The Best Gluten Free Fish and Chips Recipe
Don’t miss out on a classic! Learn how to make the best Gluten Free Fish and Chips with this tasty recipe. Tastes just like the original, maybe better!
This story starts with our trip to Universal Studios Florida for my son’s birthday this year. We were all so excited to sit down and eat at the Leaky Cauldron in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter we didn’t know what to do. They had a gluten free menu that included a delicious Chicken Sandwich, but my son was really watching us eat our fish and chips. I decided right then that I needed to find the best Gluten Free Fish and Chips recipe and give it a whirl.
I started searching for recipes and tweaking them here and there until I found the perfect combination. This is now one of our go-to meals at our house, and an added bonus if we turn Harry Potter on.
How to
While this recipe may seem like it has a lot of steps, it is very easy. Heat your oil in a skillet or fryer to 320 degrees.
In a medium bowl, mix together the gluten free baking mix, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and the Old Bay Seasoning. Add the egg yolks and beer and whisk until a smooth batter forms. Set aside.
Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels. If the fillets are large cut into 1-inch strips. Dredge the fish strips in the cornstarch and dip into the beer batter. Allow the excess batter to drip off and lower into the hot oil. Cook the fish for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden brown, and serve with tartar sauce.
Egg Free
I have tested this recipe by making it without eggs. It works beautifully. Simply omit the eggs, you may need to add a few tablespoonfuls more sparkling water/beer. I also added about 1/2 tsp of paprika to add some color to the batter. Other than that, everything in the recipe stays the same.
Tips
- You don’t need a special fryer. A deep cast iron skillet works perfectly.
- Yes, all the steps are necessary. It really makes a difference in the coating.
- You can use fresh or frozen Cod. We have tried both and can’t tell a difference.
- Handmade chips are optional. I typically buy a bag of steak fries and toss them in the oven while the fish is frying. Just makes things a bit easier.
- Can’t find gluten-free beer? Use Club Soda or a Lemon flavored Sparkling water for a fun twist.
Serving
My family loves this with some homemade Cole slaw and these Gluten Free Hushpuppies are a must!
Gluten Free Fish and Chips
Ingredients
Fish
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 cup gluten free baking mix or gluten free flour mix
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 2 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup gluten-free beer or soda water
- 1 pound cod tilapia, or pollack fillets
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- Tartar sauce
Chips
- 5 Yukon Gold potatoes about 1½ pounds
Instructions
- In a deep cast iron skillet, heat 3 inches of oil over medium-high heat until it reads 320°F on a deep-fat thermometer.
- Cut the potatoes into ⅛-inch slices and fry, parcooking the chips for 2 to 3 minutes. Place on paper towels to cool completely. Increase the temperature of the oil to 350°F and fry the chips a second time for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown.
- Don’t have time, you can use frozen steak fries instead of fresh potatoes.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the gluten free baking mix, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, and the Old Bay Seasoning. Add the egg yolks and beer and whisk until a smooth batter forms. Set aside.
- Pat the fish fillets dry with paper towels. If the fillets are large cut into 1-inch strips. Dredge the fish strips in the cornstarch and dip into the beer batter. Allow the excess batter to drip off and lower into the hot oil. Cook the fish for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden brown, and serve with tartar sauce.
Notes
Regular
- If you don’t want to make this gluten free you can substitute a regular beer and all-purpose flour instead of gluten-free baking mix.
This was great! I made it tonight for my boyfriend.. I made a mess of the kitchen but he didn’t mind because it was so tasty. I will make this again. I recently had to go gluten free and meals like this really help me not miss eating out at some of my favorite places.
This is not cooking right now because I looked for a recipe after failing! How do you get the flour or the batter to stick to the fish?!
Hi Michelle. Like the post says. You want to first pay the fish dry. Then toss it in a light coat of corn starch. This gives the batter something to adhere to. If you are still having problems your batter may be too runny. Add a little more flour and see if that helps.
What is the gluten free baking mix that you recommend?
Honestly I used to swear by Aldi’s Gluten Free Baking Mix, but I have recently switched over to King Arthur Flours Gluten Free Flour and I love it! It is my new favorite.
