Golden brown with crispy edges, this air fryer snapper with Old Bay and cauliflower is an easy high-protein weeknight meal. The cauliflower cooks alongside the fish for an easy, healthy dinner with minimal cleanup.
Jump to:
- Air Fryer Snapper Recipe
- What You'll Need
- Roasting Fish and Veggies
- How Long to Air Fry Fish Fillets
- Should I Put Parchment Paper in The Air Fryer?
- Try This Recipe with Mutton Snapper Too 👆
- Serving Suggestions
- Storage
- Top Tips
- What Goes with Air Fryer Fish?
- More Snapper Recipes
- FAQ
- Air Fryer Snapper with Old Bay and Veggies
Snapper with roasted vegetables is healthy and perfect for an easy weeknight meal. It is low-carb, gluten-free, and ready in 20 minutes.
Air Fryer Snapper Recipe
Cooking fish in an air fryer is quicker than traditional frying and requires very little oil.
Here's a simple fish and roasted cauliflower recipe. It uses just a few ingredients, and you only need one pot to clean up afterward! Best of all, cleanup is easy.
In the oven, this would take about 25 minutes to make and another 10 minutes for the oven to heat up.
In the air fryer, it takes 3 minutes to preheat and then 10 minutes or less to cook. This whole meal took under 20 minutes to make.
Fish Substitutions You can substitute any thin white fish for the yellowtail. Here are some tasty fish you should try:
- Red snapper
- Mutton snapper
- Mangrove snapper
- Flounder
- Trout
- Hogfish
- Lane snapper
- Gray snapper
- Tripletail
- Vermilion snapper
- Grouper
- Cod
What You'll Need
- Fresh or frozen snapper or other thin white fillets of fish.
- Cauliflower (you can also use broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus tips, carrots, etc.)
- Olive oil or avocado oil
- Old Bay seasoning, or you can use homemade blackened seasoning for a little more spice.
- Unsalted butter
- Sea salt and black pepper
Roasting Fish and Veggies
- For the cauliflower, trim off the leaves and cut the head into little pieces.
- Toss the cauliflower in a large mixing bowl with olive oil, salt, and some Old Bay seasoning. The Old Bay is also on the fish and the two go well together.
- Roast at 390°F (199°C) until golden brown, 6-10 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. Mine roasted in 8 minutes.
- While the cauliflower is roasting, you can prepare the fish.
How Long to Air Fry Fish Fillets
- Lightly season the fish with salt and pepper, Old Bay, and dot with cubes of butter.
- Air fry at 390°F (199°C) for 6-10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked and flakes easily with a fork.
- Garnish with chopped parsley, basil, or cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges.
Should I Put Parchment Paper in The Air Fryer?
When cooking fish in an air fryer, it can easily fall apart. To avoid this, place a piece of parchment paper underneath the fish. This makes it much easier to lift the fish out in one piece once it's cooked.
For added convenience, I use a folded piece of parchment paper. This allows me to lift the entire piece of fish out at once. Just make sure the edges of the paper are tucked under the food, so they don't move around during cooking.
If you prefer a simpler option, you can try pre-cut Air Fryer parchment sheets. These sheets are designed to fit perfectly in your air fryer basket and are available on Amazon.
Try This Recipe with Mutton Snapper Too 👆
A few days after I cooked the yellowtail, I went to the fish store and got some mutton snapper. Mutton snapper has thicker fillets than yellowtail and a mild, slightly sweet flavor.
It isn't always available, so I bought two pounds. One pound went in the freezer, and I cooked the second pound in my air fryer using the same method as the yellowtail.
Because the mutton snapper fillet was thicker than the yellowtail, it took 10 minutes to cook through.
Serving Suggestions
You can garnish the dish with some fresh herbs, such as parsley or basil, and lemon wedges.
If you need another vegetable side, try green beans with garlic or a small side salad.
You can also make macaroni salad for a cold creamy side.
To make a more traditional breaded crispy fish dinner, try this almond flour-crusted pan-fried yellowtail recipe.
Storage
To save leftovers, place the cauliflower and fish in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for two days in the refrigerator.
Air Fryer Snapper with Cauliflower is an easy weeknight meal. This dish is low in carbs, gluten-free, and tastes great!
Top Tips
- Avoid Overcrowding Keep the food in a single layer and avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket. If the basket is crowded, the food inside will steam instead of crisp. The crispy bits are the best part!
- Seasoning The snapper is seasoned with salt, pepper, and Old Bay Seasoning. Unsalted butter is dotted on the top of the fish before closing the air fryer door to keep the fish moist while cooking.
- Low-Sodium Recommendation If you're on a low-sodium diet, try using Mrs. Dash original flavor on both sides of the fish. Just skip the salt!
- Timing My air fryer cooks thin fish fillets in 6-10 minutes at 390°F. There is no need to flip the fish while it is cooking. If you have a thicker piece of fish, you'll need to cook it for an extra few minutes.
What Goes with Air Fryer Fish?
- Sautéed Tomatoes with Shallots
- Lemon Asparagus Rice
- Mango Pico de Gallo
- Sautéed Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
- Oven Roasted Tiny Red Potatoes
- Chickpea Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad
For another easy air fryer recipe, try air fryer sweet potatoes.
FAQ
No, there's no need to flip the fish. You risk it falling apart. There is air circulating in the machine so flipping isn't necessary.
A small head of cauliflower cut into small pieces cooks for about 10 minutes.
Depending on their size, you may need two small fillets per person, while one large fillet may serve two people. We only cook fresh yellowtail so we eat what we catch and the size varies.
Mutton snapper is somewhat firm and sweet tasting. It is a prized species of the warm Florida waters.
Air Fryer Snapper with Old Bay and Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 pound snapper or other thin white fish fillets, defrosted
- 1 head cauliflower, trimmed and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning, divided
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- sea salt
- black pepper
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
FOR THE CAULIFLOWER
- Trim the cauliflower and cut into bite-size pieces.
- Add olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and a big pinch of Old Bay to a large mixing bowl; whisk.
- Add cauliflower and toss with tongs.
- Pour the cauliflower into your air fryer basket.
- Air fry at 390°F for 8 to 10 minutes, without overcrowding the basket.
- Remove the cauliflower and set aside.
FOR THE FISH
- Wash and pat dry the fish with paper towels. Season the fish with salt and pepper, Old Bay seasoning, and dot with cubes of butter.
- Air fry at 390°F for 6-10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.
- Serve cauliflower with fish. Garnish with chopped herbs such as parsley, basil, or cilantro. Serve with a lemon wedge.
