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Home » Recipes » Seafood Recipes

Pan Seared Red Snapper & Shrimp in a Lime Margarita Sauce

Published: Jan 26, 2015 · Modified: Jun 18, 2022 by Chef Dennis Littley

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You’re going to love my Restaurant Style Pan Seared Red Snapper with Shrimp!

When I look for fish to prepare at home or at work,  the first questions I ask is what waters did it come from. Sourcing seafood and finding its origin, even down to the country fishing those waters can help you provide your family with safe, sustainable seafood. Everyone thinks because they’re serving seafood and eating healthier its a good thing, but if you’re not careful it can be a bad thing.

So when I found Caribbean Red Snapper at Costco (after a quick search on its source and safety) I bought a bag of IQF fillets to try at home.

overhead shot of pan seared red snapper and shrimp on a bed of rice with grape tomatoes and a side of asparagus


 

The size of the fillets was perfect running around 7 ounces raw, which allowed me to add some shrimp to the dish as a topping.

This hadn’t been the plan when I started dinner originally but as I began to gather ingredients, I saw the limes in my produce drawer begging to be used along with a fresh bunch of cilantro.

asparagus and rice

The red snapper went really well with the margarita sauce and lime zest and cilantro added another layer of flavors.

One of my other favorite seafood dishes is my Pan Seared Rockfish.

More Delicious Fish Recipes You’ll Love!

  • Blackened Salmon with a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
  • Pan Seared Halibut
  • How to Poach Mahi-Mahi (or your favorite fish)
  • Grilled Atlantic Rockfish

asparagus and rice

Pan Seared Red Snapper and Shrimp in a Lime Margarita Sauce

Chef Dennis Littley
Caribbean Red Snapper is one of my favorite fish. Pan seared and topped with Gulf Shrimp and a lime margarita sauce and its darn near perfection!
4.64 from 11 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Course Entree
Cuisine American
Servings 2
Calories 446 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 12 ounces Red Snapper Fillets 2 filets
  • Sea Salt and Black Pepper
  • 6 jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined 16-20 count
  • 12 in grape tomatoes – cut half long way
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro -chopped
  • 2 ounces tequila
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • juice from one lime
  • 1 tablespoon lime zest

Instructions
 

  • Season Red Snapper with Sea Salt and Black Pepper
  • in a large saute pan add olive oil and allow the pan to get hot before adding snapper
  • Add Snapper to the pan and sear the top until nicely brown
  • Place snapper in a baking dish with a little water and place in a 350 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes to finish cooking
  • In the same pan add additional oil if needed, then saute tomatoes and shrimp till almost fully cooked and remove from heat.
  • in a small saute pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter and after it melts, add in brown sugar and blend well.
  • add in lime juice and tequila, allow the alcohol in the tequila to burn off.
  • add in the last tablespoon of butter and allow the mixture to thicken and remove from heat
  • When snapper is done, remove shrimp from saute pan adding to the lime sauce and gently reheat
  • serve Red Snapper (removing bottom skin when taking out of the baking dish) and arrange tomatoes around the fish and top with shrimp and margarita sauce
  • Top with lime zest and chopped cilantro

Nutrition

Calories: 446kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 39gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 138mgSodium: 254mgPotassium: 793mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 680IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 94mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askchefdennis or tag #askchefdennis!

Comments

    4.64 from 11 votes (7 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. James Slager says

    July 12, 2023 at 9:17 pm

    5 stars
    My wife and I both loved it. Simple, Easy & Delicious. Win Win Win. Thank You

    Reply
  2. Estela says

    August 14, 2019 at 2:39 pm

    5 stars
    Made this last night for dinner and so simple and delicious! Thank you Chef Dennis for sharing your delights!

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      August 14, 2019 at 3:37 pm

      you are very welcome Estela. Thanks for the comment and great review!

      Reply
  3. Frank Mosher says

    May 07, 2015 at 8:30 am

    5 stars
    This is an excellent recipe! Made it last evening, everyone loved it, and duly gave you credit for same .Thank you

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      May 07, 2015 at 8:49 am

      Thanks Frank, I’m glad you enjoyed it.

      Reply
  4. Frank Mosher says

    January 29, 2015 at 8:54 am

    3 stars
    Looking forward to trying this one for certain. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      January 29, 2015 at 8:58 am

      I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

      Reply
  5. Wendy says

    January 28, 2015 at 2:52 pm

    I’m glad to hear you liked Costco’s fish. I’m always hesitant to buy from somewhere like that because I assume it’s not very fresh. The lime margarita sauce sounds very tasty!

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      January 28, 2015 at 3:23 pm

      its the only fish I found in the area that seems to be sourced well. Not everything they have is sourced from good waters so you have to read the label, but they do have some.

      Reply
  6. RavieNomNoms says

    January 27, 2015 at 5:14 pm

    Chef this looks amazing!

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      January 28, 2015 at 7:29 am

      Thank you Raven, it was delicious!

      Reply
  7. Kath says

    January 27, 2015 at 1:41 pm

    That just looks fabulous, Dennis! And I appreciate the tip about Costco’s IQF fillets. I’ll have to check it out.

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      January 28, 2015 at 7:30 am

      you’re very welcome Kath, Costco has been surprising me with all their organic and Gluten Free products. I just wish it was closer

      Reply
  8. Brian @ A Thought For Food says

    January 26, 2015 at 4:33 pm

    We ate a lot of dishes like this while in New Orleans. Looks fabulous, Dennis!

    Reply
    • Chef Dennis Littley says

      January 26, 2015 at 4:55 pm

      Thank you Brian! Thats one place on my must see list, especially since we’re living much closer now.

      Reply


My name is Chef Dennis Littley, creator and owner of Ask Chef Dennis Productions. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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