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Easy Perfect Mahi Mahi Recipe

Mahi Mahi, otherwise known as Dorado, is a deservedly popular fish. When done right, mahi mahi is tender, flaky, and deliciously flavorful. This lemon garlic butter sauce is sensational. 

Mahi Mahi Fillets in Pan with Lemon Butter Sauce.
This Mahi Mahi recipe yields tender, flaky, and delicious fish that is actually easy to make.

Video: Watch us make this Recipe

Restaurant Quality Fish at Home

Mahi Mahi Fillets with Lemon on Plate.
Serve mahi mahi with rice, potatoes, or vegetables

I grew up in a family that often dished up fish for dinner. Any given weeknight, we would sit down to a meal that included freshly cooked fish. My parents served up all varieties of fish, from whole fish to fish fillets. They used all methods of cooking with their fish recipes, from whole branzino fish to pan fried cod.

Though there are a myriad of ways to cook up delicious fish, such as our Sheet Pan Lemon Salmon and Seared Halibut– this easy mahi mahi fish recipe is perfect for anyone to make. It only takes about 20 minutes, it’s super tender, and incredibly tasty. People keep telling me they can’t believe they made this restaurant-quality mahi mahi dish by themselves. You can, too. Looking for more ways to cook mahi mahi? You might also enjoy this mahi mahi with pineapple salsa.

What is Mahi Mahi?

Mahi Mahi is the Hawaiian name for dolphinfish, Coryphaena hippurus, or dorado, though it is completely unrelated to dolphins. It was so named, as this fish tends to swim in a similar fashion to dolphins. Mahi Mahi is a surface dwelling fish that’s commonly found near the Gulf of Mexico, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and the Indian Ocean. Due its mild flavor and firm yet moist flesh, mahi mahi is a popular fish to serve at restaurants around the world.

Key Ingredients

  • Olive Oil: we use olive oil for best flavor and a healthy boost.
  • Mahi Mahi: Look for fish fillets that are 1-inch thick throughout the entire fillet, and roughly 4oz per fillet. Frozen or fresh fillets are fine.
  • Garlic: Plenty of freshly minced garlic is called for. Don’t skimp on the garlic.
  • Lemon: Grab one fresh lemon and zest the peel; then squeeze 1 TB of tangy juice from it. Bottled lemon juice isn’t the same, so use fresh lemons.
  • Butter: I prefer to use salted pure butter, but feel free to use unsalted if you like as long as it’s real butter.
  • Herbs: For freshly chopped herbs, choose from chives or parsley…or both.

Step-By-Step Instructions

We use the stovetop-to-oven method of cooking here, like we do with this trusty lemon garlic swordfish, which yields a nicely browned exterior yet tender, flaky center.

  1. Lemon Garlic Mixture (can be made ahead) – in a small pan, combine all Lemon Garlic Mixture ingredients and stir to fully combine. Keep warm.
  2. Pat-dry all excess moisture from the fish fillets with paper towels. This step is important, so be sure to pat off as much moisture as you can. Evenly sprinkle both sides of fillets with pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  1. In a large oven-proof pan, heat the olive oil over high heat. Once oil is sizzling hot add the fish fillets to pan and let cook until browned on one side, about 3 minutes – do not move fish around. Carefully flip fish fillets over to the other side, turn stove burner off, and immediately transfer pan into already-hot oven.
  2. Roast fish at 400F about 5 minutes or just until the top is golden and center is just cooked through. Take care not to overcook.
Mahi Mahi Lemon Sauce Poured
  1. Immediately turn heat off and pour warm lemon butter sauce over the cooked fish.

For complete list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.

Pro Tips for Success

mahi mahi fillets on cutting board
It’s important to pat-dry fish fillets to ensure all excess moisture is removed. This helps with browning.

