Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Caper Butter
This Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Caper Butter is a delicious 20-minute meal! It seems fancy but couldn’t be easier to make. Perfect for date night! Whole30, Paleo, Keto, and Gluten Free.
I made a very similar sea bass for date night a couple of months ago, and I seriously haven’t been able to stop thinking about how delicious it was! The brininess from the capers and richness from the butter are the perfect compliment to this mild, flaky fish. This is a great meal to make for a special occasion or date night in! Sea bass can be on the expensive side, so we only have it every once in a while. I served it over a creamy garlic cauliflower mash and it was just SO GOOD! I can’t wait for you to try it.
What You Need to Make This Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Caper Butter
- 2 6-oz Chilean Sea Bass fillets – I’ve gotten these at Whole Foods fresh, and at Wegmans frozen. Either way will work!
- Olive oil
- Ghee, vegan butter, or regular butter
- Lemon
- Capers
For the Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Mash:
- 32 oz frozen cauliflower or 1 large head cauliflower. I like to get the family size pack from Wegman’s.
- Chicken broth
- Ghee or vegan butter
- Coconut cream (just the thick part from a can of coconut milk) – I love Thai Kitchen brand
- Garlic powder
You can also serve this fish over risotto, pasta, or mashed potatoes! This sauce is amazing on so many things.
How To Make Pan Seared Sea Bass with Lemon Caper Butter
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Pat your sea bass fillets dry and coat on both sides with 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle the fillets with salt and pepper.
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Preheat your oven to 425. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a cast iron (or other oven-safe skillet) over medium high heat. When the pan is nice and hot, add the fillets skin side down (if they have skin). Let them cook, untouched, for 5 mins. Flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
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Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes. The fish should flake easily with a fork at this point.
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While the fish is cooking, make the cauliflower mash. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the frozen cauliflower. Cook it for 10-15 minutes until you can easily pierce the florets with a fork. Drain the cauliflower really well and return it to the pot. Add in the chickenn broth, coconut milk, garlic powder, and salt. Use an immersion blender (or regular blender or food processor) to blend up the cauliflower until very thick and creamy.
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Melt the ghee (or vegan butter) in the microwave. Stir in the lemon juice and capers. Serve the fish over some cauliflower mash and spoon some of the lemon butter caper sauce over top. Enjoy!
I used a 10.25 inch Lodge cast iron skillet to make this! Love this pan so much!
Other Healthy Seafood Recipes to Try:
Gluten Free Baked Feta Pasta with Shrimp
If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram @maryswholelife so I can see your creations!
Enjoy!
Mary
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Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Caper Butter
Ingredients
- 2 6 oz Chilean Sea Bass fillets, thawed if previously frozen
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup ghee, vegan butter, or regular butter
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup capers
Creamy Garlic Cauliflower Mash
- 32 oz frozen cauliflower, or one large head of cauliflower
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup Ghee or vegan butter
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut cream, just the thick part from a can of coconut milk)
- 1 tsp sea salt, more to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Pat your sea bass fillets dry and coat on both sides with 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle the fillets with salt and pepper.
- Preheat your oven to 425. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a cast iron (or other oven-safe skillet) over medium high heat. When the pan is nice and hot, add the fillets skin side down (if they have skin). Let them cook, untouched, for 5 mins. Flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes. The fish should flake easily with a fork at this point.
- While the fish is cooking, make the cauliflower mash. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the frozen cauliflower. Cook it for 10-15 minutes until you can easily pierce the florets with a fork. Drain the cauliflower really well and return it to the pot. Add in the chicken broth, coconut milk, ghee (or vegan butter), garlic powder, and salt. Use an immersion blender (or regular blender or food processor) to blend up the cauliflower until very thick and creamy.
- Melt the ghee (or vegan butter) for the lemon butter sauce the microwave. Stir in the lemon juice and capers. Serve the fish over some cauliflower mash and spoon some of the lemon butter caper sauce over top. Enjoy!
Nutrition
11 Comments on “Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Caper Butter”
We made this last night. The whole family loved it! Easy to make during the week and made you feel like you were eating at a restaurant. So good!!
Delicious! Recipe went just as written. Mary’s recipes never disappoint! This was a great change from the usual salmon or shrimp seafood meal.
Thanks Jeri! Glad you enjoyed it!!
Perfect timing on the skillet and then in the oven! Fish was Delicious with just the salt, pepper, lemon and capers 🙂
I used your recipe for my first time trying Chilean Sea Bass! We bought the fillets at Whole Foods and unfortunately, they didn’t debone them completely. That made my experience not as good, the bones freak me out lol. Just a tip for those buying from Whole Foods, always double check!
I didn’t make the mash, used mashed potatoes. I thought the cooking process and sauce turned out well! Sadly, I can say I don’t think I am a fan of this kind of fish. That’s okay, the flavor was good but something about the fish itself just wasn’t that exciting. Maybe I will try it again. Salmon is my favorite!
Looking forward to more recipes
I followed your recipe and found the dish to be the best fish i can remember eating. I’m 74. Delicious and simple to make!
Thank you Robert!
Tonight is the third time I’ve made this recipe. Used dill instead of capers this time. There are so many variations to the sauce but will continue to cook the fish the same every time. It turns out buttery and flaky and yummy.
I made this recipe last night and I was not impressed. I would caution those on a diet or watching their intake of fats to look at the amount of butter that is used in this recipe for the fish and cauliflower mash. It calls for about 1 1/2 sticks of butter between the two (and this is for two servings). I did not even use the amount of butter that the cauliflower mash recipe called for. Plus, the use of coconut cream in the mash recipe gave the mash a weird taste. The South Beach Diet cookbook has a much better recipe for cauliflower mash, which almost tastes like mashed potatoes. Chilean sea bass is an expensive fish and I would look elsewhere for a recipe that accentuates the flavor of the bass. This recipe does not.
Yum! Delicious.
My cauliflower mash was too runny. I suggest adding half the broth and coconut cream and then more if needed.