BBQ Potato Chip Baked Swai

Let’s take advantage of seasonal seafood sales, and use a big bag of fish in today’s flavorful (& easy) BBQ Potato Chip Baked Swai!

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Here’s a fishy recipe for your week, to help take advantage of the spring sales we tend to see on seafood. Today’s BBQ Potato Chip Baked Swai jazzes up some baked mild white fish with crushed barbecue potato chips and Italian dressing. If you aren’t a fan of swai (or can’t find it in your local grocery store), just substitute another white fish in this recipe. Try flounder, tilapia, or even cod fillets.

I originally ran across the idea of using barbecue flavored chips + Italian dressing to bread fish over on Just a Pinch, and jazzed that original recipe up slightly to make today’s BBQ baked swai. Since swai has such a mild flavor, it benefits greatly from the smoky chips + paprika — and then gets another little kick from the tangy dressing.

It may sound like an odd flavor combination, but these tastes really do complement one another at the end. Then, you can brighten everything up at the end with just a touch of lemon juice (to taste).

BBQ Potato Chip Baked Swai

Ingredients

2 lbs swai fillets, thawed (about six pieces)
1 tsp smoked paprika
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
8 oz barbecue flavored potato chips, crushed (I used mesquite BBQ kettle chips)
3/4 cup restaurant style Italian dressing (I used Olive Garden)
Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)

Directions

Place a baking rack on a rimmed baking sheet, and spray both with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Thaw the swai, if frozen. (Optimally: Take it out the night before and let it thaw in the refrigerator. You can also thaw the fish in a large bowl of cool water, changing it out every 20 minutes or so until fully thawed.) Pat the fillets dry with paper towels.

Crush up the potato chips, placing the chip crumbs in a large shallow dish. You can either use a food processor, or crush them right inside the bag using a rolling pin and/or your hands. (This is also fantastic for getting some aggressions out… just saying!)

Pour the dressing into a small dish.

Season the swai on both sides with smoked paprika, sea salt, and pepper.

Brush both sides of each fish fillet with dressing, then dredge each in the potato chip crumbs — pressing the crumbs in so that you get a nice coating.

Arrange your BBQ potato chip breaded fillets in a single layer on the prepared baking rack, topping with any additional crushed chips left in the dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork and the BBQ potato chop topping is browned.

BBQ potato chip swai is best served with fresh lemon wedges, because just a little pop of lemon juice brightens the flavor right on up.

Note: Baking time can depend on the thickness of the fillets, and the total time assumes you’re starting with thawed swai; be sure to allow extra time if you need to thaw in cool water before cooking. If you don’t eat swai you can substitute another mild white fish here, such as cod or flounder.

Add flavor and crunch to mild white fish

Although the flavor profile is a bit different here, this fish dish reminded me of the tortilla tilapia crusted tilapia Costco sells. High School Kid is a fan of their tilapia, and was similarly a fan of this potato chip crusted swai.

(Oh, and I had a little too much fun crushing up the potato chips — just saying; it was pretty satisfying!)

Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over your baked swai before serving, to really brighten up the taste and help that smoky BBQ flavor pop. We enjoyed ours with steamed broccoli and baked potatoes, for a full and filling meal.

BBQ Potato Chip Baked Swai, printable recipe

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BBQ Potato Chip Baked Swai

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Let’s take advantage of seasonal seafood sales, and use a big bag of fish in today’s flavorful (& easy) BBQ Potato Chip Baked Swai!

Course dinner

Cuisine Seafood

Keyword baked fish, bbq potato chip baked fish, fish, potato chips, swai

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Rachel Singer

Equipment

1 rimmed baking sheet

1 baking rack

Ingredients

• 2 lbs swai fillets thawed (about six pieces)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Sea salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 8 oz barbecue flavored potato chips crushed (I used mesquite BBQ kettle chips)
• 3/4 cup restaurant style Italian dressing I used Olive Garden
• Lemon wedges for serving (optional)

Instructions

• Place a baking rack on a rimmed baking sheet, and spray both with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Thaw the swai, if frozen. (Optimally: Take it out the night before and let it thaw in the refrigerator. You can also thaw the fish in a large bowl of cool water, changing it out every 20 minutes or so until fully thawed.) Pat the fillets dry with paper towels.
• Crush up the potato chips, placing the chip crumbs in a large shallow dish. You can either use a food processor, or crush them right inside the bag using a rolling pin and/or your hands. (This is also fantastic for getting some aggressions out… just saying!)
• Pour the dressing into a small dish.
• Season the swai on both sides with smoked paprika, sea salt, and pepper.
• Brush both sides of each fish fillet with dressing, then dredge each in the potato chip crumbs — pressing the crumbs in so that you get a nice coating.
• Arrange your BBQ potato chip breaded fillets in a single layer on the prepared baking rack, topping with any additional crushed chips left in the dish.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork and the BBQ potato chop topping is browned.
• BBQ potato chip swai is best served with fresh lemon wedges, because just a little pop of lemon juice brightens the flavor right on up.

Notes

Baking time can depend on the thickness of the fillets, and the total time assumes you’re starting with thawed swai; be sure to allow extra time if you need to thaw in cool water before cooking. If you don’t eat swai you can substitute another mild white fish here, such as cod or flounder.

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