Trout Recipe with Garlic Lemon Butter Herb Sauce – simple and delicious way to cook fish, especially if you’re in a hurry! The whole recipe takes only 30 minutes. Italian herb seasoning, chopped fresh parsley and garlic give great flavor to the fish! Healthy, low-carb dinner rich in lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
Trout fillets are usually pretty thin which makes them perfect for cooking on stove top in a skillet. One of the best trout recipes I’ve tried is simply cooking the trout in the skillet in olive oil, and then adding garlic, lemon juice, white wine, fresh parsley and butter. That’s it! Simple and delicious.
What makes this trout recipe work:
- The ingredient list for this trout recipe is short and simple.
- The trout itself is such a delicate fish with a great flavor, it doesn’t need too many ingredients or special technique to enhance it. So, just cook it in a large skillet on stove top with olive oil and butter, garlic, butter, lemon juice, white wine, fresh parsley.
- The cooking times are short since trout fillets are usually pretty thin. This trout recipe takes only 30 minutes from start to finish.
I have also made this recipe using the type of fish I’ve never cooked with before – Arctic Char. Arctic Char looks very similar to trout, and it’s closely related to both salmon and trout. Therefore, this recipe will also work with salmon and arctic char. Very easy and versatile!
Other trout recipes
- Another simple way to cook trout is simply to enhance it with capers, garlic, lemon and butter. I combined just those ingredients to make this easy and delicious Trout with Caper-Garlic Lemon Butter Sauce. And yes, I used steelhead trout for this recipe but you can use a regular trout.
- I made this recipe with salmon – but it is easily adaptable for trout: Garlic Parmesan Crusted Salmon and Asparagus

One of the best trout recipes I've tried is simply cooking the trout in the skillet in olive oil, and then adding garlic, lemon juice, white wine, fresh parsley and butter. Gluten free, healthy, easy-to-make and delicious! Low-carb dinner rich in lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids. A family favorite! Perfect way to cook an amazing fish: trout.
- 1.5 pounds trout or salmon, or arctic char - 2 large fish fillets with skin on the bottom
- 2 tablespoons olive oil more, if needed
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (dried thyme, oregano, parsley, combined together)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt to taste
- 4 garlic cloves diced
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
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Season the top of fish fillets with Italian herb seasoning and salt (generously). Fish fillets will have skins on the bottom - no need to season the skins.
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In a large skillet (large enough to fit 2 fish fillets), heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat until heated but not smoking. To the hot skillet with olive oil, add fish fillets skin side up - flesh side down. Cook the flesh side of the fish for about 3-5 minutes on medium heat, making sure the oil does not smoke, until lightly browned.
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Flip the fillets over to the other side, skin side down (add more oil, if needed). Cook for another 2-4 minutes on medium heat (to prevent oil from burning).
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Remove the skillet from heat, close with the lid, and let the fish sit for 5-10 minutes, covered, in the skillet, until flaky and cooked through completely.
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After the fish is cooked through, off heat, using spatula, carefully remove fillets to the plate, separating the fish from the skin. Carefully remove or scrape the fish skin off the bottom of the pan, making sure to leave all the cooking oils in the pan.
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Add diced garlic, lemon juice, and white wine to the same pan with oil. Cook on medium-low heat for about 1 minute, until garlic softens a bit. Remove from heat. Add 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley, and 2 tablespoons of butter, off heat, to the sauce, stirring, until the butter melts and forms a creamy mixture.
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Add fish to the pan, spoon sauce over the fish, top the fish and sauce with the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley, and serve.
What have I been cooking in my kitchen?
1 Year Ago: Seared Scallops with Creamy Lemon-Caper Sauce
2 Years Ago: Cilantro Lime Potato Salad
I made it last night, it was a showstopper! I did season very well and learned that if I use lemon pepper maybe cut down on the fresh lemon a bit. Got rave reviews! I can’t wait to cook this for my parents so I can knock their socks off too!
Wayyyy too much lemon
This recipe was delish added a little pepper turned out Great
Absolutely delicious. Thank you!
It was so easy to make, my husband was upset when I said I bought trout however after I served it, it has been asking when we are having it again! Thank you Julia
Tracie
First time trying and cooking trout, I had these flavours in mind so it seemed like the recipe to go with. Very simple and flavourful, we really enjoyed it
and will be making again!
One modification regarding cooking time that worked better in our case was to sear the fish for 4ish minutes on each side in a cast iron skillet and then rest covered on a plate while the sauce was cooking. Had I left on the pan to cook for 5-10 minutes would of likely resulted in overcooked fish, however this step likely depends on the pan your using.
U make me feel like a chef in an expensive restaurant
Made string beans with sautéed mushrooms as a side
Delicate & fabulous!
Hi Julia,
just wanted to say thank you for this recipe. I used it in one of my catch and cook videos. I am a freedive spearfisher and happened to catch what I thought was a Sand Sea Trout, but turned out to be a Bluefish. The fish still turned out great and and I give you a couple shout outs in the video. I haven’t uploaded it to YouTube since I need to make some more edits correctly identifying the fish, however I did post it on my FB page if you are interested in seeing it.
https://www.facebook.com/r3v3rend/videos/10102484256357571/
Thanks again, and I will check back for more recipes!