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With a drizzle of garlicky lemon butter, this Salt and Pepper Crusted Chilean Sea Bass Recipe brings simple flavors to your plate and pairs with everything!
An Easy Chilean Sea Bass Recipe You Can Master at Home.
If you’re trying to get your family to eat more fish, sea bass is the perfect gateway. The flavor is mild, the texture is meaty, and it pairs well with just about anything! You can hit it with a variety of spices or brighten it up with a fruit salsa. I decided to keep things simple with this recipe to boast how great Chilean sea bass is on its own. Honestly, a generous amount of salt and pepper with a drizzle of garlic lemon butter is all you need.
A Very Short List of Ingredients!
Nothing beats a recipe with very little ingredients. Just four ingredients for the fish, and three ingredients for the garlicky lemon butter. Here’d what to put on your grocery list:
- Chilean sea bass fillets, about 6 oz each
- Olive oil
- Sea salt
- Cracked black pepper
- Butter
- Garlic cloves
- Lemon
How to Cook Chilean Sea Bass.
If you’re familiar with cooking fish, weather it be on the grill or in the oven, good news: Chilean sea bass cooks the same as any other fish. If you’re less familiar with cooking fish, check out my Fish & Seafood Guide for cooking tips and tricks. In this particular recipe, the fillet is pan-seared to get a good crust going, then finished off in the oven resulting in a perfect, juicy, flaky interior. Here’s what you’ll do:
- Preheat the oven to 375º F with a rack positioned in the middle.
- Gently pat the fillets dry with paper towels, then let the fillets come to room temperature. This should take about 10-15 minutes.
- Hit the top of each fillet with a generous amount of sea salt and cracked black pepper—you’re looking at about 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper, but you can eyeball it.
- Heat some avocado or olive oil (not extra virgin, just olive oil) in a heavy-bottomed medium-sized cast iron pan. Heat it for about two minute so the pan is very hot and the oil is shimmering.
- Carefully place the fish fillets into the skillet seasoned side down. Hit the fillets with a bit more salt and pepper.
- Sear the fillets over high heat for 2 minutes. Don’t try to move the fish once it it’s the pan, or you’ll tear the fillet.
- Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake the fillets for 8 minutes, or until the fillets are opaque and have an internal temperature of 145º F. While the fish cooks, make the garlic lemon butter sauce.
- Plate the fish and drizzle each fillet with a tablespoon of garlic lemon butter sauce.
Useful Tools for This Recipe:
- Cast iron skillet
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Stainless steel fish turner
- Small pan
- Microplane
- Meat thermometer
Recipe Tips + Tricks.
- Be sure to use a cooking oil with a high smoke point, like avocado, olive oil (not extra virgin), canola, safflower, etc.
- When the Chilean sea bass is placed onto the hot pan, do not try to move it or you’ll tear the fillet. The fillet needs to develop a crust and cook before it can safely be moved.
- If you don’t have a stainless steel fish turner, you can use a regular spatula, just be careful. Fish turners are longer and better for handling delicate fish fillets.
- This Chilean sea bass recipe is great served with a side of veggies or on top of a grain salad.
Have You Made This Recipe?
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Love Chilean Sea Bass? Try These Other Fish Recipes:
- Grilled Mahi-Mahi Tacos
- Grilled Swordfish Steaks with Olives and Herbs
- Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites
- Sheet Pan Salmon with Moroccan Apricot Glaze
Salt and Pepper Crusted Chilean Sea Bass Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 6 oz fillets of Chilean sea bass, with or without skin
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp cracked black pepper
Garlic Lemon Butter Sauce (Optional).
- 2 TBSP butter
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed, *See notes
- Juice and zest of one lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º F.
- Pat the fillets dry with paper towels and let the fillets come to room temperature, which should take about 10-15 minutes. This will help them cook evenly.
- Season one side of each fillet generously with 1/4 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of cracked black pepper.
- Heat oil in a medium-sized cast iron skillet or oven-safe saucepan over high heat for two minutes, or until the oil is shimmering
- Carefully place the sea bass fillets into the skillet, seasoned side down. Sprinkle a little extra salt and pepper on the exposed tops.
- Let the fillets sear over high heat for 2 minutes. Do not flip the fish; transfer the skillet into the oven and bake for 8 minutes, or until fish is opaque and the internal temperature is 145º F.
