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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

    660 shares
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    4.50 from 8 votes
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    pinterest image for pan seared red snapper

    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.

    Table of Contents:

    • More Delicious Fish Recipes You’ll Love!
    • Pan Seared Red Snapper and Shrimp in a Lime Margarita Sauce
      • Ingredients
      • Instructions
      • Nutrition

    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

    Did you make this? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!

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    asparagus and rice
    Print Recipe Save Saved!
    4.50 from 8 votes

    Pan Seared Red Snapper and Shrimp in a Lime Margarita Sauce

    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!
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time25 minutes mins
    Total Time35 minutes mins
    Course: Entree
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 446kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis Littley

    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
    US Customary – Metric
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    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: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 254mg | Potassium: 793mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 680IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!

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    About Chef Dennis

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    Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home. For more details, check out his About page.

    Reader Interactions

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    1. James Slager

      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

      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

        August 14, 2019 at 3:37 pm

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

        Reply
    3. Frank Mosher

      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

        May 07, 2015 at 8:49 am

        Thanks Frank, I’m glad you enjoyed it.

        Reply
    4. Frank Mosher

      January 29, 2015 at 8:54 am

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

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        January 29, 2015 at 8:58 am

        I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

        Reply
    5. Wendy

      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

        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

      January 27, 2015 at 5:14 pm

      Chef this looks amazing!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        January 28, 2015 at 7:29 am

        Thank you Raven, it was delicious!

        Reply
    7. Kath

      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

        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

      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

        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

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    My name is Dennis Littley or “Chef Dennis” as I’m known both at work and across the blogosphere. 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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