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In This Post
- Why You’ll Love My Pan Seared Halibut Recipe
- How To Cook Halibut
- How To Make The Sauce
- My Recipe Tips
- Recipe Variations
- Storage Instructions
- Serving Suggestions
- More Easy Fish Recipes To Try
- My Tools For This Recipe
- Halibut Recipe (With Lemon Butter Sauce)Recipe card
- Recipe Reviews
Halibut is the fish I make when I’m craving more than “just fish”. Baked salmon or air fryer cod are my go-tos for weeknights, but when I want a special seafood dinner at home, it’s this pan seared halibut recipe all the way. You’ll feel like you’re at a high-end restaurant!
The light, bright lemon butter sauce absolutely makes the dish. I also love the large, moist fish flakes. And while I have recipes to bake halibut and grill halibut, they can’t beat this pan seared version with sauce. It’s my very best way to cook halibut. You’ll get it when you try it. 😉
Why You’ll Love My Pan Seared Halibut Recipe
- Tender, flaky texture – This is a firm, lean fish, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be moist and flaky! The method I use for cooking halibut gives you exactly that. I won’t settle for anything less.
- Irresistible lemon butter sauce – This dish is the one that prompted me to create the lemon butter sauce that I now make on repeat for all kinds of seafood. I use variations of it for garlic butter shrimp and seared scallops, 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.
- Mild fish flavor – If you have any hesitations about fish, halibut recipes are a good place to dip your toes in, because they taste mild and not too fishy. This one just might turn you into a fan. (My flounder recipe is another good one to try for this — and halibut is actually a type of flounder!)
- 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”?
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for my halibut recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see therecipe card below.
Halibut Fish:
- Halibut – This is a mild type of white fish. It’s a little similar to cod, haddock, or Chilean sea bass, but firmer. My recipe calls for 4 halibut fillets (6 ounces each), but you can also get one large 1.5-pound fillet and cut into 4 smaller ones. I can usually only find halibut without skin in my area, but if you can get it with skin, it will get irresistibly crispy!
- Spices – I keep it simple with just garlic powder, paprika, sea salt, and black pepper. (See below for variations.)
- Oil – I usually use this olive oil, but any heat-safe oil (such as avocado oil) will also work. You can even use extra virgin olive oil for extra flavor.
Lemon Butter Sauce:
- Butter – I used salted butter just for simplicity. Feel free to use unsalted and add salt to taste instead.
- Lemon Juice – Since the sauce has only 2 ingredients, I highly recommend juicing a fresh lemon for this halibut recipe. But, technically bottled lemon juice will work.
How To Cook Halibut
This section shows step-by-step photos together with the instructions, to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see therecipe card below.
Cooking halibut in a pan is straightforward, similar to any other fish. Here is how I do it:
- 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. 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 for another 2-4 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork. (See my tips below to make it perfectly!)
Hang on, this halibut recipe is not done yet. Cover it with foil to keep warm while you make the best part… the sauce!
How To Make The Sauce
Once your pan fried halibut is done cooking, you can re-use the same pan to make the lemon butter sauce:
- Brown the butter. Reduce pan to medium-low and add the butter. Once it melts, 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. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the volume is reduced by half.
- Plate yourpan 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. I love my cast iron, but it’s not my favorite for fish, which can stick and fall apart too easily. A non-stick skillet (this one is my fave) is your best bet here!
- 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.
- There are easy ways to tell when halibut is done. 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.
- Be careful not to burn the sauce. My top tips for this are keep the heat low (just high enough to barely simmer), and remove the sauce 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.
Recipe 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 weed, 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.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Fish tends to dry out when it’s reheated and overcooks easily, so I always recommend making thispan seared halibut recipe fresh. However, if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- 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 a better alternative than overcooking.
- Freeze: You can freeze raw halibut for up to 3 months, but I don’t recommend freezing cooked halibut recipes like this one. It’s just not the same after thawing.
Serving Suggestions
Thiseasy halibut recipe is pretty versatile, so you can go in many different directions to serve it. And I’ve got them all! Try it with one of my fresh side dishes below. If I’m really feeling fancy, I start the meal with my 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 around, I just toss some cherry tomatoes into my arugula salad anytime of year and call it a day!
More Easy Fish Recipes To Try
If you love fish like I do, try one of my other easy fish recipes next:
Pan Seared Salmon
Lemon Baked Cod
Rainbow Trout
Chilean Sea Bass
- Non-stick Skillet– It’s not fancy, but my fish never sticks with this one and the non-stick surface hasn’t worn off after years of use. Can’t say the same for some others I’ve tried.
- Lemon Squeezer – This is the citrus press I use to help me get every last drop.
- Fish Turner – This special angled spatula will help flip yourpan fried halibut without it flaking apart. Worth having if you cook a lot of fish like I do!
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Recipe Card
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.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com
Servings: 4 (adjust to scale recipe)
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Recipe Video
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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.
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 3-4minutes, 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.
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Try More Of My Recipes
Crab Stuffed Salmon Recipe
Seared Scallops
Pan Fried Tilapia
Baked Halibut
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 halibut fillet + 2 tablespoons lemon butter sauce
Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.
Calories425
Fat32.1g
Protein32.2g
Total Carbs2.1g
Net Carbs1.5g
Fiber0.6g
Sugar0.5g
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
Course:dinner, Main Course
Cuisine:American
Keywords:halibut recipe, how to cook halibut, pan seared halibut
Calories: 425 kcal
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Halibut Recipe
