Steelhead Trout with Garlic Butter Lemon Caper Sauce – healthy, low-carb, KETO friendly dinner rich in lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids. And did I say it was gluten free?!
In this easy recipe, the steelhead trout is cooked on stove top in a large skillet, and the lemon caper sauce is then made in the same skillet. The whole recipe takes 30 minutes from start to finish. Easy to make and the cleanup is minimal (only one skillet to clean).
What is steelhead trout?
Steelhead trout is a type of coastal rainbow trout. Steelhead trout is a sea-run fish that returns to fresh water to spawn (deposit eggs into water) after living in the ocean for about 2 years. It’s a species of salmonid, which means steelhead trout is related to salmon, char, and freshwater whitefish.
As I was cooking this beautiful steehead trout, I couldn’t help thinking that this recipe would work great with salmon as well! Steelhead trout is an incredibly easy fish to cook. And it’s very closely related to salmon. It’s a pretty fatty fish, it doesn’t stick to the pan and cooks fast and easy thanks to its rich fat content! I highly recommend that you try steelhead trout – it’s tasty, easy to handle, and very healthy (at least, according to this website).
What makes trout KETO friendly
- Steelhead trout is a fatty fish with a high fat content which makes it a perfect fish for KETO friendly diet. Steelhead trout is rich in lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
- Caper-Garlic Lemon Butter Sauce is a great choice for KETO recipe. Butter is low-carb, high fat. Garlic, capers, and lemon have low-carb content.
- This recipe is completely gluten free. It has no gluten, no grains.
How to cook steelhead trout
- First, season the fish. Season the tops of trout fillets with Italian herb seasoning and salt (generously). Fish fillets will have skins on the bottom.
- Next, cook the trout on stove-top. In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil is enough as fish will release lots of its own oil (steelhead trout is a fatty kind of fish).
- Add trout fillets, skin side up, non-skin side down. Cook for about 1.5 minutes on medium heat, making sure the oil does not smoke.
- Turn the fillets over, skin side down. Cook for another 1.5 minutes on medium-low heat.
- Then, allow the trout to sit in the skillet. Remove the skillet from heat, close the pan with the lid, and let the steelhead trout sit for 5-10 minutes until flaky and cooked through completely.
- Finally, separate trout flesh from the skin. After the fish is cooked through, using spatula, carefully remove trout fillets to the plate, separating the fillet from the skin (skin will remain on the bottom of the pan).
- Carefully scrape the fish skin off the bottom of the pan, making sure to leave the fish oil in the pan. You will make garlic butter lemon caper sauce in the same pan as described in the next section.
How to make Lemon Caper Sauce
Lemon caper sauce with garlic and butter is what makes this steelhead trout so tasty! Add capers, diced garlic, and lemon juice to the skillet. Cook on medium-low heat for about 1 minute, until garlic softens a bit. Remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, off heat, to the caper sauce, stirring, until butter melts and forms a creamy mixture.
If you enjoyed this steelhead trout recipe, you will surely like this easy trout recipe with garlic lemon butter herb sauce. Or, if you want an oven-baked trout, you can try this garlic parmesan crusted salmon and asparagus and use steelhead trout instead of salmon, since both fish are so similar.
Steelhead Trout (or Salmon) with Garlic Butter Lemon Caper Sauce - cooked on stove-top in a large skillet. Healthy, low-carb, KETO friendly dinner rich in lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids. And did I say it was gluten free?! Steelhead trout is a fatty fish with a high fat content.
- 1.5 lb steelhead trout (3 fish fillets) or use salmon
- 1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning (dried thyme, oregano, parsley, combined)
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons capers , drained
- 4 garlic cloves , diced
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice , freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons butter , softened
- Season the tops of fish fillets with Italian herb seasoning and salt (generously). Fish fillets will have skins on the bottom.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat until heated but not smoking. 1 tablespoon of olive oil is enough as fish will release lots of its own oil (steelhead trout is a fatty kind of fish). Add steelhead trout fillets, skin side up, non-skin side down. Cook for about 1.5 minutes on medium heat, making sure the oil does not smoke.
Turn the fillets over, skin side down. Cook for another 1.5 minutes on medium-low heat (keeping oil from burning).
Remove from heat, close the pan with the lid, and let the trout sit for 5-10 minutes until flaky and cooked through completely.
After the fish is cooked through, using spatula, carefully remove trout fillets to the plate, separating the fillet from the skin (skin will remain on the bottom of the pan). Carefully scrape the fish skin off the bottom of the pan, making sure to leave the fish oil in the pan.
- Add capers, diced garlic, and lemon juice to the same pan with oil. Cook on medium-low heat for about 1 minute, until garlic softens a bit. Remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, off heat, to the caper sauce, stirring, until butter melts and forms a creamy mixture.
- Add fish back to the pan, spoon sauce over the fish and serve.
Love this recipe! I have now made it twice and it came out great both times. I reduced the amount of fish to two since it is just the two of us eating and cut back on the other ingredients to match just using two pieces of fish. A real winner with a side of veggies of your choice or a salad.
Thank you, Kathy! So glad you made this recipe and enjoyed it!
After scraping skin of fish from pan, do you put the skin on top & eat?
Am going to try this recipe.
Just discard the fish skin. Enjoy the recipe!
I am OBSESSED with this fish! I found a beautiful piece, at Walmart of all places, and googled recipes until I found a pan frying one. This was incredible! I didn’t have capers, so I used olive juice. It was outstanding. I felt like I was eating high end restaurant food at home! Thank you for these clear directions!
As for the skin, my daughter and I found that it added a lot of flavor, so we kept ours.
I am so excited to try out more of your recipes!
Your comment made my day! I am so glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it! Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a sweet and thoughtful comment. I really appreciate it!
I agree…this recipe is amazing. Comes together beautifully. Thx so much.
You’re very welcome! Thank you for your kind comment!
This is a fabulous recipe because the sauce has the feel of a creamy sauce without any creamy ingredients. It says I am omega rich and healthy while plying this delicious creamy buttery texture in your mouth. You don’t think it’s so much butter as perhaps an olive oil and butter and caper mixture. With penne pasta and Salmon this recipe delivered the best salmon I’ve had in the lower 48. (As a rule I won’t eat salmon anywhere but Alaska.) The fish comes out incredibly good. Add some broccoli and large pieces of carrots… Out of this world! Even the reheated leftovers are out of this world!
So glad you liked this recipe! :). Penne pasta and broccoli served along with the fish sound so good!
Whole family loves this recipe. So simple and so delicious…will be the only way to cook from now on!
Thank you, Barb! So happy to hear you loved this recipe! 🙂