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This 20-minute golden pan-fried flounder is smothered in a creamy lemon caper sauce for a restaurant-quality weeknight meal.
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Pan-Fried Flounder Is a Perfectly Light and Bright Dinner
Mild, sweet, and flaky flounder is pan fried to a light golden crisp, then smothered in a luscious creamy lemon caper sauce. This is a restaurant-quality dish that takes a measly 20 minutes to make at home. You’ll love it!
What to Serve With This Dish
- We love having pan-fried flounder with some nice crispy oven roasted potatoes. Creamy mashed potatoes are also a great option. If you like rice, try this Instant Pot pilaf!
- For veggies, grilled asparagus or green beans are our go-to.
- A simple Caesar salad or refreshing cucumber tomato salad is fantastic and keeps things nice and easy.
Quick Tip
Anytime you’re adding cream to a lemon sauce, remember: you want to add the acid first, warm your cream, and avoid overheating. Adding the lemon juice to the pan first allows it to distribute throughout the sauce before adding the cream. Before adding the cream, quickly heat it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. Then, remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour it in, stirring it as you go.
Ingredients
Find a full list of ingredients and their exact measurements in the recipe card below.
- Flounder fillets — Skinless and boneless is preferred for this recipe. If you can’t find flounder, other mild white flatfish can be substituted, such as sole, grouper, tilapia, turbot, or mahi-mahi. You could also use cod or halibut, but the cooking time will increase due to their thickness.
- Capers — We use a lot of capers in our sauce! They bring on a nice and bright briny flavor that goes beautifully with the lemon and butter.
- Dry white wine — Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio work well. If you prefer to avoid alcohol, simply replace it with added chicken broth.
- Heavy/whipping cream — Don’t substitute with a reduced fat cream or milk! Heavy cream can stand the heat and acidity way more than thinner, lighter dairy products. And though 1/2 cup sounds like a lot of cream, you’re mainly cooking your fish in it, and then you can choose how much to drizzle on your fillet.
How to Make Pan-Fried Flounder
General prep before you start cooking:
- Combine the flour, garlic powder, and onion powder in a shallow dish.
- Pat the flounder fillets with a paper towel to remove excess moisture, then season them with salt and pepper. Dredge each fillet in the flour mixture; set aside.
- Prepare a paper towel-lined plate to have near the stovetop.
- Pour the cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat it slightly for 15-30 seconds. You just want it to be warmed, not hot. Set it aside.
To cook:
Melt 1 TBSP of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir it to prevent browning. Once the butter is melted, stir in the olive oil. Bring the heat down the medium and carefully add the fillets to the skillet (shake off excess flour before adding the fillets to the pan).
Cook for about 2 minutes or until lightly golden, then carefully flip each fillet and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the fillets reach an internal temperature of 140-145º F. You can check this with a meat thermometer.
(I also highly recommend a fish spatula if you cook a lot of fish—they’re shape is helpful to ensure fillets don’t break apart when transfering or flipping.)
Remove the fillets from the pan and set them on a paper-towel lined plate.
Add the other TBSP of butter to the pan. Once melted, add the garlic and simmer for about 30 seconds. Then add the wine and bring it to a light simmer. Deglaze the pan by scraping up any browned bits from the bottom (these add flavor to your sauce).
Remove the pan from the heat, then pour in the chicken broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, and capers. Give everything a good stir.
Slowly pour the cream into the pan while stirring. Bring the pan back to the burner over medium-low heat. Bring the sauce to a low simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens a little bit. Add the fish back to the pan, spoon the sauce over the fillets, and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.
Storage, Freezing, & Reheating
- You can store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
- Freezing leftovers of this dish is not recommended. Cream sauces like the lemon caper sauce just don’t do well when frozen and thawed.
- To reheat, pop it in the microwave in 15 second increments. These fillets are thin so cook and reheat quickly, and you don’t want to accidentally reheat it to the point of it being rubbery and dry. Fish leftovers can be tricky, which is why this recipe is written as a smaller portion to be eaten day-of.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flounder fillets are mild, slightly sweet, and flaky. They do not have a strong fish smell or taste at all!
Flounder is fantastic when pan-fried like in this recipe, but you could also steam it, bake it, or deep fry it.
Yes, flounder is a nutritious saltwater fish that offers up a hefty dose of vitamin B12 as well as omega-3 fats.
More Awesome Fish Recipes
- Crispy Baked Alaska Pollock
- Air Fryer Fish Sticks
- Mahi-Mahi Fish Tacos
- Lemon Pepper Grouper
- Air Fryer Salmon With Orange Honey Glaze
Have You Made This Recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a STAR rating & commenting below with feedback!
You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme
Pan-Fried Flounder With Creamy Lemon Caper Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 boneless & skinless flounder fillets
- Sea salt & cracked black pepper; just a sprinkle to season the fillets
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 TBSP butter
- 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated to a paste with a microplane
- 1/2 cup dry white wine, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio work
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 lemon, juiced and zested
- 3 TBSP drained capers
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
General prep before cooking:
- In a shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Gently pat the flounder fillets dry with a paper towel. This will remove excess moisture. Season them with salt and pepper, dredge each fillet into the flour mixture, and set aside.
- Line a plate with a paper towel to have near the stovetop to transfer the fillets to once they are cooked.
- Warm the cream in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl for 15-30 seconds. You want the cream to be warm, not hot. Set it aside.
Cooking:
- In a large skillet, melt 1 TBSP of butter over medium heat. Stir it as it melts to keep it from browning. When the butter has melted, stir in the olive oil. Decrease the heat to medium and carefully add the fillets to the skillet, shaking off any excess flour beforehand.
- Let the fillets cook for about 2 minutes or until lightly golden. Carefully flip each fillet and cook for another 2 minutes, or until each fillet reaches an internal temperature of 140-145º F, which you can check with a meat thermometer.
- Carefully transfer the fillets from the pan to the paper-towel lined plate; set it aside.
- Add the remaining TBSP of butter to the hot pan and once it's melted, add the garlic. Simmer for about 30 seconds, then stir in the wine. Bring it to a light simmer and deglaze the pan by scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add in the chicken broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, and capers. Stir well.
- Slowly add the cream into the pan, stirring as you go. Place the pan onto the burner over medium-low heat once more and bring the sauce to a low simmer. Stir occasionally until the sauce thickens a little bit.
- Transfer the fish back to the pan and spoon the sauce over the fillets.
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve!
This recipe is excellent. Easy to prepare and absolutely delish to eat. Can’t wait to make this again. My family love. It. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Lucy! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Very good recipe. Love that sauce!
Thanks, Marcia! I love the sauce, too :)
Love this recipe, easy and very detailed. Thanks for sharing
I adore capers with fish and the whole combination was just fabulous. We really enjoyed this recipe. Thank you.