Made this with Bob’s 1 to 1 gf flour mix, and used a sugar free ginger beer… It was perfect.
OMG, I have never made fish and chips but this was out of this world. Even my kids and HH were all raving it was the best they ever had. I used soda water and Bob Red Mills 1-1 flour mix because it is what I had. Thank you so much. This is a new family favourite!!! Today I am eating cold leftovers at my desk while I try to work through the pandemic haha. MERCI
Hi Nathalie,
Thanks for coming back to comment! I am so glad it was such a huge hit. Thank you for working through this crisis! It is truly appreciated! 🙂
Hee Hee, We had it again last night. Easter treat!!! HH made it and the two teenage girls cleaned the kitchen afterwards… it was PERFECT!
I made this with Betty Crocker Gluten Free Bisquick. I substituted the Beer with carbonated mineral water. Didn’t have Old Bay so used Mrs. Dash =FANTASTIC!
This recipe is a definite keeper! Its so hard to get a good GFree batter – but you nailed this! Its SO GREAT! Thanks so much!
Delicious and delightful.
The best ever! And I’ve tried many.
This really worked well! I used a flour blend I made myself. This was the best batter I’ve ever used for frying fish (even better than wheat flour batter back when I didn’t know I was celiac!). I didn’t want to use up my gluten-free beer in the recipe so I used lemon sparkling water and it turned out great! I had to use the whole can of water because my flour made a really sticky batter, but adding more water loosened it up nicely. Perfect!!!
This was so good. I had to go gluten free about two weeks ago. This was fabulous. Even my extremely picky eater husband liked it. Next time I will add more bay seasoning, probably another 1/2 tsp. My tartar sauce is delicious too and gluten free. Do it was a win.
Wow, everyone loved it. I used a combination of GF flours ( end of bags), a teaspoon of my own fish spice and frozen walleye,. I also used sparkling lemon water.
Kind of messy, but worth the cleanup, since it’s the the first fish and chips I’ve had since I found I must eat GF
I haven’t had fish and chips in 10+ years. Dinner tonight was AMAZING!
Yay! I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back and commenting!
Do you think this will work without the egg? we have egg, dairy, and wheat allergies in the house.
Hi Mia,
Yes it does! My daughter was recently diagnosed with a egg allergy. I was super nervous to try this at first, but it works beautifully. Just omit the egg. You may need to add a little more sparkling water. I also added some paprika to add some color. Turns out delicious!
This is a fantastic recipe. You can’t even tell it is gluten free! Wonderful!!!
So happy I stumbled upon this recipe. I haven’t had fish and chips in years, since I went gluten free. This was just perfectly delicious. My whole family really enjoyed this. Thank you!
hi there! we absolutely LOVE this!! i used king arthur 1-1 gf flour and prosecco as that’s what we had on hand. and it’s the lightest most yummy thing!! question… do you ever think it prudent to par-boil the fish first? i think my batter was a bit thick so it took about 8 or more min in the oil for the fish to cook thru. still. so so yummy!! thank you!
Hi Heaven,
No you don’t need to parboil the fish. Your pieces may have been a bit big. Try slightly smaller filets next time.
Made this last night using King Arthur’s GF 1/1 baking flour and club soda with some cod for the whole family. It was amazing! The GF flour has a slight funky smell when you first put it in the frying pan, but other than that you couldn’t tell the difference from traditional fish and chips. It was crunchy, delicious and very satisfying 🙂
I made the fish portion of this using perch that I picked up on sale. SO AMAZING! I used Aldi gf baking mix; about 2 tsp of Lawry’s, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp onion powder (didn’t have Old Bay); and 1.25 cups of soda water (it took that much to get it thin enough to dip). I fried it about 2mins each side and it was perfect. Can’t wait to reheat the leftovers in my air fryer tonight. This is a keeper!
This recipe is so good that it feels like witchcraft. We just used the fish portion and put it into fish tacos. My husband said he thinks this is the best thing I’ve ever made 🙂 Thank you so much!
Best recipe ever, my whole family eats it and most of them can tolerate gluten. This is a winner!!!