My husband Eric is from Seattle, which has a fish and chips place on pretty much every corner so you could call him a bit of a connoisseur. Since going paleo, we’ve alternated between doing our best to recreate our old favorite meals without the gluten, grains, and canola oil and just cooking up some ground beef and some veg because who has time for intricate meals on the daily? (Hint: not me) Eric’s first fish and chips recipe was a big hit, but I like this version even better. He used tapioca flour instead of almond flour for the batter.
Tapioca (the stuff we usually associate with pudding) is a starch that comes from the cassava plant in Brazil. You might also have eaten tapioca as the bubbles in Bubble Tea. Tapioca doesn’t have much nutritional value, but it is completely gluten free and doesn’t have the anti-nutrients you’d get from almonds. Oh, and it has a texture just like flour but without the gluten! (To clarify, I like almonds as much as the next girl but try to keep it to an occasional appearance in my kitchen and don’t eat them by the bucket)
The real secret to this fish and chips batter though is the mashed root vegetables. It makes the batter get all thick and crispy, and the extra nutrients don’t hurt.
Try serving this with yummy sweet potato fries or regular fries (just cut up those taters and fry em in coconut oil, lard, tallow, or your stable fat of choice) for a healthier version of the classic fish and chips. It might sound like a bit of an oil overload, but it is healthy oils loaded with fat soluble vitamins and essential nutrients.
Fish and Chips Batter Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup coconut oil (where to buy coconut oil)
- 1 cup tapioca flour (where to buy tapioca flour)
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (where to buy coconut milk) or make your own
- 3/4 cup mashed root vegetables (I’ve tried both potato and turnip with great results)
- 2 eggs (where to buy organic, soy-free eggs)
- 4 tsp. sea salt (where to buy sea salt)
Directions:
- Combine the mashed root vegetables and 1/2 cup of tapioca flour and mix well.
- Add the eggs, salt, coconut oil and coconut milk.
- Mix with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Add the remainder of the tapioca flour and continue to blend until thick enough to stick well to the fish (add more if needed).
- Recipe should coat 3 lbs of fish (we use cod).
- Fry in coconut oil or other high heat stable oil on high temp until golden brown.
- Enjoy!
Interested in how to transition your family to paleo? Read my eBook Paleo Made Easy. It contains practical advice for busy families, shopping tips, answers to pretty much every paleo lifestyle question, and 45+ delicious paleo recipes. Learn more here.
Are there any old favorites that you miss since cleaning up your diet? Tell us in the comments below and I’ll put in a special request with Eric who is the pro at recreating them!
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Hello Sylvie,
Could you explain what you mean about almonds having anti-nutrients. I’m eating grain free but prefer the texture of baked goods with a larger ratio of almond flour/almonds. I’d like to learn more about the anti-nutrient topic.
Thanks,
Sylvia
Delicious! I followed the original recipe using sweet potatoes as the root vegetable. My entire family loved it and had seconds. I used extra batter to coat some Vidalia onions for onion rings. Fried in about 1” of coconut oil in LeCreuset braiser.
I used parsnip for the root vegetable and followed the recipe to a “T.” I even added more tapioca starch when the batter was to runny at first. I could not get the batter to stick to the fish–only coat it. And then the batter stuck to the basket when fried. So when I removed the fish, it was without its “golden brown jacket”. It was a total mess!
The picture looks amazing, living in the UK where fish and chips is our takeaway I am having to give this a go. Are you deep frying?
It’s says fish & chips, but the recipe says nothing about the chips.
I truly have no idea. You can use an online calculator to figure that out.
Disa Dis unfortunately I don’t think this recipe will work if you’re substituting the oil, the flour and the milk. That’s a completely different recipe and my guess is it wouldn’t turn out very well without a lot of trial and error.
Sorry forgot, can I use any kinda GF flour?
I can’t eat coconut or anything with coconut it not go well in my stomach sorry, so can I use normal oil and normal full fat milk? And is it cookd on pan or in oven? Can I cook this in oven and if so how long? I really want try this have been locking for many but never find any good one til I found this, thanks for post it, it looks so good.
Sorry forgot, can I use any kinda GF flour?
Disa Dis unfortunately I don’t think this recipe will work if you’re substituting the oil, the flour and the milk. That’s a completely different recipe and my guess is it wouldn’t turn out very well without a lot of trial and error.
Can you make the batter a day ahead ?
Hmm, I don’t see why not Jen, but I’ve never tried it. Let us know how it goes if you do 🙂
what is calorie count on fish only, I am going to try this receipe
I truly have no idea. You can use an online calculator to figure that out.
Yup same thing
Yup same thing.
Are tapioca flour and tapioca starch the same thing?
Yup same thing.
Yup same thing
That’s so interesting, Trish! Thanks for letting me know.
Tried these tonight – the batter, as it was, was incredibly thick. More like donut batter? I don’t know if it was because my coconut oil was pretty solid going in or what. I ended up adding seltzer water until it was thin enough to coat, about a cup or so — and they turned out beautifully with it! Very light and crisp. Will keep this one around (with the modification) for sure!
That’s so interesting, Trish! Thanks for letting me know.
Until it’s golden brown. It’s tough to estimate the time because it depends on how much fish is in the pan, etc. Hope that helps!
Yes, sorry that wasn’t clear
Do you cook the root vegetables first? It isn’t clear. thanks!
Yes, sorry that wasn’t clear
how long do you cook the fish for?
Do you cook the root veggies before mashing them?
Yup!
Oh yay! I’m so glad to hear that Paleo Homestead! 🙂 thanks for commenting!
WOW!!! I made these for dinner last night (I used sweet potato as the root vegetable because I had leftovers – it worked wonderfully!), along with sweet potato fries for the “chips”. Normally, in my house, sweet potato fries are the first things to disappear from the kids’ plates – they wolf them down! But, I was surprised to see the fries were the LAST thing eaten this time! Then I noticed something else that never happens at my dinner table – no one was talking. They were all so intent on eating the fish that they didn’t say a word! With a family of 6, that is a true rarity, so THANK YOU for this great recipe. We will DEFINITELY be making these again!
Oh yay! I’m so glad to hear that Paleo Homestead! 🙂 thanks for commenting!
Hi Tea Green, I no longer purchased from them as I’ve moved out of the country! 🙂
I noticed on another post that you buy from Azure Standard. It would be great if you would do a post about what you purchase bulk from different suppliers. Thanks!
Hi Tea Green, I no longer purchased from them as I’ve moved out of the country! 🙂
Do you think this could be made without eggs?
Unfortunately, I don;’t think it can!
I haven’t tried that but I’d love to hear how it turns out if you give it a shot!
I tried both potato and turnip and it turned out great! 🙂
I tried both potato and turnip and it turned out great! 🙂
Same question as others…Which root vegetable?
Any!
i have a couple plantains any chance you think that would work for instead of the root vegetable?
I haven’t tried that but I’d love to hear how it turns out if you give it a shot!
I would also be interested in what root vegetables you used. It looks yummy 🙂
Any!
Yummy! Just made them.. Quite oily, but still a good treat 🙂
Glad you liked it Julie!
Could you tell me what root vegetable you use. This looks delicious.
I tried both potato and turnip and it turned out great! 🙂
Could you tell me what root vegetable you use. This looks delicious.
I tried both potato and turnip and it turned out great! 🙂