Coconut Breaded Cod with Mango Salsa

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I have been attempting for a while now to come up with a breaded fish recipe that is autoimmune protocol compliant – it isn’t easy without the egg! I finally found a sequence that works and tastes good, but it also happens to be a little finicky while cooking. Be warned that you need to treat the fish gently while it is in the pan or else the breading will fall off. I love to make this when I get a little crunchy/crispy craving – there aren’t many things one can make while on the protocol to satisfy this.

coconutcod

photo by Kyle Johnson

4.0 from 4 reviews
Coconut Breaded Cod with Mango Salsa
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Based on this recipe from Paleo Effect
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • For the salsa:
  • 1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
  • For the fish:
  • 24 ounces cod fillets, cut into 2 inch thick strips
  • 1 ½ cups coconut flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ginger powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Combine the salsa ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate.
  2. Wash, dry, and debone the cod fillets.
  3. Combine the coconut flour, ginger powder and salt on a plate or shallow bowl. Place the coconut milk in another shallow bowl, as well as the shredded coconut.
  4. Dip the cod strips into the coconut milk, then the coconut flour mixture, back into the coconut milk, and finally into the shredded coconut, paying special attention to creating a thick breading.
  5. Heat the coconut oil in the bottom of a skillet on medium-high heat. When it is hot, cook the cod strips for five minutes a side depending on thickness of the fish, or until the top and bottom are nice and browned and the fish is cooked throughout. Once the cod strips are in the pan, try not to fuss with them too much – because there is no egg in the breading, they are a little delicate. Serve topped with mango salsa.

About Mickey Trescott

Mickey Trescott is a co-founder here at Autoimmune Wellness and a co-teacher of AIP Certified Coach. After recovering from her own struggle with both Celiac and Hashimoto’s disease, adrenal fatigue, and multiple vitamin deficiencies, Mickey started to write about her experience to share with others and help them realize they are not alone in their struggles. She has a Master's degree in Human Nutrition and Functional Nutrition, and is the author of three best-selling books--The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook, The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook, and The Nutrient-Dense Kitchen. You can watch her AIP cooking demos by following her on Instagram.

29 comments

  • Amy says

    This looks YUMMY! I have everything but the mango on hand. I might have to go to the store today 🙂 Thank you for figuring out the breading. Going egg-free is complicated; however, I’ve done it. I am struggling now to give up seeds/nuts. They are my go-to snack. Any suggestions for ways of letting go?

    • Nuts are really hard to give up as a snack, they were one of my favorites! In the past few months I stopped snacking and just started eating bigger meals. Since my blood sugar is more under control by eating more fat and protein, I am not hungry for them anymore. As a result of living years as a hypoglycemic vegan I was trained to think I couldn’t go without food for a couple of hours, but surprisingly that went away once I changed my diet. Olives are a good snack, so are vegetable slices (cucumber, carrot) and some sort dip or pate. You could also have a chopped salad or an artichoke ready in the fridge with a good dressing. You could also heat a mug of broth and throw some spinach in it – I do this all the time when I am feeling sick. Hope it helps!

      • Amy says

        Great snack ideas! Thank you! This has helped quite a bit 🙂

  • Roberta says

    I’m hypothyroid with Hashimoto’s and also hypoglycemic. I’m currently trying to make myself try this diet, but it’s hard when you’re single, work full time and don’t feel well. I’m determined to try though. Nuts and dried fruit have also been my go-to snack that I could throw in my purse or have in the car for those moments when I’m caught off guard and my blood sugar drops. Are there any suggestions for snacks that don’t require refrigeration or cooking? I really need food I can have in my purse or in the car at all times. Tnanks!

    • Roberta – good for you for trying to take charge of your health, as difficult as that may be for you in this moment. With blood sugar issues, you really want to try to make sure you are getting enough fat and protein at mealtimes to train your body to stop relying on the constant source of carbs. I would avoid dried fruit, but I know that this is really, really tough (It took me a few miserable months to fix my hypoglycemia, and it was a place that I would rather not go back to!). Nuts are a great snack, although they aren’t autoimmune protocol friendly. I think it would be important to get your blood sugar under control before going full swing into the autoimmune protocol, especially if you are busy and don’t have a kitchen available to you all times. Other good snacks would be olives, raw veggies (assuming your digestion can handle them), hard boiled eggs, etc. None of those would do particularly well in a warm car for an extended period of time though, so its a rough spot. Maybe you could make a snack bar out of coconut oil, dried coconut and some nuts? Sorry I can’t help more, but once you start eating more protein and fat your body will adjust and you might not need snacks anymore. It is a difficult adjustment but so worthwhile! Hang in there!

    • Amy says

      Roberta, I had hypoglycemia for time as well and I had to have plenty of on-the-go non-refrigerated snacks. When I was recovering, I wasn’t attempting the autoimmune protocol yet. Sometimes it’s easier to tackle one thing at a time.

