Easy Seared Snapper Recipe

This recipe for red snapper is a favorite for quick weeknight dinners. The fish is pan-fried to a golden perfection and served with a vibrant, tangy tomato sauce. It’s bursting with flavor and comes together in no time!

This snapper dish is everything you could want for a weeknight meal: light, fresh, and featuring a delicious sauce. And the best part? It all comes together in just one pan. We keep the fish simple with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then whip up a quick pan sauce with tomatoes, olives, citrus zest, and a hint of red pepper flakes for a little kick.

We always make sure to have something on the side to soak up every bit of that flavorful sauce. Whether it’s homemade focaccia or our speedy flatbreads (they only take 30 minutes!), you’ll want to savor every last drop.

Key Ingredients

• Snapper: For this recipe, I used red snapper fillets. Red snapper has a delicate, mildly sweet flavor. However, some snapper stocks may be overfished, so I recommend checking the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch website for sustainable options in your area. The good news is, you can easily swap in any firm white fish like tilapia, Pacific halibut, Pacific cod, or black cod (sablefish) for the snapper in this recipe.
• Shallot, Garlic, and Red Pepper Flakes: These ingredients create the flavorful base of our tomato sauce. I prefer shallots for their gentle sweetness, but you can also use yellow or sweet onions.
• Citrus Zest: I like to add lemon and orange zest to the sauce using a microplane. The combination of orange, olives, and tomatoes is simply irresistible (just like our marinated olives with clementines).
• Olives: I include Kalamata olives for their briny, salty flavor. If you prefer something milder, you can opt for buttery and delicate green Castelvetrano olives.
• Tomatoes: While fresh tomatoes work well, I usually go for canned diced tomatoes for convenience. If you happen to have fire-roasted canned tomatoes, they’ll add even more depth of flavor.
• Herbs: Like many of our seafood recipes, we love sprinkling fresh herbs over the fish before serving. In our photos, I used parsley, dill, and chives, but mint or cilantro would also be delightful.

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Snapper with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Tip 1: Pan-fry the snapper until nearly cooked. We want a bit of color and texture on the fish, so after patting it dry and seasoning with salt and pepper, pan-fry it in a skillet with some oil. I start with the skin side facing up and carefully flip it once the underside is lightly browned (as shown in our photos). Snapper cooks quickly, so this step should only take 2 to 3 minutes.

Tip 2: Remove the fish while preparing the pan sauce. Once the snapper is golden and almost done in the middle, transfer it to a plate and then make the spicy tomato sauce in the same skillet. This part also goes quickly. Start by adding onions and cooking until softened, then add garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, orange zest, olives, and tomatoes.

Tip 3: Finish cooking the fish in the sauce. Once the sauce is ready, return the snapper to the skillet and gently cook it until fully done (about 2 to 5 minutes). Finish off with the fresh herbs and serve! This simple method of cooking snapper (or any similar white fish) keeps it moist in the center and prevents overcooking.

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