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    Home » Recipes » Main Dish

    Steelhead Trout with Garlic Lime Butter Sauce

    By Lily・Published:Sep 3, 2021・Updated: Sep 3, 2021・Post may have affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    garlic butter steelhead trout

    If you like salmon, you are going to love steelhead trout! Steelhead trout is similar in taste to salmon but better. This roasted steelhead trout with garlic lime butter sauce is a tender, flaky fish recipe that can be whipped up in about 30 minutes.

    roasted steelhead trout fish in a baking dish

    What I Love About This Recipe

    Oh my god, the garlic lime butter sauce! Whenever I have dinner guests and very little time, I make this steelhead trout recipe because it is quick, easy, and delicious.

    I have never had a guest that didn't want to know how to make this recipe, it's that good.

    Ingredient Notes

    raw steelhead trout fish
    • Steelhead trout: The key when cooking fish is to make sure it's fresh. If you are living in an area that can only get frozen fish, no problem. But if you have a choice between previously frozen and fresh, always go for fresh. Additionally, I choose fish that's wild-caught instead of farm-raised. That's a personal choice, however, either type will work just fine. Steelhead trout looks like salmon and tastes very similar to salmon. You can substitute salmon for this recipe if you like.
    ingredients needed to make steelhead trout with lime garlic butter
    • Onion: This recipe uses a whole large onion. The onion will be sliced and added to the bottom of the baking dish with some olive oil. I recommend using brown, sweet, white, or red onions.
    • Lemons: The thinly sliced lemons are the key to keeping the fish juicy and flavorful. I squeeze lemon juice on top of the fish, then lay thinly sliced lemons across the top of the fish prior to baking.
    • Salt, pepper, and dried herbs: Add salt and pepper to taste. You can mix any of the following dried herbs as you like for the fish: thyme, rosemary, oregano, and basil. I usually use Italian herb seasoning with some dried garlic granules.
    • Butter: Use butter! My favorite butter is Kerrygold butter, but use whatever high-quality butter you have available.
    • Mashed garlic: Garlic takes on a different profile depending on how it's prepared. If you finely chop the garlic versus mashing the garlic, you will get different results. You can chop the garlic finely for this sauce, however, my preference is to mash it with some salt.
    • Lime: It might seem weird to use lemons on the fish, and yet use lime for the garlic lime butter sauce. I know! Trust me on this, you CAN use lemon, but the lime is far superior. There's a reason why guacamole is made with lime instead of lemons. It's kind of hard to explain.

    How To Roast Steelhead Trout

    Preheat the oven to 425 ℉ (218 ℃). Peel and slice the onion. Slice 1.5 lemons, and save the other half to squeeze over the steelhead trout. Add the sliced onions with olive oil to a baking dish.

    sliced onions and sliced lemons
    olive oil and sliced onions in a baking dish

    Lay the steelhead trout on top. Squeeze half of the lemon on top of the steelhead trout. Add salt, pepper, garlic granules, and dried Italian herbs.

    squeezing lemon on the steelhead trout fish
    adding dried Italian herb seasoning and garlic granules on the steelhead trout recipe

    Lay the sliced lemons on top of the steelhead trout fish. Place the steelhead trout in on a middle rack in the oven for around 25 minutes or until cooked through.

    adding sliced lemons to the steelhead trout
    the trout fish after it's been baked in the oven over a bed of sliced onions

    While the fish is baking in the oven, prepare the garlic lime butter sauce.

    How To Make Garlic Lime Butter Sauce

    Peel the garlic cloves. Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic cloves with a pinch of salt. Cut the limes in half and juice using a lemon/lime squeezer.

    Melt the butter, then add the mashed garlic mixture waiting until it gets golden brown while continuously stirring.

    At the very end before taking the sauce off the stovetop, add the lime juice.

    Garlic Lime Butter Before Cooking
    Garlic Lime Butter Cooked

    Once the steelhead trout is finished baking spoon the lime garlic butter sauce on top.

    roasted lime butter garlic fish with sliced lemons

    Tips and Tricks

    Don't skip the garlic lime butter sauce. I've made this recipe at least 50 or 60 times (it's that good), and the most important part is the garlic lime butter sauce.

    Use parchment paper for a quick cleanup.

    Add sliced lemons on top of the fish. The lemons keep the steelhead trout moist while roasting in the oven.

    Keep or remove the fish skin as you like. I bake this recipe with the fish skin intact, then remove it when eating.

    sliced lemons on roasted steelhead trout recipe

    Substitutions and Variations

    My first preference for the fish used in this recipe is, of course, steelhead trout. If steelhead trout is not available, substitute salmon.

    Add some sliced potatoes to the bottom of the pan for this to be a one-pan dinner. If using potatoes in this recipe, cook the onions and potatoes (without the fish) for about 10 minutes in the oven. The potatoes take a little longer to cook than the fish.

    Equipment

    • Large baking dish
    • Chef's knife and cutting board
    • Mortar and pestle
    • Lemon/lime squeezer
    • Small pot (to make the garlic lime butter sauce)
    • Potato peeler (if adding potatoes to the bottom of the pan)

    Storage

    Baked steelhead trout can last for 2 to 3 days in the fridge. Fresh steelhead trout fish lasts about 1 day before starting to smell. I always plan on cooking my fresh fish the day I bought it from the store, but that's my personal preference.

