With nearly a million page views and over 340 five-star reviews, this Beer Battered Fish recipe is a proven favorite. This contest-winning recipe is perfect anytime when you want a light and crispy batter for your favorite fish.
Crispy beer battered fish
With just a handful of ingredients and 5 simple steps, this recipe will make you the star of your kitchen. Find out why people keep coming back to this recipe again and again.
This Beer Battered Fish is a go-to at our annual camping fish fry and a staple at home when we crave delicious fish and chips or fish tacos. The combination of a lightly seasoned batter and the perfect fry creates a delightful crunch that keeps everyone coming back for more.
Whether you're a seasoned cook or a beginner, this Beer Battered Fish recipe is easy to follow and yields consistently delicious results.
⭐ Reader Review
This is my new favorite beer batter recipe! The coating was perfect, crisp and delicious. I've tried quite a few others and this is the best so far! ~ Jim
We have a summer fishing/camping tradition. We always spend one weekend on Lake Roosevelt, on the Columbia River camping and fishing.
We have several families that go together. There's a core group that's always there, but we always have a few more families that are able to join us each year. This year there were a total of 15 of us.
We go for the fish - Walleye, but it's also about having a great time and hanging out with everyone.
Walleye are tender fish and need a net in order to be brought into the boat. Otherwise, they tend to fall off the hook just as you bring them out of the water.
Sometimes the fishing gets a bit slow.
Some years the fishing is better than others, but we always catch enough to have a huge fish fry back at camp.
Most years we also have enough to bring back home and stock our freezers. I use the same recipe for making beer battered fish at home as I do at camp. I also make this pan fried Walleye and a fish salad with frozen fish.
Another great recipe that can be made with walleye or other fish is this almond crusted fish.
Rod is always our fish fryer at camp.
And he cooks up a ton!
At home, we use the same method - just in smaller portions. If you don't have walleye, any light white fish will work - cod, haddock, halibut, and flounder are good choices.
Beer Batter Fish ingredients
- Fish - Use a light flaky mild fish like Walleye, cod, halibut or tilapia.
- Flour - Use regular all-purpose flour.
- Cornstarch - Cornstarch helps make the batter light and crisp. It’s key to making this beer batter.
- Seasoning - The seasoning is simple; just salt and paprika.
- Baking Powder - Used to help give the batter a bit of rise while it’s cooking. It also helps add to the lightness and crispness of the batter.
- Beer - Any type of beer can be used, but usually a lighter-flavored beer is better. We use a very light pilsner like Bud Light, Pabst Blue Ribbon or Kokanee. The beer adds flavor and helps activate the baking powder making the batter very light.
- Oil for Frying - Look for a mild flavored oil that is good for frying. Some options include canola, vegetable or peanut oil.
How to make Beer Battered Fish
- Mix flour, salt, paprika, baking powder and cornstarch together
- Add beer and mix
- Mixture should be thick, like pancake batter
- If mixture becomes too thick, add a bit more beer
- If mixture is too runny, add a bit more flour
If you're looking for a gluten-free version of fish and chips, try this recipe for gluten-free fish and chips.
Making Beer Batter for Fish ahead of time
Since I'm never quite sure how much batter we will need at camp, I mix up all the dry ingredients and place in a zip-top bag. I mix one batch in each bag and I usually bring 3 or 4 bags with me.
At camp you just add beer until the mixture is the right consistency. You could just mix it right in the bag and have one less thing to clean up. We usually dump the dry ingredients into a big bowl since we do so many fish.
Serving suggestions
We keep it pretty simple when eating beer battered fish. We often just have a crisp green salad or a coleslaw or even a couscous salad. Onion Rings would also be delicious with this fish.
Beer Batter for Fish FAQs
You can use any type of beer for beer batter. I like to use a light pilsner-type beer because I don't want a heavy-tasting beer in my batter.
More delicious Walleye recipes
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
If you loved this recipe you'll LOVE all the others in this category. Check out all my main dish recipes here!
Beer Battered Fish
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Fry Thermometer
Ingredients
Batter
- 2 cups flour
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 - 1½ can beer (12 ounce)
Remaining Ingredients
- 1 -2 pounds fish fillets
- corn oil (for frying)
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add beer and stir. Mixture should be the same consistency like pancake batter.2 cups flour, ⅓ cup cornstarch, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1 - 1½ can beer
- Add 1 ½ -2 inches oil to pan. Heat oil to 375 degrees.corn oil
- Pat fish fillets dry with a paper towel. Dip fish, one at a time, into beer batter. Add to heated oil. Cook 3-4 pieces at a time so pan is not overcrowded.1 -2 pounds fish fillets
- Cook 2-3 minutes per side. Place cooked fish on a baking sheet lined with a baking rack. Place in a preheated 250°F oven to keep warm while remaining fish cooks.
