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
Pan Fried Sea Bass with Lemon Garlic Herb Sauce
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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
- To use dried herbs: Dried herbs have a bit of a different taste than fresh, but can certainly be used if fresh are not available. The general rule for substituting dried herbs for fresh is using about 1/3 of the measurement – so 1 teaspoon dried for every 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs. Since they are dried, they can cook a bit longer to absorb some liquid and soften up, so you might want to give the sauce a little more time on lower heat to cook.
- Paleo / dairy free / grain free / gluten-free substitutions: You can use almond flour or coconut flour instead of all purpose flour, cornstarch or a GF flour mix, and or olive oil instead of butter, depending on your needs.
- 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 reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It 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.
This recipe is wonderful! The fish came out perfect and the sauce is absolutely delicious!!
So glad you liked it!
Just curious why you called sea bass affordable. A pound of it just cost me 24.99 at Costco.
Thanks for asking this! I’ve added a note next to where I said it’s affordable. 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. Hope that helps! You can also use this recipe with another fish if you can’t find sea bass in your price range.
Question: skin on or off?
Either! I love crispy fish skin and I hate the chore of taking it off so I’d personally leave it on.
Loved it! Our fillets were European cut, so there were thinner. I actually fried them ~2 minutes on a side. Your sauce was amazing. It didn’t call for that much butter, but added to the wine and broth at different intervals made it richer than I expected it to be.
The Mrs. baked carrots and sweet potatoes to go with the dish. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
So glad you liked it!
Girl- this one slaps so hard it’s sooo good that I am attempted to make a bigger batch for when I host dinner with friends. I made this on a whim at 8pm bc you know, I was hungry and had a sea bass that I haven’t cooked and didn’t want it to go to waste. This turned out really good! The flavour mama! It’s giving! Thank you so much for this quick and easy recipe.
So glad you liked it! What a great comment, than you for taking the time to leave it!
I have never responded or rated a recipe before. All I have to say is Winner, Winner Sea Bass Dinner. My husband does not like capers. This recipe was perfect. I made your sea bass recipe for his birthday dinner and he LOVED it! Me too!!! I have several of your recipes now as “go to” recipes. This is another one. Thank You!!
So glad you liked it, and thank you for taking the time to leave such a wonderful review!
will vegetable broth work instead of chicken broth. Im pescetarian
Definitely!
I made this dish tonight. It’s absolutely delicious. Thank you!
So glad you liked it!
Hi – I am kind of a newbie at cooking. How do I keep the fish warm while making the sauce. Thank you!
If you like, you can put it on a plate with some foil over it to keep it warm. But the sauce won’t take too long to make, so I wouldn’t overthink it! You can also place it back in the skillet with the sauce to come up to a warmer temperature. One thing to consider: if you tent it with foil to keep it warm, it may have some carryover cooking (the inside will continue to cook from the residual warmth). You can account for carryover cooking by taking it off the skillet a little bit before it’s completely done (about 5 degrees in temperature, or by sight) – again, it’s not that serious, but wanted to add that tidbit of info in case you feel like some extra credit and just so you know as you continue your cooking journeys! Good luck :-)
Thank you very much, Elizabeth. I am very grateful for your reply.
Yummy
So glad you liked it!
Delicious recipe! very mild and flaky fish and the sauce is very tasty!
Why is my comment not being posted? Followed the recipe to the letter. Sauce was not a sauce. More like a runny soup. Nothing like the picture at all. Not very good.
Hi Daniel. I am the only person who runs this website, so I often don’t get around to approving comments for a day or two, and most often definitely not for the two hours that elapsed between your original comment and this one. I just approved and replied to your other comment, so hope that helps solve your problem. In the interest of transparency, this person also left a one star rating on this follow up, which I deleted since he already rated the recipe in his previous comment. You can read more about my comment policy regarding star ratings on my FAQs page (https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/faqs/). Hope that helps!
Sorry, feel free to delete this one. I was expecting the comment to appear immediately. I didn’t realise that it had to be approved.
No worries! Really appreciate you saying this :-)
I followed the recipe exactly and the sauce was not a sauce, it was a really runny soup. Nothing like the picture at all.
Oh no, sorry you had a frustrating experience! I think the sauce probably needed to reduce a little more. Next time (for this or other recipes with a pan sauce, or for anyone else reading this), let the sauce simmer for a little while after adding the chicken broth. You may not need to do this depending on how hot the skillet is already, but if it seems too runny, this is the course of action that should be taken. I’ll add a note to the recipe explaining this. Hope that helps and better luck next time!
also could try a touch of cornstarch to thicken.
Good idea!
Excellent recipe, simple to follow, easy to cook.
Lovely fresh flavours to accompany the fish. 10/10.👍😋
So glad you liked it!
Excellent and easy
So glad you liked it!
This was fantastic! We recently moved to Cape Cod and we went fishing and caught 12 huge sea bass. I had never cooked sea bass before so I googled and up your recipe came! I tell you, it tasted just like my favorite restaurant (Mama’s Fish House in Maui, Hawaii)…….Wow – best recipe! Thank you!!
So glad you liked it!
Very good recipe one of the best sea bass sauces I’ve had even in a restaurant.
So glad you liked it!
Soo soo good! One of the best fish sauces we’ve had! I actually forgot to pin this recipe & lost it then spent 30minutes looking for it again. That’s how good it was!
So glad you liked it!
I love sea bass and I followed the recipe. It wasn’t the best or most flavorful recipe I’ve made. A bit disappointed.
Oh no! Sorry to hear you were disappointed by this recipe. My guess is perhaps it was lacking in salt – sometimes when the salt and pepper is mixed with the flour before dredging, some of the salt can be left behind in the bowl or sink to the bottom. If you choose to make it again (or for anyone else reading this) if you find it’s lacking in flavor, I recommend throwing a little more salt on the finished product and/or another squeeze of lemon juice (which can have a similar effect as salt in bringing out flavors). Hope that helps and better luck next time!
I made this over and over because my family loves it! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
So glad you liked it!
Delicious, complex flavors in the sauce. This recipe is a definite keeper in my book!
So glad you liked it!