Pan-Seared Fish with Lime Butter Sauce

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This recipe for pan-seared Fish with Lime Butter Sauce is an easy and delicious dish that can be served with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. It is great for mid-week family meals as it’s quick to prepare, and would also be perfect for a casual dinner party with friends. It can be made with a variety of different fish such as cod, grouper, snapper, mahi-mahi, haddock, or sea bass – use the most sustainable in your area.

A white plate with a portion of seared white fish on top of mashed potatoes and asparagus. Text overlay says"Pan-Seared Fish with Lime Butter Sauce". Similar photos of the recipe/dish from various angles are used throughout and with different text overlay unless otherwise described.

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Pan-Seared Fish with Lime Butter Sauce

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 and to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required as well as understand the steps and timings involved.

For a delicious fish dish for family meals or a dinner party, you can’t go wrong with this pan-seared fish that is drizzled with a lime butter sauce.

I’ve purposely left the choice of white fish up to you as it will depend on your location as to what type of fish you can buy.

The recipe will work well with a variety of white fish including cod, grouper, haddock, pollack, hake, sea bass, mahi mahi, tilapia, or snapper.

Searing the fish seals in the juices and the flavor, and creates a lovely color on the meat. When served up with creamy mashed potatoes and asparagus (or any choice of sides really) it makes a truly terrific meal!

Pan-Seared White Fish with Lime Butter Sauce Recipe

Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe

You may have some of the ingredients for this recipe in your kitchen already – the full list with measurements is found in the recipe card.

For your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon, Amazon Fresh, or other online stores.

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • White Fish Fillets – use a sustainable white fish available in your part of the world
  • Unsalted Butter
  • Fresh Limes
  • Fresh Parsley
Ingredients for the pan-seared fish recipe - raw pieces of white fish, with fresh parsley, and two small bowls - one with olive oil, and the other with seasonings.

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One of the hero ingredients in this recipe is of course, the fish. Here are some more fish recipes to try:

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Pan-Seared White Fish with Lime Butter Sauce

Health Benefits of White Fish

White fish is a good source of lean protein, and is packed with nutrients too.

It can help keep bones strong thanks to its high phosphorus content, and a host of B vitamins help with blood production (B12), fights inflammation (B6), and boosts the immune system (B3).

And if any of these are a concern for you: keeping a healthy pregnancy, weight-loss, cholesterol, white fish is something you should include in your diet.

Read for more in depth white fish benefits here.

How Do I Make Fish with Lime Butter Sauce?

Just check out the recipe card below with full ingredients, instructions, and demonstration photos. You can print the card out too (don’t worry, the pics don’t print to save your ink!).

Pan-Seared Fish with Lime Butter Sauce

Pan-Seared Fish with Lime Butter Sauce

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 22 minutes

This recipe for pan-seared Fish with Lime Butter Sauce is an easy and delicious dish that can be served with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 (6 oz / 170g) white fish fillets
  • Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into chunks
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 2 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Generously sprinkle the fish fillets with salt and black pepper on both sides and cook until opaque and flakey, approximately 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

    Pan Seared Fish

    Pan Seared Fish
  2. Add the butter to a small saucepan set over medium heat, whisking continually until the butter melts and darkens in color, approximately 3 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and whisk in the fresh lime juice. Stir in the fresh parsley leaves and season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
  4. Serve the fish fillets immediately with a drizzle of the lime butter sauce on top. Pair with our Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Oven-Roasted Asparagus, as pictured, or your choice of sides. Enjoy!

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 258Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 83mgSodium: 122mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 10g

This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated 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.

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