Perfectly flaky and flavorful Baked Garlic Parmesan Fish Sticks for a healthy dinner in under 30 minutes. These parmesan crusted fish sticks have an almond flour coating and also make for an easy keto, low carb and gluten free party appetizer!

This recipe kind of came out of need, but of course turned into a want. I bought one of those tubs of shredded parmesan cheese from the store when they were on sale, and it was just taking me forever to run through.

Finishing up all these ingredients gets so hard when you’re just cooking for a single person. And even more because most recipes that call for parm only need it in small amounts.

I managed to use up a bunch when I made the Parmesan Zucchini Soup recently, but that was one huge tub!

So I had to find another recipe that relied – very – heavily on the parmesan for it’s flavor. Saw about 1.5 lbs of fish in my freezer, and this parmesan coated fish was born.

Used up ingredients and got some good food out of it too. Win win for sure!

Ingredients for Baked Garlic Parmesan Fish Sticks

This baked parmesan fish is keto, low carb and gluten free too because it uses almond flour in the coating, and has no bread crumbs.

The rest of the ingredients are also really easy to get your hands on. Here’s all of what you need:

The fish
Shredded Parmesan Cheese – or maybe even grated parmesan for a crispy parmesan crumbed fish
Almond flour the replacement for the no breadcrumbs
Italian Seasoning or any other dried herb like Basil or Oregano
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil to coat the fish sticks since there’s no eggs here

How to make homemade baked fish sticks?

Making fish sticks at home is actually really easy, especially if you’re baking them in the oven. That’s because the only real effort here is making and applying the garlic parmesan coating.

Here’s what you need to do:

Prep: preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly greased (with oil or cooking spray) foil.
Cut the fish into strips about 1” thick – you want them to be even so they all cook evenly.
Pat dry the fish strips with paper towels – this is so that the breading sticks to the meat.
Mix the breading ingredients parmesan, almond flour, Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a large shallow dish.
Smear the surface of the fish with olive oil – use your fingers or a brush.
Place the fish in the parmesan cheese fish breading and move around to coat. The parmesan will not stick much to the strips.
Shake off any excess and place the strips on the baking sheet.
Now sprinkle on the extra shredded parmesan.
Bake for 12 minutes. The fish should be cooked and flake perfectly with a fork.

If you want baked parmesan fish nuggets, cut the tilapia into bite sized pieces.

What fish can I use to make garlic parmesan crusted fish?

I basically made sticks of parmesan crusted Tilapia here, but another good option is Cod.

Any of the low-fat white meat fish would be good choices for this healthy recipe. Mahi Mahi, Catfish or Red Snapper? Go for it!

If you’re not too concerned about the fat content, salmon or trout would be quite a classy option.

As far as fresh or frozen goes, you can use either one for this appetizer.

Other Cooking options for healthy fish fries?

To actually have a healthy fish tenders recipe, I went for the oven baked method because you can avoid all the oil by having no deep fryer involved.

Another healthy alternative is cooking these fish sticks in an air fryer for about 8 minutes at 350°F.

Some things to keep in mind here:

Don’t add the grated parmesan before cooking (they will fly all around). Sprinkle them on just after you take the cooked fish out.
Be sure to line the basket with parchment paper to prevent juices from leaking everywhere.
Work in batches!

If you really want to make healthy fried fish sticks, lightly grease a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and pan fry until the fish is cooked through and flaky.

What dipping sauce goes well with baked parmesan fish strips?

To pair with the cheesy flavor of parmesan fish coating, you want to pick a subtle creamy sauce.

Top whip up a quick homemade dipping sauce, stir together some yogurt, lemon juice, minced garlic or garlic powder, and some fresh or dried herbs.

Any good store-bought garlic-flavored dip would also go really well.

Fish sticks and tartar sauce go really well together too as is the popular opinion.

Some side dishes for Baked Tilapia fish sticks

The first thing that comes to mind here is of course, baked fish and chips. For a healthier option, try my baked sweet potato fries or garlic & herb polenta fries.

Or instead of fries try air fryer or oven baked crispy potato wedges or smashed potatoes.

You can also pair it with a side salad – a Caesar’s dressing would pair really well.

Another good side to go with fish is roasted vegetables – try my sunny side roasted veggies, but just leave out the egg.