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Get It Now- Why You’ll Love This Pan Seared Halibut Recipe
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- How To Cook Halibut In A Pan
- How To Make Sauce For Halibut
- How Long To Cook Halibut In A Pan?
- Storage Instructions
- What To Serve With Halibut Recipes
- More Easy Fish Recipes To Try
- Tools To Make Pan Fried Halibut
- Halibut Recipe (With Lemon Butter Sauce) Recipe card
- Recipe Reviews
This easy pan seared halibut recipe with lemon butter sauce will show you how to cook halibut perfectly every time! Just like my Chilean sea bass recipe, this pan fried halibut could pass for a special meal at a fancy restaurant — but it’s surprisingly fast and easy to make.
Cooking halibut this way tastes decadent, thanks to the butter lemon sauce for halibut, but it’s healthy, too! If you have any hesitations about fish, halibut recipes (like this one) taste mild (just like flounder) and just might turn you into a fan. Try it out for an easy dinner to impress.
Why You’ll Love This Pan Seared Halibut Recipe
- Tender, flaky white fish texture
- Lemony, buttery flavor
- Easy to make
- Ready in just 20 minutes
- Fancy dish for a special occasion, but simple enough for a weeknight
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for cooking halibut, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Halibut:
- Halibut – Get four 6-ounce halibut fillets, or one large 1.5-pound fillet that you can cut into four smaller ones. You can get it with or without skin. (If you get the kind with skin, cook skin side down first.)
- Spices – Garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Oil – I used olive oil, but any heat-safe oil, such as avocado oil, will also work.
Lemon Butter Sauce:
- Butter – I used salted butter, but you can also use unsalted and add salt to taste.
- Lemon Juice – For the best flavor, I highly recommend juicing a fresh lemon rather than using bottled.
How To Cook Halibut In A Pan
This section shows how to make the best halibut recipe, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Dry. Use paper towels to pat the halibut fillets dry. This will ensure even browning, so don’t skip this step!
- Season. Sprinkle the fish generously on both sides with garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, and black pepper.
- Sear halibut fillets. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the fish in a single layer, and sear, without moving, for 3-4 minutes. Carefully flip over, and sear for another 2-4 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork.
TIP: Avoid moving the fish around!
Keeping it one spot prevents tearing and helps it get a nice, browned sear.
How To Make Sauce For Halibut
Once your pan fried halibut is done cooking, it’s time to make the lemon butter sauce! You can simply remove the fish, cover to keep warm, and re-use the same pan:
- Brown butter. Reduce pan to medium-low and add the butter. Once it melts, cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes, until the butter is brown, frothy, and smells nutty.
- Add lemon juice. Use the Zulay Kitchen Lemon Squeezer to squeeze all the juice from both halves of the lemon into the pan. Bring to a simmer for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until volume is reduced by half.
TIP: Place the halved lemon into the squeezer open side down, then squeeze!
You can open and close again several times to get it all out.
- Plate your pan seared halibut with lemon butter sauce. Drizzle a little of the sauce for halibut over the plate, top with fish, then drizzle more sauce on top. I like to garnish with a little fresh parsley, but that’s optional.
How Long To Cook Halibut In A Pan?
Pan fried halibut takes about 5-9 minutes to cook, depending a bit on the size of your fillet and how hot your pan is. A good starting point is to cook it for 3-4 minutes on the first side, undisturbed. Carefully flip it over, and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes, until cooked through.
TIP: There are easy ways to tell when halibut is done…
- The first side is done when you see the edges are opaque, and it’s browned underneath.
- The lemon butter halibut is done when the whole fillet is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
- If you have a meat thermometer, use that for cooking halibut perfectly: The ideal internal temperature for fish is 135-140 degrees F.
Storage Instructions
- Store: For the best results, make this pan seared halibut with lemon butter sauce right before you plan on serving it. It takes just 10 minutes to cook, so it’s easy to make quickly! Fish tends to get a little rubbery when it’s reheated and it can be easy to overcook it, so I always recommend making it fresh. However, if you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat: Warm up halibut gently in a hot pan over medium heat, or in the oven at 350 degrees F. Be careful not to overcook.
- Freeze: You can freeze raw halibut for up to 3 months, but I don’t recommend freezing cooked halibut recipes.
