Fisherman's Quick Fish

This is an excellent recipe that can be used with almost any fish. I used a thin fresh walleye filet. Due to the high oven temperature, the secret to success is to use a thin cut of fish. I recommend 1” thick or less. Too thick and the crust will burn before the fish is done. Since the recipe calls for cod filets, most frozen cod is usually too thick and should be horizontally cut in half before applying the crust and baking. I also took other reviewers advice and used the salt & vinegar chips. I recommend using a food processor to “crush” the chips. Once the chips were crushed, I added the cheese to the processor and gave it just a couple of more rotations to evenly mix the cheese and chips

So, this dish is so yummy! I did'nt have chips or the cheese recomended. So I used ritz crackers and monterey jack cheese, adding grated parmesean to the mix. After marinating the fish in the dressing, I sprinkled it on both sides with garlic salt, black pepper, and red chili pepper. It came out great -watch your hand with the chili pepper if you dont like spicy food. Enjoy!

This is a delicious TASTING recipe.

MADE IT AGAIN...This time using Flounder...used up the ends of Green goddess and some Ranch dressing....again...5 star recipe! I love the fact that I used up the ends of bottles and the bottom of the chip bag...things you would normally just discard!So quick to make too! UPDATE! Used whiting this time, a stronger fish and had to sub Mozzarella and Mexican Parm, exellant crust on top!Mixed the cheese and chips in a ziploc, added parsley for prettiness!PREVIOUSLY: SSoooooo easy! I used Tilapia, and used mostly sharp cheddar but added a couple of tablespoons of blue cheese and pepper jack trying to use up some bits and pieces of leftover cheeses. I piled the topping on (i mayt have made extra topping since I just eyeballed it. Good way to use up the bottom of the chip bag! The timing and temperature were perfect....the only tip I would add is: Spray or grease the pan really, really well! The cheese that melted off the edges of the fish wanted to stick and you don't want to fight with it to get it off the pan...use foil lining,too.

Yummy! A few reviews that said this was not tasty?? Coat heavily in any creamy salad dressing, make sure the fish are not touching. I used more chips and cheese than called for, sliced the cod thinner, and cooked 2 minutes longer. Next time I'm trying the vinegar and salt chips, but it was fine this way! My 15 year old son who hates fish, LOVED IT (everyone did). It tastes fried without immersing in oil ;)

This is my first time writing a review but I had to because I love this recipe so much. I hate to cook but this recipe is so easy to make and it turns out wonderful every time. My boyfriend (who hates fish) practically eats the entire thing when I make this. The only thing I do differently is marinate the fish in the Italian dressing for a longer time. Also, I took the advice of the previous reviews and make sure my chips are Salt & Vinegar (and I add some jalapeno ones for a little spice) because it truly adds to the flavor. Thanks Caroline for a great meal!

This was so quick and easy to make, I love it. I didn't have any creamy Italian dressing so I used regular Italian dressing and it turned out delicious.

Not a bad recipe for those who really don't like fish. The flavor of the fish is lost in all the stuff you did to it. Maybe some like that, but I'll never make this again.

This is one of the better fish recipes I've tried in a long time. Really liked it, and very easy to put together. I used cod, Nacho-Cheese flavored Doritoes, and Ceaser (sp?) dressing, as I did not have creamy Italian. I also increased the shredded cheddar in topping to 1 cup. Also, baked fish at 425 for 12 minutes. Yum! I served this with brown rice and asparagus--wonderful combo. Will make this again--next time I will use the spicy Doritoes. Topping is great! Thanks for the recipe.

This was a great recipe. I used cod, doritoes and I marinated ina combination of ranch and italian dressing. Was very tasty.

This is the first time I have ever posted a review, but I had to for this recipe! Is is so good and so easy! I used the "light done right" house italian and salt and vinegar chips. I will make this again and again. Thanks Karena! And thanks to Caroline C for the picture.