Here are some of our most helpful tips for cooking mahi mahi, which applies to many other fish as well:

  • Get either super fresh or quick-frozen, high quality mahi mahi. Wild is best and will provide best flavor.
  • Be sure fillets are at least 1-inch thickness. If your portions are thin or too small, they’ll tend to overcook and the seasoning proportions will be off.
  • Always pat dry excess moisture from the fish; this step is super important, as it affects how well your fish will brown.
  • Use a large, oven-proof pan that heats evenly.
  • Your cooking oil needs to be very hot [like, sizzling] before adding the fish. This allows for quick and even browning of exterior.
  • Once fish is in pan, do not keep moving it around. Let it sit and brown for 3 minutes. It helps to have a large splatter guard. I use mine often whenever pan-frying foods.
  • Preheat oven ahead of time so that it’s nice and hot when you transfer the mahi mahi directly from stovetop to oven. After 5 minutes in the oven, it’s done.
  • Bonus Tip: sauce can be prepared ahead of time, covered, and chilled until you’re ready to warm it up for serving. It’s a great sauce to have on hand.
Mahi Mahi Fillets in Pan.
Use mahi mahi fillets that are at least 1-inch thick

What to Serve with Mahi Mahi

This fish dish is one of our favorites for everything from quick weeknight dinners to small dinner parties. If your friends enjoy restaurant-quality fish dishes, they’ll be in awe of you for serving this mahi mahi. Because the Lemon Garlic Sauce can be made in advance, all you need to do is cook your fish, which takes about 8 minutes total.

Grains

Vegetables

Potatoes

Questions and Answers

What does Mahi Mahi fish taste like?

Mahi Mahi is famuous for its mild and delicate flavor, and is easily one of the most popular fish served in restaurants. When cooked properly, mahi mahi is somewhat firm yet tender and moist.

What does mahi mahi mean?

Mahi Mahi is the Hawaiian name for dolphinfish. However, this fish is completely unrelated to dolphins.

Can I use other types of fish for this recipe?

Though we highly recommend using mahi mahi for this specific recipe, you can also substitute with swordfish or cod. Be sure to use 1-inch thick fish fillets. We do not recommend thinner fillets such as tilapia for this recipe.

Can I use frozen mahi mahi fillets?

Yes, frozen fillets will work just as well as fresh fillets. Be sure to fully thaw and drain the fish fillets prior to using. Additionally, always pat-dry excess moisture after draining. Defrosted fillets will have much more excess water that needs to be removed.

Why do I have to pat-dry the fish prior to using?

Removing moisture from the raw fish fillets is an important step to ensuring you’ll get nicely browned fish. When excess moisture is present, the fish will steam rather than brown, and it will not hold seasonings nearly as well.


Did you make this?

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Mahi Mahi Fillets in Pan with Lemon Butter Sauce.

Easy Perfect Mahi Mahi Recipe

4.81 from 329 ratings
Mahi Mahi, otherwise known as Dorado, is deservedly a popular fish. When done right, mahi mahi is tender, flaky, and deliciously flavorful. This lemon garlic butter sauce is sensational. 
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

For the Lemon Garlic Mixture:

For the Fish:

  • 2 TB olive oil
  • 4 mahi mahi fillets, 1-inch thick, 4oz each
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400F with rack on middle position.
  • Lemon Garlic Mixture (can be made ahead) – in a small pan, combine all Lemon Garlic Mixture ingredients and stir to fully combine. Set aside.
  • Pat-dry all excess moisture from the fish fillets with paper towels. This step is important, so be sure to pat off as much moisture as you can. Evenly sprinkle both sides of fillets with pinches of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
  • In a large oven-proof pan, heat the olive oil over high heat. Once oil is sizzling hot add the fish fillets to pan and let cook until browned on one side, about 3 minutes – do not move fish around.
    Carefully flip fish fillets over to the other side, turn stove burner off, and immediately transfer pan into already-hot oven.
  • Roast fish at 400F about 5 minutes or just until the top is golden and center is just cooked through. Take care not to overcook. A minute before fish is done cooking in oven, heat your small pan of prepared lemon-garlic mixture over medium high heat, constantly stirring, just until melted and bubbly.
  • Immediately turn heat off and pour mixture over the cooked fish. Be sure to pour on any juices from the fish pan as well. Serve with extra lemon slices for garnish. 

Notes

  • Be sure to use coarse kosher salt (see why use kosher salt) and not fine table salt. Fine salt is much saltier than kosher in recipes.
  • Lemon Garlic Sauce can be made ahead of time and reheated to serve.
  • A large splatter guard is helpful whenever pan frying. It really helps with random oil splatters.
  • This recipe is part of our easy fish recipes collection.
  • If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating. We ❤️ hearing from you! 
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Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 208mg | Potassium: 731mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 482IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Fat
Method: Oven, Skillet

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  • * This recipe is part of our easy fish recipes collection *

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