14 New Fish & Seafood Dinners in Three Steps or Less

Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

From classic baked fish fillets to modern twists on seafood and tuna salads, these seafood and fish recipes are brand new on our website. They only take three steps or less to prepare, so they're easy options for dinner any night of the week. Recipes like our Classic Crab Cakes and Sheet-Pan Shrimp, Pineapple & Peppers with Rice are healthy and delicious dishes you'll want to try.

Classic Crab Cakes

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Jen Causey; Food Styling: Tori Cox and Gordon Sawyer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
Jen Causey; Food Styling: Tori Cox and Gordon Sawyer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

The sweet, clean flavor of crab shines in this recipe for Classic Crab Cakes. This light but filling seafood staple mainly relies on ingredients that are already in your fridge and pantry and comes together in less than half an hour. We've also included a salmon variation if you're not in the mood for crab.

Easy Baked Fish Fillets

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Randy Mayor
Randy Mayor

Looking for a simple fish dinner? Skip the frozen fillets and try this easy recipe for baked, fresh fish fillets. With little prep involved, this is a great last-minute, easy dinner for the family. Any firm white fish works well. The breading is not too overwhelming, but adds a delicious crunch. Serve it with leafy greens or thinly sliced oven-baked potatoes.

Seafood Salad

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Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall

This seafood salad features poached shrimp, scallops and squid bathed in a punchy vinaigrette with thinly sliced onion and fennel for bite and crunch. For super-thin veggies, use a mandoline for slicing.

Sheet-Pan Shrimp, Pineapple & Peppers with Rice

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Greg Dupree
Greg Dupree

This incredibly easy seafood dinner uses fresh pineapple and a teriyaki-style sauce a sweet-and-tangy flavor profile. The pineapple also concentrates as it bakes and helps keep the rice mixture from becoming too dry. Rather than spreading the rice to the far edges of the sheet pan, keep it closer to the center and layer the vegetables and shrimp on top. This way their juices seep right into the rice, and the teriyaki drizzle coats every bite.

Sea Bass with Citrus Salsa

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Jennifer Causey
Jennifer Causey

Dinner-party elegance in a 20-minute dish? It's possible, when you start with great ingredients that require little embellishment. Here, we use sea bass, a tender, mild-flavored fish with a lovely buttery quality. There are several sustainable options to choose from (Atlantic black sea bass, for one), so ask your fishmonger to ensure you're making a responsible choice. You can also use cod, sablefish (also called black cod), striped bass, or barramundi with great results. Any of these white-fleshed fish will take well to the bright flavors of the simple grapefruit-and-orange topping.

Broiled Salmon with Lemon

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Jennifer Causey
Jennifer Causey

For quick weeknight meals, go for the broiler. It preheats in a flash and acts like an upside-down grill, bringing salmon to perfect doneness in just 10 minutes. Don't sweat it if you slightly overcook the salmon. Serve it with a dipping sauce or drizzle a bit of olive oil over top to bring back instant moisture. This basic broiled salmon recipe is even better when served with a creamy yogurt sauce and a side of quickly steamed or broiled broccolini.

Seared Halibut Fish Tacos with Cilantro Slaw

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Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

Halibut—a tender, sweet-tasting white fish—is a great option for fish tacos, especially when paired with crunchy slaw, pico de gallo and a salty cheese. We promise you'll want these more often than just on Taco Tuesdays. Serve them with a side of black beans or yellow rice to round out your meal.

Pan-Fried Bass

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Randy Mayor; Cindy Barr
Randy Mayor; Cindy Barr

These fish fillets have a crispy, crunchy exterior thanks to a combination of seasoned breadcrumbs and cornmeal. Serve with tartar sauce, white-and-wild rice and steamed broccoli.

Salmon with Potatoes & Horseradish Sauce

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Romulo Yanes; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen
Romulo Yanes; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen

You can't go wrong when you start with salmon and a sour cream sauce, especially if the sauce is flavored with dill and horseradish. Fill out the plate with a side of steamed green beans.

Scallops with Lemon-Basil Sauce

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Oxmoor House
Oxmoor House

Large sea scallops are great for a fast and filling protein source any night of the week. They can be seared or sautéed and then added to salads and pastas or served solo as an entrée. Their mild taste and universal appeal make them a good host for complex flavors. Look for dry-packed sea scallops at your local seafood market. They haven't been soaked in a liquid solution, which increases their weight and sodium content.

Super Quick Low-Carb Shrimp Scampi

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Antonis Achilleos
Antonis Achilleos

This low-calorie and low-carb shrimp scampi feels like a restaurant dish, but it is actually very easy to make. There is just enough buttery sauce to coat the shrimp. The trick is to not over-reduce the sauce when cooking it. It's better to make it a little more saucy then dry. If you want to bulk up this entrée, you could add peas or thinly sliced carrots, or serve it over your favorite low-carb pasta substitute like spaghetti squash.

Baked Flounder with Fresh Lemon Pepper

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Oxmoor House
Oxmoor House

For this baked flounder recipe, use fresh lemon, good olive oil, freshly ground peppercorns and garlic, and you'll never look at lemon pepper the same again. Serve with steamed asparagus.

Nonny's Tuna Salad

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From Y'ALL EAT YET? by Miranda Lambert with Holly Gleason. Copyright © 2023 by Miranda Lambert. Reprinted by permission of Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
From Y'ALL EAT YET? by Miranda Lambert with Holly Gleason. Copyright © 2023 by Miranda Lambert. Reprinted by permission of Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

This simple tuna salad recipe gets its great crunch from a combination of celery and apple. From Y'all Eat Yet? by Miranda Lambert with Holly Gleason. Copyright © 2023 by Miranda Lambert. Reprinted by permission of Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Lobster Roll

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Becky Luigart-Stayner; Mary Catherine Muir
Becky Luigart-Stayner; Mary Catherine Muir

We might be a little biased, but we think this is the best lobster roll recipe of all time. This is the classic New England lobster roll recipe: a basic hot dog bun filled with lobster salad. There are no fancy seasonings here; the lobster is showcased in a simple mayonnaise dressing. This salad is also great over greens for a main dish.