5 Store-Bought Frozen Fish Fillets, Ranked Worst To Best

When you want a lighter meal, seafood can play a starring role on your plate. Some wrongly assume that cooking seafood is too tricky to master and that it requires too much time, particularly on busy weeknights. But in reality, seafood can actually be really simple to make. And by stocking your freezer with some frozen store-bought fish fillets, you can always have a quick and easy dinner on hand.

Chances are, there are several different brands of frozen seafood at your local grocery store. If you're not well-acquainted with this section, though, how do you know which brands are worth buying and which aren't? I tasted five different frozen fish fillet brands — including both battered and non-battered options — and ranked them with a criteria of both flavor and texture. Hopefully, this can give you a better idea of which fish fillets you should seek out. Let's take a closer look at these brands so you can pack your own freezer full of delicious fish.

Fried fish is one of life's greatest culinary joys. But let's be honest: The actual process of frying fish isn't that pleasant. It requires some prep work, and it results in a stovetop that's covered in oil splatters. This is where frozen battered fish fillets can come into play. They make eating fried fish super simple, with no cooking oil required. However, that doesn't mean that every fried fish fillet on the market is particularly enjoyable. Gorton's Crispy Battered Whole Fillets made of wild-caught pollock, for example, just weren't my favorite of the bunch.

It's not that these fillets were terrible, but the fish itself didn't pack much flavor. The breading was also somewhat devoid of flavor, without even an appropriate level of saltiness. (Admittedly, I like a lot of salt, so if you prefer your food less salty, then that may not be a problem with this product.) If you dip the fish in tartar sauce and serve it alongside some other, more flavorful dishes, this stuff makes for a workable meal. But with better frozen fish options on the market, this product is safe to skip.

There are plenty of types of fried fish out there for you to check out, including Van de Kamp's Alaskan pollock. This brand's Crispy Battered Fillets are a bit more interesting than the Gorton's version of essentially the same dish, but I still wouldn't go out of my way to pick these up from the grocery store. The fish is pretty flavorless, but at least the crispy breading packs a bit more flavor (namely, more saltiness). They're not too flavorful, but they're passable for a casual dinner.

My real issue with these fish fillets is their texture. The fish inside the breading is quite soft and doesn't have the firmness I would expect from fresh fish. The breading holds the fillets together, but after you crack that crust open, they're just kind of soft and unremarkable. Again, they're not really bad, but there are better fish fillets out there to keep stocked in your freezer.

Cod is one of my all-time favorite fish, thanks to its creamy, meaty texture, mild flavor, and versatility in recipes. It shouldn't come as a surprise, then, that Waterfront Bistro's Wild Alaskan Cod Fillets landed in the top half of this list. They have a lovely firmness and flake beautifully. These fillets also have a creaminess that sets them apart from other frozen fish fillets you'll see at the grocery store.

There are two problems I encountered with these cod fillets, though. Firstly, after baking them, they shrunk in size considerably. This can happen with many types of fish, but because these fillets are cut so small, you're left with a super tiny piece of fish, which isn't ideal unless you're making tons of these at once. Secondly, these fillets have a slight fishiness that I usually don't encounter with cod. However, this was more of an aroma than a flavor, so it isn't a significant issue.

If you are looking for battered fish fillets instead of plain ones, then you may want to head to Whole Foods to snag yourself some 365 Beer Battered Pollock Fillets. Out of all of the fried fish varieties I tried on this list, these are definitely the best. First of all, this fish was nice and meaty, with an excellent, firm texture after cooking them. They have a nice flakiness that makes you feel like you're eating something that's at least close to freshly fried fish.

But it's not just the fish itself that earns this product a spot in the top two slots of this ranking. The breading is also really nice. The beer batter, instead of a standard bread crumb situation, offers a beautifully crisp, flaky texture that goes well with the fish. When it all comes together, it makes for the perfect lazy, at-home fish and chips situation, no frying involved.

We've finally reached the most delicious store-bought frozen fish fillets of them all: It's Trader Joe's Branzino Fillets, and they're a must-try for seafood-loving Trader Joe's shoppers. You don't always see frozen branzino in grocery stores, so this product already gets points for its novelty. I also love the fact that the skin is attached to these fillets. If you don't like the skin, it peels off easily, but I love the texture of that skin once it's been baked or fried, so it gives you a little something extra to chew on.

The fillets are super thin, so they cook easily and quickly, but they retain their texture quite well, offering a pleasant flakiness in every bite. If you cook them a bit longer, the edges of the fish get crispy, adding even more appeal on the textural front. This branzino has a mild flavor with some umami characteristics. It's versatile, like many of the other options on this list, but it doesn't need to be doused in spices to taste appealing.

I selected these fish fillets based on availability at several local grocery stores. The plain fish products were all dressed with olive oil and some salt and pepper before being baked, and the fried versions were cooked in an air fryer to achieve maximum crispiness. I evaluated each of these fillets based on flavor, first and foremost, followed by texture, which also played an important role. I looked for a lack of fishiness and blandness on the flavor front, and the brands that ranked best had an interesting flavor quality, either through the fish itself or the breading. Varieties that kept their shape and had a nice flakiness also ranked well.