Shop
My
Custom
FREE 5-Ingredient Recipe EBook
GET IT NOWThis Is My Favorite Halibut Recipe Ever
Halibut is the fish I make when I’m craving more than “just fish”, and when I want a special seafood dinner at home, it’s this pan seared halibut recipe all the way. Unlike my usual weeknight baked salmon or air fryer cod, this one will make you feel like you’re at a high-end restaurant! Here’s why it’s special:
- Tender, flaky, and mild – Halibut is firm and lean, but my recipe leaves it moist and flaky! And if you have any hesitations about fish, this is a good one to dip your toes in, because it’s not too fishy. (My flounder recipe is another good one to try for this — and halibut is actually a type of flounder!)
- Irresistible lemon butter sauce – The sauce absolutely makes this dish, and I now make it on repeat for all kinds of seafood. I use variations of it for garlic butter shrimp, seared scallops, and even chicken paillard, but there’s a reason I’m always thinking about the next time I can use it for my halibut recipe. This one started it all — and it’s still the best.
- Easy to make – This fish could totally pass for a special meal at a fancy restaurant, but it’s surprisingly fast and easy. It takes just 20 minutes, using only a few ingredients.
- Perfect for a special day, or any day – Since halibut is fairly pricy, it’s a natural choice for your date nights or special occasions. But since the prep is actually very simple, who says you can’t have a special dinner “just because”?
While I have several other halibut recipes (I love to bake halibut and grill halibut as well), this pan seared version with sauce is the one I make most. It’s my very best way to cook halibut. Make it with me, and you’ll see what I mean!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my halibut recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Halibut Fish – It’s similar to other white fish, like cod, haddock, red snapper, or Chilean sea bass, except firmer. My recipe calls for 4 halibut fillets (6 ounces each), or you can cut a large 1.5-pound fillet into 4 smaller ones. I can usually only find skinless halibut in my area, but if you can get it with skin, it will get irresistibly crispy! (P.S. I’m so jealous of those of you using this recipe for your fresh Alaskan halibut — savor every bite.)
- Spices – Garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, and black pepper. I’ve got other variations below.
- Oil – For searing. I usually use this olive oil, but any heat-safe oil (such as avocado oil) will work.
- Lemon Butter Sauce – Just 2 ingredients: Lemon juice and salted butter (or feel free to use unsalted and add a little salt)! I highly recommend juicing a fresh lemon for this halibut recipe over the bottled stuff.
How To Cook Halibut
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
Sear The Fish:
- Dry. Use paper towels to pat the halibut fillets dry. This will ensure even browning and locks moisture inside, so don’t skip this step!
- Season. Sprinkle the fish generously on both sides with garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Sear. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the fillets in a single layer, and sear, without moving, until the fish is golden brown on the bottom and the edges are opaque. Carefully flip over, and sear until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
See my tips below to time it perfectly — and don’t miss the second (a.k.a. the best) part of this halibut recipe… the sauce!
Make The Sauce & Assemble:
Cover the cooked halibut with foil to keep warm, and use the same pan to make the sauce:
- Brown the butter. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter turns brown and frothy. It will smell a little nutty… mmm.
- Add the lemon juice. Squeeze all the juice from both halves of the lemon into the pan. (I use this lemon squeezer, pictured below.) Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the volume is reduced by half.
- Plate your pan seared halibut with lemon butter sauce. Drizzle a little of the sauce over your plate, top with fish, then drizzle more sauce on top. I like to garnish with a little fresh parsley, but that’s optional.
My Recipe Tips
- A non-stick skillet works best here. I love my cast iron, but it’s not my favorite for fish, which can stick and fall apart too easily. This non-stick pan is my fave and has lasted for years.
- If you get halibut with skin, cook skin side down first. This makes it easier to flip and also reduces the chance of overcooking. I always do this when cooking fish with skin — see more details in my pan seared salmon post.
- Don’t crowd the pan. The fish fillets should be in a single layer and have small spaces between them. If they don’t all fit, you can cook them in batches.
- Avoid moving the fish around. Keeping it one spot prevents tearing and helps it get a nice, browned sear. Move it only when it’s time to flip. If it doesn’t release easily, it needs to cook for longer before flipping.
