Name: Crispy Baked Catfish
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: Cooking spray; .5 cup fine plain yellow cornmeal; 0.25 cup all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon salt free Cajun seasoning; 1 large egg; 4 (5 ounce) catfish fillets; 0.5 teaspoon salt; Tartar sauce and lemon wedges (optional)

Crispy Baked Catfish

3.2

(6)

4 Reviews

This baked catfish has a crispy cornmeal coating with a hint of spice from Cajun seasoning, while the interior stays flaky and moist. Serve with tartar sauce, lemon wedges or your favorite hot sauce and a green salad on the side.

Ali Ramee

Updated on March 27, 2024

Reviewed by Dietitian

Jessica Ball, M.S., RD

Tested by

Learn more about our food philosophy and nutrition parameters.

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How to Make Crispy Baked Catfish

Baked catfish is easy to make, and you can achieve a crispy outer crust straight from your oven, similar to what you would get from frying. Here are a few tips for perfect results:

Prepare Your Baking Sheet

Perfectly baked catfish is all about getting a crispy, golden crust. To do this, we prepare our baking sheet with a layer of foil and place a wire rack on top of the prepared pan. This allows air to flow under the catfish fillets while they are baking and prevents them from getting soggy. The foil liner underneath catches crumbs and helps keep the baking sheet clean.

Get Your Dredge Ready

In order for the outer coating to stick to the catfish, we pat the fillets dry with a paper towel, then dip them in a lightly beaten egg. The egg acts like a glue for the coating mixture, which is combined in a separate shallow dish. It's flavored with Cajun seasoning and includes cornmeal for crunch. Cajun-Creole seasoning blends can be high in sodium, so if you want to limit your sodium intake look for salt-free Cajun seasoning. For the coating, we find that using fine cornmeal works best. It offers good crunch and adheres nicely to the fillets.

Don't Forget the Cooking Spray

Cooking spray is key for perfect baked catfish. We spray it on the wire rack first to prevent the fish from sticking when it's turned, then we spray it on top of the fish itself. The light coating of oil gently fries the outer coating of the fillets in the hot oven. We want both sides of the catfish to be crispy—we don't call it "crispy" for nothing!—so we flip the fillets halfway through cooking. Don't forget to spray the other side of the fillets for a nice, even crust.

Breaded catfish fillets on a baking sheet, and a hand spraying cooking spray on them — Alexandra Shytsman

What to Serve with Crispy Baked Catfish

Catfish has a mild flavor that pairs well with just about anything. Tartar sauce and a squeeze of lemon are all you really need to brighten up this easy dish, but you can serve it with a spicy hot sauce-based dip if you want to turn up the heat. A simple green salad is a perfect accompaniment, but a creamy coleslaw that offers good crunch will work well too.

Additional reporting by Hilary Meyer

Ingredients

Cooking spray
½ cup fine plain yellow cornmeal
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt free Cajun seasoning
1 large egg
4 (5 ounce) catfish fillets
½ teaspoon salt
Tartar sauce and lemon wedges (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and top with a wire rack. Coat the rack with cooking spray.
Stir cornmeal, flour and Cajun-Creole seasoning blend together in a large shallow dish. Whisk egg in a separate shallow dish.
Pat fillets dry with a paper towel and sprinkle evenly with salt. Working with 1 fillet at a time, dip in the egg to coat, letting excess egg drip back into the dish. Then dredge in the cornmeal mixture, turning to coat both sides. Transfer to the prepared rack on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining fillets. Coat the tops of the fillets with cooking spray.

Alexandra Shytsman
Bake until crispy and golden, 15 to 20 minutes, turning the fillets over and coating with cooking spray halfway through. If desired, serve with tartar sauce and lemon wedges.

Alexandra Shytsman

Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, November 2020; updated October 2022

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

232	Calories
7g	Fat
11g	Carbs
30g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4
Serving Size 1 fillet
Calories 232
% Daily Value *
Total Carbohydrate 11g	4%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Protein 30g	60%
Total Fat 7g	9%
Saturated Fat 2g	10%
Cholesterol 122mg	41%
Vitamin A 140IU	3%
Sodium 374mg	16%

Nutrition information is calculated by a registered dietitian using an ingredient database but should be considered an estimate.

* Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.