Crispy Oven Fish Sticks with Quick Tartar Sauce
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Strips of cod in a toasted panko and Parmesan crust, baked on a hot pan until they crunch. Stir up the tartar sauce while they bake, and watch the kids go from suspicious to asking for seconds.
The short version
Toast panko with Parmesan and spices, bread strips of cod through flour, egg and crumbs, and bake them on a preheated pan at 450°F for 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. Stir up the tartar sauce while they bake. Don't skip the hot pan.
What makes ours better
what we fixed so you don’t have to
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Toast the panko before you bread. Crumbs browned in a little oil in a skillet arrive at the oven already golden, so the fish cooks through before the coating can burn. You get a deep color without frying.
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Put Parmesan and spices in the crumbs. Parmesan browns fast and adds salt and savor, and paprika and garlic powder season the outside, where you taste it first.
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Bake on a preheated, oiled pan. The crumbs sizzle the moment they hit the metal, which crisps the underside. Without it you get pale, soft bottoms.
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Add Dijon to the egg. A spoonful of mustard in the egg wash seasons the fish and helps the crumbs stay on.
What you need
the usual suspects
- Skinless cod fillets1½ pounds
- All-purpose flour½ cup
- Dijon mustard1 tablespoon
- Panko bread crumbs2 cups
- Finely grated Parmesan½ cup
- Mayonnaise½ cup
- Finely chopped dill pickles or cornichons2 tablespoons
- Lemon1 large
Fish sticks
Quick tartar sauce
yes, all of the butter
Steps
nobody opens the oven door. looking at you, Dad.
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Heat the oven and the pan
Set a rack in the upper third of the oven. Put a rimmed baking sheet on it and heat the oven to 450°F. The pan needs to preheat with the oven.
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Toast the panko
Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the panko and stir constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, until it turns light golden and smells toasty. Tip it into a shallow dish and stir in the Parmesan, paprika, garlic powder and pepper. Let it cool while you cut the fish.
Watch it closely. Panko goes from golden to scorched in under a minute.
About 4 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Cut and season the fish
Pat the cod very dry with paper towels. Cut it into sticks about 1 inch wide and 3 inches long, roughly 24 pieces. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt.
Dry fish is what lets the coating stick. Wet fish steams the crumbs off.
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Set up the breading line
Stir the flour and ½ teaspoon salt together in one shallow dish. Whisk the eggs and Dijon in a second. The crumbs are the third. Keep one hand for dry and one for wet.
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Bread the sticks
Roll each piece in the flour and shake off the extra, dip it in the egg, then press it into the crumbs on all sides until coated. Set the sticks on a plate, not touching.
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Bake on the hot pan
Pull the hot sheet from the oven, add the 1 tablespoon olive oil and tilt to coat. Lay the sticks on it with space between them; they should sizzle. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, turn each one, and bake 5 to 6 minutes more, until the crust is deep golden and the fish is opaque and flakes at the center, about 135°F.
Turn them with a thin spatula and don't crowd the pan. Touching sticks steam each other.
About 11 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Stir the tartar sauce
While the sticks bake, stir the mayonnaise, pickles, parsley, lemon juice and capers together. Serve the sticks right away with the sauce and lemon wedges.
Good to know
read this before somebody asks for seconds
- Cod is the classic, but any mild white fish with firm flesh works. Thin tail pieces cook faster, so fold them over or put them on the pan last.
- To freeze, bread the sticks, freeze them in a single layer on a tray for 1 hour, then bag them. Bake from frozen on the hot pan at 425°F for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once.
- For an air fryer, spray the sticks lightly with oil and cook at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once.
- Storage. Cooked sticks keep 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat on a rack at 400°F for 8 to 10 minutes; the microwave makes them soft.
Questions, answered
the questions my cousins text me
What is the best fish for homemade fish sticks?
Cod, haddock or pollock. They are mild, firm and cut into clean sticks that hold together. Halibut and mahi-mahi work too. Skip salmon and tilapia for this one.
How do I keep the breading from falling off?
Pat the fish dry, use the flour step, and press the crumbs on firmly. Also keep the sticks off each other on the plate and the pan, and don't move them until the crust has set.
Can I use regular bread crumbs instead of panko?
Yes, but the crust will be finer and less crunchy. Use fine dry crumbs and toast them for 2 to 3 minutes instead of 3 to 4.
How do I know when fish sticks are done?
The coating is deep golden and the fish is opaque and flakes at the center, about 135°F. Cut one open if you aren't sure.
Can I make them ahead?
Bread them up to 2 hours ahead and refrigerate on a rack. Or freeze them raw as in the notes and bake from frozen.
Can I fry them instead?
Yes. Shallow-fry in ½ inch of oil at 350°F for 2 to 3 minutes per side and drain on a rack. The toasted panko step isn't needed if you fry.
From the table
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Published October 29, 2026.