The boys love fish fingers, so I figured I should make my own. It’s safe to say I won’t be buying any more ready made ones in the future. These are too amazing! The crispy crunch of the cornflakes makes these fish fingers taste extra special and they’re even grown up enough for the adults to enjoy too. Just squeeze over some lemon and serve with tartare sauce.
Fish fingers or fish sticks have become a regular on the menu for many kids in the UK and America for generations.
Store bought fish fingers are so convenient and easy to bake, ready in 15 minutes, straight from the freezer. They contain fish, so can be considered nutritious and kids usually love them. For any parent, food like this can be a godsend, when you’re tired or busy and need something quick.
Whilst, there are, of course, times that I can turn a blind eye. I feel much better knowing what is going into my food, so it makes sense to prepare my own homemade fish fingers once in a while and they are actually so much better!
You use a boneless cod loin and layer slices in a crispy coating that includes breadcrumbs as well as cornflakes for an extra crispy crunch. The cod loin has more texture than the formed, minced fish, often found in commercial varieties. Cod fillet is much healthier than processed fish too.
Preparing your own fish fingers in this way gives them a slightly posher and more grown up look too. You can actually serve these fish fingers to adults without getting any strange looks. They can be enjoyed by everyone.
Babies can also enjoy fish fingers when you make your own, they are perfect for little hands to hold when weaning and you can omit the cornflakes if you’d prefer. I recommend baking them instead of frying if you are serving them to young children or prefer a healthier option with less calories.
If you like salmon, try making these salmon fish cakes or a salmon en croute or a traditional Sussex Smokie bake, made with smoked haddock.
What to Serve with Fish Fingers
- Serve your fish fingers with lemon wedges as part of a main dish with these baked potato wedges or these lemon and tomato potatoes.
- You can put them inside a sandwich or bread bun with tartare sauce, ketchup or thousand island dressing.
- You can make fish fingers tacos and serve with a spicy Sriracha mayo.
Making your Own Fish Fingers
When preparing your fish finger coating, I would advise to use bread that is slightly stale. Stale bread makes better breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you can dry fresher slices out in the oven before using to make your breadcrumbs. Place the slices on a baking tray in the oven at 120C for about 15 minutes, turning over halfway. It may need a little longer, but be sure to take your bread out before it browns too much.
For an extra crispy coating, you can substitute your breadcrumbs with panko breadcrumbs.
If cod isn’t your thing you can use other types of fish for these fish fingers too. Other white fish like haddock, bream, bass or bass work really well.
You can substitute fresh parsley for dried, just use a little less, since dried herbs are more concentrated.
Sure! Place them on a baking tray and drizzle with a little oil. Bake them in a preheated oven at 180C for around 30 minutes, turning once to ensure they brown on all sides.
Yes you can. Simply prepare them all and lay flat on a tray, separated from each other. Place in the freezer until solid. You can then store them in a sealed bag for up to 3 months.
Homemade Fish Fingers With a Cornflake Coating
Ingredients
- 400 g Boneless Cod Loin
- 1 Lemon Zest and Juice
- 3 Slices of Bread Slightly Stale
- 1 Cup Cornflakes
- 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley chopped
- 0.5 Black Pepper
- 1 Cup Plain Flour
- 1 Egg beaten
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Cut cod into finger length pieces and pour over the lemon juice. Leave whilst you prepare the coating.
- Place bread, cornflakes, lemon zest, parsley and pepper into a food processor and mix until fine and combined.
- Coat cod in the flour.
- Dip cod into the egg and then straight into the breadcrumb mix.
- Heat a little oil in pan and cook each fish finger for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked all the way through.
Recipe Notes and Guidance
- If your bread is too fresh, dry it out in the oven first, see how-to in the post.
- You can bake them, if you’d prefer.
- These are freezable. You can cook them straight from frozen, either fried or baked.
- Use Panko breadcrumbs for extra crispiness.
- You can use alternative fish, haddock, bream, bass or bass work really well.
- You can substitute fresh parsley for dried, just use a little less.
Yummy. Never thought aout making my own fush fingers, looks good. Thanks.
Simon
Fish fingers were one of my favourites when growing up and every now and again I buy them for a bit of nostalgia. But these look so much tastier and a bit more grown up :)
Glad you like the look if them. You must give them a go! You could even make a batch and freeze before cooking so you can have these every time you feel nostalgic x