Mmm yummy! I used cod fillets. They were thick so I butterflied them horizontally first. I also used a cheesy Ranch salad dressing. I just spread the ranch on top evenly then added the chip/cheese topping and patted down gently. Use aluminum foil to line your baking sheet sprayed w/ Pam: easy clean up! I didn't quite have enough chips, so I used half herb seasoned crackers crushed w/ half sour cream & onion potato chips, and colby jack cheese. It was the "BEST fish we've ever tasted", that's what my husband and 6 yr. old said ;) I also followed another's review and baked at only 425 degrees for 13 minutes. It was perfectly crispy on top and not over browned. The fish was moist and delicious! We served ours w/ rice and mixed veggies. This recipe will be added to my weekly rotation. Thanks for sharing!

Pretty good. Needed some extra spices that we didn't add.

I've made this recipe three times so far and it's so good my 12 year old who "does NOT like fish" even eats it. I use Boulder Canyon salt & MALT vinegar potato chips for the chips. We really like the malt vinegar flavor with the chips. I use my mini food processor to crush the chips and cheese. I have used walleye all 3 times. I have marinated the fish in both creamy and regular Italian dressing (depending on what I had in the pantry) and both worked well. I marinate the fish for about 10 minutes otherwise the marinade overpowers the mild flavor of the fish. It is very important to wipe any excess marinade off the fish (I use a pastry brush) before putting it the pan that you use for baking. This allows the topping to get crisp (otherwise it's a little soggy, I know it happened to me once). I cook it for 10 minutes (we like our fish well-done). It takes great and it's a fast dinner for a busy night.

Great recipe. As others have mentioned, if you fillet is too thick you will need to adjust the baking time. I used thick cuts of cod, but covered the top lightly with foil. I needed to bake it for 30 minutes and turned the temp. down to 425.

Very good We all liked it Added to my recipe box because I will be making this again

Delicious. My husband was especially fond of this dish. I didn't have creamy Italian-style dressing so I blended some Italian Dressing and Mayo and used that.

I am a born and raised what some people call a "mackeral snapper" and I grew up having to eat non-meat dishes EVERY Friday and I wasn't always thrilled about it. Where in the world was something like this back then? (Sorry Mom, up in the Great Kitchen.) This is delicious!! And, it's very easy to make. I went by the recipe, except I doubled the cheese. (Wife is a cheese freak.) I did three tilapia fillets that weighed in at just over a pound all total. But, I used my gas grill at 500 degrees. I used a 9 X 12 pan with aluminum foil sprayed lightly with vegetable spray. The fish turned out perfect after 12 minutes...moist but not overdone. I put a similar pan next to it with frozen Orida french fries. Next time I will sprinkle some dried dill weed on the fish, just because I always use dill in my fish batter. I may try catfish fillets next time. They are cheaper, especially if I do some good at the lake, and we like them. Wife who grew the same way raved about this. Thanks for the recipe and thanks again for such a great website!!!

My husband and I made this and it was great! It was quick and delicious - a great summer dinner!

I used Ken's creamy Italian dressing and orange roughy for this recipe. I thought the flavor of the dressing was a bit overpowering for the fish. I did like the crunchy potato chip layer though. Plus, it was easy to assemble and back. If I try this again it will be with a different dressing or maybe plain yogurt.

I just made this tonight and already have it in my recipe box. The cheese crust on top was delicious! I used Flavor Rush potato chips and halibut.

This was absolutely delicious with halibut; and so quick and easy!

Wow this was good. My five year old asked me to make it again tonight! He loved the idea of chips on food. I used a previous writers comments and used part Itailian part ranch for the sauce. YUMMY!

I used regular Italian dressing and this recipes turned out great. Both my husband and I loved it.

Teenage Children thought it was the best halibut recipe they have ever tasted. The younger children weren't so convinced. Wife loved it and so did I.

This was awesome! I also used the salt & vinegar chips which really added to the flavor. Thanks for a great recipe!

