This oven baked mahi mahi recipe with a sumptuous creamy lemon butter sauce is so simple and delicious you won't believe it! Also very quick - taking only 30 minutes start to finish!
Great served over rice, pasta, or all by itself with a side salad or vegetables of choice. I recommend my Sauteed Broccoli, Creamed Peas, or Green Beans Almondine.
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💖 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Quick - Quick to prep, quick to cook, this recipe for baked mahi mahi takes only 30 minutes from start to finish!
- Easy - Simple ingredients and simple to prepare - no complicated processes here!
- Delicious - The prominent flavors of lemon, thyme, and cream pair nicely with this mild-flavored fish, making a deliciously simple meal you can reserve for special times or plan to make regularly.
🥘 Ingredients
📖 Ingredient Notes / Variations
- Fish - Mahi mahi is a mild-flavored white fish that flakes nicely when cooked.
- Lemon - Use two whole lemons - you will need the zest from the skin and also the fresh juice.
- Cream - Using heavy cream is advised in order to make your sauce thicker. Don't use regular milk, as it will be too runny.
(See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full recipe instructions)
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
How to Cook Mahi Mahi in the Oven:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 450F. In a small sauce pan, melt butter on low heat. Add garlic, thyme, lemon juice and zest, and cream and cook until a bit bubbly and thickened but not boiling (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.
Step 2: Add oil to iron skillet or 6 x 9 oven-safe dish and arrange fish on top of oil. Salt and pepper fish.
Step 3: Pour butter mixture over top of fish. Cover and cook 15 minutes.
Step 4: Uncover and cook another 5 minutes to brown a bit. Remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes before serving.
(Scroll down for full recipe and print capabilities)
💭 Expert Tips for the Best Mahi Mahi
- Mahi mahi is a very delicious white fish that's similar in texture (in my opinion) to salmon. Nice large flakes and a mild flavor. It's a larger fish, so it's not as easy to overcook as some smaller fish like flounder. However, beware of overcooking, as this will leave your fish dry and less flavorful. The lemon and cream sauce will help with this, but getting both right will result in spectacular results.
- The fresher your fish, the better your baked mahi dish! I actually made this recipe the first time with fresh-and-never-frozen mahi mahi. But the second time, I used frozen, and the results were the same. Just make sure that your mahi is mostly defrosted when beginning the cooking process.
- If it's partially frozen and still has the skin on, take this time to remove the skin with a sharp knife. It will be easier than removing from fully thawed fish. You can also opt to leave the skin on and position the fish skin-side down when cooking.
- The lemon butter sauce is the secret ingredient to making this baked mahi mahi supreme! It's simple to make but full of flavorful ingredients that will take your fish to the next level.
- Get the sauce mixture a bit bubbly, but don't boil. What I mean is - get it just starting to bubble and then remove it from the heat. You don't want the cream to boil (as it will curdle and not be as smooth), but it's okay to get hot enough to bubble. If it happens to curdle a bit, this won't affect the taste - just the look of it.
🧐 Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can! Make sure to cook with the skin side down, as this will make sure your fish is nicely browned on the top. You can easily avoid the skin when eating by plucking each bite from the top.
No, the fish will be just fine to serve with the skin on. Just make sure the skin is on the bottom and not the top. Like above, it's pretty easy to avoid eating the skin when taking bites from the top of the fish.
I mostly judge my fish by smell. If it smells extra "fishy," you know it's not the freshest. It should still be okay as long as you're going by the sell-by or use-by date.
However, if your fish smells like ammonia, you should probably discard it. Fresh fish will not smell extra fishy, but it will smell like the sea - like saltwater and the ocean.
Mahi mahi is not a fatty fish like salmon, so it won't taste like a fatty fish. It's best compared to a mild white fish like cod, halibut, swordfish, red snapper, or grouper.
Keep in mind that thinner cuts of fish will need less cook time, so plan accordingly. My mahi is typically about ½ to ¾ inch thick. If your fish is thinner, it will need less cook time to avoid overcooking.
If your fish is overcooked, it will be tough. Properly cooked fish is tender and soft but not overly soft. It's better to err on the side of softer, as you can always cook it a bit more.
If it's overcooked, however, it will be a bit chewy. It's still okay to eat, but may not be as enjoyable or flavorful.
What to Serve with Mahi Mahi
Serve this baked mahi mahi with rice or pasta and a side salad or green vegetable. I served mine over Lundberg Jubilee Rice along with a simple spring mix side salad.
If you tried this Baked Mahi Mahi recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
📋 Recipe
Baked Mahi Mahi Recipe with Creamy Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- In a small sauce pan, melt butter on low heat. Add garlic, thyme, lemon juice and zest, and cream and cook until a bit bubbly but not boiling (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.
- Add oil to iron skillet or 6 x 9 oven-safe dish and arrange fish on top of oil. Pour butter mixture over top of fish. Cover and cook 15 minutes.
- Uncover and cook another 5 minutes to brown a bit.
- Remove from the oven and let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Serve over rice or pasta, spooning sauce generously over top of fish.
- Leftovers can be safely kept in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Notes
- The fresher your fish, the better your baked mahi dish! I actually made this recipe the first time with fresh-and-never-frozen mahi mahi. But the second time, I used frozen, and the results were the same. Just make sure that your mahi is mostly defrosted when beginning the cooking process.
- If it's partially frozen and still has the skin on, take this time to remove the skin with a sharp knife. It will be easier than removing from fully thawed fish. You can also opt to leave the skin on and position the fish skin-side down when cooking.
- Get the sauce mixture a bit bubbly, but don't boil.
Tamara Hoelting says
Fixed this for my husband tonight. Followed recipe exactly, except our Mahi Mahi was over an inch thick. I don’t eat fish lol. He LOVED it. Said it’s the best fish he’s had in a long time, including upscale restaurants! Thank You for putting this out there for all of us to try.
Sally says
Awesome Tamara! Thanks for letting me know!
Eric says
Fantastic recipe. Substituted Herbs De Provance for the thyme but still added 1/4 tsp thyme. A little extra butter. And added panko on top for the 5 min uncovered bake portion. This is a restaurant quality dish that we now eat every time I can get Mahi on sale! Bravo
Sally says
Thanks Eric! Love your additions!
Emily says
This mahi mahi recipe is so delicious! The lemon sauce is amazing! Definitely a recipe to make again and again.
Sally says
Thanks Emily!
Carrie Robinson says
I am LOVING that sauce! Going to have to make this soon. 🙂
Sally says
Thanks Carrie! I hope you and your family enjoy it!
Kushigalu says
Loved that lemon butter sauce so delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Sally says
Thanks Kushigalu!
Mahy says
I haven't had mahi mahi in a long time 🙂 This looks like a fantastic recipe and a wonderful way to surprise someone you care about!
Sally says
Mahi mahi is one of my favorites, Mahy! I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!
Anjali says
This turned out to be so good! The lemon butter sauce paired so nicely with the fish!
Sally says
So glad you hear, Anjali! Thanks for commenting!