What To Serve With Halibut Recipes
This pan seared halibut recipe is pretty versatile, so it can go in many different directions. And I’ve got them all! Try it with these types of healthy side dishes:
- Vegetables – Use your oven to make roasted asparagus, green beans, a roasted cauliflower head, or roasted zucchini while you’re making pan fried halibut on the stove.
- Starches – Potatoes, pasta, or rice are classic options, but you can also do healthier veggie alternatives like roasted rutabaga, zucchini noodles, or cauliflower rice.
- Salads – Try creamy cucumber salad, tomato cucumber avocado salad, or Caprese salad.
- Soups – Pair this dish with a creamy lobster bisque for a complete seafood meal, or try pea soup or cauliflower soup for a classic appetizer.
More Easy Fish Recipes To Try
If you love fish, try these other easy fish recipes:
Tools To Make Pan Fried Halibut
- Skillet – How it’s useful or interesting or unique
- Fish Turner – This special angled spatula will help flip your pan fried halibut in butter, without it flaking apart. Worth having if you cook a lot of seafood.
- Lemon Squeezer – Fresh lemon juice makes this the best sauce for halibut and this is the citrus press I use to make it easy.
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.
Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.
Halibut:
Lemon butter sauce:
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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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. Set aside.
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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.
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Add the fish fillets in a single layer (you can do it in batches if all the fish won't fit in a single layer). 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.
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Remove the fish from the pan and cover tightly with foil to keep warm.
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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.
TIP: If you like garlic, you can also use this lemon butter sauce recipe.
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Use the Zulay Kitchen Lemon Squeezer to squeeze all the juice from both halves of the lemon into the pan. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and simmer for about 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until volume is reduced by half. The lemon butter sauce will still be thin.
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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.
Did You Like It?
Leave a rating to help other readers (this also helps me continue to provide free recipes on my site), or get the recipe sent to your inbox.
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 halibut fillet + 2 tablespoons lemon butter sauce
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
© 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. 🙂
221 Comments
Joshua
1I tried this recipe and my pan exploded all over my kitchen when I added the lemon juice to the butter. Not a fun clean up.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Joshua, It sounds like your pan may have been too hot, when making adding the lemon the heat should be on low/medium.
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.
Fran
0If my halibut has skin, and I cook skin side down first, how do I season that? Or do you take skin off after cooking that side and flip back over to brown that side?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Fran, You do not need to remove the skin from the halibut.
Lindzi
0Turned out really well and I served it with steamed haricot vert.
Margaret
010/10 from my husband (very hard to get!). Easy peasy. Served with those peas and Rice A Roni rice pilaf.
Erica Lynn McAlpine
0This was the best Halibut Recipe-restaurant worthy. Really smart to pat the fish dry prior to seasoning. THANK YOU!
Jana Lagis
0This was a great recipe and easy. I used 1/4 cup of butter to cut back some of the fat and added fresh garlic to the lemon butter. Great meal.
tracey jackson
0This recipe could not have been easier and it turned out beautifully.
Ruthie
0Very flavorful and super easy and fast to make. Hubby (super picky eater) went for seconds! Thanks for sharing!!
Janet
0Don’t know; can’t see the ingredients to try. Frustrating.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Janet, You can find the list of ingredients on the recipe card right above where you left this comment.
T.White
0First time trying halibut – this recipe is delicious! Crunchy sear on the outside and flaky goodness on the inside. Adding this to the recipe box.
Charlie
0It’s delicious. Great super easy, gourmet flavor. I just bump it up a little. More lemon juice and olive oil. And I add some finally chopped garlic to the oil before I throw the fish on. LOVE IT. I’m gonna try some trout in it cause it’s basically how I cooked my rainbow trout .
Janice Driver
0Very yummy, flaky with crisp crust. And very easy!
Mark
0So happy that I found your recipe. The fish came out perfectly and was so tasty.
jodie
0Usually make my Halibut with cooked cherry tomatoe sauce as the fish is pretty bland. I usually grill it too. The skillet gave the fish a nice singe that is a game changer IMO. This was a nice change and delish dish that gave a new twist as I stated before I had my recipe for Halibut. Now this is my new recipe. We did exact instructions per recipe and the skin was crunchy and perfectectly cooked. We served it on mashed garlic cauliflower with baked carrots. I felt like this meal was a fine dining experience and will do it again. We cooked outside on the burner grill as not to have smoke fish smell in the houes. Thanks for sharing.