recipes

31 Easy Fish Recipes for Crazy-Busy Weeknights

These never-fail fish recipes are easy to prepare on a Tuesday—and tasty enough to serve to guests.
Roast cod with crispy topping and potatoes on a sheet pan with one serving removed to a plate.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Christina Allen

Fish recipes are a great way to quickly get a flavorful dinner on the table. (Ask us about our salsa-verde-slathered salmon obsession.) That’s not to say salmon recipes should have a lock on your weeknight seafood rotation—there are plenty of other, just as craveable, fish in the…well, BA archives. And we’ve collected our favorites right here. We’re talking about halibut tacos in warm corn tortillas, grilled red snapper, sheet-pan cod with potatoes and a crunchy herb topping, and meaty monkfish chowder with sweet cherry tomatoes. Ready to swim upstream? Our best fish recipes are waiting, just below. Scroll down to find your next catch of the day.

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Dish Meal Vegetable Produce and Seasoning
    Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by D’mytrek Brown
    1/31

    All A’s Spring Salad With Mahi-Mahi

    Some of the best fish recipes are the quickest; this verdant dinner takes just 15 minutes to prepare. Throw together the asparagus, arugula, and avocado salad while your fish goes in the oven.

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  • Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski
    2/31

    Slow-Roasted Salmon With Harissa

    If you feel a little nervous when you cook fish, we highly recommend trying this gentle, hands-off method for salmon, slowly cooked in olive oil and harissa. It yields tender, silky fish imbued with deep flavor.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Sue Li
    7/31

    Roast Fish With Cannellini Beans and Green Olives

    You’re going to want a big hunk of bread to mop up this hearty mix of lemony fish, white beans, and Castelvetrano olives. Cod, haddock, or halibut all work well in this simple recipe, so grab whichever your fishmonger has freshest.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kendra Vaculin, prop styling by Emma Ringness
    8/31

    Sesame-Crusted Salmon Bowls

    You’ll use a little soy sauce here to help the sesame seeds adhere to the fish.

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  • Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    13/31

    Broiled Salmon With Scallions and Sesame

    The thing no one tells you about cooking fresh fish this way? It’s really, really easy. Just add rice to complete the meal.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    14/31

    Soy and Ginger Steamed Fish

    Sometimes you want crispy fish, and other times you want it tender, silky, and luscious. We recommend black bass, snapper, arctic char, or black cod for this recipe, but the method is flexible. “I have made this with shrimp, with tilapia, and with cod, and it’s always wonderful,” writes one reviewer.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman
    15/31

    Everything-Spice Fish With Tomato Salad

    Hit all the notes of a fully loaded bagel—with tangy yogurt taking the place of cream cheese—with this crispy Dover sole dinner.

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  • Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski
    16/31

    Crispy-Skinned Fish With Herb Sauce

    You don’t need a culinary school degree to make pan-fried fish with skin as crunchy as a potato chip, we promise.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Christina Allen
    17/31

    Herby Salmon and Potato Salad

    You’ll build this sheet-pan dinner layer by layer, so each element has an appropriate cook time. Start with potatoes followed by jarred marinated artichokes, then add the fish for the last bit of roasting. The salad-y ingredients, like fresh cilantro and mint, Peppadew peppers, olives, and lemon juice, are tossed in just before serving.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Nicole Louie
    18/31

    Orange-Coriander Salmon

    Coriander has a citrusy note that’s highlighted here alongside fresh lemon and orange. This dish is fancy enough for a dinner party, but quick enough for a weeknight.

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  • Photographs by Elizabeth Cecil, food styling by Danielle Pattavina
    19/31

    Seafood Chowder

    This creamy New England–style chowder can be made with white fish fillets like swordfish, sea bass, or halibut, plus crab meat, scallops, and/or shrimp. Oyster crackers are a must.

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  • Nicole Franzen
    20/31

    Slow-Roasted Char With Fennel Salad

    Rich arctic char benefits from the crisp bite of pickled and fresh fennel. Can’t find it? Swap in salmon or sea trout.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Taneka Morris
    21/31

    Butteriest Black Pepper Fish

    Topping flounder with barely cracked peppercorns toasted in a generous amount of butter may convince you to add a few more fish dinners to your week. We especially love making the butter sauce with peppercorns from Burlap & Barrel; just make sure yours haven’t been in the pantry for years.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Christina Allen
    22/31

    Roast Cod With Chorizo Crisp

    For the ultimate breadcrumb topping, blitz Spanish chorizo with Parmesan, garlic, kosher salt, and fennel seeds in a food processor before adding to panko.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
    27/31

    Spiced-Tomato-Braised Fish

    Mild-flavored fish like cod, haddock, and halibut are ideal for nestling into tomato purée perfumed with fragrant spices.

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  • Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Amy Wilson
    28/31

    Grilled Spiced Snapper With Mango and Red Onion Salad

    Grilling whole fish is much easier than it seems; just make sure you have two sturdy spatulas to help roll it over.

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  • Photograph by Doaa Elkady, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Gözde Eker
    29/31

    Lemon-Chile White Fish With Chickpeas

    The short ingredients list here packs in big flavor. Sizzling chickpeas, garlic, and lemon slices in olive oil with Aleppo-style pepper and smoked paprika creates a puckery, smoky, earthy base.

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  • Photograph by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
    30/31

    Istanbul’s Famous Mackerel Sandwiches

    Pile crusty rolls with quickly cooked skin-on mackerel fillets, plus tomato, and a crunchy, minty salad dressed in tangy pomegranate and sumac.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Elizabeth Jaime
    31/31

    Grilled Swordfish With Tomatoes

    If you worry about grilled fish recipes leaving you with dinner stuck on the grate, we heartily recommend this recipe. Swordfish steaks take to the grill like a champ, and when properly oiled, they’ll easily release when cooked.

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