Tried this one tonight and it was great. I used lite ranch dressing instead of italian; lite cheese and lite chips. It was very good and even got a thumbs up from dh. He asked me to make it again. Kids wouldn't touch it -- they aren't fish lovers.

I made this with regular Italian dressing, pepper jack cheese and crushed up Rice Krispies. I baked it with smashed potatoes for 25 min. @ 450. My and I husband loved it! It's our new favorite one to use with fish. Thank you Karena

This is the easiest, best fish preparation method I've ever stumbled across!! I have to admit, the high temperature made me a little hesitant to try it at first, but I decided to trust previous reviewers, and boy am I glad I did! Everyone I've made it for has loved it!! The first time I tried it, the only cracker or chip-like items I had in the house were flatbread crisps - so I made crumbs from those and combined with Tillamook medium cheddar, and it turned out fantastic. The second time, I used Hawaiian Sweet Onion Chips and Tillamook, and the results were equally outstanding. I used parchment and a heavy cookie sheet both times.

Loved it!! Couldn't find creamy Italian dressing so I used Kraft Fat Free Peppercorn Ranch. I don't buy potato chips or dip because I am one that could sit down and eat the whole bag. I found some 1 oz. bags of Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper kettle cooked potato chips. I used one bag per filet (3 fillets) but didn't decrease the cheese. Bags crushed to 1/4 cup after eating one chip out of each bag. Using a rolling pin I crushed the chips right in the bag. I also put tin foil in the 9 x 13 pan for easy cleanup. Recipe is delicious as is, but I would like to try sprinkling a little garlic or onion powder on the filets. Thanks for the recipe Karena.

geez louise was this recipe good! i marinated the cod in a cup of wishbone's creamy italian dressing for about 2 hours then pressed all sides of the fish in the crushed chips/shredded cheddar blend (we used closer to a 1/2 c. cheese). the end result was crunchy & delicious!! thank you karena!

This is a quick, easy dish if you're at a last-minute dinner standstill and don't know what to make (story of my life.) I've made it with both cod and tilapia; definitely increase cooking time for cod. You can use whatever salad dressing you have on hand. I like the creamy Italian but didn't have any so used ranch tonight. Like other reviewers, I used my mini chopper for the chips and cheese. I've always used regular Lays chips, but I add some dill and it really makes the dish. Easy, quick, tasty and gets my kids to eat fish. I'm in.

I was a bit skeptical but I needed a quick recipe for tonight. I marinated for 1/2 hour in italian vinagarette. Then I used Cheddar Cheese Pringles and a mixture of Colby/Monterry Jack. It was AMAZING! Definitely a keeper!

Excellent! Loved it for a change. Not quite as healthy but it makes a nice change. I spiced the fish first with Chilpotle and Cayenne and then followed the recipe (used only 1/8 cup of Italian Dressing to marinate. Delish!

This is a lovely recipe. AThank you for taking the time to share your recipe with us.

I really enjoyed this dish. Went light on the chips because I was skeptical, but it was great!!

Great recipe! I used kraft creamy italian dressing, lays original potatoe chips, & finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese. I made extra chip/cheese mixture and used extra dressing for the marinade. I also put about a tablespoon extra dressing on top of the fish in the baking dish before adding the chips & cheese. So moist & flavorful & easy! I served with wild rice & green beans. Forgot to take a picture but the plates looked beautiful & tasted amazing. Thanks for sharing!

Followed recipe exactly. It was really very good. I used salt & vinegar chips as suggested by other reviews, and recommend doing so to others.

This was the most fab recipe ... I used Talapia ... caesar salad dressing from Trader Joe's ... didn't have cheddar so I used smoked gouda ... it was so yummy I can't tell you. And I love how this recipe can be changed depending on what you have in your fridge... this tasted so elegant I would serve to company ... I served in with French Green Beans and mushroom rice ... mine looked exactly like the pic ... I would worry, I must admit, if I used a thicker type of fish such as Halibut ... the thinner Talapia was P E R F E C T and it was perfectly cooked and delicious!!!

