Portuguese Fish Fillets are one of our most common preparations of fish for family dinners! Tender seasoned fish coated in light and airy batter and fried until golden brown.
Portuguese Fish Fillets Recipe
Fried fish fillets are a classic Portuguese dinner that you will see served at special occasions, holidays, family gatherings and family dinners! One of my favorite dishes and family favorites that my Mom made growing up is her fried fish fillets. It is such a simple and quick dish.
In the picture my fish fillets are served with my Mom's famous recipe for Tomato Seafood Rice (Recipe Linked Here)!
Growing up in a Portuguese household, fish was served at least one to two times a week. My personal favorite preparation is these classic fried fish fillets. Many prepare and cook this dish differently which makes sharing this easy recipe a delight.
After seasoning the fish, the only other step is to dip into seasoned flour, egg, and then fry. It’s that simple! No need for fancy batters in this recipe.
The fish is tender and moist and coated in a light and airy coating. The coating puffs up when frying and turns golden brown!
What is in Portuguese Fish Fillets?
- Any type of flakey white fish can be used for this recipe, such as sole, basa, haddock, cod, halibut, etc.. I love using haddock, it's not too thick and not too thin, it is the perfect fish for coating and frying!
- The fish is seasoned with salt and pepper. The natural flavors and sweetness of the fish shines through in this dish without being over powered by too many seasonings.
- The coating is as simple as seasoned flour (paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper) and egg. The secret to the lightest and fluffy coating is to first coat the fish in flour and then egg. This may seem backwards but having the egg on the outside creates a light and puffy batter that turns golden brown when cooked!
How to Make Portuguese Fish Fillets
Full Printable Recipe at Bottom of Page
Jump to Recipe
1 Prepare fish by seasoning with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Set aside.
2 Prepare a coating station with 2 deep bowls.
3 In one bowl prepare the seasoned flour by mixing in the paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper
4 In the second bowl bowl beat the eggs.
5 Heat up the oil in a large sauce pan or deep pot, fill with enough oil to come 2 inches up the sides (approximately 2 - 3 cups). Keep the heat on medium to medium high (too high will burn the coating before the fish cooks through).
6 You can test the oil to see if it’s ready by dropping a pinch of flour into the oil to see if it sizzles. Or, place the end of a wooden spoon or chopstick in the oil, if the oil sizzles around the wood it is ready.
7 To coat the fish, use the one dry hand and one wet hand method. Take one fish fillet with the dry hand and coat it in the seasoned flour. Shake off the excess and then dip into the beaten egg using your other hand that will be the wet hand. Shake off the excess egg.
8 Carefully place the fish into the frying pan. Do not over crowd the pan. Only fry 2-3 pieces of fish at a time depending on the size of your pan. Cook 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
9 Carefully remove the fish from the oil and place onto a paper towel lined dish or wire rack to allow an excess oil to drip off.
Serve with lemon slices. Enjoy!
In the image below I served my fish fillets with my Mom's famous Tomato Seafood Rice (Recipe Linked Here). It's a must try!
Looking for More Portuguese Recipes?
- Portuguese Style Mussels - these mussels are served in a spicy tomato sauce loaded with chorizo (Portuguese spicy sausage)!
- Bifanas - the most famous pork sandwich from Portugal! Tender pork simmered in a spicy sauce with peppers and onions. Served on papo secos (Portuguese buns)
- Queijadas de Leite (Milk Tarts) - my favorite simple Portuguese dessert. Milk custard tarts baked until golden brown and crispy. Served topped with cinnamon!
Enjoy!
- Sab
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, may earn me a small commission.
Portuguese Fried Fish Fillets (Filets de Peixe)
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 cups oil (for frying (vegetable, canola))
Fish
- 2 lbs fresh or frozen haddock (or flakey white fish of choice)
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon pepper (to taste)
Coating
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
Garnish
- lemon (sliced for serving)
Instructions
- Prepare fish by seasoning with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Set aside.
- Prepare a coating station with 2 deep bowls.
- In one bowl prepare the seasoned flour by mixing in the paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper
- In the second bowl bowl beat the eggs.
- Heat up the oil in a large sauce pan or deep pot, fill with enough oil to come 2 inches up the sides (approximately 2 - 3 cups). Keep the heat on medium to medium high (too high will burn the coating before the fish cooks through).
- You can test the oil to see if it’s ready by dropping a pinch of flour into the oil to see if it sizzles. Or, place the end of a wooden spoon or chopstick in the oil, if the oil sizzles around the wood it is ready.
- To coat the fish, use the one dry hand and one wet hand method. Take one fish fillet with the dry hand and coat it in the seasoned flour. Shake off the excess and then dip into the beaten egg using your other hand that will be the wet hand. Shake off the excess egg.
- Carefully place the fish into the frying pan. Do not over crowd the pan. Only fry 2-3 pieces of fish at a time depending on the size of your pan. Cook 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Carefully remove the fish from the oil and place onto a paper towel lined dish or wire rack to allow an excess oil to drip off.
- Serve with lemon slices. Enjoy!
Donna says
I’m using two fillets of Basa for your recipe. 4 eggs seems like a lot for dipping.
Why so much? Or is it a misprint? Then those eggs just get thrown out?
fedbysab says
The recipe is for 2 lbs of white fish. For this amount of fish you will need 4 eggs to coat them.
Jen says
Hi Seb, I've often had the basa accompanied by a fresh salsa. Do you happen to have a recipe for that? I'm thinking oil, onions, maybe peppers? A bit of vinegar? I'm not sure but I think it contains tomatoes too. Thank you!
Kristine says
Amazing recipe, just like my Portuguese mother in laws recipe ❤️
Mark says
Love this recipe. I was looking for something different to do with fish, but I usually keep carbs low in the evening. I kept the flour well shaken off the fish and feel this helped limit the carbs. The egg as last step before frying was new to me, but the result was fabulous!
Mark Blaum says
Loved it!
Gillian Booth says
Really great fish and we added Bay spice.