A pan seared mahi mahi dish makes for a fantastic seafood meal that is super easy to put together. We serve it over greens, with lemon slices or wedges plus a colesaw or fries for my kids. It’s a dish that always remind me of lazy summer evenings by the beach!
As a mom of 2 I always strive to put healthy dinners on the plate for my family but reality sets in and it’s not always possible. But when I have some mahi mahi fillets, it’s so easy to make a great seafood dinner. No one complains but I feel no guilt and best of all, it cooks fast. So it checks all the boxes!!
Lately, my local Costco is selling big packages of mahi mahi fillets (3-4 lbs each). That’s usually 2 meals for my family of 4. So I usually pan sear half for one dinner and bake or grill the other half for another meal.
List of Ingredients
These are the ingredients I use to pan sear mahi mahi. However, several steps in my process are so easy to customize that I hope I can give you some variations and other optional ingredients.
- mahi mahi fillets (cut them in 4, 6 or 8 ozs pieces according to your appetite)
- sea salt
- za’atar (use lemon pepper instead if you don’t have or don’t like za’atar)
- Italian seasoning
- Lemons (zest one lemon, juice it and slice another lemon)
- butter
- garlic
- olive oil
- fresh dill
- fresh parsley
- few splashes of white wine if you have it available (if you don’t use veggie stock or even chicken stock).
How to pan sear Mahi Mahi?
So no matter how you season the fish, the process of pan searing it is the same.
Make sure you pat dry the mahi mahi fillets first. Season with your favorite seasonings.
Use a good non stick skillet with heavy bottom (a cast iron skillet is good, a tri clad or all clad is good). Place the skillet in medium heat and lightly coat with 1 tbsp of olive oil and one tbsp of butter, wait till it bubbles.
Place mahi mahi fillets in the skillet, use a fish spatula and sear until the bottom is light golden brown. Flip with the spatula carefully. Sear on the other side, usually I sear 5 minutes one side and 3 minutes the other side.
Remove fish and place on a plate, cover it. Now we’ll make a little sauce. Lower heat from medium to a little higher than simmer. Add the rest of the butter to skillet and minced garlic. Once garlic is aromatic add lemon juice, zest and few splashes of white wine.
When alcohol evaporates, add chopped parsley and chopped dill. Mix and add the fish back in the skillet. Spoon a little bit of the sauce over every piece. Garnish with more lemon and dill.
How to serve pan seared mahi mahi as a meal?
I will give several of our favorite combinations and you pick your favorites.
- My kids like the mahi mahi with French fries and a salad.
- I love the mahi mahi fillet over greens, with lemon slices and cole slaw.
- My husband loves the mahi mahi over greens with grilled asparagus as a side.
You can use a dill lemon basmati rice or roasted harissa potatoes as a side dish too.
Pan Seared Mahi Mahi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 mahi mahi fillets on average 6 ozs each, you can go up to 8 ozs per person
- 0.5 sea salt
- pinch black pepper
- 0.5 tsp za'atar use lemon pepper instead if you don't have za'atar
- 0.5 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 4 tbsps butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves mince
- 2 lemons zest and juice one, slice the other
- splash white wine
- 2-3 tbsps parsley finely chopped
- 2-3 tbsps fill finely chopped
Instructions
- Pat dry mahi mahi pieces. Season to your taste. I normally season with sea salt, black pepper, za'atar and Italian seasoning.
- Zest and juice one lemon, slice the other. Finely chop parsley and dill, set aside.
- Place skillet on medium heat. When it starts to get hot, add 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add seasoned mahi mahi pieces once butter has melted and oil/butter mix becomes shimmery.
- Let mahi mahi cook for about 5 minutes on one side. Use a fish spatula and flip, let cook for about 3 minutes on the other side. Both sides should look light golden brown. Remove from skillet and place on a platter, cover to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.
- Add remaining butter to skillet and minced garlic. Once garlic becomes aromatic, add a splash of wine and as alcohol evaporates scrape the skillet with a spatula. Lower heat to simmer. Add lemon juice, lemon zest and chopped parsley and chopped dill. Simmer for a minute or two.
- Add fish back to skillet, turn heat off. Spoon some of the sauce over the mahi mahi pieces. Add slices of lemon and a bit more herbs to garnish. Serve warm with grilled asparagus, salad, rice or your favorite side dishes. Enjoy:).
Notes
- My favorite wine pairing for this pan seared mahi mahi dish is a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
- Side dishes that go well with this seafood dish are dill and lemon rice, grilled asparagus, lettuce and dill salad etc etc.
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
If you would like to save this recipe for later, please pin one of the pictures from this post to your Dinner or Seafood boards in Pinterest. It makes the recipe so much easier to retrieve in the future.
Let me know in comments if you made my recipe or the adjustments you used. I always like to read about new variations and my readers preferences. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading my blog and cooking my recipes!!
More Seafood Recipes
Here are some of my popular seafood recipes:
- Baked Whole Red Snapper
- Salmon with Dijon Mustard & Tarragon Sauce
- Shrimp in Roasted Tomato Sauce over Polenta
- Baked Branzino
- Baked Sea Bream with Onions
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