Baked Halibut (with Lemon Garlic Butter)
Baked Halibut is drenched in a simple yet flavorful lemon garlic butter sauce and oven baked until flaky for an easy dinner that’s on the table in under 20 minutes!
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Enter your email below and we'll send it to your inbox. Plus get our best recipes every week!
The next time you need to get dinner on the table in a flash, Baked Halibut is the answer!
Not only is this recipe quick and easy, but it's positively delicious. The oven baked halibut turns tender and flaky, with plenty of moisture and flavor from cooking in a simple yet scrumptious lemon garlic butter.
The additional sauce is drizzled over the Baked Halibut upon serving. Garnish with lemon slices and fresh minced parsley and you've got yourself one elegant weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
Baked Halibut is effortless to make with just a handful of simple ingredients.
- Halibut. Halibut is a mild white fish that bakes up tender and flaky. You can ask the butcher to cut your halibut fillets to size. If the halibut comes with skin, ask the butcher to remove it (or remove it yourself before baking). This recipe will also work with frozen halibut that’s been completely thawed. Simply thaw in a covered dish in the refrigerator overnight. Alternatively, place frozen fillets in a gallon-sized zip-top bag, squeeze out the air, and place in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes or until thawed.
- Salt + freshly ground black pepper. To season the halibut fillets. You'll also need a bit of extra salt for the sauce.
- Butter. The base of the lemon garlic butter. Salted or unsalted butter will work...whatever you have on hand is fine.
- Garlic clove. A little bit of fresh garlic goes a long way in this recipe! I recommend grating or pressing your garlic, so that it's almost like a paste and can get nice and distributed through the sauce. Or if you mince it, just mince it really well! And if you don't have any fresh garlic, you may substitute garlic powder in a pinch. I'd start with ¼ teaspoon and then add more, to taste, as needed.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice will work as well...just check that "lemon juice" is the only listed ingredient.
- Fresh lemon slices + fresh minced parsley. Optional garnishes. Or you could substitute other herbs for the parsley...fresh dill would be delightful!
How to Bake Halibut
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
Have I mentioned that this Baked Halibut recipe can be on your table in no time at all?!
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and arrange your halibut fillets in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Pat the fillets dry with a paper towel and generously season them with salt and pepper.
- In a small saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Pour the lemon garlic butter over the halibut fillets in the baking dish. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until the halibut is opaque and flaky yet still moist, taking care not to overcook it.
- Garnish with lemon slices and fresh chopped parsley or dill, if desired.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
How to Know When Baked Halibut is Done
Your Baked Halibut is done when the thickest section of the fish easily flakes with a fork. Check the halibut at 9 minutes and add more time only if necessary.
That being said, thinner pieces of halibut will cook faster and thicker pieces will take longer to cook through.
So if your halibut fillets are different sizes, you can always pull the thinner/smaller pieces out of the oven as soon as they’re done. Leave the thicker/larger pieces in the oven for an extra minute or two (or three) to finish cooking.
Side Dishes for Baked Halibut
Since this Baked Halibut recipe is simple and mild, it goes beautifully with a variety of side dishes. A few suggestions...
- A fresh green salad dressed with a zippy vinaigrette and a loaf of crusty bread or soft dinner rolls.
- A vegetable-based salad, like Creamy Cucumber Salad, Marinated Tomatoes, or Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad.
- Simple roasted veggies, including squash, zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, or even tomatoes.
- Pasta, from orzo to mac & cheese.
- Pasta salad, from simple to loaded.
- Mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, or roasted sweet potatoes.
So are you ready to enjoy a speedy dinner of Baked Halibut with Lemon Garlic Butter?
It's simple to make and simply delicious...I think you're going to LOVE it. 🙂
More Seafood Specialties
- Oven Baked Salmon with Garlic + Parsley
- From-Scratch Stovetop Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Easy Salmon Patties
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
Baked Halibut (with Lemon Garlic Butter)
Ingredients
- 4 (5- to 6-ounce) halibut fillets
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 garlic clove, grated or pressed
- 1 ½ tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- OPTIONAL GARNISHES: lemon slices + fresh chopped parsley or dill
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and arrange halibut in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Pat the fillets dry with a paper towel and generously season with salt and pepper.
- In a small saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
- Pour butter mixture over halibut fillets in baking dish. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, or until halibut is opaque and flaky yet still moist, taking care not to overcook.
- Garnish with a lemon slice and/or fresh chopped herbs, if desired, and serve immediately.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- You can ask the butcher to cut your halibut fillets to size. If the halibut comes with skin, ask the butcher to remove it (or remove it yourself before baking).
- This recipe will also work with frozen halibut that’s been completely thawed. Thaw in a covered dish in the refrigerator overnight. Alternatively, place frozen fillets in a gallon-sized zip-top bag, squeeze out the air, and place in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes or until thawed.
- You can use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe.
- If you don’t have fresh lemons on hand, you may use bottled juice, but try to find a bottle that lists “lemon juice” as its only ingredient.
- The halibut is done when the thickest section of the fish easily flakes with a fork. Check your halibut at 9 minutes and add more time only if necessary.
- Thinner pieces of halibut may cook faster and thicker pieces will take longer to cook through. If your halibut fillets are different sizes, you can pull thinner pieces out of the oven as soon as they’re done and before any thicker pieces that may still require a few extra minutes to finish cooking.
