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This baked mahi mahi recipe is so simple and delicious you won’t believe it! With the sumptuous creamy lemon butter sauce added before baking, you will have a flavorful fish dinner ready in less than an hour.
Great served over rice, pasta, or all by itself with a side salad or vegetables of choice.
Tips for the Best Baked 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.
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. 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.
Making the Creamy Lemon Butter Sauce
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.
Melting the butter first is pretty important, so that you can then mix the rest of the ingredients thoroughly, making a nice pourable sauce mixture.
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, but it’s okay to get hot enough to bubble.
Baked Mahi Mahi Recipe with Creamy Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh mahi mahi, skin removed (four 4-ounce portions)
- 2 medium lemons, zest and juice
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp olive or avocado oil (or oil of choice)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tsp minced garlic (about 1 large clove)
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.
What to Serve with Baked Mahi Mahi
Serve this baked mahi mahi recipe 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.
I also recommend my easy Strawberry Spinach Salad, my quick Green Beans Almondine, or my Cast Iron Brussel Sprouts. You may also want to consider my Cream Style Corn.
More Dinner Recipe Ideas:
- Spaghetti Bolognaise (Southern Style, of course!)
- Chicken & Bacon Pasta Bake
- Corn Potato Chowder (Easy, Hearty & Delicious!)
- Authentic Jambalaya Recipe (Lots of Spicy Flavors!)
- Turkey Ala King (Using Leftover Turkey or Chicken)
- London Broil Crock Pot Recipe (with Built-In Gravy)
Don’t Forget To Pin for Later!
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