- Repeat until all fish is cooked.
Notes
- I use Walleye fish, but any light fish will work.
- Use a light beer.
- If batter is too thick, add a bit more beer.
- If batter is too runny, add a bit more flour.
- This recipe makes a large amount of batter. There is enough to dredge all fillets and there will be extra batter leftover.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Catherine says
Most recipes lightly flour fish before battering ( is that a word🤷♀️) to ensure batter adheres to fish
Can I still do that as this recipe excludes this step
Kathy says
Hi Catherine,
You can give it a try.
Kathy 🙂
Svetlana says
Whenever I try a new recipe, my hubby will say either "It's fine" or "This is good." For your beer batter recipe, he said, "This is GReat. This is how we're cooking fish from now on!" Three times. At least. LOL Thank you for sharing it! It's a HUGE winner at our house. Can't wait to try making onion rings with it!
Kathy says
This is awesome!!! Thanks so much! 🙂
Lisa Williams says
The whole family loves this recipe for fish and chips!! I even tried the batter with dill pickles. So delish!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kathy says
Yay!!! I'm glad everyone enjoyed it! Now I need to try the extra batter with pickles! Sounds fun. 🙂
Christina Reville says
I used this as a base and tweaked it a bit for my chicken! It's now almost identical to the Mccormick beer Batter premix! My family and neighbors loved it!
Kathy says
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
J.P.G. says
I'm about to try the batter recipe on catfish and whatever batter that's leftover for onion rings... If there's still batter leftover it's getting vacuumed sealed to be frozen for a later date... Hopefully to use at the cottage...
Kathy says
Hi,
I'd love to hear how the freezing works out. Keep me posted and enjoy the fish and onion rings!
Kathy 🙂
Suzanne says
This beer batter was absolutely amazing! We will definitely make it again! I’m assuming that you can refrigerate the leftover batter and use it again the next day? I would love to know if that is OK to use it leftover?
Kathy says
Hi Suzanne,
I'm so glad you enjoyed the beer batter! I have not ever tried refrigerating and using again the next day. You may need to thin the batter a bit if it becomes too thick. Just use a splash of beer or water to thin it. Also, the batter might not puff as much because the baking powder may become inactive. Let me know how it turns out.
Kathy 🙂
Virginia Knokr says
Batter comes apart from fish
Kathy says
Hi Virginia,
Did the batter come off the fish while frying, or did it have an air gap that you discovered while eating? If it came off while frying, try adding the coated fish to the fryer slowly. Don't just dump it all in. We take one piece at a time and drop it into the hot oil.
Kathy
Cecilia says
I used Cod and it was fabulous, great batter. This was a lot of batter that did three large pieces of cod and had plenty left over. It was golden crisp brown.
Kathy says
Thanks Cecilia,
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It does make a large batch of batter. Sometimes I use it to make onion rings too. They go perfectly with the fish.
Kathy
Joey .J says
I feel so dumb that I haven't tried beer battered fish yet and now that I have tried it I would definitely reccomend this it has an amazing crunch and its just amazing 10/10!!
Kathy says
Thanks so much! Now you can make it again and again! 🙂
Virginia Knoke says
Batter comes apart from fish
Kathy says
Hi Virginia,
Did the batter come off the fish while frying, or did it have an air gap that you discovered while eating? If it came off while frying, try adding the coated fish to the fryer slowly. Don't just dump it all in. We take one piece at a time and drop it into the hot oil.
Kathy
Nancy says
Can grapeseed oil be used for frying the fish?
Kathy says
Hi Nancy,
You should be able to use grapeseed oil.
Enjoy,
Kathy 🙂
Jim says
This is my new favorite beer batter recipe! The coating was perfect, crisp and delicious. I've tried quite a few others and this is the best so far!
Kathy says
Oh my!!! Thanks so much!!! 🙂
Janice says
The best beer battered fish recipe we have tried amongst many! Always crispy and delicious. 5/5
We don’t want to try any other recipes after using this one.
Kathy says
Thanks so much! So glad you love it! 🙂
Doug says
Tried beer battering for the first time and was a hit. I used walleye with my home made seafood seasoning. Taste is great and can be versatile on the thickness of the batter. I had leftover batter as you noted, so have put it in the freezer and will try it on some fish next week. Can't wait t try it on dinner guest.
Kathy says
Thank you! Let me know how freezing the batter works. I haven't tried that before!
Kathy 🙂
ELAINE says
Perfect recipe. I used Cod. Absolutely wonderful. I used a bit (lots) more baking powder by mistake but so light and crispy! Used Slap yo Mama instead of salt. Love this recipe so much!
Kathy says
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!!! 🙂