These Anchovy Breadcrumbs are perfectly golden, crispy and full of savoury goodness. It’s guaranteed to add excitement to any dish!
Say goodbye to boring vegetables
Do I need to eat more veggies daily? I certainly do! If I nodded my head any faster, it’ll fall off my shoulders. I’m picky with eating veggies, it has to be cooked in a certain way. What I’m really saying is that my veggies need to be slathered in sauce or deep-fried. That sounds terrible, doesn’t it?
Look, if I had to eat steamed or boiled vegetables I would, but I won’t be doing happy somersaults whilst doing so. BUT that’s all about to change. Say no to bland vegetables by spooning Anchovy Breadcrumbs all over it!
Hellooooo? are you still there? I hope I didn’t lose you because I said ANCHOVY! Please stay and hear me out because I don’t like anchovies either!!!
My husband loves anchovies, especially on pizza. If we’re sharing, he’ll never ask for them as he knows I can’t stand them. The extra salty and fishy taste of anchovies is overbearing, it’s all I can taste when it’s on my pizza! I don’t like anchovies in my Caesar salads either, I always tell them to leave it out, but funny enough I don’t mind if the anchovies were part of the dressing.
I hate eating the actual anchovy fillet but I love cooking with it or making it into a sauce!
Those ugly little ‘pungent tasting’ fish transform into amazing flavours when cooked with other ingredients. I love adding anchovies to my pasta, dressing and or of course breadcrumbs.
These Anchovy Breadcrumbs are perfectly golden, crispy and full of savoury goodness. The Panko breadcrumbs are pan-fried with anchovies, butter and garlic, it’s then tossed in with lemon zest and parsley. These ingredients bring loads of flavours and textures to any dish.
Subscribe to 3CatsFoodie’s FREE Newsletter
For the latest recipes and other fun stuff!
Sprinkle these crumbs everywhere
What I love about Anchovy Breadcrumbs is how good it taste on almost everything! It can switch a one-dimensional dish into a spectacular one.
If a dish is lacking in texture or is bland, add a few spoonfuls of this crumb for crunch and flavour. It’ll change the dish completely and before you know it, you’ve eaten your daily intake of veggies!
Spoon these crumbs on steamed, boiled or roast veggies and watch them come alive. Here, I have served the Anchovy breadcrumbs with roast cauliflower, boiled baby carrots and green beans. I tossed the veggies with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and spooned the crumbs on top. Adding oil to the veggies helps the crumbs stick to it.
My favourite way to serve this breadcrumb is with pasta.
Looking for a quick, easy, tasty easy and budget-friendly meal that can feed the whole family? All you need is pasta, olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese and this breadcrumb. This makes a tasty meal that will feed the entire family for less than $20.
I can see myself making several versions of this breadcrumb as I think it’s a super clever idea. Anything that can help us eat more veggies is a genius invention! Add on ideas I have in my head currently is adding dried chilli flakes and freshly grated parmesan cheese. YUM!
Anchovy Breadcrumbs goes brilliantly with these pasta dishes:
Crab Linguine with Caviar
Lobster Mac & Cheese
Salmon Spaghetti
Garlic Chilli Prawn Pasta
Ingredients for Anchovy Breadcrumbs
Anchovies – This recipe calls for 8 fillets of anchovies. You may think this sounds excessive but remember these anchovies are the star of this show. We want every single crumb to be packed with flavour! However, if you would like a mild anchovy flavour use 4 to 5 fillets.
Japanese Panko bread crumbs are lighter and flakier than Western-style breadcrumbs, it absorbs less oil and is crispier in texture. Panko can be found in most supermarkets and in Asian specialty shops.
How to make Anchovy Breadcrumbs
Step by step guide with photos
Heat oil and butter in a small frying pan on medium heat. Once the butter has melted add in the garlic and stir for a minute or until fragrant, but don’t let the garlic burn. Add in the anchovies and cook for 2 minutes, use a wooden spoon to stir and break up any chunks of anchovy, most of it will melt into the butter mixture.
Add the Panko breadcrumbs into the butter mixture, stir and cook until the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy. Take the pan off the heat and transfer the breadcrumbs into a bowl, stir in the parsley and lemon zest. Give it a taste and add salt or pepper if needed.
Leftovers – Place the breadcrumbs into an airtight container and store at room temperature. The crumbs are good for 3 to 4 days.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Watch my Easy Fettuccine Boscaiola video
Anchovy Breadcrumbs
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 40 gm butter
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 8 anchovy fillets (drained and finely chopped) (NOTE 1)
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (NOTE 2)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 small lemon zest (finely grated)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil and butter in a small frying pan on medium heat. Once the butter has melted add in the garlic and stir for a minute or until fragrant, but don't let the garlic burn. Add in the anchovies and cook for 2 minutes, use a wooden spoon to stir and break up any chunks of anchovy, most of it will melt into the butter mixture.
- Add the Panko breadcrumbs into the butter mixture, stir and cook until the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy. Take the pan off the heat and transfer the breadcrumbs into a bowl, stir in the parsley and lemon zest. Give it a taste and add salt or pepper if needed.
Saw this on a Bobby Flay show and had to make it. This recipe is delicious. Served it over a shrimp scampi and everyone loved it! Will be a regular at our house!!!! Thank you
Hi Lily,
Thanks so much for the positive feedback. These breadcrumbs would’ve been so delicious with Shrimp Scampi 😍 Glad to hear everyone enjoyed it!
Put this stuff over our pasta, what a flavor and crunch bomb, so good
Hi Sienna,
Yes, over pasta is the best! Agreed, it’s so good! Thanks