Chef notes
If you lean heavily on boxes of frozen fish sticks to feed your hungry kids, we have a feeling that you’ll quickly fall for this homemade version. They’re baked instead of fried and crunchy and flavorful on the outside with tender fish right inside. Serve them with a wedge of lemon and some tartar sauce for dipping and everyone in your family is sure to approve.
We love making this recipe with cod, but most white fish or even salmon will work well. No matter what type of fish you use, just be sure the skin has been removed and the fillets are cut into 1-inch strips. For the breading, combine corn flakes, panko bread crumbs, paprika, lemon pepper seasoning, salt and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Dip the fish strips into flour, then into beaten eggs and finally into the cornflake mixture to coat. Place the breaded fish on a baking sheet, spray the tops with cooking spray and bake until the fish is just cooked through and the crust is crispy and golden brown. From start to finish, the whole recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Like all fish recipes, these crispy fish sticks are best enjoyed fresh right out of the oven, but if you need to get ahead, you can combine the cornflake mixture a day or two before you need it and store it in an airtight container at room temperature until you're ready to cook.
Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup crushed corn flakes
- 1/3 cup panko crumbs
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 pound cod fillets cut into 1-inch strips
Preparation
1.Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray liberally with nonstick cooking spray.
2.Set up a dredging station. In a shallow bowl, whisk together corn flakes, breadcrumbs, paprika, lemon pepper, salt and cayenne until combined. Add the flour to its own separate shallow bowl. In a third shallow bowl, whisk eggs and set aside.
3.To assemble, first dip fish in flour to coat both sides, then dip into eggs and finally dip into the cornflake mixture, then place on baking sheet. Repeat
4.Once done coating all fish sticks, liberally spray tops of fish with additional cooking spray. Bake 12 to 14 minutes until crust becomes golden brown, or until fish just begins to flake easily with a fork.
