Vegan Filet-O-Fish
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The classic McDonald’s Filet O’ Fish sandwich, only it’s a VEGAN Filet-o-Fish, so it’s more like a Filet NO Fish!
I gotta be honest, after the age of 18, I didn’t really like McDonald’s. Like I’ve said on my Big Mac post, I’m not sure if my taste buds changed, or they went down in quality or both.
Whenever I gave the Filet-O-Fish a chance I was always met with disappointment. That said, I guarantee that this sandwich is a million times better than the original. I would put good money on it!
INGREDIENTS for vegan filet-o-fish
- Tofu – I highly recommend using super firm tofu if possible. It’s easy because it doesn’t require any pressing and once scored and marinaded, it’s very meaty to me. You can also use frozen and thawed extra firm tofu if you prefer.
- Fishy Marinade – We are going to infuse our tofu filet with some “fishy” ingredients like capers, kelp granules, and nori. We’ll also use miso paste, dill, nutritional yeast and rice vinegar. If you can’t find the kelp granules, you can sub with more nori and nutritional yeast.
- Breading – The breading is pretty standard except I highly recommend using oyster or saltine crackers instead of breadcrumbs. It just works so well in this scenario!
- Cheese – McDonald’s uses a half slice of American cheese. Well, we are fixing that and using a whole slice! Though you can do it their way too if you wanna keep it authentic!
- Tartar Sauce – We’ll be putting together a vegan version of the most underrated sauce, the Tartar sauce too!
how to make vegan filet-0-fish
Slice the tofu into filets. Next, score it with a knife. This will accomplish two things. First, it will allow the “fishy” marinade to penetrate the tofu. And second, we’ll get some flaky fish texture as well.
Next we’ll cover it in our fishy marinade. After it’s been marinated, we’ll bread it in some flour, a wet dredge and then breadcrumbs.
However, I highly encourage you to use some Oyster Crackers or Saltines instead of breadcrumbs. In my opinion the taste and texture is much better. That said, breadcrumbs are still super good, so feel free to use them too.
I recommend deep frying, but shallow frying is fine too. Deep frying is quicker, but uses more oil obviously. However shallow frying does a wonderful job too.
There’s also options to bake or air fry these.
Once fried and beautiful, we’ll serve it with a ridiculously good tartar sauce! Adding a slice of melted cheese never hurt anybody too! You can melt the cheese directly on the pan with some water to steam it and keep it from sticking too!
seasoning test
When you cut your filets to be square, you’ll be left with a few strips, or “fish sticks.” I recommend breading and frying these to test out the seasoning in the breading. You can also figure out if you want to do a single or double dredge as well. And it’s just nice to eat some fish sticks too!
AIR FRYER OPTION
You can totally air fry this recipe! Just do a single dredge (so flour, wet, breadcrumbs). Preheat the air fryer to 380° F. Spray the filets and air fryer with cooking spray so they don’t stick. Make sure not to crowd the air fryer, you don’t want any pieces touching.
Air Fry for 5 minutes at 380° F, then flip and spray them again, and repeat the process until they are at your desired doneness.
bake option
To bake these, simply add them to a lightly greased or parchment / foil lined baking sheet (or a wire rack lined baking sheet is even better).
Bake them in a 375° F oven for 12 – 15 minutes flipping halfway through. You can also spray these with cooking spray to help them brown. Or use the broiler for 2-3 minutes, just keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!
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Vegan Filet-O-Fish
Ingredients
- 16 oz. block of super firm or extra firm tofu
- 3 - 4 burger buns
- 3 - 4 slices of vegan cheese
Fishy Marinade
- 1 cup veggie broth
- 2 Tbsp chopped nori
- 1 Tbsp miso paste
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp fresh dill
- 1 tsp kelp granules
- 1 tsp caper brine
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
Dry Dredge
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Old Bay or salt to taste (I used a few pinches)
Wet Dredge
- 2/3 cup unsweetened plant milk
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2-3 Tbsp flour
Breadcrumbs
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (or crushed oyster crackers)
- Salt and pepper to taste (or more Old Bay)
Tartar Sauce
- 1 cup vegan mayo
- 2 Tbsp dill (or sweet) relish
- 1 Tbsp chopped capers
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 - 2 Tbsp fresh dill (chopped)
- 1 Tbsp chopped chives
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Tartar Sauce
1. Simply combine everything in a bowl or tupperware. Refrigerate until needed. Flavor gets better overnight!
Tofu Fish
- For super firm, simply remove it from the packaging and pat dry. For extra firm, you can press it for at least 30 minutes. Or you can freeze it in the packaging. Then let it thaw, and then press it.
