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    Home » Entrees

    Vegan Fish

    Published: Apr 6, 2022 Updated: Apr 6, 2022 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

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    Vegan Fish

    This is the best beer battered vegan fish ever! Made with celeriac and seaweed and coated in a delicious beer batter, this vegan fried fish is crispy, flaky and divine. Serve it with vegan tartar sauce and fries for the full vegan fish and chips experience!

    Beer battered vegan fish with chips, vegan tartar sauce and fresh lemon on a plate.

    One of the things I love about testing recipes for this blog is using ingredients in new and exciting ways! This vegan fish recipe uses celeriac as the ‘fish’. And we were blown away by how good it was.

    Celeriac is a root vegetable in the same family as celery and parsnips. It looks a bit like an odd looking cabbage (or maybe that’s just me).

    It’s definitely not what you would think of first when you think of making homemade vegan fish. But we just didn’t feel like using tofu (even though we love tofu). And we have already used King oyster mushrooms in our ‘seafood’ recipes lately, like our vegan shrimp and vegan scallops and we used heart of palm for our vegan crab cakes.

    So it seemed like the perfect time to try something entirely new to us, so celeriac got its chance to shine! And shine it did.

    This vegan fish is crispy, flaky and so divine. The texture is really spot on too. It’s also easy to make – maybe not so easy that you’ll be making it every other day, but it’s perfect for when you have a craving for crispy battered fish and chips and want to make a delicious vegan version.

    Ingredients You’ll Need For Beer Battered Vegan Fish:

    Ingredients to make beer battered vegan fish.

    Ingredient Notes

    • Celeriac – we used one large celeriac, it should be at least 1 and ½ pounds (680g), but if it’s a bit bigger, that’s fine too. You just don’t want it to be any smaller or you will struggle to get enough pieces of ‘fish’ out of it to make it worthwhile.
    • Cold beer – the beer must be cold so that your batter is cold. This way, when the cold batter hits the hot oil it gets super crispy. You won’t taste the beer in the end result and the alcohol also cooks off. You can use any brand of beer that you like or have on hand, but it’s best if it’s a pale colored beer. Darker beers like stouts or porters may affect the flavor too much.
    • Nori sheets – we stick nori sheets onto the celeriac pieces to really amp up the seafood flavor and then also chop up nori to use in our beer batter.
    • Sesame oil – is a high smoke point oil which works great for high heat frying. You can switch it for any other oil with a high smoke point like grapeseed oil or avocado oil.
    • Rice flour – is key to crispy beer battered vegan fish. We use a mix of white rice flour and all purpose flour. The all purpose flour makes our fish golden in color and the rice flour makes it super crispy. It’s a win/win.
    Beer battered vegan fish with chips, vegan tartar sauce and fresh lemon on a plate.

    How To Make Vegan Fish

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    The ‘Fish’

    • Peel the celeriac.
    Celeriac on a wooden board and then peeled.
    • Cut it in half and then slice each half into ½ inch thick pieces.
    Celeriac cut in half and then cut into ½ inch thick pieces.
    • Add 3 quarts (~3 liters) of water and 1 teaspoon of salt to a large pot and bring it to the boil.
    • Add the celeriac pieces to the boiling water and cover the pot. Boil the celeriac for 10 minutes, or until fork tender.
    • Carefully remove the celeriac pieces from the pot and place them onto a wire cooling rack to cool slightly.
    Celeriac pieces boiling in a pot of water and then placed onto a wire rack.
    • When the celeriac pieces have cooled slightly, place each piece onto a nori sheet, so that the nori sticks to one side of the celeriac.
    • Use scissors to trim the nori, leaving you with a piece of celeriac with nori skin on one side.
    Celeriac piece placed onto a sheet of nori and then cut out so that it's topped with the nori.
    • Then place the celeriac piece back onto the wire cooling rack and then repeat until all the celeriac pieces have a nori skin on one side.
    Celeriac pieces topped with nori on a wire rack.

