Homemade McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish burger! Tastes remarkably similar to the real deal with the added bonus that it’s bigger, you know what goes in it, and it’s healthier ’cause it’s BAKED!! (Though you can totally fry it)
Skip the Drive Through of Shame. It’s incredibly quick and easy to make Filet-O-Fish at home, and you don’t even need to fry!
Plus, you can make bigger ones at home. Ever notice how small the Maccers Filet-O-Fish are? Those teeny burgers barely scrape the bottom of my stomach. At least we can make proper meal-size Filet-O-Fish burgers at home!
BAKED CRUMBED FISH PATTIE
I’ve been making faux oven-fried things most of my adult life, and for most of that time was disappointed by how the crumb came out all splotchy with white & burnt bits no matter how brutally I doused with oil spray.
So this is how I make all things crumbed in the oven: toast the breadcrumbs + one seasoned dredge batter with stronger glueing powers + oil spray = guaranteed golden, crunchy baked crumbed anything (baked crumbed fish, in this case). 🙂
I just recently shared a baked crumbed Chicken Tenders recipe using this same method where I wrote more about the logic so if you’re so inclined, pop over there for a read. It’s all driven by love of fried food vs waist and bottom expansion. The bonus is clean hands – no marshmallow fingers!
Yes, your fish will come out warped. They won’t be perfectly square and flat, like the boxed ones in the frozen section of the supermarket. We’re using fresh fish here, so warpage is the price we pay for true fish flavour and texture.
I’m totally cool with that!
COPYCAT MACCERS TARTARE SAUCE
A quick inspection of the Filet-O-Fish ingredients followed by a taste test (yes, I did the Drive Through of Shame for this recipe!) is all it took to ascertain that the Tartare Sauce is pretty standard. Mayo, pickles / gherkins, capers, lemon juice, salt, sugar, parsley.
It’s just my basic Tartare Sauce recipe, minus dill plus a touch extra sugar (surprise, surprise 😂).
I make my homemade Filet-O-Fish burger using brioche buns because they are the closest to the super soft, super sweet buns used by McDonald’s. Though…. not as sweet and not quite as soft… but close enough!
And as for the cheese, in the spirit of copy-catting, I used this smoked processed cheese that I found at Coles (Aussie supermarket) with the signature Maccers orange hue but strangely lacking in smoked flavour. 🤔 So it’s perfect!
But any processed cheese will do. Or you could be a real rebel and use real cheese. 😳 – Nagi x
PS Another Maccers copycat – homemade Sausage and Egg McMuffin. SO GOOD!
PPS Pictured with store bought frozen French fries that I baked. Not yet 100% with any of my hot chips – fried or otherwise. I’ll get there eventually!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Homemade Filet-O-Fish Burger (BAKED!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
- 400 - 500 g / 0.8 - 1 lb white fish fillets , flat / thin (I used Ling, Note 2)
- 4 soft buns , brioche recommended (Note 3)
- 4 slices processed cheese (Note 4)
- Oil spray (I use olive oil)
Dredge Batter (Note 5):
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard (or other mustard)
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Tartare Sauce:
- 1 cup / 220g mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp dill pickle / gherkin/ cornichon , very finely chopped
- 1 tsp fresh parsley , chopped*
- 1 tsp capers , drained and finely chopped*
- 1.5 tbsp lemon juice , fresh (or cider vinegar)
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Tartare Sauce:
- Mix ingredients in a bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes+.
Toast Breadcrumbs:
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Spread breadcrumbs on a tray. Spray with oil directly down, not from side.
- Bake for 3 - 5 minutes until golden. Immediately transfer to bowl.
- Brush tray clean, spray with oil.
Crumbing / baking:
- Cut fish fillets into square-ish shapes slightly larger than the buns (they shrink when cooked).
- Mix Batter ingredients in a bowl.
- Carefully coat fish in batter (handle with care, fish fillets can be delicate).
- Place in breadcrumbs. Use other hand to cover top and sides with breadcrumbs, pressing to adhere. Transfer to tray. Repeat with remaining fish.
- Bake 12 - 15 minutes until fish is cooked through. Immediately top with cheese - allow residual heat to make it semi melt (do not oven melt processed cheese, you get a plasticy film!).
Assemble:
- Cut buns in half, microwave for 20 seconds to warm through (microwave = stays soft).
- Top with fish and cheese, dollop with tartare sauce. Devour!
Recipe Notes:
* Tartare Sauce - Makes more tartare than probably required but it's a tragedy if there's no enough so I err on the side of caution. Keeps for ages in fridge.
* Fry option - follow dredge / crumb / fry steps in this Schnitzel recipe (video included)
* More background about this toasting / unusual single Dredge Batter / oven-fried technique in this Crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders recipe. It's all driven by love of fried food / attempt to control waist expansion. 7. Nutrition per serving, assuming 1/2 cup of tartare sauce is used across all 4 burgers.
Nutrition
LIFE OF DOZER
How am I supposed to work when this golden furry head keeps butting in to see what I’m doing??
I love that “overhead” picture of Dozer. Does his nose ever get sunburned? I just wrote down this recipe, along with your Crispy Chinese Rice Paper Wrapped Fish recipe, and had a “eureka” moment. I’ll buy a couple of pounds of cod fillets, cut the top end into big squarish pieces for the sandwiches … and leave the random shaped end pieces to wrap in rice paper.
Haha no sunburnt nose for Dozer! And that’s a great idea with the fish, love it!!!
What a yummy healthy alternative! It was really good and crispy!
Yes! So much better than fried!
In the written directions, you spray oil on the breadcrumbs before toasting, but that is all. In the pictures, you spray oil on the battered fish before it is baked. Do you oil spray on crumbs before baking AND on the battered fish before baking, or which?
