Fried Calamari is a crispy and delicious appetizer recipe that is surprisingly easy to make at home. Lightly coated and fried to golden brown perfection!
This is definitely a favorite to order at Italian restaurants, but making it at home is even better.
I have to admit, calamari is one of those foods I never quite fell in love with until well into adulthood. I could never get past those little tentacles in order to find out how delicious it really was.
Fortunately, my growing love of sushi has expanded my willingness to eat little creatures that don't always look the most appetizing.
You'll find that this recipe is super easy to make. No messy batter, just a light dusting of seasoned flour before deep frying to perfection.
Serve it as an appetizer, followed by a main course of homemade pasta and alfredo sauce, and go the extra mile with homemade cannolis for dessert!
How to make this recipe:
Instead of a batter, I opted to make this recipe even easier by only lightly coating the calamari pieces with a simple mixture of flour, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Start by heating the oil. You're deep frying, so be sure to have the level at least an inch or two. I like to use a heavy bottom dutch oven. Use a thermometer to track the temperature as you'll need to maintain a temperature of about 350 degrees in order to get that perfectly golden, non-oily calamari that tastes oh-so-good.
- If you have someone who can help in the kitchen, one person can coat the calamari and the other can fry (that's what I did). If not, coat all the calamari first and then do the frying second since it cooks so fast. Just be sure to shake off any excess flour before cooking.
- Working in small batches, fry the calamari until it's golden brown. Then, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a paper towel lined plate. Continue until everything has been cooked.
- You can keep the cooked calamari warm by loosely tenting with foil and you can even set it in a warm oven to keep it piping hot.
That's it! Just coat with a bit of salt and pepper to taste and serve with lemon wedges.
What about the sauce?
There are a wide variety of sauces served with calamari depending on region, however I just like a simple warm marinara sauce for dipping.
Italian inspired recipes to serve with Calamari:
- Homemade Pasta
- Cheesy Baked Rigatoni
- Dozen Veggie Pasta Primavera
- Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake
- Creamy Meyer Lemon Pasta
- Four Cheese Ravioli
- Meat and Cheese Ravioli
- Homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce
- Stuffed Shells
- Easy Bolognese Sauce
- Manicotti
- Granny's Classic Homemade Lasagna
- Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
- Baked Italian Meatballs
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Loaded Grilled Italian Sandwich
Full Recipe Instructions
Fried Calamari
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Ingredients
- Vegetable oil (for deep-frying)
- 1 pound clean squid with tentacles (bodies cut into ¼ inch-thick rings)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- 2 lemons (cut into wedges)
- 1 cup tomato sauce (use your favorite jarred marinara sauce)
Instructions
- Pour enough oil into a heavy large saucepan to reach the depth of 1-2 inches. Heat over medium heat to 350 degrees F.
- Mix the flour, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Working in small batches, toss the squid into the flour mixture to coat. Shake off as much excess flour as you can and set breaded calamari pieces on a plate.
- Carefully add the squid to the oil and fry until crisp and very pale golden, about 3 minutes per batch. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the fried calamari to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. You may have to do this in several batches and add oil in between batches, as necessary. Do your best to maintain an oil temp around 350 degrees F.
- Place the fried calamari and lemon wedges on a clean plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve with the marinara sauce.
John L Green
I love calamari that has not been overcooked. I prefer the calamari steaks so cutting my own will be necessary. Not a big fan of the whole babies because they always come overcooked and have a mouth feel like a wad of rubber bands.
I am working away from home for a few days and have only what appears to be a $30.00 microwave to work with but look forward to giving this a try.
Aimee Shugarman
I have never made my own calamari, and now I can. LOVE IT.
Billy
This calamari recipe is so good, and the directions are really easy to follow Thank you!
Macy Brown
This is an amazing Krissy..! it looks soo yummy & sound so delicious. i will trying to make it tonight for my husband..because he love sea food...Thanks for incredible recipe....!
wilhelmina
I love how you take something intimidating and make it so approachable! Great post!
Jen
We always order this when we go out. I can't wait to make it at home for a more budget friendly date night in. Looks fantastic!
Valentina
This fried calamari is the perfect appetizer recipe!