Air Fryer Walleye

Why You'll Love This Walleye Recipe

• Crispy results without deep frying. You can have it all, crispy fish without stinking up the house for days. No grease splatters, no smoky kitchen. Plus the unique pork rind coating keeps it real crisp while the air fryer does all the cooking.
• Pork rinds bring the crunch, and are low-carb. Like panko, but with this light fluffy crispness, pork rinds make an unexpectedly good coating. Pork rinds are to panko like tempura is to beer batter. Does that make sense?
• Walleye is perfect for quick cooking. I grew up eating walleye so I'm a big fan of its clean, mild flavor - and it also happens to be very quick cooking. Only 10 minutes!
• Pairs well with many dishes. Since walleye is a mild-flavored fish, it goes great with many things. Try it with a roasted sweet potato soup for a lovely textural and flavor contrast, or this Dill Pickle Pasta Salad with its bright acidity thanks to dill pickles.

Thanks Craig! And thank you for pointing out that the cooking instructions differed for you because you have an air fryer function in your oven vs. the countertop air fryer model I used in the recipe :).

My Air Fryer - Ninja Foodi XL

The Treasure Truck got me. I saw this Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Smart XL Air Fry Oven discounted on Amazon's Treasure Truck and had to have it. It's been worth every penny. One of the first things I made in it was this Pork Enchilada Hot Dish.

If you have a larger air fyer, like you have an oven that has the air fry function as my oven does, you may find that you will need to cook the fillets for longer. But like maybe a minute or two longer, not like double the time called for here. For safety, cook until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, as recommended by the USDA.

Ingredients

To make crispy walleye in the air fryer you will need the following ingredients:

• Walleye fillets - I based this recipe off of using four good-sized walleye fillets. I know that's not a great unit of measurement, but by weight, it's around 1.5 pounds.
• Large egg - One is all you need - a large one that is! It helps the pork rind coating stick to the fish.
• Pork rinds - I used a small, 3-ounce bag of Old Dutch pork rinds for this recipe, and found it sufficient to coat 4 good-sized wallye fillets.
• Garlic powder - I like to add a little to the pork rind crust mix. Garlic and fish make a great pair, and a little goes a long ways.
• Cayenne pepper - Just a little bit, to add some spice. You could also leave it out if you'd prefer.
• Lemon - Grab a lemon and cut it into 8 wedges. This is optional, but a wedge of lemon is a great little serving garnish. Just what you need to add a spritz of freshness and acidity.

A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below - keep scrolling!

Substitutions

Walleye - Instead of walleye, sauger or perch would likely be the most similar to walleye in form and flavor, but you could also use cod or haddock. You could also use tilapia in a pinch, though admittedly I don't love it; it's just boring and bland, okay. Don't come at me.

Pork rinds - If you're a pork rind fan you could also consider using different flavors of pork rinds. I've seen some spicy pork rinds on the shelves that would be great for this recipe. If you go flavored pork rind, you probably don't need to worry about seasoning them further. Pork rinds aren't for everyone, so you could, of course opt for a classic cracker coating: think Saltine or Ritz, crushed or opt for panko.

How to Make Air Fryer Walleye - Directions

I love this Air Fryer Walleye recipe because it's super quick and easy - and the crushed pork rind coating makes it uniquely crunchy and low carb. I went through a keto phase and will forever be thankful that pork rinds exist; avoiding carbs is really, really hard. By the way, you could also use crushed crackers as a coating - like in this Walleye Fish Taco recipe.

1. Step 1. Crush the pork rinds into crumbs. I pour them into a gallon bag and roll over them with a rolling pin until nice and crumbly.
2. Step 2. Add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to the gallon bag of pork rind crumbs and shake to combine. Pour the pork rind crumbs onto a plate.
3. Step 3. Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk until the white and yolk are combined.
4. Step 4. Dip a walleye fillet into the whisked eggs, making sure both sides get coated. Let the excess egg drip off.
5. Step 5. Dredge the walleye fillet in pork rind crumbs, making sure to completely coat on both sides.
6. Step 6. Spray a bit of cooking spray on the rack in your air fryer to ensure the fillets don't stick.
7. Step 7. Put the walleye fillets on the air fryer rack (IMPORTANT, read notes*). Repeat with the remaining fillets.
8. Step 8. Fry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for around 10 minutes. You can flip halfway through cooking, if desired, though I found I didn't need to.
9. Step 9. Remove from air fryer and serve with lemon wedges.