- Cut the block of tofu so it's square. You can chop the excess into strips and make fish sticks with them. This is good for snacking and testing out the breading!
- Next slice the tofu into filets about 1/2" thick. I found that super firm gave me 4 filets, and extra firm gives 2-3 filets.
- Line up some chopsticks along two ends of a tofu filet. Then score the tofu with a knife. The chopsticks will stop you from cutting all the way through. Score the tofu about 1/4" thick. Repeat with the other filets.
- Make the Fishy Marinade by adding everything to a bowl. Then add the tofu filets to some tupperware and pour the fishy marinade over them. Let that marinade for at least an hour, or overnight.
Fry the Fish
- Remove the tofu filets from the marinade and pat dry. Let them hang out on a paper towel lined plate to dry out a little.
- Heat up some neutral oil to 350 - 375 F in a heavy bottomed pan or dutch oven.
- While the oil heats up, prepare the dredging station by adding everything for the dry dredge to a wide bowl or rimmed dish. Repeat with the wet dredge and breadcrumbs.
- Dredge each tofu filet first in the flour, then the wet dredge, and finally the breadcrumbs. If you want a thicker breading, repeat the wet and breadcrumbs again. Either way, make sure you coat thoroughly but let the excess drip or shake off during each stage of breading.
- Once the filets are breaded and the oil is up to temp, fry each filet. Carefully let them drop away from you into the oil so it doesn't splash on you. Or use a slotted spoon / spider to get them in there.
- Let them fry for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and beautiful. Let them rest on a wire rack and add a sprinkle of salt if desired.
Buns and Cheese
- Toast your buns on a pan until browned. And here's a quick trick to melt the cheese. Once buns are done, squirt a little water into the pan. Add the cheese directly on the water. Let it steam for about 10 seconds. You can move it around with a spatula to keep it from sticking. Then quickly scoop up the cheese with the spatula and place it on your bottom bun.
- Then just add your Tofu Filet, Tartar sauce, top bun and dig in!
Notes
AIR FRYER OPTION
You can totally air fry this recipe! Just do a single dredge (so flour, wet, breadcrumbs). Preheat the air fryer to 380° F. Spray the filets and air fryer with cooking spray so they don't stick. Make sure not to crowd the air fryer, you don’t want any pieces touching.
Air Fry for 5 minutes at 380° F, then flip and spray them again, and repeat the process until they are at your desired doneness.
bake option
To bake these, simply add them to a lightly greased or parchment / foil lined baking sheet (or a wire rack lined baking sheet is even better). Bake them in a 375° F oven for 12 - 15 minutes flipping halfway through. You can also spray these with cooking spray to help them brown. Or use the broiler for 2-3 minutes, just keep an eye on them so they don't burn!
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This recipe is absolutely epic! The only thing I did different (because I didn’t have oyster crackers) was use crushed potato chips for the dry coating and OMG!! Total win! Bonus if you have dill pickle chips! I tried both versions (in oil and in the air fryer) and honestly the air fryer version turned out so much better! This will be a regular for sure in my home!
Oh that’s awesome! I think potato chips would be delicious for sure! Glad you liked it!
These were absolutely delicious. I used potato chips as the bread crumbs like someone suggested. Sooooo good!
I gotta try that!!!
Made this In the air fryer. Absolutely delicious! Wasn’t sure if my husband would like it, but he loved it. The brine is amazing and really gave it fab flavor. Will definitely be making this again!
Thank you so much for this recipe! It turned out perfect! The marinade worked like a charm. Yummy. The only thing I changed was for the breadcrumbs I used ‘Finn Crisp’ crackers. Also used sourdough bread, with edges cut off instead of soft buns. . I also made my own mayonnaise, with aquafaba liquid , and avacado oil, which I used to make the tartar, with minced spicy dill pickle. Thanks 🙏
Awesome! Glad you liked it, and that the subs worked out!
This was wonderful. I only had Panko crumbs and used the Airfryer plus made them like fish sticks. Next time will marinade longer to maximize the flavor. This is a total keeper! Thank you!