Unbelievably Delicious Keto Halibut Recipes You Can Make in Minutes!

Halibut is a versatile, healthy, and delicious fish that lends itself well to various cooking methods and flavor combinations. Its mild flavor and firm texture make it an excellent choice for keto and low-carb diets. It’s high in protein, minerals, and vitamins, and low in calories, and rich in Omega 3 fatty acids. Whether you prefer pan-seared, baked, grilled, or air-fried halibut, there's a keto-friendly recipe to satisfy your cravings. This article explores several delectable keto halibut recipes, complete with tips, side dish recommendations, and insights into making the most of this nutritious fish.

Pan-Seared Halibut with Chimichurri Sauce

For a quick and easy keto-friendly fish and seafood meal, pan-seared halibut is an excellent option. This recipe takes just a few minutes and requires only a few spices and one pan.

Preparation: Begin by getting your halibut filets from the market. Pat them dry lightly with a paper towel.
The Secret to Crispy Skin: The key to achieving the best halibut is to use a hot pan. Similar to searing scallops, a hot pan allows the seafood skin to develop a crispy exterior quickly without overcooking the inside.
Cooking: Season both sides of the fish with sea salt and black pepper. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet or other pan over medium-high heat. Add the fish skin-side down first and cook for 2-3 minutes per side. Flip the fish only once. When the fish is placed skin-side down in the hot pan and cooked for 2-3 minutes, it will flip easily.
Serving Suggestions: Pan-fried halibut tastes great on its own but is even better when topped with sauces. Consider topping the fish with shrimp scampi lemon butter sauce or a creamier, tartish keto shrimp scampi sauce made with dry white wine.

Chimichurri Sauce

Consider topping it with an ample amount of a Spanish seasoning sauce called chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri is filled with fresh flavors like cilantro, parsley, and garlic, and goes great with chicken, fish, and steak. This sauce takes only a few minutes to prepare in a food processor or blender.

Baked Parmesan Crusted Halibut

This baked halibut recipe is a quick and easy low-carb, keto dinner option that's ready in just 20 minutes!

Parmesan Pecan Crust: In a food processor, combine butter, pecans, parmesan, garlic, green onions, and lemon juice. Mix until completely blended.
Preparation: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and bake for 5 minutes. Spread the filet with the parmesan pecan mixture and return to the oven.
Baking: Bake for 15 to 17 minutes at 450ºF. Use a meat thermometer, when in doubt, to make sure that your parmesan-crusted halibut is cooked perfectly.

Tips for the Best Baked Halibut

Frozen Fish: You can make this recipe using FROZEN Fish. When you use frozen fish for this recipe, it helps to ensure that your fish doesn’t get over cooked, keeping it moist and flakey. However if you have access to Fresh halibut, by all means use it only be aware that the cooking time might be slightly shorter.
Mayonnaise: Instead of using eggs, egg mixture egg whites or egg wash, use MAYONNAISE, which is basically eggs and oil in this restaurant quality, easy Halibut recipe. Smear each halibut filet (frozen is preferred for thin fillets) with mayonnaise then coat with the crumb topping mixture.
Breadcrumbs: I always have seasoned breadcrumbs in my pantry so that’s what I reach for most often, but you can use panko breadcrumbs (for a panko parmesan crusted halibut) as well. Additionally, if you need to eliminate carbs this recipe works perfectly by swapping in Pork Panko as the base for the breadcrumb mixture instead of gluten! Any surplus bread crumb mixture topping can be stored in the freezer in a bag or airtight container to use later.
Cooking Methods: Your crumb topped halibut filets can be cooked in the oven or the air fryer. Both will turn out absolutely delicious, however after testing this recipe several times in both, I feel very strongly that the air fryer is the better choice for a crispier crust that is more uniformly browned. When you bake the halibut on parchment paper, it tends to leak liquid especially when using frozen filets that prevent ample crispiness. Using a boiler pan or a rack so that the liquid can separate from the fish is helpful.