I used salt and vinegar potato chips instead of plain ones and WOW! This gave it so much zing and flavor. My husband loved it.

Loved this recipe!! I used blue-gill and bass (a mix of fresh fish from my dad's fishing trip). I was able to throw together my own "creamy italian" dressing by adding a tablespoon of miracle whip to some light italian dressing. My husband & I devoured this one! I may try to use unseasoned cornbread in place of the chips next time...

4/16/11 UPDATE: I made this again using Creamy Italian Dressing I, from this site. Excellent! Better than using the ranch dressing I used the first time I made this. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I made this using tilapia and ranch salad dressing. I just eyeballed the ingredients and probably added a little more cheddar. I assembled mine in the afternoon, covered and refrigerated until time to pop in the oven. I baked mine at 425 for about 20-25 minutes and they were perfectly cooked, still nice and moist, and flaked easily. I served this with a dollop of Harry & David Pepper and Onion relish and it was delicious! If you have chips getting stale, give this one a try!

Love this recipe, I used salt & vinegar chips, and it tasted great. Anytime I find a recipe that will get my 4 year old to eat all of her fish, I know it's a keeper.

This was excellent. Very tasty. Made it with walleye and did pulse the cheese and chips. Will be in the rotation!

Who would have thought potato chips would be a good breading? I bought haddock, my wife's favorite, made the Italian dressing and we raved about it. Its simplicity and flavors are fantastic. Any fish would do, and I love cod, but you couldn't go wrong with anything. This is a keeper.

I made this dish tonight and have to give it 5 stars because my young kids AND husband liked it! (so did I) My husband and I eat out a lot and he is not usually impressed with non-restaurant food. He really liked this one though, and I loved how easy it was! I baked mine for about 20 minutes at 425/450. Thank you Karena!

Another simple, quick recipe - the best way to get my husband involved in the kitchen! Pretty tasty too (we didn't find it greasy). Used walleye.

Loved this recipe - easy & tasty! I used catfish, ranch dressing (which I spiced up a little) for the marinade and BBQ chips for the topping. Will definately make this again :)

We were pleasantly surprised by this and really, REALLY enjoyed it! My grocery store didn't have creamy italian dressing (go figure), so I used creamy ceasar dressing, and that worked out wonderfully. Also, I only had sour cream and onion chips on hand, so I went with those. This baked up wonderfully with a nice crispy top. Very flavorful, and something that I would definately make again! Thanks for sharing. :)

Sorry; neither my husband nor I liked this dish. Perhaps it's just that we aren't big cod fans? Or, perhaps I did something wrong? The taste was rather bland.

I usually don't rate recipes but this one deserves it. I am not good at cooking fish and was tired of my same old fish fry. This was super easy to make and came out phenomenal. Everyone loved it, even my three year old.

Extremely tasty and easy to make. It doesn't really even taste like fish. I used a little dried dill in the chip/cheese mixture. A definite keeper.

I have used this on whitefish and tilapia. So easy and good! You can change up the topping and spices easily. I have used seasoned bread crumbs and parmesan, crushed ritz and mexican blend cheese. However, I always use more cheese to the ratio of chips, crackers or bread crumbs. So good!!

I was disappointed with this. I used ranch dressing as I had it on hand. I could not taste it all. The potato chips didn't add much flavor either. To me, this tasted almost the same as if I had just baked the fish plain. My husband took a couple of bites and then made a bologna sandwich! I saw all of the good reviews and was hoping for tasty new fish recipe. Funny how different everyone's tastes can be, LOL!

Ryan did not eat it, but Bob and Aaron liked it. More cheese!

My 5 year old grandaughter would not stop eating this fish! Anything the grandkids will eat like that is a winner in my book.

I was hesitant to make this recipe because of the potato chips but went & tried it anyway. Am so glad that I did! It was really good, I did not even change a thing. Would definitely make this again. As a matter of fact, I went & bought more cod fish when I went shopping this week. It's a keeper!

