Air fryer fishcakes
- Published: 10 Apr 25
- Updated: 10 Apr 25
Learn how to make light and crisp fishcakes in the air fryer with our easy recipe. Here’s why you should add these fishcakes to your midweek cooking rota…
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- Speedy supper: The fishcakes take just 12-15 minutes to cook in the air fryer. You can also use leftover mash to speed up the process.
- Flavoursome and healthy: Sardines give these fishcakes extra depth, and cooking them in the air fryer is easier (and healthier) than shallow frying.
- Make ahead: Put any fishcakes you don’t need in the freezer (uncooked), then you can cook them from frozen – just add a few minutes to the cook time.
Browse more speedy air fryer recipes.
Ingredients
- 500g floury potatoes (maris piper or king edward – see Don’t Waste It), cut into 3cm chunks
- 300g skinless white fish fillets (hake, cod, haddock or pollock)
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 30g salted butter
- 100g tin sardines or sprats in oil, drained and chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tbsp capers, drained and roughly chopped
- 1 medium egg, beaten
- 20g chives, parsley or dill, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 80g panko breadcrumbs
- Olive oil to drizzle
- Salad leaves to serve
- Sweet chilli or hot sauce to serve (optional)
Method
- Put the potatoes in a pan with a big pinch of salt and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about 15 minutes or until tender to the point of a knife.
- Meanwhile, put the white fish in a small pan, add the milk, cover and set over a medium heat. Once the milk is simmering, cook for 3 minutes, turning the fish halfway through. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside (don’t take the lid off – you want the fish to cook in the residual heat).
- Drain the potatoes, then return them to the pan over a low heat and cook for a minute or two, stirring, to dry them. Remove the potatoes from the heat, then crush them, adding the butter, until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir the white fish and any remaining milk into the mash, breaking it up into large flakes, then mix in the sardines/sprats, garlic, capers, roughly half the beaten egg and most of the herbs. Shape the mixture into 8 patties roughly 2cm thick. Put them on a plate in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up.
- Put the remaining beaten egg in a shallow bowl and spread the flour and breadcrumbs on separate small plates. Dip each fishcake into flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs until well coated (see Be A Better Cook).
- Heat the air fryer to 180°C. Put the fishcakes in the basket in a single layer (cook in batches if needed – see Make Ahead) and brush with oil. Cook for 12 15 minutes, turning halfway, until golden all over. Serve the fishcakes with salad and a chilli sauce of your choice, if you like.
- Recipe from April 2025 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 379kcals
- Fat
- 15g (6g saturated)
- Protein
- 25g
- Carbohydrates
- 35g (1.7g sugars)
- Fibre
- 3.2g
- Salt
- 0.9g
delicious. tips
Don’t waste it Don’t peel your spuds, but do give them a good scrub – extra fibre for you and less waste. You could also use leftover mashed potato.
Use one hand for the dry coatings and the other for the egg for less mess.
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