Eight Healthy Fish Recipes

Grilled fish photo via Shutterstock

Cooking fresh fish can be intimidating for a first-timer. But once you get a couple of recipes under your belt, you’ll see how easy and delicious it can be. When it comes to picking the right fish be sure to trust your nose. Fresh fish should smell like the ocean. If it smells “fishy” then it’s been sitting around longer than you want. It should be firm and moist, not squishy and watery. You can have the person behind the fish counter prepare the fillets for you in order to save prep time at home. They will skin, portion, and clean the full fish.

When cooking fish, nonstick pans are the way to go. Because fish have limited fat in the meat, it will stick to most cooking surfaces. It’s important to put fish into a preheated surface and then leave it alone. When it’s ready to flip, it’ll do so easily, otherwise, it needs a little more time.

1. Beer-Glazed Fish Tacos with Kiwi-Mango Salsa 
via Confessions of a Foodie Bride

Marinades are a great, low calorie way of quickly creating complex flavors. It’s important to not let a flaky fish like cod marinate more than 25 or 30 minutes. Otherwise the meat will break down and become soggy when cooked.

2. Simple Tuna Fish Salad
via The Healthy Foodie

Just because fish comes out of can doesn’t mean it can’t be dressed up and presented as special lunch to wake up the middle of the week. For maximum protein with the least calories, be sure to get tuna packed in water and not olive oil.

3. Grilled Tilapia Tacos with Kale Slaw
via Life Made Sweeter

This recipe layers grilled white fish, a bright and fruity salsa, and hearty greens for a powerhouse meal. When grilling tilapia, it’s important to spray the grill pan liberally with cooking spray and let the fish cook until it easily releases from the pan. The sauce is made with mayonnaise, but for a healthier version, try yogurt or low fat sour cream instead.

 4. Hard Cider Salmon and Veggie Packets with Fresh Peach Salsa
via Back to Her Roots

Cooking en papillote, or in parchment paper packets, is like a one pot meal for the grill. Once you make the reduction for the steaming liquid, everything is neatly wrapped up in parchment paper and goes on the grill (or in the oven if you’re indoors). You can mix and match your vegetable medley with whatever looks good at the market that day.

5. Swordfish Kabobs
via Cooking Light

In this recipe, it’s important to use a firm fish for kabobs since a flaky fish, like halibut, will fall off the skewer once cooked. Swordfish works well because the cooking time of the fish and the vegetables is the same, so you won’t have partially raw vegetables with cooked fish or overcooked fish with perfect vegetables. These kabobs would pair nicely with coconut rice.

6. Grilled Tuna Rolls
via Barefoot Contessa

This recipe uses seared tuna with a kick of wasabi powder. Going carb free this year? Try the tuna salad mixture on a bed of greens.

7. Steamed Snapper with Ginger, Lime, and Cilantro
via Bon Appetit

Steaming fish captures all the nutrients while keeping flavors intact. A tender fish dish like this one will pair well with crunchy green beans, edamame, or roasted asparagus. If you aren’t a fan of snapper, use halibut instead.

8. Pistachio-Crusted Salmon with Strawberry Balsamic Glaze
via Domestic Fits

Salmon is one of the easiest fish to cook and this recipe dresses it up with fresh strawberries, a tangy balsamic reduction, and a light orzo salad. You can also substitute rice or quinoa for the orzo, or use whatever you have on hand.