- How to cook halibut to perfect doneness: It’s time to flip when you see the edges are opaque, and it’s browned underneath. On the second side, it’s time to remove from the pan when the whole fillet is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. I’m kind of obsessed with cooking halibut perfectly though, so I always use a meat thermometer. The ideal internal temperature for fish is 135-140 degrees F — this is when it’s moist and flaky, but not dry yet.
- My fish turner makes flipping much easier. The shape fits entire halibut fillets on it so it’s easier to flip them without breaking. Worth having if you cook a lot of fish like I do!
- Be careful not to overheat the sauce. If your pan is too hot, it can burn or split (separate). Keep the heat fairly low for the sauce part (just high enough to barely simmer), and remove from the pan quickly once it’s done.
- Not a fan of browned butter? Just cook the sauce for less time. My plain lemon butter sauce recipe doesn’t brown the butter, so it’s more mild, while this one does and has a deeper flavor. I love both! You could do either for this halibut recipe based on your preference.
Serving Ideas
This easy halibut recipe is pretty versatile, so you can go in many different directions to serve it. Try it with one of my fresh side dishes below! If I’m really feeling fancy, I start the meal with creamy lobster bisque for a complete seafood theme.
- Vegetables – Before you make your pan seared halibut on the stove, get started on roasted asparagus (one of the best pairings for fish), roasted green beans with garlic and parmesan, or even a whole roasted cauliflower head in your oven. My personal fave with this dish is roasted zucchini!
- Starches – Potatoes, pasta, or rice are common options, but you can also opt for one of my lighter veggie alternatives, like roasted rutabaga, zucchini noodles, or cauliflower rice.
- Salads – If you eat with the seasons like me, this will largely depend on the time of year. Make my asparagus salad in the spring, tomato cucumber avocado salad or Caprese salad in the summer, or beet salad in the fall or winter. When I don’t have something very seasonal, I just toss some cherry tomatoes into my arugula salad anytime of year!
Halibut Recipe (With Lemon Butter Sauce)
Learn how to cook halibut that's perfectly flaky & tender! This easy pan seared halibut recipe with lemon butter sauce takes just 20 minutes.
Remove Ads
Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.
Halibut:
Lemon butter sauce:
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
-
Use paper towels to pat the halibut fillets completely dry — this will ensure even browning. Season the fish on both sides with garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, and black pepper.
-
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.
-
Add the fish fillets in a single layer (you can do it in batches if all the fish won't fit). Sear, without moving, for 3-4 minutes, until the edges of the fish are opaque. Flip and cook for 2-4 minutes, until cooked through.
-
Remove the fish from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
-
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the butter to the same pan. Wait for it to melt, then heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the butter is browned and smells nutty.
-
Squeeze all the juice from both halves of the lemon into the pan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the volume is reduced by half. The lemon butter sauce will still be thin, which is normal.
-
Drizzle a little lemon butter sauce over each serving plate. Place the pan seared halibut fillets over the sauce, then drizzle more sauce on top.
LAST STEP: Leave a rating to help other readers, or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 halibut fillet + 2 tablespoons lemon butter sauce
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you cook halibut perfectly every time, with a moist, flaky texture and the perfect sauce.
- Flavor variations: If you want to add a little something to change it up, see my variations here.
- Storage: Fish tends to dry out when it’s reheated, so I recommend making this pan seared halibut recipe fresh. But if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. They make good fish tacos!
- Reheat: Warm gently on the stove over medium heat, or in the oven at 350 degrees F. I usually remove from heat when the fish is barely warm, as that’s better than overcooking.
- Freeze: You can freeze raw fish for up to 3 months, but I don’t recommend freezing cooked halibut recipes like this. It’s just not the same after thawing.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
Add Your Notes Your Notes
Try More Of My Recipes
© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead.
Halibut Recipe
Flavor Variations
Like I often do, I pared my halibut recipe down to the essentials, so there aren’t too many ingredients! If you want to add a little something, here are some ways to elevate this dish:
- Herbs – I think the browned lemon butter and the spices are enough, but you can certainly take it up a notch and add dried or fresh herbs to the fish itself or the sauce if you like. If you do want to add some, my recommendations are dill, parsley, or thyme.
- Garlic – I don’t usually add it because I use garlic powder to season the halibut, but you can also add 2-3 minced garlic cloves to the sauce before simmering.
- Lemon Zest – If you’re squeezing a fresh lemon anyway, might as well use the zest! It will become bitter if you cook it, though, so I add it to the sauce after removing from heat when I want to use it.
