Pan Fried Sea Bass with Lemon Garlic Herb Sauce

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!