Nashville-Style Spicy Fried Tilapia Sandos
with Buttermilk Ranch Pickle Slaw & Potato Chips
- Fish
- Milk
- Wheat
- Eggs
- Soy
Crispy tilapia gets a fiery hot sauce tempura coating, paired with cooling pickle slaw and served on a toasted baguette. Double-dosed with hot sauce for serious heat, this rebellious fish sandwich delivers addictive textures and bold flavors that’ll make you forget every other fish sandwich. It’s comfort food with serious attitude!
Ingredients
1 unit
Sliced Dill Pickle
4 unit
Frank's Hot Sauce
11 ounce
Tilapia
(Contains: Fish)
1 unit
Lemon
¼ ounce
Frank's Seasoning Blend
82 g
Tempura Batter Mix
(Contains: Milk, Wheat, Eggs)
1 unit
Tomato
4 ounce
Coleslaw Mix
1.5 ounce
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
(Contains: Eggs, Milk)
2 unit
Demi-Baguette
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
2 unit
Potato Chips
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
1.5 tablespoon (tbsp)
Cooking Oil
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
-
Wash and dry produce.
-
Drain and roughly chop pickle. Slice tomato into ¼-inch-thick rounds.
-
In a large bowl, combine coleslaw mix, chopped pickle, and ranch dressing; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
-
Heat a ¼-inch layer of oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat.
-
While oil heats, in a second large bowl, whisk together tempura batter mix, Frank’s Seasoning Blend, ⅓ cup cold water (⅔ cup for 4 servings), and a pinch of salt until smooth. TIP: If mixture seems too thick, add more water 1 TBSP at a time until it reaches a pancake-batter-like consistency.
-
Pat tilapia* dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Add to bowl with batter; flip fish until evenly coated.
-
Once oil is shimmering and hot enough that a drop of batter sizzles when added to the pan, add coated fish. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side.
-
Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate; immediately season with salt and pepper.
-
Place three packets of hot sauce (six packets for 4 servings) in a small bowl; brush over fried fish.
- While fish cooks, halve and toast baguettes.
-
Divide toasted baguettes between plates. Top bottom baguette halves with fried fish, remaining hot sauce, sliced tomato, and slaw. Close with top baguette halves to form sandos. Serve with potato chips on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Many loved the tasty, spicy fish with cooling slaw, though some found the tilapia too fishy.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy to prepare, but a few noted the batter didn't stick well to the fish.
- Suggestions: Consider dredging fish in flour before battering for better adhesion. Toast buns with garlic for extra flavor.
- Portions: Several mentioned the buns were too small for the fish fillets, making sandwiches messy to eat.
- Slaw: The tangy pickle slaw complemented the spicy fish well, though some preferred less pickle.
Reviews from our home cooks
This sandwich made my husband so angry as he ate it. The fish was way bigger than the bun and it was very messy as a result. Also there wasn't enough coleslaw. Overall the flavors were ok and promising, but unbalanced. The messy factor was awful and kind of ruined it.
Tempora was great on the tilapia. Bun needed to be a bit larger. Over all very good.
The flavor was tasty but the batter did not bind well to the fish and I don't think this meal agreed with me very well
Soooooo good. The coleslaw was so good with the fish
One of the best fish sandwiches I've ever had it was so good
The portion size was really good! The chips were ok, I wish there were other side options but the fish sandwich was good!
Bread/dough to toppings ratio was too much. Probably doesn't need a batter. Just was not one of better meals.
Didn't like the pickle in the slaw, but otherwise good