- White Wine – For a different flavor, use the juice from only half the lemon and add a splash of white wine to the pan at the same time.
- Different Sauce – If you don’t feel like lemon butter sauce, halibut would also taste amazing with a drizzle of my chimichurri sauce, or pesto sauce thinned out with olive oil.
More Easy Fish Recipes To Try
If you love fish like I do, try one of my other easy fish recipes next:
369 Comments
Cindy
0It turned out great. I managed not to overcook it. Don’t like that I couldn’t just print the recipe. I hate having to have my laptop open in the kitchen when I’m cooking.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m glad you liked it, Cindy! I do have a print button on the recipe card if you prefer to print the recipe.
Chris
0Easy, healthy, and delicious! Thank you!
Maria Kinghorn
0I did make this recipe and it was delicious. No issues with it.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Maria! Glad to hear that!
Tim
0So good! Tried this recipe last week and my wife and kids loved it! Easy to follow instructions, quick cooking and prep, and a surprisingly delicious outcome. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much, Tim! Glad to hear you all loved it.
Gail
0Easy to make. Absolutely delicious.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Gail!
Leslie
0One of my boyfriend’s customers gave us some halibut he caught in Alaska. I used this recipe and it came out so delicious. Thank you!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m so happy you liked my halibut recipe, Leslie! What a treat to make it with fresh fish from Alaska.
[tPORt]SofT_MANiAc
0It was okay, could use some rosemary
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Feel free to add rosemary if you like!
Shelly
0Spice mixture for the fish was way too salty. Next time I’ll probably do equal parts salt, paprika and garlic. Other than that, it turned out great. This was my first time cooking halibut and it was much easier than I thought. Will definitely use this recipe again in the future but with less salt.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you for the feedback, Shelly! Just confirming, you had the same weight of fish as the recipe states, 1.5 pounds? My usual rule of thumb for salting seafood is 3/4 teaspoon per pound, but this recipe actually has a bit less than that. Of course, salt is very individual so feel free to use less to fit your preferences.
lkillheffer10
0Excellent! Halibut done perfectly (1” thick filet, skinned, 4 min. on 1st side, 3 min. on 2nd side). Plan to make for guests….SO good. But I will cut back on the salt….either on the rub or use unsalted butter for the sauce. I had black bits in my sauce too, but it was just crisp pieces from the rub. No problem!
Ranji Bhimji
0Thank you ever so much for sharing your really easy recipe for cooking halibut which is an amazing fish but with your suggested few ingredients that are also like staple items used for cooking/baking, voila, quickly done and so tasty. Using your basic recipe, I can also deviate, using our family favorite herbs/spices for another type of taste. Butter and lemon…can’t go wrong with that.
Oh, I did see a comment where someone had said black bits forming when cooking, same thing happened to me and I think I have to monitor the heat by reducing the temp a bit. My frying pan was too hot.
Carolyn Jeffers
0Another winner!! This was absolutely perfect and melted in my mouth. I will absolutely make again!! I know my oven/ pans and medium high is always a medium heat for me. Otherwise things burn and it gets smoky!! Yours may be the same.
Also I just sprinkled both side with all the spices, no measuring.
Susan Osborne
0This was SO good. Definitely a do again recipe.
Michele
0Can you use this recipe with halibut steaks?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Michele, Yes, you can. They will probably take longer to cook than fillets, since they are usually thicker.
angie
0This was so yummy and so EASY!!!
Penny Destache
0So good! I used Orange Roughy and it was fabulous.
Caren
0Easy delicious recipe!
Linda C
0I have fresh Alaskan halibut with skin on the filets. Do I bake or pan fry with the skin up or down for best flavor?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Linda, For this halibut recipe, you’d start skin side down and then flip. For my baked halibut, I recommend baking skin side down. Hope this helps!
Teri Allan
0This recipe is DELICIOUS!!! I followed it exactly as written. It is fabulous!!!
Emily
0I loved this recipe. I enjoy many of your recipes. This one I followed pretty close except I used butter instead of olive oil because I didn’t have a non stick cast iron skillet. I actually put the non skin side down first , a trick a chef friend recently showed me, and put fresh garlic in with the butter at the end because I didn’t have any ground and didn’t want to mess with the cooking of the fish.
Thank you for the detailed instructions.
