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!
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:
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.
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.
- Cut it in half and then 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:
- 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 as needed.
- Serve with vegan tartar sauce, lemon wedges, fresh parsley and chips on the side.
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.
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!
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.
More Vegan Seafood Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Fish
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)
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- Storing: This vegan fish is best served hot and fresh. But it will store well in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- 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.
- 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.
Hi, should I use white or brown rice flour in this recipe? Thank you. 😊
Hi Steve, it’s white rice flour, I have updated it in the recipe card. 🙂
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.
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.
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.
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.