22 Fish Recipes for Delicious Weeknight Dinners

You'll Be Hooked

By
Cathy Jacobs
Cathy Jacobs
Cathy Jacobs
A freelance journalist and avid home cook, Cathy Jacobs has more than 10 years of food writing experience, with a focus on curating approachable menus and recipe collections.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Published on 06/17/20
Mahi-Mahi Fillet With Lemon-Dill Sauce

The Spruce/Victoria Heydt

Whether you love seafood or are looking to scale back on eating meat, this collection is full of delicious recipes to try. From delicate baked white fish to zesty fish tacos, you'll be hooked on these fish recipes that taste fantastic and are easy enough to serve your family on busy weeknights.

  • 01 of 22

    Maple Glazed Salmon Fillet

    Maple Glazed Salmon Fillet

    The Spruce/Elaine Lemm

    With its robust flavor and meaty texture, salmon stands up well to intensely flavorful sauces. This recipe glazes salmon fillets with maple syrup and soy sauce for the ideal sweet and savory combination. When cooked in a hot pan or seared on the grill, the marinade crisps up and slightly caramelizes, creating a delightful crust.

  • 02 of 22

    Mahi-Mahi Fillet With Lemon-Dill Sauce

    Mahi-Mahi Fillet With Lemon-Dill Sauce

    The Spruce/Victoria Heydt

    Mahi-mahi is a succulent white fish with a slightly sweet flavor that makes it a favorite on upscale restaurant menus. Prepare it at home with this easy recipe that calls for searing seasoned fillets on the stovetop, before finishing them under the broiler. It's finished with a light lemon-dill sauce. Serve over rice, with extra lemon wedges for squeezing.

  • 03 of 22

    Baked Whole Trout With Lemon And Dill

    Baked Whole Trout With Lemon And Dill

    The Spruce/Julia Hartbeck

    Baking a whole fish is one of those culinary tricks that will impress your friends and is no more complicated than roasting a chicken. Ask your fishmonger to scale and clean a whole rainbow trout, so you can stuff the cavity with fresh herbs, seasonings, and lemon slices for the oven. A little white wine in the baking pan keeps the fish moist as it cooks, for perfectly flaky and tender results.

  • 04 of 22

    Baked Sole With Mint and Ginger

    Baked Sole With Mint and Ginger

    The Spruce/Molly Watson

    Sole is a firm white fish that bakes quickly in the oven. All you need to enhance its wonderful natural flavor is a little olive oil, fresh mint, and grated ginger, plus salt and pepper. 

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  • 05 of 22

    Red Snapper Veracruz

    Red Snapper Veracruz

    Juanmonino/Getty Images

    Sealing red snapper fillets in tinfoil packets to steam on the grill is a great way to prevent this fish from drying as it cooks. It takes mere minutes to whip up a seasoned red wine sauce for adding to the fish packets, to infuse fish with tons of fragrant flavor.

  • 06 of 22

    North Sea Mackerel With Pickles, Watermelon, and Wasabi Mayo

    North Sea Mackerel With Pickles, Watermelon, and Wasabi Mayo

    The Spruce/Julia Hartbeck

    Fresh mackerel is inexpensive and a sustainable choice for families wanting to eat more fish. This gourmet-style recipe that includes pickled onions, cauliflower, and watermelon looks fancy, but is quite straightforward to prepare and makes a stunning impression on the plate.

  • 07 of 22

    Grilled Tandoori Cod

    Grilled Tandoori Cod

    Cultura RM/Brett Stevens/Getty Images

    You need only an hour of marinating time and minutes on the grill, to make delicious tandoori cod. With an Indian-style yogurt glaze that includes chili, cumin, coriander, and ginger, it makes a fantastically flavorful summer main with rice or potatoes and grill-charred vegetables.

  • 08 of 22

    Baked Tilapia With Fresh Avocado Salsa

    Baked Tilapia With Fresh Avocado Salsa

    Alison Miksch/Photolibrary/Getty Images

    Baked tilapia topped with a fresh avocado and cherry tomato salsa is delicious, looks gorgeous on the plate, and won't leave you feeling stuffed on date nights in, or when you serve company. Add a simple green salad, and perhaps a glass of crisp white wine, for an elegant meal that's ready in under 30 minutes.

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  • 09 of 22

    Bobby Flay's Fish Tacos

    Bobby Flay's Fish Tacos

    Food Network

    Fish tacos smothered in fresh tomato salsa are one of the true joys of summer. Chef Bobby Flay takes his fish tacos to the grill (or you could use your oven's broiler) with this easy recipe that puts a spin on the classic Mexican restaurant dish. Use any firm-fleshed fish, such as mahi-mahi, halibut, or even salmon.

  • 10 of 22

    Spicy Tuna Donburi Rice Bowl

    Spicy Tuna Donburi Rice Bowl

    Judy Ung

    If you're a fan of the spicy tuna rolls you get from restaurants, you're sure to love this heart-healthy meal in a bowl. Spicy tuna donburi is a a staple of Japanese cuisine that combines sushi-grade tuna, kewpie mayonnaise, spicy chili sauce, and perfectly-fluffy steamed rice.

