Easy Pan-Seared Trout Recipe (15 Minute Dinner)
This quick and simple pan-seared trout recipe is a fantastic, hearty, high-protein dinner idea that is ready in 15 minutes. Season your fish and sear the trout in a skillet and then bake it until it is tender, flaky, and cooked through.
This is a fantastic high-protein weeknight dinner that you can easily make with trout fillets whether you have fresh or frozen. See our step-by-step photos and video in the post below to make this easy pan-seared trout along with us today.
Want more high protein seafood dinner recipes? Try our honey Old Bay salmon, our tzatziki shrimp, or our favorite Grilled Arctic Char Recipe.
We love trout for dinner. It’s one of our favorite easy weeknight meals that gets to the table super fast. Trout is a fantastic fish that is high in protein, has omega-3 fatty acids, and has a delicious texture and light flavor.
This super quick pan-seared trout recipe is foolproof and gives the fish a fantastic crust on top and a tender and flaky interior. You can serve this easy pan-seared trout with oven-roasted potatoes, your favorite rice, or a delicious high-protein chopped salad for a complete meal.
Why This Recipe Works
- This easy pan-seared trout recipe is crisp on top, tender and flaky in the middle, and is fall apart delicious with each forkful.
- It has a light buttery flavor and a rich velvety texture. It’s perfectly cooked by being seared in the pan and then baked to perfection.
- A 15-minute high-protein dinner idea that the whole family will love and gets to the table quickly
- It’s super versatile and you can serve this with your favorite sides. See our serving suggestions below
- Cooks of any skill level can successfully make this fancier trout by following along with our step-by-step photos or by watching our video in the post below
Ingredients You’ll Need
Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!
This recipe starts with really good trout. If you can find fresh trout it’s quite excellent so I always recommend fresh. However frozen trout works just as well for this recipe. If using frozen fish be sure to thaw it completely before cooking.
We use a delicious spice blend, which is similar to a steak spice, on our trout. We find this gives the trout a really nice meaty flavor and a wonderful variety of spice.
We cook the fish in a high-oleic sunflower oil and finish it with some fresh lemon juice. The lemon really complements the flavor of the trout and makes the flavor pop. Fresh lemon is best for this rather than bottled lemon juice.
Additions and Substitutions
Feel free to use any spice blend you prefer on your trout. You don’t have to use the steak spice. It’s just our go-to. If you like, if you have a different spice blend that you love on your seafood, like Old Bay seasoning, you could absolutely use that instead.
Be sure to use a high-oleic cooking oil as you will be cooking it at a fairly high temperature on the stovetop and also baking it in the oven. We like sunflower oil as it has a high oleic smoke point.
You can also try this recipe with different varieties of fish. If you don’t have trout this recipe works great with salmon or Arctic char as well.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Before cooking, check the trout for bones, and remove any if you find them. Pat the salmon dry and place the fillets on a plate, skin-side down.
Step 2: In a small bowl, add your steak spice (or other spice blend you are using.)
Step 3: Sprinkle the top of the trout fillets with the spice mix.
Step 4: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large oven-safe skillet, add the sunflower oil and heat over medium-high heat for a few minutes until the oil is hot.
Step 5: Place the trout fillets in the oil skin-side up, and cover the pan. Sear the top of the trout fillets for 3 minutes, do not flip the fish, leave it in the pan so it gets a nice crust.
Step 6: Once the top is seared, flip the trout. Place the pan in the oven and bake the trout for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness. The trout will be done when it reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part of the fillet.
Step 7: Remove the trout from the oven, and serve immediately, squeezing fresh lemon juice over each fillet.
Recipe FAQs
Our easy high-protein pan-seared trout is made with trout fillets, which are coated in a delicious dry rub spice and cooked in some high-heat oil, then finished with fresh lemon juice.
Store any leftover fish in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Be sure to reheat thoroughly before enjoying again
We like using a steak spice blend, which is a bit unconventional on fish but tastes fantastic. With this cooking method you could use Old Bay or any seafood spice blend you prefer
Serving Suggestions
This pan-fried trout recipe is fantastic with creamy garlic mashed potatoes or a big high-protein chopped salad on the side.
We also like to serve this trout with oven-baked fries, which can cook at the same time that your trout is baking, or serve it simply with baked potatoes and a green side salad.
Expert Tips
- Always check for bones in your fish before cooking even if your trout says it’s been deboned. Always make sure to double-check for small bones or pin bones in the fish especially in larger fillets that may have been hard to thoroughly get at the store
- When cooking fish or any other meat, always use a meat thermometer to ensure doneness. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your fish so be sure to use a meat thermometer every time
- A cast iron skillet works best for this recipe as you can sear the top of the fish in the pan, then flip it and bake, and flip it and finish cooking the fish in the oven when it’s done. Be sure that whatever pan you’re using is oven-safe and if it’s not, transfer it to another oven-safe baking dish or sheet pan before continuing.
More High Protein Seafood Recipes
- Big Green Egg Halibut Recipe
- Old Bay Shrimp Salad Recipe
- Cheesy and Buttery Baked Oysters Recipe
- Bang Bang Salmon Recipe
- How to Grill Shrimp Without Skewers Recipe
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Pan-Seared Trout in 15 Minutes
Ingredients
- 2 6- ounce trout fillets
- 1 tablespoon spice blend our recipe follows
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil or other high-oleic oil
- Lemon wedges for serving
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon mustard seed
- ¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dill seed
Method
- Before cooking, check the trout for bones, and remove any if you find them. Pat the salmon dry and place the fillets on a plate, skin-side down. Cut the fillets into two 6-ounce portions, if not yet cut.
- In a small bowl, add your spice blend (or other spice blend you are using.)
- Sprinkle the top of the trout fillets with the spice mix.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large oven-safe skillet, add the sunflower oil and heat over medium-high heat for a few minutes until the oil is hot.
- Place the trout fillets in the oil skin-side up, and cover the pan. Sear the top of the trout fillets for 3 minutes, do not flip the fish, leave it in the pan so it gets a nice crust.
- Once the top is seared, flip the trout. Place the pan in the oven and bake the trout for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness. The trout will be done when it reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit in the thickest part of the fillet.
- Remove the trout from the oven, and serve immediately, squeezing fresh lemon juice over each fillet.
Nutrition
Notes
- Always check for bones in your fish before cooking even if your trout says it’s been deboned. Always make sure to double-check for small bones or pin bones in the fish especially in larger fillets that may have been hard to thoroughly get at the store
- When cooking fish or any other meat, always use a meat thermometer to ensure doneness. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your fish so be sure to use a meat thermometer every time
- A cast iron skillet works best for this recipe as you can sear the top of the fish in the pan, then flip it and bake, and flip it and finish cooking the fish in the oven when it’s done. Be sure that whatever pan you’re using is oven-safe and if it’s not, transfer it to another oven-safe baking dish or sheet pan before continuing.
Private Notes
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