9 Easiest Weeknight Fish And Seafood Recipes
Coming up with tasty new dinner recipes during the week is a challenge for most home chefs. Complicating the basic process of brainstorming new dishes is the goal of incorporating wholesome, nutritious ingredients into your or your family's weekly dinnertime menu. If that's your aim, fish and seafood are definitely great options. As a protein, fish packs in an impressive amount of essential vitamins and minerals that can help reduce the risk of ailments like heart disease. Other sea-based fare like scallops, shrimp, and crab offers a healthy dose of protein in every serving and contains less fat than, say, beef or pork.
Along with the practical health benefits, fish and seafood are also delicious and versatile to cook with. While both have a reputation for being difficult to prepare, keep in mind that this reputation is wholly unearned (at least in our opinion). The truth is that there are numerous quick and easy recipes that utilize fish and seafood in bold and exciting ways. So if you're looking for a delicious fish or seafood dish to both steal the show and save some time, look no further than our roundup of Daily Meal recipes below.
1. Slider-Style Shrimp Po' Boys
Usually, sliders are fun mini-sandwiches that often incorporate ground beef as their hero — mini-burgers, if you will. However, as you might have already guessed, our recipe for fish sliders deviates from the norm, replicating the delicious po' boy sandwiches synonymous with New Orleans cuisine. Crispy fried shrimp serves as the perfect complement to the rich remoulade sauce, which is made even tastier thanks to the inclusion of pickle juice.
One of the great things about sliders is they work just as well as an appetizer as they do a meal, so they're a wonderful option when you're expecting guests. This recipe makes eight servings, which means you'll have plenty to go around.
Recipe: Slider-Style Shrimp Po' Boys
2. Mediterranean-Inspired Shrimp And Grits
While it might seem like an unlikely pairing, Mediterranean flavors work beautifully in this classic Southern dish. Our unique shrimp and grits recipe replaces the water typically used to cook grits with chicken broth in order to create a better depth in flavor. Mediterranean-style ingredients like feta cheese imbue the dish with a creamy tang, and cooking the shrimp with kalamata olives infuses the protein with a smoky richness.
This recipe takes 40 minutes to prepare from start to finish. If you end up having leftovers, they'll keep well in the fridge for up to two days.
3. Simple Seared Scallops
With a creamy yet firm texture and a slightly sweet sea-tinged flavor, scallops make an ordinary weeknight feel like a fancy occasion. Keeping this in mind, don't let their delectable taste and texture fool you, as this recipe for simple seared scallops could not be easier.
To make your scallop-centered high-end meal, all you'll need is four simple ingredients and a spare six minutes of your time. Indeed, it's really that simple to cook up — and afterward, you'll have a restaurant-worthy dish your loved ones will rave about. (Pro tip: A spritz of fresh lemon juice makes for an ideal finish here.)
Recipe: Simple Seared Scallops
4. Simple Seared Mahi-Mahi
With a mildly sweet flavor and a toothsome texture, mahi-mahi is a great alternative to standard fish selections like salmon and meaty tuna. Mahi-mahi is also a great candidate when it comes to a tried-and-true pan sear. An added bonus to searing is it is innate to a relatively easier cooking process, with a straightforward cooking technique.
Seasonings for your mahi-mahi filets in this recipe err on the more basic (but elegant) side, including garlic powder, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper for a well-rounded flavor profile. As for sides, this healthy yet tasty recipe is great with grilled veggies or rice, or even both.
Recipe: Simple Seared Mahi-Mahi
5. Quick And Easy Shrimp Ceviche
When it comes to recipes that rely heavily (or fully) on the freshest ingredients out there, it's hard not to include shrimp ceviche at the top of that list. Ceviche is typically served as an appetizer but incorporating it in other dishes like tacos or nachos can be a nice way to jazz up some familiar staples.
In addition to shrimp (this dish specifically uses cooked shrimp instead of raw shrimp), you'll also need tomato, cucumber, red onion, avocado, and Serrano pepper. Lime juice and a seasoning blend are also added to unify the fresh ingredients into one harmonious flavor profile.
Recipe: Quick And Easy Shrimp Ceviche
6. Shrimp Pad Thai
Thai cuisine typically features bold and exciting flavors, and this shrimp pad thai recipe is no exception. Rice noodles serve as the foundation for the unbelievable sauce, which includes ingredients like brown sugar, soy sauce, and peanut butter, among others.
Along with shrimp, this dish also calls for firm tofu. Chopped peanuts and spring onions amplify the dish while also pulling double duty as aesthetically-pleasing garnishes, and lime wedges ensure a bright and tangy finish if you're in the mood for a citrus-based spritz.
Recipe: Shrimp Pad Thai
7. Pesto-Baked Salmon
If you thought pesto sauce only plays well with pasta, think again. Brimming with garlic-infused nuttiness, pesto is also a perfect accompaniment to the buttery richness of salmon, a wholesome and tasty fish.
While you're free to whip up your own pesto if you're feeling adventurous, using a store-bought can conveniently work here, especially if you're strapped for time. Even better is this dish only takes 21 minutes to prep — meaning you can enjoy this delicious, nutritious, and easy-to-make meal any time you see fit.
Recipe: Pesto-Baked Salmon
8. Nước Chấm Crab Cake
Nước chấm, a Vietnamese dipping sauce, truly elevates your run-of-the-mill crab cakes. Adding ingredients like ginger, garlic, chili pepper, cilantro, and fish sauce (known for its subtly sweet yet briny flavor) to crab truly adds a fresh and flavorful quality to what is presumably the hero of this recipe.
Before serving, make sure to squeeze a little fresh lime juice over your patties for an extra zing. In addition to your nước chấm, you can also include other dipping-based condiments of your choosing, like sweet chili sauce or mayonnaise.
Recipe: Nước Chấm Crab Cake
9. Garlicky Shrimp Scampi
If you believe a dish can never have too much garlic, this garlicky shrimp scampi recipe might be perfect for you. A combination of minced garlic and chili flakes gives your shrimp scampi a nice kick, and could very well be just the proof you need for any garlic naysayers.
Unlike other scampi recipes, this recipe calls for both oil and butter instead of one or the other. While oil has an ideal smoke point for frying, it can sometimes lack the type of rich flavor butter brings to the table — so using both here covers all of your bases. Serve with bread or over pasta for a hearty and filling meal.
Recipe: Garlicky Shrimp Scampi