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    Crispy Fried Octopus Recipe

    Published: Oct 17, 2023 · Modified: Jan 7, 2025 · By: Joseph Duff

    Jump to Recipe

    This fried octopus recipe is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and packed with flavor. Plus, it's surprisingly easy to make! In fact, just 3 simple steps are all you have to follow to make it.

    Wooden board with a piece of parchment paper on it and fried octopus tentacles on top. Behind the octopus tentacles does a bowl dipping sauce.

    Table of Contents

    • My Take On Fried Octopus
      • INGREDIENTS
      • HOW TO COOK OCTOPUS
        • STEP 1: PREPARE THE OCTOPUS
        • STEP 2: FRY THE OCTOPUS
        • STEP 3: PREPARE THE SAUCE
      • HOW I RECOMMEND STORING AND REHEATING THIS RECIPE
      • More Seafood Recipes To Try Next
    • Crispy Fried Octopus Recipe
      • Ingredients
      • Instructions
      • Nutrition
      • Did you make this recipe?

    My Take On Fried Octopus

    If you've been wondering how to cook octopus, this fried octopus recipe is the best way.

    The octopus always comes out incredibly tender with a little bit of springiness and the perfect amount of crunch from the golden brown coating.

    It's truly a stunning appetizer - or main dish - that will always leave a long-lasting impression on your dinner guests.

    In addition to all that, fried octopus is pretty healthy. It provides you with just 139 calories in total, and alongside that, it has a ton of nutritional benefits - such as being rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids.

    So, it's tasty and good for you. I mean, who would say no to that?

    Now, octopus usually gets a bad rap because it can end up too chewy if it's overcooked. But this recipe will have you making tender and tasty octopus like a pro! Oh, and it goes great with a side of this tartar sauce, seafood boil sauce, or bloves sauce for dipping.

    Fried octopus on sheets of parchment paper on a plate that has a bowl of male dipping sauce on it.

    INGREDIENTS

    One of the best things about this fried octopus recipe is that you don't need a lot of ingredients to make it.

    As you'll see below, this recipe is mostly pantry staples with a couple of special spices thrown in to give it that one-of-a-kind flavor.

    Anyway, here's everything you need to make the octopus:

    • Precooked and cleaned octopus
    • Vinegar
    • Oil
    • Bay leaves
    • Parsley
    • Garlic clove
    • Black garlic paste 
    • Salt and Pepper
    • Allspice berries
    • Water
    • All-purpose flour
    • Corn starch

    Here are the ingredients for the sauce:

    • Mayonnaise
    • Curry
    • Lemon zest 
    • Lemon juice 

    So, the most important ingredients you'll need for this fried octopus recipe are vinegar and black garlic paste. The vinegar tenderizes the octopus, while the black garlic brings a sweet and savory umami flavor that's unlike anything you've had before.

    You can easily find black garlic paste online or at a seafood market, but you can also use regular garlic paste in a pinch. The flavor won't be exactly the same, but it'll be just as addictively delicious.

    Oh, and before getting started on how to cook fried octopus, just keep in mind that the octopus will usually shrink to half its size after being cooked. So you'll want to buy one that's larger than what you think you'll need.

    Octopus tentacles on a wooden cutting board. Behind as a glass bowl with more octopus tentacles in a bowl of melted butter next to it

    HOW TO COOK OCTOPUS

    Ok, so the secret behind making this octopus super flavorful and tender is boiling it with vinegar and spices. This step will take less than an hour on the stovetop or about 15 minutes in an Instant Pot.

    Then, all you have to do is coat and fry the octopus. And if you precook the octopus in the water ahead of time, you can have some tender and crunchy fried octopus on the table in under 30 minutes!

    With all that said, let's dive into this fried octopus recipe.

    Octopus tentacles cooking in a pot of oil on top of burner.

    STEP 1: PREPARE THE OCTOPUS

    If you haven't precooked your octopus yet, this is what you should do.

    First, add the water, vinegar, allspice berries, bay leaves, garlic, and parsley to a deep pot.

    Then, cut off the tentacles and separate them.

    By the way, make sure that the octopus has been thoroughly cleaned before separating the tentacles. Tentacles usually have a little sand stuck between the suctions, even when it was cleaned at the store.

    Anyway, now put the octopus into the pot and over the stove on medium heat. Cover it and stew for around 40-50 minutes. Alternatively, you can also cook it in the Instant Pot for 15 minutes on high pressure.

    Anyway, after cooking the octopus, you'll want to take it off the heat and let it cool. Then, chop it into 1-inch pieces and pat with kitchen paper until completely dry.

    Part of a pot filled with oil and fried octopus.

    STEP 2: FRY THE OCTOPUS

    Next, take a medium-sized bowl and add the flour, salt, cornstarch, and pepper. Blend well.

    Now, take out a large pot and heat the oil to 350°F (180ºC).

    Then, transfer the dried octopus pieces to the bowl with the flour mixture and coat. Also, for best results, you'll want to make sure all surfaces of the octopus are covered in the mixture.

