Cooking healthy seafood at home might seem intimidating if you’ve never attempted it before, but you don’t have to let restaurants have all the fun! We’re here to tell you it’s actually quite easy to cook everything from salmon to shrimp, scallops to lobster, and everything in between, all at home. Take inspiration from our 70 dinner recipes, and soon seafood will be a staple in your weeknight rotation.
If you’re unsure of swapping seafood in for your regular chicken and red meat dishes, consider this: Seafood contains a ton of nutrients like omega-3s, iron, protein, and vitamins B and D (more than any other meat, according to the FDA!). And the best part? Most fish take less than 15 minutes to cook, meaning you can have dinner on the table FAST.
If you’re new to cooking seafood, try one of our easy whole fish recipes, like baked cod, garlicky lemon baked tilapia, or garlic parmesan flounder. They’re not super fishy-tasting, and are impossible to mess up. Want something a bit more involved? Try our seafood gumbo (believe us, those shrimp shells add TONS of flavor if you leave them on), coconut curry salmon, or mussels with tomato and garlic. Looking for a more low-key weeknight meal? Try our lemon dill salmon burgers, fish tacos, or beer battered fish and chips. We’ve also got tons of pasta dishes that come together quickly, like our shrimp pasta alfredo, smoked salmon pasta, and lobster mac and cheese. Use these as jumping off points for adding seafood to all your favorite weeknight dinners.
For more dinner ideas, check out our chicken weeknight dinners, summer dinner recipes, and quick, low calorie cheap meals too.
Garlicky Lemon Baked Tilapia
Tilapia has a very mild fish taste, and is a great way to get those non-fish eaters to love it. We cooked ours in plenty of butter, lemon, and garlic to make it bright and fresh and easy for everyone to enjoy. Baking it requires very little effort with zero risk of the fish sticking to your skillet or grill. A win win!
Get the Garlicky Lemon Baked Tilapia recipe.
Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil
A mix of shrimp, andouille sausage, corn, and potatoes, this Cajun summer favorite everything you love about a good ol' fashioned shrimp boil, minus the mess.
Get the Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil recipe.
Honey Garlic Glazed Salmon
Hot tip: Let the fillets cook undisturbed for a few minutes. That and super high heat is how you get the delicious crust here. Then flip, cook a few more minutes to get the skin crisp and the fish cooked through, and you're good to go.
Get the Honey Garlic Glazed Salmon recipe.
Ahi Poke Bowl
This is our favorite combo of ingredients, but you can feel free to swap in your favorites or whatever you’ve got in the fridge. The key is to aim for color and variety, but the world really is your oyster... er, tuna!
Get the Ahi Poke Bowls recipe.
Fish Tacos
The fish—we use cod, but any flaky variety, like tilapia, works—marinates in a mixture of lime juice, chili powder, and cumin that will become your standard. But the real gem of this recipe is the cabbage slaw—don't skip it. It takes just a few minutes to toss together and its brightness is the perfect condiment to the spiced cod.
Get the Fish Tacos recipe.
Southern-Fried Catfish Katsu
Somewhere between Japanese chicken katsu and Southern-style fried catfish lies this delightfully comforting and hearty dinner. Flaky, buttermilk-brined catfish is accompanied by a crunchy slaw (in place of katsu’s standard shredded cabbage) and some white rice. To finish, drizzle with tartar and katsu sauce.
Get the Southern-Fried Catfish Katsu recipe.
Seafood Gumbo
You might be wondering why we call for shrimps with the tails on. Though it won’t make or break your gumbo, shrimp shells have SO much flavor, so we always prefer to keep them on. If eating tail-on shrimp is not your thing, don’t think twice about leaving them out, though!
Get the Seafood Gumbo recipe.
Seared Ahi Tuna
If it wasn't already obvious, the most important part of this recipe is the fish, so make sure you're getting quality sushi-grade Ahi Tuna—it tastes MUCH better raw than your average grocery store cut of tuna. Remember: frozen sushi-grade fish doesn't mean it's not fresh!
Get the Seared Ahi Tuna recipe.
