This Pan Fried Sea Bass with Lemon Garlic Herb Sauce is a 20 minute, one-pan, budget-friendly Mediterranean recipe that’s perfect on busy weeknights.
This Pan Fried Sea Bass recipe is a wonderful way to eat a mild, affordable* fish, and it’s packed with flavor from fresh oregano, thyme, and parsley. It’s especially great if you have an abundance of fresh herbs in your garden you need to use up! (raises hand)
* Sea bass can vary greatly in price depending on variety, location, and if it’s in season. Barramundi is a reliably affordable option and is what I used.
Originally, I was planning on doing a lemon caper sauce, similar to chicken piccata. But lo and behold, when I arrived at my refrigerator, I realized I was out of capers.
After some quick thinking and wandering around outside, I decided on a lemony, garlicky, fresh herb sauce instead.
SO happy I was out of capers. This turned out wonderfully!
How to Pan-Fry Sea Bass
If you’ve ever made chicken piccata before, the process for this is very similar. First, pat the fish dry. It’s important that most of the moisture is removed from the fish, so it gets a nice brown color on the outside.
Next dredge the fish in a mixture of all-purpose flour, kosher salt, and black pepper. Dredging simply means coating it in the flour mixture, and shaking off any excess. You should have a nice, thin coat of flour, salt, and pepper that covers every square inch of the surface of the fish.
Then, cook the fish in a mixture of olive oil and butter.
Why both, you ask?
The butter gives it a rich, golden color, while the olive oil makes it crispy. Mixing the two is my favorite way to pan-fry almost anything.
The fish will only take about 3-4 minutes to cook on each side, if you are using thin pieces of sea bass (I used frozen Barramundi). Once they’re finished, set them aside on a plate.
How to make the lemon garlic herb sauce
The sauce is made in the same pan in which you cooked the fish.
First, add some white wine to deglaze the skillet. I recommend a dry white wine, such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. Immediately after you add it, use a wooden spoon to help stir up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Then, continue heating over medium-high heat until almost all the liquid has evaporated.
Then, add a little more butter to the skillet and heat until it’s melted.
Add some finely minced garlic and a mixture of fresh chopped herbs to the pan– I used oregano, thyme, and parsley. Sauté until fragrant, only about 30 seconds. You don’t want the garlic to burn.
Finally, add some chicken stock (or vegetable stock, or water, if you don’t have any), heat until it’s bubbling, then turn off the heat and add some lemon juice and a little more butter.
This lemon garlic herb sauce is SO GOOD. It would be great on chicken, steak, salmon, plain on a spoon, mixed into pasta… the possibilities are endless.
Tips and Tricks
- I used a heavy stainless steel skillet (specifically, this Calphalon one– my favorite!) for this- it works well for pan sauces and deglazing. You can use a well seasoned cast iron skillet or a nonstick skillet as well.
- Can’t find sea bass at your grocery store? Try the frozen fish section- I used Barramundi. If you can’t find it there, any other kind of mild white fish will do.
- Play around with the sauce! Add capers or olives at the end, or use a different mix of herbs such as dill, cilantro, and/or chives.
Try these other easy fish recipes:
- Flounder with Fresh Lemon Pepper
- Southern-Style Oven-Fried Catfish
- 15-Minute Perfect Poached Salmon with Chive Butter
- One-Pan Garlic Butter Salmon and Swiss Chard
- Instant Pot Fish Stew
- Six-Minute Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks
Did you make this Pan Fried Sea Bass with Lemon Garlic Herb Sauce? Please comment below and Rate this Recipe
Pan Fried Sea Bass with Lemon Garlic Herb Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1.5 lbs. sea bass such as barramundi
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus more if needed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine such as savignon blanc
- 1/2 cup chicken stock/broth or water, in a pinch
- juice of one lemon about 2 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley roughly chopped
- lemon wedges for serving optional
Instructions
- Pat the fish dry with a paper towel.
- In a shallow dish, mix together the flour (1/4 cup), salt (1 teaspoon), and black pepper (1/2 teaspoon).
- Dredge each piece of fish in the flour mixture, coating the entire surface, and shake off any excess.
- In a large skillet, preferably stainless steel or nonstick, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium high heat and add the olive oil (1 tablespoon).
