Air Fryer Blackened Cod is flaky, delicious, and easy to make! This cod is tossed in a blackened seasoning (store-bought or homemade) and air fried to perfection. This is an easy fish recipe that is deliciously spicy and flavorful.
I love cooking any kind of fish in the air fryer. Cod, salmon, halibut, all are favorites. And this air fryer blackened cod is an easy and delicious recipe. You can either make your own blackened seasoning or use store-bought seasoning for an easier recipe.
There are so many ways to use the cod once it's cooked! You can make flavorful blackened fish tacos, eat the fish on its own with a delicious veggie or some crispy french fries, have it in a salad or grain bowl, or pasta.
Ingredients:
- Cod
- Olive oil
- Blackened seasoning
Homemade blackened seasoning:
- Smoked paprika
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Dried basil
- Dried oregano
- Dried thyme
- Brown sugar (optional)
What is blackened seasoning?
Blackened seasoning is a mix of spices to create a spice blend that is flavorful and a bit spicy. It gets its spice from the cayenne pepper in the seasoning. To make a spicier blackened seasoning, increase the level of cayenne. To decrease the level of spice, use less cayenne pepper.
Making something "blackened" is usually cooking it in a dark cast iron skillet in butter in very high heat to give it a blackened and crusty coating.
Note: In this recipe, we just use the blackened seasoning to spice our cod and cook it in the air fryer, not using the traditional "blackened" method of cooking.
Can this be made with salmon or other fish?
Absolutely! This blackened cod recipe works well with any white, flaky fish to develop that delicious blackened fish crust, but could be tasty with salmon or even shrimp. Just note that cooking times will need to be adjusted based on type and thickness of your seafood.
How to serve the cod:
This cod is so delicious served with some fresh lime slices or lemon slices. The citrus is a delicious complement to the spicy blackened cod.
The air fryer cod fillets can also be cut into smaller pieces and served in fish tacos, a grain bowl, or on top of a salad. For a cajun-inspired pasta, add the blackened cod fillets to a bowl of creamy pasta.
Recipe tips:
- Cooking times will depend on the thickness of your piece of cod. Thicker pieces may need an extra 3-4 minutes, while thinner pieces many not need as much time. When cooked, cod should flake easily (safe cooking temperature is 145 degrees F).
- For a less spicy cod, either leave out the cayenne pepper in your seasoning blend or only add a pinch.
- This recipe is easy to double, triple, or quadruple.
How to make the air fryer blackened cod:
If you don't have blackened seasoning on hand, first make your own by combining all the spices in a bowl.
Pat the cod dry with paper towels.
Drizzle olive oil over the cod and rub to coat all sides of the fish.
Coat each side of the fish in blackened seasoning.
Place the cod in your air fryer basket. (If cooking multiple pieces of cod, just make sure the fish fillets are in a single layer with a little space between each piece of cod).
Cook the cod in the air fryer until flaky and then remove. Serve as desired!
Yum!
Other air fryer recipes to love:
Air Fryer Blackened Cod
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 oz cod fillet
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- blackened seasoning enough to coat
Blackened seasoning
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar optional
Instructions
- Mix together the blackened seasoning (if making homemade).
- Dry the cod fillet with paper towels.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the cod and rub to coat all sides.
- Coat all sides of the fish in a light layer of the blackened seasoning.
- Place cod fillet in the air fryer basket and air fry at 380 degrees F for 10-12 minutes, or until perfectly flaky.
- Remove from the air fryer and enjoy.
Notes
- Cooking times will depend on the thickness of your piece of cod. Thicker pieces may need an extra 3-4 minutes, while thinner pieces many not need as much time. When cooked, cod should flake easily (safe cooking temperature is 145 degrees F).
- For a less spicy cod, either leave out the cayenne pepper in your seasoning blend or only add a pinch.
- This recipe is easy to double, triple, or quadruple.
Nutrition
If nutrition info is shown, values are based on an online calculator and are estimates. Please verify using your own data.
Heather
Easy to make and tasted good, especially with a little squeeze of lemon on it. It definitely had some kick. I might reduce the cayenne slightly next time.
Teri
Can't wait to try this recipe
grace
DELICIOUS and so easy! The seasoning tastes great and the fish came out flakey and buttery