Parmesan Fish Sticks

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Chef Boyardee beefaroni. A can of Beenee Weenies.

People are turning to their childhood favorites right now, and I’m no different.

Hamburger helper. Kid Cuisine. Cheez Balls.

Instead of falling into the trap of buying all the premade, loaded-with-chemicals food, I’ve been trying to make my own homemade versions.

I’ve been successful twice now with two different types of Hamburger Helper (potatoes stroganoff & cheeseburger mac). Now, I’m branching out into the wild and wonderful world of fish sticks.

I haven’t had a fish stick in at least a decade. I think the last time I probably had fish sticks was in a school cafeteria. But for some reason, a few weeks ago, I started craving fish sticks.

Fish sticks are usually made with cod or some other white fish like halibut or flounder. The only white fish I could find at the grocery store a few weeks ago was frozen cod—so cod it was!

If you live in the middle of a landlocked state, chances are you can’t get your hands on fresh fish right now. Cod, flounder, halibut, even roughy are the best fish to buy frozen. They don’t really lose a lot of their flavor and they’re firm enough to withstand a good, hard freeze.

Salmon, on the other hand, is not great frozen. I’ve bought it a handful of times frozen and it just is not that great when thawed. Stick with firm white fish when buying the frozen variety.

These fish sticks came out better than the pre-packaged thing! Oven-baked to crispy perfection, these fish sticks are seasoned perfectly with parmesan and herbs and perfect for dipping in some spicy (or non-spicy) ketchup.

Enjoy!

Parmesan Fish Sticks

• Servings: 3-4
• Time: 30 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Oven baked parmesan-and-herb fish sticks that are better than the frozen kind.

Ingredients

• 2 TBS. olive oil
• 2 lbs. frozen cod, thawed and cut into 1/2″ thick strips
• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 TBS. melted butter
• 1/2 cup parmesan, finely grated
• 3 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Set up a dredging station. In a shallow bowl, stir together flour, salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley and melted butter. Finally, in another bowl, whisk eggs until lightly beaten.
2. Take fish, one strip at a time, and lightly dredge in flour, then roll in egg mixture, then roll in breadcrumb-and-parmesan mixture.
3. Place breaded fish sticks on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip. Bake for another 7-8 minutes until crispy and browned.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Set up a dredging station. In a shallow bowl, stir together flour, salt and pepper.

In another shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, parsley and melted butter. Finally, in another bowl, whisk eggs until lightly beaten.

Take fish, one strip at a time, and lightly dredge in flour, then roll in egg mixture, then roll in breadcrumb-and-parmesan mixture.

Place breaded fish sticks on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip. Bake for another 7-8 minutes until crispy and browned.