Mediterranean Grouper with Tomato-Cucumber Salad
Home » COOK » Recipes » Meat & Fish Recipes » Fish & Seafood Recipes »If you are looking for lighter, fresher meals to serve your family now that summer is approaching, you simply must try this Mediterranean Grouper recipe! The white fish is pan-seared with garlic, lemon, and capers and served with a warm salad of tomato, cucumber, Kalamata olives, and Feta. This blend of flavors is out of this world!

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Mediterranean Grouper
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions; to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required, and to understand the steps and timings involved.
This delicious pan-fried fish recipe is full of the flavors of the Med and a perfect dish for the warm summer months.
With ingredients like lemon, capers, Kalamata olives, garlic, and Feta cheese, you can’t help but feel like you’re sat at a table on a Mediterranean island!
As well as tasting amazing, it is a quick dish to make – ready in just over 20 minutes. You could even prep the salad in advance, leaving just 12 minutes to cook the fish.
This speedy grouper recipe would be perfect to serve at a casual dinner party with friends, or as a light mid-week meal for the family.

What is Grouper?
Grouper fish are members of the sea bass family and are found in tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide. Australians call them Coral Trout and Rock Cod.
There are 159 species of grouper, and the black or red grouper is the most common for eating. Grouper is one of Florida’s most valuable commercial fisheries and as such it is very popular in that part of the world.
Grouper has no intramuscular bones, so if one of the reasons for not eating fish is because of the small bones, this isn’t something to worry about in this recipe! The fish has large, chunky flakes, almost like lobster or crab, and is lean and firm and has a sweet mild flavor. Make sure to remove the skin before cooking as it is strongly flavored and tough.
You can buy grouper in the UK, but you may have to buy it online or from a fishmonger. The Marine Conservation Society in the UK has it listed as a fish to avoid due to overfishing. However, the NOAA (USA) says their stock of red grouper in waters along their coasts is not overfished.
If you don’t want to use grouper, you can substitute for any other firm, white fish such as snapper, mahi-mahi, amberjack, cod, black sea bass, shark or haddock.
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
While most ingredients can be bought in grocery stores, for your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients (and equipment) needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon or other stores if available online.
It doesn’t include staple ingredients such as oil, salt, and pepper, as you’re likely to have those in your kitchen already. The complete list of ingredients with measurements is found in the recipe card.
- Protein – Grouper – or other mild wild fish fillets
- Fresh Produce – Cherry Tomatoes, Red Onion, Cucumber, Limes, Garlic, Lemons, Thyme
- Dairy – Feta Cheese.
- Kalamata Olives – or any other black olives.
- Capers
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog. I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. You can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never mix imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).

More Recipes Using Fish
One of the hero ingredients in this dish is fish, so here are some more recipes using the same:
- Blackened Fish Tacos (Mahi-Mahi) with Coleslaw & Avocado Dressing
- Super Easy Atlantic Cod with Garlic-Herb Butter
- Grilled Tuna Steaks with Preserved Lemon Gremolata
More Mediterranean Recipes
Looking for more Med-inspired dishes to make? Check these recipes out next:
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Feta & Olives
- Mediterranean Layer Dip with Hummus, Feta, and Fresh Vegetables
- Mediterranean Orzo Salad

How Do I Make Mediterranean Grouper?
Check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. Any demonstration photos do not print out to save your ink.

Mediterranean Grouper with Tomato-Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
For the Tomato-Cucumber Salad
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes quartered
- ½ medium red onion finely diced
- 1 large cucumber chopped
- ⅓ cup Kalamata olives drained and chopped
- 4 oz 100g Feta cheese, crumbled
- 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Remaining Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 large organic lemon sliced thin
- 4 6-oz/170g grouper or other mild white fish fillets
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp capers drained
To Serve
- 1 large lemon cut into 8 wedges
- Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the tomato-cucumber salad by combining the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, olives, Feta cheese, and lime juice in a large bowl. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil and garlic in a large cast-iron skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Add the lemon and capers and sauté for 2 minutes until the lemon softens and develops a bit of color.
- Add the grouper to the pan and generously season with salt and black pepper. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until the fillets are cooked through. (Cook time will vary depending on how thick the fillets are. The fillets are done when they flake easily with a fork).
- Remove from heat and add the tomato-cucumber skillet to the pan. Cover for 1-2 minutes, or just until the cheese is softened and the other ingredients are warmed through.
- To serve, top with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired, and offer the lemon wedges on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Full Meal!
You’ve made the main dish, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal for a dinner party or special occasion:
- Appetizer: Whipped Feta & Watermelon Bites
- Side Dish: Butter Parsley Baby Potatoes in the Instant Pot
- Beverage: Refreshing Watermelon Vodka Slush Cocktail with Lime
- Dessert: Delicious & Easy Lemon Hand Pies
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too!
Carla
June 9, 2022 @ 12:12 am
This sounds fantastic and am making for dinner tonight. Will let you know the result. It would be of a great help if you could suggest a volume for the “large cucumber”. 4 cups? 6 cups? How large is large? Thanks for posting!
Michelle
June 9, 2022 @ 11:39 am
I just used a large cucumber *shrug* sorry! I mean, it’s for a salad, so ultimately it’s up to you how much you would like to use. To me, a large cucumber is 12″!