Serving and Storage

When using 1 pound of halibut filets, this Parmesan Crusted Halibut will serve 2-4 people depending on how generous the desired serving size is. A 4 ounce serving is roughly 300 calories with 27g protein, 20g fat and 2g carbs.
Cooked Parmesan Crusted Halibut will keep in the fridge, in an air tight container for 2-3 days. This recipe makes great leftovers!
Serve this easy recipe with any side dish you’d like, we enjoy it with sautéed peppers and homemade rice pilaf. Steamed Broccoli is also a great combo for dinner tonight.

Other Fish Options

Instead of alaskan halibut filets, try flounder, cod, haddock or other mild flavor, flaky white fish fillets. For thin filets of fish I prefer to start with frozen filets to ensure that the fish cooks slowly without drying out. You want the texture of the fish to easily flake with a fork, while still being moist.

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

Grilled Keto Halibut Steaks with Basil Chimichurri

These grilled halibut steaks are tender, flaky, and bursting with flavor when drizzled with basil chimichurri sauce.

Basil Chimichurri Sauce: First, make the chimichurri sauce with basil. Add all ingredients into the food processor and process until the basil leaves are broken down and even in size. You can make the basil chimichurri sauce even a day ahead and store in the fridge.
Grilling: Preheat the grill to medium-high heat and grease the grates. Brush the halibut steaks with avocado oil on all sides, and sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Place on the preheated grill and cook covered until just cooked through, about 4-5 minutes on each side.
Cooking Tips: Once you place the fish on the grill, do not move it until you have to flip over. This will ensure that you get those tasty grill marks, and the fillets won’t fall apart from too much moving around. Do not overcook the halibut steaks. The texture will get tough and rubbery. You want it to be tender and flaky, and 4-5 minutes per side yields that perfect texture.

Sourcing Sustainable Seafood

For this yummy recipe of grilled halibut fillets, I am excited to use sustainably sourced Open Nature® Responsible Choice seafood. Not only are Open Nature seafood all wild caught with no preservatives, their Responsible Choice label shows that the fish have been raised or caught in ways that help safeguard future supplies.

Baked Halibut with Lemon and Garlic

Baked Halibut with Lemon and Garlic is a delicious way to enjoy this succulent, flaky white fish. This mouthwatering meal comes together quickly with just a handful of ingredients.

Prepare the Topping: Whisk the topping ingredients together in a medium bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, and paprika.
Prepare the Fish: Place the halibut in the prepared baking dish, skin-side down. Spread the olive oil mixture evenly over the tops of the fish. Sprinkle the cherry tomatoes around the filets.
Bake: Place the dish in the oven and bake according to the thickness of the fish, then broil lightly to brown up the top. Preheat the oven to 425ºF and brush a ceramic baking dish with olive oil. Bake 6 to 9 minutes, depending on the thickness of the filets. 7 minutes is about right for 1-inch filets. Then turn on the broiler for one minute to lightly brown the tops. The fish should flake easily with a fork when done.

Tips for Perfect Baked Halibut

Doneness: Test by flaking the fish lightly with a fork. The ends will cook faster so try flaking in the center of the thickest filet. If the flesh is opaque and flakes easily, it’s ready.
Substitutions: Halibut is highly prized, and as such, is also relatively expensive. I only ever purchase it when I see a sale. But you can easily sub another mild, firm white fish such as cod and get wonderful results. Cod cooks at about the same rate as halibut so it’s a good option for this recipe.
Temperature: If you prefer to test the internal temperature of the fish, look for it to reach 130ºF to 135ºF on an instant read thermometer. That should be a good temperature for flaky but firm halibut.
Frozen Halibut: You can easily use frozen filets for baked halibut. Just be sure to remove it from the packaging before thawing completely. I also recommend patting it dry very well prior to cooking.

Health Benefits and Storage

Keto-Friendly: Halibut is an excellent source of protein and healthy fats, make it perfect for the keto diet. This baked halibut recipe has 4g of carbohydrate and 0.5 g of fiber per serving.
Storage: Store any leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat very gently to avoid over-cooking.

General Tips for Cooking Halibut

Thawing: Remove the fish from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before cooking to help ensure even cooking.
Patting Dry: Pat the fish dry on both sides before seasoning to help with searing and browning.
Versatility: Halibut is super versatile, so your side dish options are limitless.

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

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