- Cook the fish in the skillet for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and fully cooked. Try not to move the fish too much, especially if you are using a pan that isn’t nonstick, otherwise the fish may be more likely to stick to the bottom and not get browned as nicely.
- Remove fish from the skillet to a plate.
- Turn down the heat to low. Add the white wine (1/4 cup) to the skillet to deglaze, stirring up any browned bits. Continue heating until almost all the wine has evaporated.
- Add one more tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Once it’s melted, add the minced garlic (2 cloves) and fresh herbs (1 tablespoon each of oregano, thyme, and parsley) to the skillet and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth (1/2 cup) and bring to a simmer. If sauce seems very thin, continue simmering until reduced and thicker to your liking.
- Turn off heat and stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter and lemon juice (about 2 tablespoons). Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve sauce on top of fish.
Notes
- For a paleo option, you can use almond flour or coconut flour instead of all purpose flour, and or more olive oil instead of butter.
- For a dairy-free option, substitute the butter with more olive oil or ghee.
- I used oregano, parsley, and thyme because it’s what was growing in my garden. You can feel free to use other fresh herbs- dill, basil, or cilantro would be delicious as well!
- Sea bass comes in all kinds of different thicknesses. You may have to adjust the cooking time if yours are especially thick- mine were thin (I used Barramundi, which is also pretty inexpensive as well, and available in the frozen seafood section).
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
This Pan Fried Sea Bass with Lemon Garlic Herb Sauce recipe first appeared on Bowl of Delicious in August, 2017. It’s been updated to include clearer instructions, tips and tricks, and ingredient substitutions.
Anna
Followed the recipe exactly – it was delicious, thank you!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Valentina
D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Frieda Baldwin
Easy to make and delicious.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jennifer Pitkin
Excellent recipe! We loved the sauce! A few changes: Substituted mahi-mahi, so white firm fish fillets.I used millet flour instead of regular to get it a little more crispy. Finally, I had to add a tiny bit of cornstarch slurry to thicken up the sauce (probably because I’m impatient). I used a bunch of those freeze-dried herbs by Litehouse, dill, parsley, basil, thyme… I think that’s it. Excellent all around! This will be a staple in our house
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! I’ll have to try with mahi-mahi sometime!
maude k
hi there you never state skin on or skin off? i am making this tonight but have skin on sea bass. crossing my fingers.
Elizabeth Lindemann
Your choice! I personally LOVE crispy fish skin, so you can sear for a little longer on the skin side to achieve that. Yum! Hope you liked it!
Thomas Buchan
Made this twice now and we have made it one of our favourite fish dishes so simple and tasty
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Anne
This recipe was perfect! So easy to follow – appreciate the detailed instructions, both step by step and precise measurements. Works well for a non-intuitive cook like me!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Robin
I didn’t have fresh herbs handy so I used dry herbs including dill weed and added them to the broth while I cooked the sea bass. I really enjoyed this dish. Will try with fresh herbs next time!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Sally
Absolutely delicious – this recipe has become a favourite regular of ours .
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
linda muia
l love this recipe for the sea bass was so delicious. l would make it again for sure ❤️❤️
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
David Clayton
Wow it just tastes great and it was a amazing recipe and i will do it again
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Jean
I serve fish frequently and am always looking for a recipe that will give it a special twist. This was the BEST fish recipe I have served in a long time. The flavors of the garlic, wine and butter blended beautifully and made for a company worthy dish. I will definitely make this again and I might add just a bit of capers…
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Love the idea of adding capers!
David Lill
Do you have any suggestions for something to accompany the fish.
Elizabeth Lindemann
I love it over rice, especially since the sauce gets all over the rice so you can enjoy more of it! And a steamed veggie like green beans. Enjoy!
George Davis
This was quick and easy to do and oh so delicious.👍👍👍
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
LBHam
We’ve made this twice now & loved it. Made it per the recipe but just to serve 2 of us – the sauce is so good, we want lots. Add a glass of wine & we could be in a restaurant. Will be making again. Thank you for this lovely recipe.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Natalie
I used dill because I had it in the fridge. Parsley went in the mix. Seasoning paprika, salt & pepper a little cumin in the flour mix, then lots of dill & parsley in the finished sauce with lemon. Really delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Love the addition of cumin here!