  • 11 of 22

    Sweet and Spicy Grilled Catfish

    Sweet and Spicy Grilled Catfish

    Benjamin Brandt/Getty Images

    Catfish is a mild-tasting white fish that is widely available at fish markets throughout the United States. Marinated in a delicious sweet and spicy mixture, and grilled hot and fast, it makes a tasty dinner with grilled corn on the cob, or a fresh summer salad.

  • 12 of 22

    Spinach Stuffed Flounder With Fresh Tomato Sauce

    Spinach Stuffed Flounder With Fresh Tomato Sauce

    Philippe Desnerck/Getty Images

    Easily-stuffed flounder fillets are topped with a flavorful tomato-basil sauce in this fish dinner recipe that looks special enough for romantic dinners but is quick enough for everyday family meals. Canned tomatoes and dried basil are easy pantry ingredients that make it a snap to put together for the oven.

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  • 13 of 22

    Masala Fish Curry

    Masala Fish Curry

    Michael O'Meara/Photodisc/Getty Images

    Masala fish curry is a versatile, nutritious stew you can prepare with a variety of different fish, or even shellfish. It makes a fantastic dinner in one bowl that is ultra-flavorful, thanks to a seasoning mixture that includes cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and an optional shot of vodka.

  • 14 of 22

    Asian-Style Grilled Ginger-Lime Swordfish

    Asian-Style Grilled Ginger-Lime Swordfish

    Sergei Talykov/EyeEm/Getty Images

    Tangy, Asian-inspired flavors work well with mild-tasting swordfish, which is meaty enough in texture to satisfy carnivores. This recipe glazes thick swordfish steaks in a sweet and sour ginger-lime marinade, for cooking over a hot grill.

  • 15 of 22

    Salmon Cakes

    Panko-Crusted Salmon Cakes recipe

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

    Salmon cakes are a delicious way to use up leftover cooked salmon in the fridge. Make them easily with common pantry ingredients, for a tasty weeknight meal, or an alternative to burgers at casual get-togethers.

  • 16 of 22

    Moroccan Fish Tagine (Mqualli)

    Moroccan Fish Tagine (Mqualli)

    Christine Benlafquih

    You can use a Dutch oven or a tall-sided iron skillet, to make this deeply delicious fish and vegetable stew that traditionally cooks in a Moroccan tagine, a clay cooking pot. The recipe includes several steps, but none are complicated, and the resulting dish makes a comforting, healthful family dinner.

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  • 17 of 22

    Nicoise Tuna Salad With Dijon Dressing

    Salad Nicoise hero

    The Spruce / Cara Cormack

    Craving a French bistro-style lunch, but watching your fat and calories? This recipe for a classic nicoise salad with grilled or broiled fresh tuna, tender new potatoes, green beans, hard boiled egg, tomato, red onion, and chopped olives, in a Dijon vinaigrette, will satisfy your Gallic cravings.

  • 18 of 22

    Grilled Blackened Red Snapper

    Grilled Blackened Red Snapper

    The Spruce/Victoria Heydt

    Blackened red snapper is a tasty, Cajun-style main dish. It's typically fried in a skillet, but this recipe calls for grilling it over high heat, for all that spicy flavor you love, without the mess of cooking in oil.

  • 19 of 22

    Greek-Style Baked Psari Plaki Fish

    Greek-Style Baked Psari Plaki Fish

    Bartosz Luczak/Getty Images

    You only need an hour to assemble and bake this Greek-inspired fish dish that makes a flavorful family dinner. Use any firm white fish fillets, baking them in the oven in a lemony white wine sauce, along with diced vegetables, seasonings, and a scattering of breadcrumbs.

  • 20 of 22

    Seared Halibut With Chanterelle Mushrooms

    Seared Halibut With Chanterelle Mushrooms

    Stacie Peterson/Getty Images

    You need very little oil to prepare this fragrant pan-seared halibut. It is full of flavor, thanks to a heavenly shallot and mushroom sauce that includes ginger, lemon zest, white wine, and just a bit of butter. Serve over a bed of hot cooked white or brown rice, for a sophisticated dinner you can feel great about enjoying.

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  • 21 of 22

    Greek Baked Bonito With Herbs and Potatoes (Palamitha sto Fourno)

    Greek Baked Bonito With Herbs and Potatoes (Palamitha sto Fourno)

    Getty Images/Creativ Studio Heinemann

    Bonito, a favorite fish in many Greek homes, has a dark flesh that is similar in taste and texture to tuna. Prepare a whole bonito in the Mediterranean style with this easy, one-dish dinner recipe that stuffs the fish with garlic, and bakes it in the oven with lemony Greek potatoes.

  • 22 of 22

    Grilled Sea Bass Marinated in Sake

    Grilled Sea Bass Marinated in Sake

    Juanmonino/Getty Images

    Start this dish the night before, marinating fresh sea bass fillets in the fridge in a sake-spiked soy sauce glaze, before taking them to the grill. The resulting fish is sweet, savory, and tender, with a gorgeously caramelized crust, and a cooking time of only 10 minutes.