    So, once all octopus pieces are evenly coated, you can add them to the hot oil in batches and fry for 3-4 minutes. They'll turn nicely golden brown when they're done.

    Then, when you've got the pieces looking good you can transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels. Doing this will help soak up any excess oil and keep the octopus crispy as well.

    A bowl of mayo dipping sauce and a spoon in it on a white counter.

    STEP 3: PREPARE THE SAUCE

    For the B'love sauce, take a medium bowl and combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, curry, and mayonnaise.

    Then, transfer it to a dipping bowl and garnish it with parsley. 

    Serve your fried octopus with this creamy mayo dip and enjoy!

    Hand holding a fried octopus tentacle that has mayo on it. Below that are more fried octopus.

    HOW I RECOMMEND STORING AND REHEATING THIS RECIPE

    You can store any leftover fried octopus in the fridge for up to 3 days. To keep it for longer, you can freeze it in a freezer-safe bag for up to 9 months.

    My favorite way to reheat it is in the air fryer at 350°F for about 5 minutes until it's crispy. You can also reheat it in the oven at 375°F for about 10 minutes.

    Fried octopus on sheets of parchment paper on a wooden board with white bowl filled with mayo dipping sauce behind it.

    More Seafood Recipes To Try Next

    If you like seafood recipes and want to give some more a try next, we have a ton on the blog that I think you'll really like.

    Here are some easy recipes to try next:

    • Seafood boil
    • Air Fryer Catfish
    • Air Fryer Mahi Mahi 
    • Fried Mahi Mahi 
    • Instant Pot Paella
    • General Tso Shrimp
    • Lobster pasta
    • Cold shrimp salad
    • Pan seared mahi mahi
    Print

    Crispy Fried Octopus Recipe

    Fried octopus tentacles on top of parchment paper on a wooden board.
    Print Recipe

    ★★★★★

    5 from 7 reviews

    This fried octopus recipe is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and packed with flavor. Plus, it's surprisingly easy to make!

    • Author: Joe Duff
    • Category: Appetizer
    • Method: Frying
    • Cuisine: Seafood

    Ingredients

    Scale

    1 precooked and cleaned octopus

    1 tablespoon(s) vinegar

    1 ½ cup of oil

    2 bay leaves

    ½ bunch parsley

    1 clove(s) of garlic

    1 tablespoon of black garlic paste (or regular)

    Salt and Pepper

    2 allspice berries

    100g water

    200g all-purpose flour

    1 tablespoon(s) corn starch

    Sauce:

    ½ cup Mayonnaise

    1 teaspoon(s) curry

    Lemon zest (1 lemon)

    Lemon juice (1 lemon)

    Instructions

    1. Add the vinegar, the allspice berries, the water, the bay leaves, the garlic, and the bunch of parsley in a deep pot.
    2. Cut off the tentacles and separate them. Also make sure that the octopus is cleaned before separating the tentacles. You can also choose to add tentacles and for that, you may need to cut them into small or medium sized pieces.
    3. Put a deep pot over the stove on medium heat and add the octopus to it. Cover with the top, and stew for around 40-50 minutes. You can also choose to cook in the Instant Pot on high pressure for 15 minutes.
    4. After cooking, turn off the flame and leave it to cool down. Most of the recipes skip this step but it is the actual secret step to get a softer texture.
    5. Take a medium bowl and add the flour, salt, cornstarch, and pepper into it. Blend them well.
    6. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. You can use olive oil for the best experience but if you don’t have it, vegetable oil is a good option too.
    7. Then, take the octopus pieces from the pot and transfer them to the bowl containing flour. Make sure all surfaces are covered.
    8. Once all octopus pieces are coated, add them to the hot oil and fry them for 3-4 minutes. 
    9. Put the octopus on paper towels to dry. They’ll get crispy once they’ve dried well.
    10. For the sauce, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, curry, and mayo to a medium bowl. Mix well.
    11. Serve the octopus with parsley on top and the sauce for dipping.

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 serving
    • Calories: 70
    • Fat: 2
    • Carbohydrates: 2
    • Protein: 12

    Keywords: fried octopus, fried octopus recipe, how to cook octopus, how do you cook octopus, octopus recipe, fried octopus tentacles, fried octopus recipe, pan fried octopus recipe, deep fried octopus recipe, fried octopus tentacles recipe, how to cook baby octopus,

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag us @ImHungryForThat — we can't wait to see what you've made!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rob

      April 27, 2022 at 12:31 pm

      Well done recipe.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. AJ

      April 28, 2022 at 5:19 pm

      Very good.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Travis

      May 07, 2022 at 3:53 pm

      These were great. They made an awesome side dish.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    4. Aaron

      May 08, 2022 at 1:45 pm

      Paired perfect with some clams.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    5. Frank

      May 12, 2022 at 6:26 pm

      Absolutely divine.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    6. Beth P.

      January 06, 2024 at 7:13 pm

      Super simple and really tasty. I definitely will be making this fried octopus recipe again.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    7. Trish

      December 26, 2024 at 4:21 pm

      The best fried octopus we've ever had.

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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