    Dusting:

    • Add ¼ cup of rice flour to a bowl.
    • Gently dip each piece of celeriac in the rice flour, coating it lightly with rice flour on all sides.
    Celeriac piece tossed in rice flour so that it's coated on both sides.
    • Place all the coated pieces back onto the wire cooling rack.
    Celeriac pieces topped with nori and rolled in rice flour.

    Beer Batter:

    • In a mixing bowl, sift all purpose flour and rice flour into the bowl. Add salt, baking powder and chopped nori and mix together.
    Ingredients for batter added to mixing bowl and mixed.
    • Add cold beer and gently whisk until the flour is just mixed in and you have a batter. It’s a fairly thin batter. Don’t overmix.
    Beer poured into mixing bowl and mixed into a batter.
    • Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil to a frying pan and heat it up on medium heat until hot.
    • Dip a piece of celeriac into the batter, coating it well on both sides.
    Dipping pieces of celeriac into batter so that they're coated on all sides.
    • Add it to the hot pan with the nori skin side down.
    • Repeat the battering process until you have enough celeriac pieces in the pan to comfortably fit without crowding.
    • Cook for around 3 minutes until the nori side is crispy and golden brown.
    • Then gently flip the celeriac pieces and fry for about 2-3 minutes on the other side until crispy and golden brown.
    Celeriac pieces added to frying pan and then flipped.
    • Once cooked transfer the celeriac pieces to a baking tray lined with paper towels, to absorb any excess oil.
    • Heat another 2 tablespoons sesame oil in the frying pan and then repeat the battering and frying process until all the celeriac pieces are crispy and golden brown. Add more oil as needed.
    Beer battered vegan fish in a frying pan and then on a tray lined with paper towels.
    • Serve with vegan tartar sauce, lemon wedges, fresh parsley and chips on the side.
    Beer battered vegan fish with chips, vegan tartar sauce and fresh lemon on a plate.

    Serving Suggestions

    Sauces: Vegan tartar sauce is absolutely divine with this, but vegan yum yum sauce and vegan aioli are also great options.

    Sides: Some crispy fries/chips are the perfect side making this a classic vegan fish and chips dish. To save time in this recipe we went with frozen chips brought to crispy perfection in the air fryer. Lemon wedges and a sprinkle of fresh parsley complete the dish. If you’d like to pair it with some salad then vegan coleslaw pairs beautifully with this.

    Beer battered vegan fish with chips, vegan tartar sauce and fresh lemon on a plate.

    Chef’s Tips

    Don’t let the boiled celeriac cool too much. After the celeriac boils in the hot water, you want to let it cool until it’s warm to the touch and still moist. This way the nori sheets will stick to it easily. If it’s too hot, the nori will just recoil from it, but if it’s ice cold and dried out then the nori won’t stick at all. So it should be warm and slightly moist.

    The oil must be hot before you add the celeriac pieces. Cold oil will result in soggy batter, it must be hot for the batter to get crispy and delicious. The battered celeriac pieces should sizzle when they hit the pan.

    Make it gluten free: Simply switch out the all purpose flour for a gluten free all purpose blend and you’ll be all set.

    Make it alcohol free: Switch out the beer for sparkling water and increase the baking powder by ¼ teaspoon.

    Oven/air fryer: This is one recipe where it’s just worth it to fry it. It simply does not work the same way in the oven or air fryer, though of course you’re welcome to experiment!

    Beer battered vegan fish with chips, vegan tartar sauce and fresh lemon on a plate.

    Storing and Reheating

    This vegan fish is best served hot and fresh. But it will store well in the fridge for 2-3 days.

    It’s best reheated in the air fryer at 350° for 5-10 minutes to bring it back to full crispiness. But you can also reheat in the oven on a greased baking sheet at 350°F for around 10 minutes or until heated through.

    It’s not recommended for freezing.