- Plate the fish and drizzle each fillet with a tablespoon of the garlic lemon butter sauce (if you make it).
Garlic Lemon Butter Sauce (Optional).
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add the smashed garlic cloves and lemon zest to the butter.
- Bring the heat to low and simmer, infusing the butter with garlic, for about 5 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and stir well to incorporate. Continue to simmer on low for 2 minutes. Discard the garlic cloves with a slotted spoon.
Gorgeous photo and the sea bass looks amazing. I need to get out of my fish rut and try some new ones. This was great in a pan and is also great on the grill, I’m thinking.
Thanks, Colleen!
Fish ruts can definitely be tricky to get out of. I hope this helps and I hope you love it when you try it. Let me know :)
Yay for an innovative cast iron fish recipe! I haven’t tried sea bass for a long time, but I’m going to pin this recipe for the next time I make a trip to my favourite little fish market. This is SUCH a gorgeous dish Dana — easy buy elegant, my favourite combination. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks, Justine! Cast iron for life! I hope you love this when you try it. It pairs wonderfully with a nice pinot grigio ;)
Sea Bass is truly delicious and you treat it wonderfully here. Puts me in mind of a tropical seaside dinner. Or, maybe I just need a vacation.
Thanks, Teresa!
The first time I made sea bass I’d jazzed it up with a lime, soy and honey sauce and, though it was delicious, the delicate flavor of the fish itself had me wanting to let it shine on its own. I knew I had to try something super duper simple.
And ha, don’t we *all* need a vacation. I’m with you, sister. Enjoy your weekend!
So gorgeous! Love how you styled it. And yes to garlicky butter on top!
Thanks so much, Lyndsay! That’s a huge compliment coming from such a magical cake decorator. Seriously.
And heck yeah. Garlicky butter all day erryday.
In our house, we love sea bass. Well everyone except for my 14 year old daughter who refuses to eat any fish except for fresh tuna and shrimp. Picky! This recipe is delicious and I am keeping it in mind for the next time we want fish. I am kind of boring, as we usually just barbecue it whole. Beautiful pictures as well!
Thanks, Julia!
Haha, I was that 14 year old once upon a time. I was all about beer-battered fish, shrimp and breaded scallops over-dunked in tartar sauce. (Still love that, but have grown up. Haha.)
I really hope you love this. It’s simple, but with a fish like sea bass, I think simple is good. With salmon, I tend to go bonkers.
This is so beautifully styled and shot! It’s not easy to make white fish look sexy, but you’ve definitely succeeded here. I love how quick and easy the recipe is, too, and how you really let the bass shine. Thanks for sharing! We all enjoyed it.
Thanks so much, Alanna! That means a ton coming from you. I’ve always found your blog and photos to be awe-inspiring. So shucks. I’m humbled!
I am not a huge fish eater but am learning to like white fish. This was right up my alley! Bookmarked!
I’m glad this appeals to you, Mardi! I’m always trying to convince my non-fish eating friends and fam to give certain recipes a whirl, but some people just can’t handle fish. And then I’m just left here to feel sad for them. Haha.
Sea bass is definitely light in flavor, so it’s a great one to start with when you’re just dippin’ your toes into eating fish.
Dana, this is amazing! I’ve never cooked sea bass at home but this recipe definitely encouraged me to give it a try! I need to shift away from my typical salmon recipes and try something a bit more adventurous ;) Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks so much, Kim!
This method of cooking sea bass is so easy and totally the way to go. I hear you on the salmon bit. I love salmon and love to get creative with it, but after a while it seems dull and I need to chill out with it.
I hope you give this a whirl, and I hope you love it!
We’re on the same wave length, Dana, we made a whole branzino on the BBQ yesterday, and I guess branzino is sea bass in english? Loved it! And love the look of yours! Awesome recipe and beautiful pictures!
Your branzino dinner sounds fantastic! Love me some fish on the barbie.
Thanks so much! <3
This is really fantastic!
I am so sick of hum drum fish recipes :(
Thanks, Krysten! I hear you. I want to work on a compilation of fish recipes to prove that fish doesn’t have to be boring—not does it always have to be spiced with dry herbs with a squirt of lemon juice. Haha. Fish is delish—it just doesn’t get enough attention.