I make this almost once a week. I usually use 1/2 c. of cheese. I also make it with tilapia since that's what's fresh in the store near us. Kettle brand salt and vinegar chips are better than Lays. Love it!

This is quick, easy and delicious. I even fed it to two teenage boys and they loved it. I used BBQ chips and the results were fantastic. I am married to a fisherman and always looking for different things to do to fish because we get sick of the same old thing. This will definitely go in the rotation!

so quick and easy! loved it!

this was just okay for me. I used tilapia and salt and vinegar chips but I wish I stuck to regular chips. For some reason the vinegar flavour was weird. Maybe it was the fish. I made my own creamy italian dressing. I may try it again but with plain chips and another type of fish.

After seeing all the great ratings I was excited to try this recipe. I was so upset when I realized I had ran out of creamy Italian dressing. The only creamy dressing I had on hand was creamy peppercorn ranch. So I marinated my tilapia in the peppercorn ranch dressing, pulsed the chips and cheese as GUYCHEF had advised. I have to say that fish never tasted better. I can’t wait to try this with the creamy Italian!!!

I made this with light ranch dressing. We thought it was a nice change. I'll make it again.

Fast, simple and delicious !

I love fried fish, so breaded the bottom of the fish and laid on a rack over a shallow pan that had parchment paper in for the drips. Then I piled the rest of the toppings on the top side of the fish. It would have turned out great and very crispy on both sides if I hadn't forgot about it..lol still good next time I will set timer.

Fantastic recipe! I really like the fact that this recipe is so easy to prepare, with endless possibilities to tweak to your preferences.

My favorite fish recipe! Very simple. The recipe is great as written, but I prefer to use tilapia, zesty rather than creamy italian, and salt and vinegar kettle chips.

The flavors of this recipe were good, but I did not like it on cod. I'm used to cooking tilapia, a more tender fish. Maybe I will try it again with a different kind of fish.

I never had cod before. Don't know if it's this recipe or what, but it didn't even taste like . My cheese/chip mixture slid right off my fish when it came out of the oven, so I kind of had to mash everything together. This was good, but not great.

The greatest! We made no changes. Said wow on the first bite!

Quick and easy dish, great for week nights. the only change I made was I added sharp chedder cheese and used a blue cheese dressing. A very good recipe.

I've made this recipe for years - particularly with salmon. Instead of the dressing, brush the fish with dijon mustard and then coat with crushed potato chips and bake. Fantastic!

I always have left overs but when I made this, there was not a crumb in sight. Unfortunately I have not had a chance to eat it myself. ( I had to work that night). But my 2 boys, (6&3yrs) devoured every bite. My husband enjoyed it as well. I can't wait to make it again!! :)

This was okay, couldn't realy taste the fish though. I may not make again.

This was good, I did make a few changes. I used a combination of balsamic basil and Ken's greek dressing for marinating. My son had 4 helping and had the leftovers for lunch the next day. My husband who is really picky about fish loved it too.

Great recipe! I followed according to directions, wow---"awesome" was the word my family used. This recipe is a keeper in my book!

I used this recipe for $20/lb fresh halibut. I was hesitant to use such a "down-to-earth" recipe on such expensive fish (and because of the standard, "no cheese with fish" advice) . But OMG -- it was FANTASTIC! Like others, I couldn't find creamy Italian dressing, so I substituted a good-quality ranch dressing. Based on other reviews, I was worried the filets wouldn't be done (without the top burning), since my filets were more than an inch thick. But they turned out perfect, exactly as the recipe was written (9 minutes). This is the only way I will be making white fish in the future.

This is a great recipe. Very quick and easy and my husband and son loved it. I added a little chopped fresh parsley to the topping. I did marinate the fish for about 10 minutes and it was just great. Will make this one again! Thank you!

This was pretty good. I made exactly as written. Thanks!

This has become one of my all time favourite fish recipe.. Have served it up severa times to friends & they have all loved it.. Thanx for a great recipe..