    Piece of vegan fish dipped in tartar sauce.

    More Vegan Seafood Recipes

    1. Vegan Shrimp
    2. Vegan Scallops
    3. Vegan Crab Cakes
    4. Vegan Tuna
    5. Vegan Fish Tacos
    6. Vegan Salmon
    Piece of vegan fish broken in half to show the center.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Beer battered vegan fish with chips and tartar sauce on a plate.

    Vegan Fish

    This is the best beer battered vegan fish ever! Made with celeriac and seaweed and coated in a delicious beer batter, this vegan fried fish is crispy, flaky and divine. Serve it with vegan tartar sauce and fries for the full vegan fish and chips experience!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American, British-Inspired
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes
    Servings: 16 Pieces
    Calories: 97kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    "Fish"

    • 1 Large Celeriac (1 ½ pounds/680g)
    • 1 teaspoon Salt For Boiling
    • 2-3 Nori Sheets

    Dusting:

    • ¼ cup White Rice Flour (40g)

    Beer Batter:

    • ¾ cup All Purpose Flour (93g)
    • ¼ cup White Rice Flour (40g)
    • ¼ teaspoon Salt
    • 1 ¼ teaspoons Baking Powder
    • 3 Tablespoons Nori Chopped
    • 1 Bottle Beer (12 ounces)

    Frying:

    • ¼ cup Sesame Oil

    Serving (Optional):

    • 1 Recipe Vegan Tartar Sauce
    • Lemon Wedges
    • Fresh Parsley Chopped
    • French Fries (Chips)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    "Fish":

    • Peel the celeriac and cut it in half. Slice each half into ½ inch thick pieces.
    • Add 3 quarts (~3 liters) of water and 1 teaspoon of salt to a large pot and bring it to the boil.
    • Add the celeriac pieces to the boiling water and cover the pot. Boil the celeriac for 10 minutes, or until fork tender.
    • Carefully remove the celeriac pieces from the pot and place them onto a wire cooling rack to cool slightly.
    • When the celeriac pieces have cooled slightly, place each piece onto a nori sheet, so that the nori sticks to one side of the celeriac.
    • Use scissors to trim the nori, leaving you with a piece of celeriac with nori skin on one side.
    • Then place the celeriac piece back onto the wire cooling rack and then repeat until all the celeriac pieces have a nori skin on one side.

    Dusting:

    • Add ¼ cup of rice flour to a bowl.
    • Gently dip each piece of celeriac in the rice flour, coating it lightly with rice flour on all sides.
    • Place all the coated pieces back onto the wire cooling rack.

    Beer Batter and Frying:

    • In a mixing bowl, sift all purpose flour and rice flour into the bowl. Add salt, baking powder and chopped nori and mix together.
    • Add cold beer and gently whisk until the flour is just mixed in and you have a batter. It's a fairly thin batter. Don't overmix.
    • Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil to a frying pan and heat it up on medium heat until hot.
    • Dip a piece of celeriac into the batter, coating it well on both sides. Add it to the hot pan with the nori skin side down.
    • Repeat the battering process until you have enough celeriac pieces in the pan to comfortably fit without crowding.
    • Cook for around 3 minutes until the nori side is crispy and golden brown.
    • Then gently flip the celeriac pieces and fry for about 2-3 minutes on the other side until crispy and golden brown.
    • Once cooked transfer the celeriac pieces to a baking tray lined with paper towels, to absorb any excess oil.
    • Heat another 2 tablespoons sesame oil in the frying pan and then repeat the battering and frying process until all the celeriac pieces are crispy and golden brown. Add more oil if needed.

    Serving:

    • Serve with vegan tartar sauce, lemon wedges, fresh parsley and fries/chips on the side.