    I typically don't eat fish for meal prep meals, because I think seafood has a shorter lifespan in the fridge. But I will definitely eat this fish the following day.

    I've repurposed this fish to sit atop a bed of greens or sit alongside a plate of fried rice. Baked steelhead trout is very versatile.

    baked steelhead trout with sliced lemons

    Oven-Roasted Recipes

    • Tender Bone-In Ribeye Roast Recipe (Well Done Prime Rib)
    • Baked Chicken Kafta Patties
    • Slow Roasted Lamb Shanks In Foil Packets
    • Slow Roasted Crispy Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

    Delicious Sides

    • Butter Roasted Baby Gold Potatoes
    • Cilantro Garlic Fried Potatoes (Batata Harra)
    • Crispy Deep Fried Cauliflower Florets
    • Persian Shirazi Salad

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    roasted steelhead trout with garlic lime butter

    Steelhead Trout with Garlic Lime Butter Sauce

    Author: Lilian B.
    Course: Entree
    Cuisine: American
    Prep: 5 mins
    Cook: 25 mins
    Total: 30 mins
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Pin Rate Email
    Servings 4
    This pan roasted steelhead trout recipe with garlic lime butter sauce is oven-roasted over a bed of sliced onions, seasoned with salt and dried herbs, and topped with a simple garlic butter lime sauce. 

    Ingredients
     
    US Customary - Metric

    Steelhead Trout 

    • 1½ lbs steelhead trout
    • 1 onion
    • 2 tbs olive oil
    • 2 lemons
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • ½ tbs Italian herb seasoning
    • 1 teaspoon dried garlic granules

    Garlic Lime Butter Sauce

    • 4 tbs butter
    • 6 garlic cloves
    • 1 lime
    • pinch of salt

    Instructions

    Steelhead Trout Recipe

    • Heat oven to 425 ℉ (218 ℃).
    • Peel and cut an onion into slices. Put some olive oil with onions in a baking dish.
    • Place fish on top of the onions. Squeeze half a lemon over fish. Season with salt, pepper, and any other dry ingredient you fancy.
    • Slice the rest of the lemons thinly. Place the thinly sliced lemons over the top of fish.
    • Bake for about 25 minutes or until the fish is cooked through (depends on the thickness and size of fish).
    • Roast some veggies in a second pan if you like- it’s about the same cooking time.

    Garlic Lime Butter

    • Mash 6 large cloves of garlic with some salt using a mortar and pestle. Alternatively, mince the garlic finely.
    • Add butter to the pan (roughly 4 tablespoons).
    • Add the mashed garlic to the butter and cook on medium-high until garlic starts to turn golden.
    • Squeeze the juice from 1 whole lime to the sauce. Stir, take off the heat.
    • Spoon the sauce over the steelhead trout once the fish is out of the oven.

    Notes

    1. Sometimes I peel and slice a potato to go under the fish. If I had the potato, I will put the onion and potato in the oven without the fish for about 10 minutes. Then, I add the fish and complete cooking.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 8ounces | Calories: 483kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 160mg | Sodium: 362mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g

    More Ultimate Main Dishes For Lunch and Dinner

    • Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
    • Grilled Lamb Chops
    • Rotisserie Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits
    • Crustless Chicken Pot Pie

    About Lily

    Howdy! My name Lilian, but my friends call me Lily. I'm the founder and one of the recipe authors here at The Matbakh. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, meaningful relationships, and anything related to food. I'm so happy you are here!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Steven Steven

      January 01, 2022 at 12:05 pm

      I think it's worth mentioning that you should use a skinless filet of fish in this recipe.

      Reply
      • Lily

        January 01, 2022 at 1:10 pm

        Hi Steven, thanks for the comment! That's a great point, feel free to use a skinless fish for this recipe. I might be weird, but I make it with the skin on 😳. I ran into issues with the skin on in one scenario: if I roasted the onions first before putting the fish on top. The skin will stick in that case to the onions. Also, I don't eat the skin. The fish easily peels away from it. I think it's easy to get the fish skinless though if that's bothersome.

        Reply
    2. Christina

      June 08, 2020 at 6:00 am

      5 stars
      Loved it!!!

      Reply
    3. Kat

      April 22, 2020 at 1:03 am

      5 stars
      This was really good- I appreciate the recipe!

      Reply
    4. Stan L.

      February 23, 2020 at 1:11 pm

      5 stars
      Yum

      Reply
      • Lilian B.

        February 24, 2020 at 11:14 pm

        Thanks Stan for your review!

        Reply
    5. S. Gabar

      January 21, 2020 at 10:54 pm

      5 stars
      First time to try steelhead trout and it was really so good. I added some olive oil to the top before baking. Ate it With roasted potatoes- heavenly.

      Reply
      • Lilian B.

        January 22, 2020 at 11:15 pm

        S. Gabar- I appreciate your review!

        Reply

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    Howdy, I'm Lily!

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    I've been cooking things up ever since I was a kid. More about me

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