Save The Fish Fry—Make This Baked Catfish For The Easiest Summer Dinner (2024)

Skip the fish fry—make our baked catfish at home and skip the mess. While we love fried catfish, this baked recipe is quick, easy, and way less messy. We dredge our catfish in cornmeal and flavor it with plenty of Cajun seasoning, resulting in a crisp and extra-flavorful fish we can’t get enough of. The best part of our dish? It’s the perfect base to build on and experiment with what you have on hand! Whether you’re looking for a summer meal or an easy-to-make seafood dinner to bring to mind warmer weather, this simple catfish recipe should be your new go-to.

The dredge.
While some recipes combine cornmeal and flour for the dredge, we went with just cornmeal. It gives an added crunch to our catfish breading that we need when baking. We season our cornmeal with Cajun seasoning for added flavor, but feel free to add in your own favorite seasonings. Use our homemade recipe to make your own and use with all your favorite Cajun recipes, or use store-bought if you’d prefer!

How long to bake catfish.
For us, our catfish fillets were done around 15 minutes in a 425° oven. Depending on the size of your fillets, they could need longer—keep an eye on them! The best way to tell when your catfish is done is when the crust is nice and golden, and your fish flakes easily with a fork.

Serving ideas.
There’s no shortage of sides to pair with this summer dinner. Serve this baked catfish alongside coleslaw, hush puppies, and air fryer okra for a classic Southern meal. Some more ideas: classic potato salad, sweet potato biscuits, sautéed mustard greens, or our black-eyed pea salad.

Made this? Let us know how it went in the comments below!