    Notes

    1. Celeriac – we used one large celeriac, it should be at least 1 and ½ pounds (680g), but if it’s a bit bigger, that’s fine too. You just don’t want it to be any smaller or you will struggle to get enough pieces of ‘fish’ out of it to make it worthwhile.
    2. Rice flour – is key to crispy beer battered vegan fish. We use a mix of rice flour and all purpose flour. The all purpose flour makes the fish golden in color and the rice flour makes it super crispy. 
    3. Cold beer – the beer must be cold so that your batter is cold. This way, when the cold batter hits the hot oil it gets super crispy. You won’t taste the beer in the end result and the alcohol also cooks off. You can use any brand of beer that you like or have on hand, but it’s best if it’s a pale colored beer. Darker beers like stouts or porters may affect the flavor too much.
    4. Sesame oil – is a high smoke point oil which works great for high heat frying. You can switch it for any other oil with a high smoke point like grapeseed oil or avocado oil.
    5. Don’t let the boiled celeriac cool too much. After the celeriac boils in the hot water, you want to let it cool until it’s warm to the touch and still moist. This way the nori sheets will stick to it easily. If it’s too hot, the nori will just recoil from it, but if it’s ice cold and dried out then the nori won’t stick at all. So it should be warm and slightly moist.
    6. The oil must be hot before you add the celeriac pieces. Cold oil will result in soggy batter, it must be hot for the batter to get crispy and delicious. The battered celeriac pieces should sizzle when they hit the pan.
    7. Make it gluten free: Simply switch out the all purpose flour for a gluten free all purpose blend and you’ll be all set.
    8. Make it alcohol free: Switch out the beer for sparkling water and increase the baking powder by ¼ teaspoon.
    9. Oven/air fryer: This is one recipe where it’s just worth it to fry it. It simply does not work the same way in the oven or air fryer, though of course you’re welcome to experiment!
    10. Storing: This vegan fish is best served hot and fresh. But it will store well in the fridge for 2-3 days.
    11. Reheating: It’s best reheated in the air fryer at 350° for 5-10 minutes to bring it back to full crispiness. But you can also reheat in the oven on a greased baking sheet at 350°F for around 10 minutes or until heated through.
    12. Nutritional information is for the vegan fish only and excludes vegan tartar sauce and chips and anything you may serve it with. We also don’t include all the salt in the nutritional calculation because the salt that the celeriac is boiled with will not all be absorbed. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Piece | Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 112mg | Potassium: 142mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Steve says

      May 02, 2022 at 3:02 pm

      Hi, should I use white or brown rice flour in this recipe? Thank you. 😊

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 03, 2022 at 9:53 am

        Hi Steve, it’s white rice flour, I have updated it in the recipe card. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Craig Richard Uhler says

      April 20, 2022 at 12:16 am

      This is an amazing recipe. My wife hates fish, she loved this. Celeriac = Celery Root. Please correct me if I’m wrong. I found this batter soaked up a bit of oil. The next time I am going to experiment with Indian Pakora batter. I can’t wait to change it around. Some questions, would it work with beets? I have tons in the garden.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 20, 2022 at 10:14 am

        Hi Craig, so happy you loved the recipe! Yes celeriac is also known as celery root. I think beets would ‘work’ in the sense that it may be delicious but I don’t think it would resemble ‘fish’ in any way. So that’s the only thing, but definitely would still be great to try! Thanks so much for sharing and the great review.

        Reply
    3. Morayah G. says

      April 07, 2022 at 10:15 pm

      It looks so yum! I will buy my Celeriac online as is not easily found in any of my local supermarkets. But, I am hungry just looking at how good it seems to be. Do you think Parsnip is a good substitution? While I wait for my order. It says online they are both root veggies closely related.
      Also, I continue to try your baked recipes. Always a win with the fam. Thank you for coming up with such delish and lovely recipes!
      Morayah G.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 08, 2022 at 10:26 am

        Awesome, hope you enjoy the recipe when your celeriac arrives! Yes, it’s the same family as parsnip so it might work but I haven’t tested that so not sure.

        Reply

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