you maintain ketosis more easily. For example, breaded fish made with regular breading, fried in an inflammatory oil like canola or peanut oil is going to make it harder for your body to stay in ketosis.
In other words, while the carb count might be low in regular breaded fish, the gluten in the breading along with the highly processed oil used for frying can knock you out of ketosis, and make you feel pretty crummy.
Don’t worry, this isn’t your regular fish fry, this is a keto fish fry! This Pork Panko Crusted Halibut is the perfect way to get your kids off those crap filled fish sticks, and on to eating nutrient dense, grain free, crispy paleo fried fish. And, spoiler alert: this Keto Fried Fish is a spin off of the Legit Chicken Tenders recipe that will be in Made Whole Made Simple, my second paperback cookbook.
But wait, is fried food healthy? And what’s the best oil for frying?
Quality fish, coated in a keto breading, fried in healthy, minimally processed oil… yes, in this instance, fried food can be healthy. Read more on healthy fats here.
For this Pork Panko-Crusted Halibut, I recommend frying in coconut oil, tallow, or lard; either option is full of healthy fats, safe for frying (with a high smoke point), and will yield a delicious, golden crust without overwhelming the flavor of the breading or the fish. A crunchy, fried, low carb, nut-free, completely paleo, Whole30 fish recipe. Yes, it’s not only possible but also absolutely delicious.
How to Make the Best Gluten Free Breading
First, the secret to a good gluten-free breading is layers of crunch.
- To start, I used coconut flour and seasoning as the first layer to really seal in the flavors, then an egg wash with a bit of ACV for that classic fish and vinegar pairing, then a final dredging in Pork Panko.
- You can make your own pork panko by pulsing regular pork rinds in your food processor until they reach a fine, panko texture. This can take some expert timing — if underprocessed, the panko won’t stick well to the fish. Too fine, and the crunch won’t be as satisfying.
- That’s why I used Bacon’s Heir Pork Panko; they’re made with Bacon’s Heir kettle-cooked Pork Clouds, which are fried in olive oil, resulting in the cleanest pork rind on the market! Bacon’s Heir pulverizes the Pork Clouds into the perfect panko consistency. Super delicious and the one-pound bag is ENORMOUS! You can also use Pork Panko in gluten-free meatballs, or to top a keto casserole.
Which fish is best for keto?
Halibut is ideal for this keto fried fish recipe because it’s juicy, mild, white meat fish. That being said, center-cut mahi mahi filets would work well, and they’re typically more affordable (Costco sells them frozen, wild caught).
In this instance, I like halibut for this recipe because it’s tender and flakes easily, but still firm enough to hold up to frying. In addition, halibut has a mild, sweet flavor that goes perfectly with the seasoning for this recipe.
Alternatively, you could try using another fish aside from halibut or mahi mahi, but I can’t guarantee that it’ll hold together while frying.
Stey by Step Crispy Fried Fish
- Heat the skillet over medium heat while you prepare the fish. Add the fat to the skillet so you have about half an inch of depth.
- Pat your fish dry and remove any skin or bones. Cut it into 3 ounce pieces, you should have about 8 pieces total.
- In a shallow bowl, combine the seasonings and coconut flour. In a second shallow bowl, combine the eggs and vinegar. In the third shallow bowl, add the panko.
- Test to see if the oil is ready by putting a wooden spoon in the oil. When it sizzles it’s ready, then you can begin frying.
- One at a time, dredge the pieces of fish in the coconut flour mix, then the egg, and lastly the panko. Carefully place each breaded piece in the hot cooking fat. Cook 3-4 pieces at a time, so you don’t crowd the skillet.
- Fry for 4 minutes on each side. Use tongs to place the cooked pieces on a wire rack while you fry the rest. If you double the recipe, you can keep the cooked pieces in the oven at 300F to keep them warm while you finish frying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but cod tends to fall apart when it’s fully cooked. Be gentle with it.
Not pan-fried. If you dredge them in a seasoned coconut milk batter and bread them and bake them it works okay. I have an egg-free AIP chicken tender in my second book like that.
Yes, but the pork panko might not cling as well.
Yes, at 425F for 15-20 minutes, flipping over once, halfway through cooking. However, the breading might fall off when doing this, it won’t be as crispy and regular fried. Read my post on frying. Fat is your friend if you use the right kind!
Looking for more free recipes?
Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.
Keto Fried Fish: Pork Panko Crusted Halibut (Paleo, Whole30, Nut Free)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Fry
- Cuisine: Fish
Description
Tender, juicy, keto fried fish, coated in seasoned, gluten free breading, fried golden brown, and served with your favorite fatty dipping sauce… YUM!