Hi Amber, you spray oil on the breadcrumbs to toast them in the oven and get that beautiful golden colour. After this, you coat the fish and then spray with oil before cooking. – N x
Can I air fry the fish and if so how?
Delish! Thank you so much for the fantastic recipe!!! Was getting tired of my regular rotation. Adding this dish to my rotation has helped us eat more fish and reduce beef (for my meat’n potatoes loving husband and a more vegetable loving me.) So appreciate your talent for recipe development!!
Fantastic recipe, as always (and I have never even had the McDonald’s version!).
I just want to let you know that you have become our most trusted source of recipes. My boyfriend and I have cooked so many of your recipes (spaghetti with meatballs, Guinness stew, satay chicken curry, cowboy rice salad, lime salmon with potatoes and green beans, burritos, pork with Marsala sauce, and of course Charlie!) that we know that you test and check your recipes before you put them online (unlike others who kinda put things together for a pretty picture..). We have had weeks where we cooked your recipes for 4 of our meals. And we even refer to you by name! 🙂
Anyway, I just thought I’d let you know that. Great job! 😀
Thank you for the compliment Eleonora! I’m so glad you and your boyfriend are enjoying my recipes! N x
Nagi, this was amazing! I made this yesterday when a friend came over and she couldn’t believe how tender and wonderful the fish tasted! (And it also was the first time I think that I cooked white fish).
Thanks for the recipe – you rock.
I’m so glad! Thank you for letting me know Zee! N x
You are a flipping genius. Just made this…literally as I eat this I am posting here. OMG this is as close to the real thing one can get. Managed to buy frozen pollock filets , got the brioch buns and actually had the Macdonald’s filet of fish sauce in a bottle they sell here in Toronto. Put on Kraft singles slice of cheese and ….Fantastic!
stop stop! My head….. it’s getting so big! 😂
Hi Nagi,
I made fish sticks tonight using your recipe. I had no buns so we had fish and chips using your recipe. It was DELISH. The tarter was great and the fish was really good. Your batter/crumb idea is epic. Seriously, it saves so much time and especially mess. I will never do the flour/egg/crumb thing again. Thanks for the inspiration and wonderful recipes. (And clean hands) Hi to Dozer.
Well I made a big boo boo but the recipe worked anyhow.
I thought I had a package of fish in my freezer so I took it out at night, put it in the fridge to thaw overnight. and went to bed. The next morning I got myself organized and make both the dredging sauce and tartar sauce. Then I baked some homemade hamburger buns and then ran a few errands.
So then it is about time to make dinner but when I removed the thawed fish from my fridge, it was actually chicken breasts!!! Yup, they look almost identical frozen and no, I obviously had not labelled the package.
So I pounded the chicken breasts to about the same thickness as fish and proceeded with the recipe. I maybe baked the chicken 5 minutes longer than what was called for with the fish.
And the chicken sandwiches were absolutely delicious!!!
I loved that the dredge sauce removed one of the steps when making fish or chicken this way. I had a bit of garlic aioli in a jar in the fridge so added that to the tartar sauce and it was absolutely delicious as well. Thx for the recipe.
I am having a senior moment here. What is all this talk aout oil spraying? What are you using to spray the oil? I get the concept of using the oil this way. You are using a lot less oil and food is healthier. Time for a tutorial on spraying? Please? Remind Dozer to use spell check. Barb
Hi Barbara! I purchase oil in spray cans from the supermarket 🙂 And no spell check can save Dozer….
This is my first recipe from u. It looks scrumptious. But I’m vegan I’m going to translate all the animal products to plant based. And I will surprise my kids with it tomorrow when they return from camping
What do you plan to use in place of the fish??!!!
Nagi, I am still laughing about the “drive through of shame”. I love that line! I used to eat Mac-D’s filet-o-fish years ago when I was in college. I haven’t eaten fast food in a very long time. But, I will definitely try your filet-o-fish! It looks very tasty and, like you said, when you make it at home at least you know what is in it.
Just love Dozer and that cute little furry face! So glad that he is nearly done with his rehab after his surgery and he is able to get back to the beach.
I am ashamed to admit I do the drive through of shame several times a year…. and I DO feel guilty and I DO check fearfully around the parking lot to ensure I won’t be caught!!!😂
Hey Dozer are you trying to nose in on the computer? It’s a fish recipe and delish too..try.to get a taste and tell us how good it is😄
He wants to lick the screen!!
‘Drive Through of Shame’ must be the best on-line phrase of the year !! The fish being baked makes me read and like . . . Interested to see on TV almost every night Maccas is promulgating as yet again another ‘healthy option’ yet having to close outlets in Australia / . . .for me the last time was 28 years ago . . . . 🙂 !
That’s exactly what it is!!! Isn’t it???
Hi Nagi! I don’t eat fast food but this looks delicious! And MacDonalds certainly does not use fancy buns! I have oven fried foods since my kids were little, I never did like frying foods, too much mess for me.
You are LUCKY you don’t have a Maccers round the corner!! 😂
The only bun on MacDonald’s menu that is steamed? You guessed it, Filet O Fish. Add that step for something even closer to the real deal.(steamed buns are awesome on this!)
That’s exactly right! I read that too! It’s the secret to the super soft bun!!
Tired the fish-filet bit mine weren’t crispy . I roasted the panko crumbs for around 15 mts but still didn’t get that much colour . Even after baking the fish in the oven , they didn’t turn out as golden and crispy as yours. They were a tad but salty too although I followed your recipe to the T. Where did I go wrong?
Hi Zeina! Are you sure your oven is working ok?? Because breadcrumbs should certainly brown in 15 minutes!!! Yikes!!!
Just got an air-fryer, this might be the recipe to try it out! Looks so good!
Oooh! I am keen to try an air fryer!