We liked this a lot! I followed the recipe as written, except for two things: I used crushed Ritz Crackers, as I didn't have chips on hand, and I baked it at 400 for about 10 minutes and then finished it up under the broiler at the end. It was flakey, moist, and had good flavor. Thanks! This is a keeper!

I followed the recipe. Had a hard time finding the creamy Italian dressing until my husband suggested looking in the dairy section of the grocery store. I found one there by Marzetti (Sweet Italian, which is creamy), and was delicious! It only took 1/4 cup to marinate the fish (cod) completely. I followed other users suggestions and used my food processor to crush the potato chips and then at the end added in the cheese to quickly blend. Easy! This made thee best topping ever! My entire family LOVED this dinner! My sons normally require tartar sauce w/their fish, but this was so delicious, they didn't need any! Definitely a do again...so few ingredients, so easy, so quick! A great week night meal!

I don't even want to think about calorie content of this fish, but it sure is delicious. I didn't have creamy Italian dressing so I used low-fat creamy garlic dressing. I poured it over sole and baked it a bit longer on 350 since ten minutes on 450 didn't seem to be enough.

I used the vinegar chips as others suggested...not the biggest fish fan, but it was good & i would make it again this way! Baked at 425 for 13 mins & then turned it up for 2 mins to brown the top.

I've made this several times since finding this recipe. Quick and easy and very good.

Great...This is another must try. I made seven pieces for four people and everything was eaten. They were actually scraping the cheese and chip mixture off the cassarole dish. I used whiting (scrod) with creamy italian dressing and for the chips I used sour cream and onion (the thin ones.) As with most of my cooking I doubled the cheese. I ended up folling a previous reviewers advice and cooking it for 12 - 15 minutes @ 425/450. What a hit thanks for another good one

I love this recipe. Simply and tasty. I subsituted Italian vinegar and oil dressing (Wishbone) for the creamy Italian. I also increased the amount of cheese to 1/2 cup. I used cod fish. I've had this recipe before as my X was a big fisherman

My fish was pretty thick and I ended up having to cook it almost 30 min. That dried out the fish quite a bit. Next time I will slice the fish thinner so that I don't have to cook it for so long and dry it out. I think I will like the flavor more if it was moist. I might drizzle some melted butter over top of it next time.

Excellent and Easy Dish! I didn't have creamy italian so I used greek dressing.

This was certainly quick and very easy, but nothing to rave about. I don't think I'll make it again since it didn't do anything for my palate. My husband liked it, but there are other recipes for fish that taste REALLY good and not just so-so.

so yummie and flavorful!! I didn't have creamy Italian so I mixed classic Italian and Ranch and it was so so good, I also marinated it for about 20 min.

I used Italian Style bread crumbs and it wasn't as good as everyone else here says. My son loved it but next time i will use Lay's chips (they are more greasy than the dry bread crumbs) and i bet this will be better. Follow the recipe--don't try bread crumbs!

I didn't have Creamy Italian, but used a Creamy Ceasar dressing. My husband and I loved it. Very easy and very fast!

Different but good! Easy to make on a busy weeknight.

This is a wonderful coating for fish. Very light, but adds flavor. I did not change a thing

Very good - prefer parmesan over cheddar.

This was so good. Thanks.

I had such a craving for fish and this definatly did it!! Ofcourse I , like most, did a little tweaking. I used Cod fillets, and rather than plain italian i used a marinade, Roasted Red Pepper Italian w/ Parmesean cheese. I also choose salt and vinegar kettle cooked chips , finely chopped , but added Land O Lakes Parmesean and Herb Seasoning to the chip and cheese mixture. Cooked up a few pre-cooked crab cakes in EVOO and margerine until nice and crispy on the outside and it was an amazing meal!!! ENJOY!

Great! Exen my 11 year old (not a big fish lover)ate it up and enjoyed it. It was quick, easy, and very good. I used fresh Blue Gill fillets, low fat italian, chedder, and Pringles. Thank you Karena.