Ingredients
- 1 ½–2 pound of wild-caught halibut or center-cut Mahi Mahi filets
- ½ cup coconut flour or tigernut flour
- 2 teaspoons fine salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups Pork Panko, I use this one
- 1 cup saturated fat for frying (tallow, coconut oil, or lard)
- 16” cast iron skillet
Instructions
- Heat the skillet over medium heat while you prepare the fish. Add the fat to the skillet so you have about half an inch of depth.
- Pat your fish dry and remove any skin or bones. Cut it into 3 ounce pieces, you should have about 8 pieces total.
- In a shallow bowl, combine the seasonings and coconut flour. In a second shallow bowl, combine the eggs and vinegar. In the third shallow bowl, add the panko.
- Test to see if the oil is ready by putting a wooden spoon in the oil. When it sizzles it’s ready, then you can begin frying.
- One at a time, dredge the pieces of fish in the coconut flour mix, then the egg, and lastly the panko. Carefully place each breaded piece in the hot cooking fat. Cook 3-4 pieces at a time, so you don’t crowd the skillet.
- Fry for 4 minutes on each side. Use tongs to place the cooked pieces on a wire rack while you fry the rest. If you double the recipe, you can keep the cooked pieces in the oven at 300F to keep them warm while you finish frying.
Serve hot with a dipping sauce, like my One Minute Mayo or Cilantro Aioli, plus a fresh lemon wedge.
Recipe Notes:
3.7g net carbs per serving
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pieces
- Calories: 475.8
- Fat: 27.4g
- Carbohydrates: 7.8g
- Fiber: 4.1g
- Protein: 51.7g
Erin says
Super! My hubby said this was better than any restaurant fish fry Thank you for the recipe. Will make again, only I will drag out the food processor. I just used a meat tenderizer mallet to pound the rinds into a coating.
Cristina Curp, FNTP says
Thank you for your comment and review!
SharkBite says
Really good!!! My first time “breading” something since I started Keto. I made it with tilapia and catfish. I cooked it in the oven at 425° for 16 min on a tin foil lined baking sheet that I spread a thin layer of coconut oil on. Came out crispy and perfect. My only complaint is I had excess coconut flour and pork panko, but too little egg & vinegar. I had to make a 2nd batch. Not a big deal. Plus, it is better to have too much breading to work with, rather than not enough. Thanks for an awesome recipe, and I look forward to frying it next time.
Mary Pat FitzGibbons says
I made this recipe tonight. Used on cod fish. Delicious!
Cristina says
yeayyy i love cod!
Debbie says
This was so good! So crispy on the outside, flaky on the inside. And it was quick and easy. I will definitely make this again. And it gives me a delicious option for Lenten Fridays. ? Thank you so much for creating such flavorful, low carb recipes.
Cristina says
yessss… I love it too! Thank you!
Mary says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I was missing frying things on keto. This is a great recipe. Used it to fry fish. Will try chicken next and maybe zucchini.
So yummy!
Elisa says
This recipe was so delicious and a breeze to make!! My whole family loved it and as someone who hadn’t eaten fried fish in years due to a gluten intolerance, I was on cloud 9!!
Cristina says
Soooo glad you love it ELisa! We do too!
Cristina says
Oh yeah, I could have told you that! You can use ghee or coconut milk to dredge but then you have to bake them, not pan fry. I have an egg free breaded chicken tender in my new book.
Dave Knight says
Any chance pork dust will stick to the fish with just egg as a primer and without the coconut flour coating before the egg?
I’ve done just egg and pork dust with pickle-brined chicken and it worked very well (no seasonings required, the pork rinds and the pickle brine did all that work). However, I’ve never tried it with fish before.
What is the purpose of the coconut flour dredge?
Dave Knight says
PS. Halibut is amazing, but is tough to come by fresh out here on the east coast, so I’ll be doing Mahi if that makes a difference.
Cristina says
mahi mahi and cod work well too
Cristina says
It works, but I don’t think it gets as crispy
Annette H. says
OH MAN. I haven’t had any breaded/fried fish for like 8 years since going paleo. Most recipes I’ve seen use almond flour and I don’t do well with nuts. This was SO easy to make and sooo frickin good (I used the Costco brand of frozen mahi mahi btw)
Cristina says
That’s how I felt when I first made it!
Mary Ellen Harris says
Any thoughts on a non-pork panko substitute? While it sounds divine, pork is a problem food for me. 🙁
Cristina says
unfortunately, I haven’t found another gluten-free breading that works quite like this
Dianna says
This was amazing!! The crust on the outside was amazing. The flavor was outstanding. I broke my no-frying-in-the-house rule for this and I will again because it’s that good!!!
Cristina says
Yeahhh!!! definitely worth frying in the house!
Elnora says
Could you do this in an air fryer and if so do you know what temp and time?
Cristina says
I don’t know, I haven’t tried that