Sarah
0Thoroughly enjoyed this recipe & will certainly make again. Simple & so tasty! Thank you!
markmallingo
0Wow! That was the best halibut (or any white, mild tasting ocean fish) i’ve ever eaten! I’m glad the author suggested using a nonstick pan. I love my cast-iron, but she’s right, the fish would have probably stuck to the pan when it seared. I’m also glad she suggested a fresh lemon in the butter sauce, and I’m glad I had one on hand. We recently bought a box of various flash frozen fish from Sea to Table, And a recipe like this, makes it likely we will purchase more from them.
phillip2292
0Can you save the lemon butter sauce to use later. If so, how long.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Phillip, Yes, you can store it in the fridge for up to a week. It will solidify, but you can warm it up on the stove again over low heat.
LJ
0Great recipe!
David Howard
0Perfect!!! Totally recommend.
David
0Do the halibut filets need to be thawed or can you cook them frozen?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi David, You will need to thaw the filets.
Jeff Clough
0Just made it this afternoon, it was DELICIOUS! We served it with green beans sautéed with garlic. It was a hit!
jim smith
0Great recipe.
Pearl
0The lemon butter sauce was my favorite! The tangy flavor complemented the mild taste of the halibut perfectly. Definitely making extra sauce next time.
Kathy
0This was perfect — very easy, very quick and very yummy!
Danita
0Halibut turned out very good. I used the technique and lemon brown butter sauce but switched the spices a bit. I have some lemon pepper seasoning that has similar ingredients to this recipe, so I used it and paprika. We are in halibut season in the PNW so I’ll definitely be making this again. Easy and delicious.
Anne
0I had some seabass in my freezer so I took it out and used this recipe to make it. It was delicious and a recipe that I will save and use again.
chhavi vashisht
0OMG loved the lemon butter sauce. We don’t get lemons(easily) where we live, but limes are plenty! Do you think it will work with limes too?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much, Chhavi! I think the lemon flavor works better here, but yes, you could do the same with limes if they are easier for you to find.
Jean
0The lemon butter sauce was so tasty and I loved how flaky the halibut turned out!
Milton
0Delicious, easy, and special at the same time. Thank you.
Ginny
0This was so good! Super easy and came out perfectly cooked, hubby devoured it. The lemon butter sauce is so good over the fish and some white rice!
Lauren Ford
0Fish tasted perfectly. Only slight downside was it did end up over-cooking. I did 3 minutes on the first side and 2.5 minutes on the other. Totally ok though, flavor was perfect, I just know now to reduce the time a bit. Reminder that the fish will continue to cook on the plate with whatever you choose to cover it with 🙂 I’ll definitely be making it again!
Barry
0Fast, easy, light and delicious.
Doug
0Halibut was awful-dry. I even cooked the filets a minute less on each side and they were very dry. My filets were 1 1/2” thick.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Doug, Sorry to hear that! It sounds like you overcooked your halibut. That’s one of the reasons I recommend using a meat thermometer.
Mark
0The sauce, while simple, added a lot to the halibut. The fresh lemon flavor was excellent.
Martha
0Outstanding recipe! Tonight I made the halibut with lemon butter sauce. Well written step-by-step recipe. Fish was moist and tasty with a light crisp exterior. I was impressed how well the sauce tasted. I served the halibut with spinach, tomato, carrot salad and homemade pickled red onion. Very colorful. Very tasty.
cjandsj1
0Loved this recipe. Delicious and very quick and easy to make. I will certainly make this a regular Friday meal especially during the lenten season for Catholics. I’m also recommending to my friends who like to cook.
Liz Baird
0Delicious, classic and easy. Great way to use this favorite fresh fish.
Erlene
0Yummy ? I will use this recipe for some other types of fish!
Maggie Joplin
0Wonderful taste but the lemon browned. I think the butter may have been too warm. Overall it was wonderful.
Tony Merolla
0This is excellent! It’s become a favorite in my family. I use a bit more of the seasoning mixture than the recipe calls for but otherwise follow it exactly.
Susi
0Excellent and my go to recipe for fish now.
MAC
0Best recipe, ever! We love this and will be using it again.
Heather
0I followed exactly what you wrote. As my husband and I ate, we both were raving! It’s heaven on a plate!! Love it, saved it and it’s on a bi-weekly menu here!!
lejr1203
0Such an easy delightful dish as Halibut is our favorite. I tried this also with Tilapia and got the same result. Thanks so much.
Jim Dorschner
0Loved the halibut in butter lemon sauce recipe! First time cooking this fish. Was terrific! Thank you.