Pan Seared Grouper Recipe with Lime Butter Sauce

Healthy and delicious Pan Seared Grouper is elegant enough for a dinner party but is quick and easy enough for a weeknight meal. With just a few simple fresh ingredients this grouper recipe is ready in under 20 minutes. Much like our Orange Glazed Salmon or Lemon Dill Salmon, this Grouper recipe is easy and fail-proof.

It’s not hard to make a savory restaurant-quality fish dinner right in your own home. This easy recipe starts with fresh grouper fillets that are lightly seasoned and seared until tender and flakey.

They are finished off with a brown butter sauce that gets a fresh pop of flavor from fresh lime. This is one dish that is sure to impress!

This fish recipe is different than most pan seared grouper recipes by using a lime butter rather than just lemon.

Using lime butter instead of a grouper with lemon adds extraordinary layer of flavor that compliments the fish without overpowering the fresh mild natural flavor.

Pan fried grouper rather than baking allows the searing to bring out more flavors than a simple bake would.

If you’re looking for the best fish recipes to improve your Omega-3s, you’ll want to add this Thai Coconut Fish Curry to your meal plan. It’s another easy and delicious recipe that will help keep your healthy recipes and dinners both impressive and appealing.

Not only is grouper delicious, but it also is a great source of high-quality protein. Grouper, like most white fish, contains a wide variety of vitamins like vitamins A, B-9, and B-5 which all play an important part of a healthy diet.

Another thing we love about cooking seafood recipes is they require so much less cooking time than most other entrees.

These Shrimp Bowls, Blackened Fish Tacos and this incredible Orange Glazed Salmon are all healthy and super quick recipes you can have on the dinner table no time.

Ingredients in Seared Grouper

• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 4 6-oz. grouper filets
• 6 T. unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 2 T. fresh lime juice, preferably organic (you can also use fresh lemon juice)
• 2 T. fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
• Sea or kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

How to cook Grouper in a pan:

Place the filets on a flat surface and pat fish dry with paper towels.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Generously sprinkle the grouper portions with salt and black pepper on both sides.

Cook until opaque and flakey, approximately 3-4 minutes, turn fish and cook for another 3-4 on the second side. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Add the butter to a small skillet set over medium heat, whisking continually until the butter melts and golden brown in color, approximately 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk in the fresh lime juice. Stir in the fresh parsley leaves and season with salt and black pepper, to taste. 

Serve the grouper fillets immediately with a drizzle of the lime butter sauce on top.

Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a couple of days in an airtight container.

Serving Suggestions:

A great way to serve this amazing pan seared grouper recipes is to pair it with our Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes and Oven-Roasted Asparagus, as pictured.

If you are keeping things light and low carb, you can serve mashed cauliflower in place of the potatoes. If you aren’t a fan of asparagus, you can substitute steamed broccoli, or these Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze.

Can I Use other Fish in this Recipe?

Grouper is a popular fish and is the perfect choice for pan seared recipes. But you can use most any other type of white fish.

Depending on which part of the country you live in, grouper may not always be readily available at your local grocery store or seafood market. If possible, you’ll want to use fresh fish instead of frozen.

You can use, red snapper, sea bass, tilapia or mahi mahi. Look for a fish that has white flesh and a firm texture.

How do I Pan Sear Fish with uneven Thickness?

You can still pan sear fish fillets that have different thickness, but you will likely need to finish them off in the oven. When cooking fillets that are uneven in thickness, you’ll want to start out using a large ovenproof skillet; a cast-iron skillet works great.

Once you have pan seared the fillets, if the thickest part of the fillet is still not flakey, transfer skillet to a 400F oven. Loosely tint the fish with aluminum foil to keep the top of the fish from becoming too brown. Check the fish for doneness after 5 minutes.

What other Seasoning go with Grouper?

Changing up the flavor of the seasonings you use is really easy and you can use most any of your favorites. But because grouper is a mild fish, so it doesn’t require using a lot of seasoning.

You can easily make this blackened grouper with just a little blackening seasoning. Lemon pepper, Cajun and Old Bay all work great with grouper.

More Quick and Easy Meal Ideas

• Vegetarian Spicy Black Bean Lettuce Wraps
• Sheet Pan Pork Chops with Garlic Broccoli
• One Skillet Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
• Pan Seared Chimichurri Flank Steak
• Rosemary Lemon Chicken Thighs
• Blackened Fish Tacos