Breaded Fish Fillet with Lemon, Parmesan and Thyme Crumbs

This breaded fish fillet is white fish such as plaice, haddock or cod, dipped in egg and coated in homemade bread crumbs flavoured with lemon zest, parmesan and thyme, then fried golden in butter. It serves 4. Drying the crumbs takes 10-30 minutes in a low oven; the fish itself is done in about 8 minutes. It is made to please people who say they do not like fish, too.

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Last updated 9 October 2026

Recipe

Fish fillet

Prep

5 mins

Cook

38 mins

Total

43 mins

Serves

4

Ingredients

• 4 white fish fillets, such as plaice, haddock or cod, about 170 g (6 oz) each
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Bread crumbs from 50 g of white bread
• Finely grated zest of 1 organic lemon
• 25 g grated parmesan cheese
• 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves chopped
• A couple of tablespoons of oil
• Salt and pepper
• Butter or margarine, for frying

Method

1. Turn on the oven at 150 ° C.
2. Blend or tear the bread and spread it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
3. Place the tray in the hot oven for 10-30 minutes – depending on how dry the bread was in advance, the time may vary.
4. Flip regularly so that the crumbs does not burn.
5. Let the crumbs cool off.
6. Mix the bread crumbs, lemon zest, parmesan cheese, chopped thyme leaves, salt and pepper and bind it with a couple of tablespoons of oil.
7. Dip the fish fillets in the beaten egg, then turn them in the crumb mixture and fry them golden in butter or margarine in a frying pan, about 3-4 minutes per side over medium heat, until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
8. You can also cook them in the oven instead: 7-8 minutes at about 200-220 °C.

Step by step, in pictures

The six moves of the method, from tearing the bread to frying the fillets.

1. Tear the bread onto a lined baking sheet
2. Dry the crumbs in a 150 °C oven
3. Turn the crumbs so they do not burn
4. Mix crumbs, zest, parmesan, thyme and oil
5. Dip in egg, then press into the crumbs
6. Fry golden in butter

Which fish is best for breading?

This recipe is written for lean white fish fillets: plaice, haddock, cod or similar. Almost any fish fillet can be breaded, but I would not do it with oily fish such as salmon or trout. Flatfish can be breaded and cooked in the pan too.

How to make the bread crumbs stick to fish

Dip each fillet in beaten egg first, then lay it in the crumb mixture and press so the crumbs cling on both sides.

For a coarser crust, add a little rye flour to the crumbs. Panko, the Japanese-style bread crumbs sold in most supermarkets, also works: it is rougher than ordinary crumbs and well suited to fish.

Why make your own crumbs instead of buying frozen fillets

The fastest route is a bag of breaded fillets from the supermarket freezer, fried straight in butter. They often come out boring, dry and hard as a board. Fresh fish, crumbed at home, avoids that.

Homemade crumbs are also a way to use up bread that has already gone dry, so less of it ends up as food waste. Leftover crumbs keep in a container with a tight lid, in a vacuum bag with the air sucked out, or in the fridge.

How to tell when the fish is done

The fish is cooked when the flesh turns opaque and separates easily with a fork. The US Food and Drug Administration advises cooking most seafood to an internal temperature of 145 °F (63 °C) (FDA seafood safety guidance).

What to serve with breaded fish fillets

A breaded fish fillet is often eaten for lunch on a slice of rye bread, or for dinner with French fries or boiled potatoes and remoulade or parsley sauce.