Pad Thai
Any beginner cook can accomplish this recipe, but it's important to note that we did skip some traditional ingredients (such as dried shrimp, tamarind, pressed tofu, and bean sprouts) in lieu of ingredients that you can pick up at your local grocery store. Absolutely necessary for our recipe, though: fish sauce. It's easy to find at nearly every grocery store, and it adds an unbeatable punch of umami goodness.
Get the Pad Thai recipe.
Salmon Burgers
The secret to our burger here is using canned salmon. Now's the perfect chance to overhaul the bad reputation canned foods have and prove to y'all just how good canned fish can be! Not only is it fast and convenient, you also don't have to worry about the fish bones: The canning process makes them as soft and as safe to eat as the fish filet itself.
Get the Salmon Burgers recipe.
Lemon Garlic Shrimp
Cooking a weeknight dinner can be exhausting. There's so much thinking that needs to happen. Mainly, is there enough time to make this? 🤔But this garlic butter shrimp recipe requires almost no planning—all you need to do is pick up shrimp. Meaning, it's perfect for dinner TONIGHT.
Get the Lemon Garlic Shrimp recipe.
Tuna Melt
Tuna lovers! Meet your ultimate sandwich. With just the right amount of crunch, melty cheddar cheese, and a couple good slices of tomato, you might even convert a tuna hater.
Get the Tuna Melt recipe.
Salmon Patties
In this recipe, we’ve taken our salmon patties to France with dill and Dijon mustard, but if you want to have some fun, you can try out some other international flavor profiles. An Asian flavor profile? Leave in the scallions and add some finely chopped garlic and ginger, and a teaspoon of soy sauce. Or go Middle Eastern and “falafel” them by adding fresh cilantro and a half a teaspoon of cumin.
Get the Salmon Patties recipe.
Mahi Mahi Tacos
Being a meaty, tender fish, mahi mahi stands up well to the grill and is even better when marinated. Here we’ve used a mayo-based marinade that adds some richness and a ton of flavor that makes it resemble blackened salmon that you might find in the South. Throw the fish on a tortilla with some spicy pineapple-jalapeño salsa and you'll have an amazing summer taco night.
Get the Mahi Mahi Tacos recipe.
Green Chili Manhattan Chowder
It takes after its red-tinged cousin, Manhattan clam chowder, but departs from it in a few key ways: One, this soup gets its kick (and color) from hatch chiles and salsa verde. And two, instead of the customary potatoes, we’ve subbed in tender white beans to add a bit of richness.
Get the Green Chili Manhattan Chowder recipe.
Baked Cod
If you're someone who's afraid of cooking seafood at home, cod is the fish for you. It's basically impossible to mess up: It cooks quickly, is hard to overcook (unless you really forget about it), and is easy to flavor however you want. This recipe is a no brainer and will give you sweet, fall apart tender cod on your table in no time.
Get the Baked Cod recipe.
Smoked Salmon Pasta
Smoked salmon pasta sounds really fancy, but the truth is, it's the easiest and fastest pasta we've ever made. It comes together in just under 30 minutes making it the perfect dish to whip up on a weeknight, but still good enough to impress your guests.
Get the Smoked Salmon Pasta recipe.
Tuscan Butter Shrimp
We like using shrimp without their shells because it's easier to eat—peeling shrimp when they're covered in sauce can get messy. If you're down for the extra work, though, leaving the shells on will lead to a more flavorful sauce. Shrimp shells provide tons of delicious seafood flavor, which is why they are often a main ingredient in seafood stock.
Get the Tuscan Butter Shrimp recipe.
Grilled Halibut
Halibut is a mild fish and a good options for those that don't like overly "fishy" fish. This grilled recipe is easy, fresh, and healthy. The mango salsa on top brings it all together and makes the meal feel tropical.
Get the Grilled Halibut recipe.
Crab Cakes
Although you could probably bake these crab cakes, we really recommend searing them in a hot skillet with neutral oil. That crunchy golden crust is half of what makes crab cakes so amazing.
Get the Crab Cakes recipe.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
