Fish sticks have long been a guilty pleasure, but no more! Our friend greens and chocolate has come up with a recipe for Air-Fried Fish Sticks that takes the guilt — and the big, greasy mess — off the table.

There are a handful of foods that always remind me of my childhood. There are the ones that I’ll actually still eat, like mac and cheese from a box, tater tots and spaghetti. Then there are the ones that I cannot imagine ever eating again, like the frozen Kid Cuisine dinners, canned SpaghettiOs and frozen fish sticks. The Kid Cuisines and canned SpaghettiOs speak for themselves, and the fish sticks just always seem so … mushy … to me. Blech!

These days, however, I do enjoy a good fish and chips meal. There are just times that I can’t pass up crispy and flaky fried fish with warm salty fries. Admittedly, this is definitely an indulgence since the entire meal is fried.

These Air-Fried Fish Sticks are the solution to the problem of craving fish and chips and wanting to stick to a healthier option. The air fryer is the perfect way to achieve that crispiness that makes fried food so appealing, without all of the oil.

Better yet, these fish sticks are super easy to make and only take 10 minutes to cook in the air fryer. For these fish sticks, I used cod, which is my favorite flaky fish, and it did not disappoint. The crispy outside coating is achieved with a flour, egg and panko breadcrumb dipping sequence.

I recommend preheating the air fryer for 10 minutes, which is easily done while you are prepping the fish sticks. After they are coated in the batter, you simply cook them for 5 minutes on each side, and you are on your way to healthy (air) fried fish!

These were a hit with adults and kids, and along with some oven-baked fries, were a super easy dinner!