      I wanted to add to Mickey’s snack ideas. I filled a small jar with coconut butter (or it’s sometimes called coconut cream concentrate) and carried a spoon with me. This is a high-fat, high-fiber and filling snack. It’ll get soft with the heat and is actually easier to eat this way. You can buy this stuff or make your own (google for directions). Another idea is avocados. I would halve them, top them with shredded veggies (like sour kraut) and sprinkle sunflower seeds on top. If you find a container with a seal, you can carry this in your bag, and they can handle some heat. Just don’t forget about them in your bag :/ Raw veggies (carrots and celery can handle the heat) with a small jar of nut butter. Homemade trail mix with big coconut chunks, mixed nuts, and a little dried fruit in a baggie. As your body starts to adjust to fat and protein as it’s fuel source, you can even just drink a teaspoon or so of coconut oil. You can keep this in a sealed container and just pour it down the hatch when needed. Jerky is an easy go-to snack. I usually keep some in the car now just in case.

      I hope this helps!

  • Yvonne says

    It’s not quick or portable, but one snack I’ve found that satisfies my need for crunch, salt and fat (like popcorn used to) is kale chips! I grow my own kale and bake it on cookie sheets with coconut oil and salt till crunchy. Yum! Something that is more portable is dried zucchini chips. I use a mandolin to slice the zukes very thin, brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with dried basil. Dry in dehydrator till crisp. If you vacuum pack them in jars, they stay crisp longer.

    • Mickey says

      I love kale chips! I don’t have a dehydrator so I have never had zucchini chips, but they sound delicious 🙂

  • lauren says

    can i bake the fish instead of fry?

  • Rachel says

    Hi!

    I was just wondering if you’ve tried this with any other types of fish? I’ve got some seabass at home that I would like to try like this. Do you think it will work??

    • Mickey says

      Rachel, I haven’t, but I bet it would taste great with bass! Let me know if it works out!

      Mickey

  • christina says

    I cooked this recipe last night (although with an egg in the breading) and my husband and I loved it. I have suffered from Hidradenitis Suppurativa for over 20 years and I am on a tweaked version of AIP (no nightshades, very little milk and milk products) and I want to try the full protocol soon. These recipes are quite inspiring! Thanks!

  • Erin Thorsen says

    I bought the cook book, as advised by Jessica Flanagan. It has been amazing and made my transition to this lifestyle so much easier. ( I have hashimotos thyroid disease and psoratic arthritis, and my daughter has lichen sclerosis auto imune at 4 yo.) I cooked this for dinner tonight. Enough for me and my lunch tomorrow and I also cooked a stew for the family. I barely had enough fish for my dinner. My husband who usually doesn’t like seafood scoffed it down. and the kids were really keen to try as well. Amazing!! It’s going to be a regular and I also made the coconut basil pesto. Yum Yum!! This will definitely be a regular. Thanks for the great recipes .

  • Katherine says

    This was SO delicious!! Thank you! I had a bunch of parsley so I used that and lemon instead of lime. Mmm

  • E says

    Hi. These were delicious and deluxe. I did not make mango salsa, although I’m sure i should have for my own sake. However, i did have all ingredients for the fish and made them up, they were so good, on their own. Thanks for the great mealtime idea.

  • […] sprouts, garlic, and onions. The most notable thing that happened was that I found a recipe for coconut breaded cod with mango salsa at autoimmune-paleo.com. My mouth still waters just thinking about it. It was so good. […]

  • Susan G. says

    This was really good. My 11 year old son devoured the fish, and the salsa. We’ve been on Whole30+AIP for over 3 months, so he was really missing that breaded+fried crunch. The delicious mango salsa could make cardboard taste good. Thanks so much for this website! I have your book, which I love for inspiration and for meal planning sessions, but I find it easier (and cleaner) to work from computer printouts once I’m in the kitchen. I appreciate you making so many recipes available both ways. I’ve yet to find a recipe I don’t like. (Since I was a vegetarian most of my life, that’s high praise.)

    • Mickey Trescott says

      Susan – wow, thanks for the feedback! Wishing you luck on your journey!

  • Linda says

    Do you think instead of frying the cod in the oil, I could use a air fryer?

    • Mickey Trescott says

      Linda,
      I’ve never used an air fryer before, so I’m not sure how it would turn out!

  • Sarah says

    I now know I have an aversion to coconut flour (made pancakes with it once and had the same negative reaction taste-wise as I did with this recipe), so for me this was not a good recipe after all. My husband sort of liked it but my kids did not. I thought the mango salsa was pretty good though. Thank you for sharing the recipe – I’m always looking for healthy recipes that my whole family can enjoy.

    • Mickey Trescott says

      Hey Sarah,
      Sorry it didn’t work out for you, a lot of people find they don’t like coconut. Fortunately, there are a lot of coconut-free recipes out there to make! Good luck!

  • Sara says

    This recipe was an abyssal failure for us. We tried it twice too! The first time we made it exactly according to the directions. The fish burned while the coating remained raw. It was absolutely inedible. The second time we used a very light coating of flour and baked it instead. It didn’t matter! The fish was still overcooked, but the coating was still raw. I’m a pescatarian, so I know how to cook fish. This was just a huge waste of expensive ingredients, precious time and monumental effort.

    • Mickey Trescott says

      Hi Sara! Sorry it wasn’t a winner for you – I’m wondering how the fish managed to burn while the coating was raw, since the coating is what is in contact with the pan?

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