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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.
Definitely trying this recipe this week! Any advice on what to serve with it? Rice pilaf and steamed veggies is good but we are pretty bored with it.
Serve this with roasted asparagus, or roasted Brussels sprouts. You can also serve this over cooked spaghetti squash or cauliflower rice. Mashed potatoes and roasted potatoes will work well, too.
I made this and my family loved it. I had a question , I wanted to try making it for a potluck I am going to. Is this something I can make earlier in the day and serve room temperature or warmed up a few hours later?
You can warm it up a few hours later. However, when cooking fish, my personal preference is to serve it right after cooking to avoid overcooking the fish when you reheat it.
This was so delicious. Fish is easy to dry out and this method of keeping it in the hot pan after cooking really helped avoid that. Thanks!
You are very welcome! I am glad you liked this recipe!
This looks good and healthy, but the cholesterol level worries me.
I don't really care for fish and will only cook it occasionally because I know it is good for me. I tried this recipe with trout and thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the tang of the lemon sauce. I will definitely try this again, maybe with salmon next time. Very nice recipe. Thank you!
I am so happy you tried this recipe and enjoyed the flavor of fish! Love to read comments like yours. Thank you for such a kind comment!
We make it regularly it is so delicious I serve this with roast peppers and tomatoes and steamed kale , I will cooking this at my next dinner party Thanks so much .Diane
You are very welcome! So glad you've been enjoying this recipe! What a great idea to serve this with steamed kale!
This recipe is SO good and easy. I never cooked trout before but now it will be in our regular rotation with this winner preparation! Thanks for sharing
So glad you like this recipe! Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a kind comment!
Hey ! Recipe sounds good and I do want to give it a try this weekend .but I have a question can I use something other than wine for sauce which is like halal I hope you get my point ?
I used rice vinegar instead of wine and it worked really well. I've also heard vegetable broth is a good substitute for wine in cooking.
Yes, chicken broth or vegetable broth are both great substitutes for wine in cooking.
Great recipe, fast,tasty and it requires ingredients most of us have in the kitchen.
Thank you, Sandy! You are so correct about the ingredients!
Hi Julia - you mentioned you can cook this in the oven - I cook salmon in the oven wrapped in foil - can I do this with the trout? If so, at what temperature and how long?
Thank you.
Yes, you can make this in the oven. You can use a casserole dish or an oven-proof glass baking dish and just add all the ingredients. Bake for about 15 minutes at 400 F in the preheated oven until the trout is cooked through. Trout is usually a thin fillet fish just like on the photos so it should take only about 15 minutes in a pre-heated oven.
Love this recipe, so easy and delicious, I had make it many times and share the recipe with my relatives. Thank You.
Hi. This recipe sounds delicious and I’d love to make it for Christmas dinner. Can I cook this in the oven just to make it less time consuming?
Yes, you can cook this in the oven. Just add butter first to grease the oven-proof pan, then add trout. Then sprinkle all the other ingredients on top of the trout.
A friend gave us trout he recently caught. Having never cooked trout before I searched for a recipe and came across this one. It was easy and delicious!
Love this dish . We make it regularly it is so delicious I serve this with roast peppers and tomatoes and steamed kale , I will cooking this at my next dinner party Thanks so much .Diane
You are very welcome! So happy to hear you make this dish regularly - that's the biggest compliment to me. The sides that you serve this with sound so good!
Julia: This was great! Fish grower at farmers market in MN gave me your recipe printed out - had to find you online to comment how EASY and QUICK this was. Only regret: I need to buy more - or larger! - trout next time. I could have eaten about 3 of these! Paired with rice made with white wine and Italian seasonings, this was a great easy weeknight recipe! Will have to try with salmon filets too - sounds good. Thanks!
Wow! Comments like yours make my day! Thank you for finding me online and leaving such a kind comment! So glad you liked this recipe! And, your selection of side dish is delicious: rice made with white wine and Italian seasonings sounds so good and perfect for the fish!