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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
Trout with Garlic Lemon Butter Herb Sauce
Ingredients
- 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)
- ¼ 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
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add fish to the pan, spoon sauce over the fish, top the fish and sauce with the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley, and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
This is the third or fourth time for this recipe. Just had to tell you. We eat the skin too.
Joan, I am so glad you took the time to write this comment! 🙂 So glad you've enjoyed this recipe so many times! 🙂
So yummy! We didn’t have parsley but it was great even without it. My kids even ate it without a fight!
Rachel, so good to know this worked even without parsley! Glad the kids enjoyed it, too!
Cooked this trout recipe tonight and my adult picky eaters absolutely loved it!!! Simple and easy recipe. Thank you
Katrina, so glad the recipe was enjoyed! 🙂 Thank you for this positive feedback!
This is an absolute banger. Really, I never leave reviews on recipes but THIS one is so freakin' delicious my husband and I felt compelled to. We both give it a 10/10, vehemently recommend! Thank you for this simple yet amazing recipe!
Myriam, your glowing review really made my Sunday! 🙂 So glad you took the time to write this super positive and encouraging comment! 🙂
Excellent
Thank you! 🙂
People that don't eat the skin freak me out. Skin tastes delicious and has a ton of the fish's nutrients and flavor! So weird that this recipe specifically suggests wasting it like it's normal. All the people I know that don't eat the skin ar
e squeamish about it because it reminds them that they are eating a thing that used to be alive. Unless you only eat nuts and berries at some point you should grow up and accept that something died so you can eat it.
Ummm no reddraGOON!! people don't want to eat the skin because they don't want to. Plain and simple. Also I shouldn't have to say this but the skin can taste a bit fishy. Enjoy yours with skin--I'll enjoy mine without!!
My husband did not even need his hot sauce--great taste. Perfect recipe for anyone who has a hair trigger smoke alarm. Yes, it works to take it off the heat, cover pan, and let it continue cooking. Great on a cooktop as well though there is some spatter.
Prudy, I love your comment and your humor! 🙂 So glad you tried this recipe and enjoyed it.
This recipe was fabulous. We had been given a brown trout and I wasn't sure how to cook it. This was delicious.
Sandy, thank you for trying this recipe, and glad it was a success! I appreciate your comment and the 5 stars! 🙂
Thank you for sharing ! We loved it !
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This was scrumptious. I have cooked salmon many times but never trout until today. So I looked up a recipe and this was the first one that came up. So i tried it. This method cooked the trout to perfection and the sauce was super easy and tasty. This may have been my first time but it won't be my last. Thanks for such a great recipe!!
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Liliana, I love your comment! 🙂 So glad you found this recipe and enjoyed it! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to write such a positive comment - I really appreciate it.
This is the second time I have made this recipe and it is a winner! My husband and I both loved it! The simplicity of the recipe make it easy to follow and the flavor achieved is gourmet! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Judith, your comment made my day! 🙂 Glad the recipe was a success and that you've enjoyed it twice!
What kind of white wine do you recommend for somebody on a budget?
Tracie, this recipe would work with ANY dry white wine (not sweet, not marsala type of wine). I've used the cheapest dry wine that I had sitting on my counter - and I just made sure it wasn't sweet and that it did not turn into vinegar.
Cant wait to try this! If I bake it instead, what temperature and for how long? Thank you!
Mel, I would bake this in a preheated oven at 350 F for about 10 or 20 minutes. Trout fillets tend to be thin, so watch them carefully. You can also use the same technique as in this recipe - bake it for 10 or 15 minutes, remove the fish from the oven, cover it with tin foil, and let the trout continue cooking in its own residual heat.
Excellent recipe. Quick. I use ruby red trout fillet.
Joe, glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
I have not tried this but wondered what could be substituted for the butter?
Alisa, use a really high-quality extra virgin olive oil. You can even add a dash of balsamic vinegar for more flavor.
I’ve made this several times and it is always excellent. This recipe is the best, it is now our favorite fish and I don’t change a single thing to the ingredients or cooking instructions. So simple, never disappoints, it is perfection!
Francine, you are so kind! I am glad you stopped by my website (after making this recipe) and left this wonderful and uplifting comment! 🙂
First time cooking trout, and this nailed it. 6 stars.
Brian, I am so flattered by your comment! Thank you for being so kind in such a brief manner! 🙂
I followed pretty close. I added the capers. It came out great. We had with rice, asparagus and a simple butter lettuce salad.
Donna, I am so glad the recipe was enjoyed! 🙂 Love your side dishes!