Key West Recipes

Florida Keys Food

The Florida Keys are known for crystal-clear water, swaying palms, warm sunshine, and some of the freshest fish and seafood you will ever taste.

Local fishermen bring in mahi mahi, snapper, grouper, tuna, spiny lobster, and Key West pink shrimp, often just hours before they reach the table.

The people are as warm as the weather and always ready to share a fishing story, a favorite restaurant, or a simple way to cook the day's catch.

I've cooked in the Keys for years, and I drive down U.S. 1 all the time. So I know which dishes really come from Key West and which ones just borrowed the name.

These recipes are the real deal. They are fried, grilled, blackened, and brightened with plenty of citrus. This is the kind of food you eat at a picnic table with sand under your feet, rewritten so you can make it at home with seafood from your local market.

Yes, Key lime pie is included, but there is much more to Key West food than pie.

Appetizers and Small Plates

Start your Key West meal with smoky fish dip, chilled shrimp, seared tuna, and other easy seafood bites. These appetizers and small plates are perfect for happy hour, casual gatherings, or a light meal by the water.

Florida Fish Dip

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If you've had happy hour anywhere in the Keys, you've had fish dip. Down here it's usually smoked wahoo, which I buy already smoked at the fish market rather than smoking myself. Anywhere else, look for smoked mullet, mahi, or kingfish. Whatever you use, it needs to be an oily fish or it dries out. Cream cheese and mayonnaise make the dip rich and creamy, and the flavor is even better the next day.

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Key West Shrimp Cocktail

2

Key West pink shrimp are sweeter and crunchier than most shrimp, and they are worth asking for by name. Choose jumbo or large shrimp so they are easy to hold by the tail. Cook them for three minutes in seasoned water, then transfer them straight to an ice bath to keep them tender. Serve with the quick homemade cocktail sauce, which is far better than the jarred kind.

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Seared Yellowfin Tuna with Sesame Sauce

3

Seared Yellowfin Tuna with Sesame Sauce is a quick, restaurant-style dish made with ahi tuna steaks and a simple sesame dipping sauce. The tuna is lightly coated in sesame seeds, quickly seared, and served rare in the center for the best texture and flavor. Ready in minutes and perfect for an easy dinner or elegant appetizer.

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Peel-and-Eat Shrimp

4

Peel-and-eat shrimp are made for happy hour. Boil medium or large shell-on shrimp for two minutes in well-seasoned water, then chill them until cold. Cut along the back with kitchen scissors before cooking if you want to remove the vein. Make them a day ahead and let guests peel their own.

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Fried Grouper Cheeks

5

Grouper cheeks taste more like scallops than fish. They are sweet, tender, and especially prized because each grouper has only two. Ask your charter mate to save them or check with a fish market that cleans grouper on-site. They cook quickly, so remove them from the pan as soon as the panko turns golden.

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Snapper Recipes

Snapper is the most popular fish in the Florida Keys, with a mild, sweet flavor and tender, flaky flesh. These recipes cover yellowtail, mangrove, and red snapper, fried, seared, baked, grilled, and roasted whole. If you can't find yellowtail where you live, red snapper is the easiest one to buy nationwide and works in most of these.

Pan-Seared Snapper

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Pan-seared snapper is the most popular recipe on my site, and I think it's because it looks impressive but takes about 10 minutes. The trick is a hot skillet and a dry fillet. Get those two right and you'll get a golden crust every time. Yellowtail is what I use down here, but red snapper is easier to find nationwide, and any thin white fillet works.

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Crispy Fried Yellowtail Snapper

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This was one of the first recipes I ever put on the site, and it still gets the most comments. I bread the fillets in seasoned almond flour instead of breadcrumbs, which gives a lighter, crisper crust and happens to be gluten free. Yellowtail is what I buy at the fish market here, but hogfish, mutton snapper, or a thin piece of mahi all work. Do not crowd the pan, and use two skillets if you need to.

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Key West Coconut Crusted Snapper

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Two things make or break this one. Use coconut flakes, not shredded coconut. I tested five brands and the large flaky pieces are what give you the crust. And keep the panko in the mix even though it seems redundant, because it is doing most of the crunching. If your flakes are unsweetened, sprinkle a little sugar over the fish while it is still hot. It works as an appetizer, or leave the fillets whole for dinner.

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Crispy Fried Red Snapper

This fried red snapper is coated in crispy panko breadcrumbs and cooked until golden outside and tender and flaky inside.

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Red snapper is the one to use here. It is firmer than yellowtail and stands up to a heavier crust, and unlike most Keys fish you can find it almost anywhere. Season the flour, not the panko. The crumbs are too big to hold seasoning, so it just falls off. Get the oil hot enough that a few crumbs sizzle on contact, then leave the fish alone for a few minutes so the crust sets before you flip.

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Mangrove Snapper with Garlic Lemon Butter

This mangrove snapper is pan-seared until tender and flaky, then finished with a bright, rich garlic lemon butter sauce.

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My friend Jonas dropped off a mangrove snapper he caught and this recipe is what I do with a fresh catch when I don't want to fuss. Prepare the garlic lemon butter sauce first and set it aside so the thin fillets can cook quickly in a clean pan without overcooking. Ten minutes start to finish, and any thin white fish works.

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Baked Red Snapper Fillets

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This is the snapper recipe for when you do not want to stand at the stove. It bakes in 8 to 12 minutes, there is no flipping, and the fish stays where you put it, which matters because thin snapper fillets fall apart when you move them around a pan. Make the lemon butter while the fish is in the oven and it all lands at the same time. Blackened seasoning for heat, Old Bay if you want it mild.

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Roasted Whole Red Snapper

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A whole fish looks like a project and it isn't. Ask the fishmonger to scale and gut it, slash the sides three times so it cooks evenly, stuff the cavity with garlic, herbs, and lemon, and roast it. The potatoes go on the same pan and finish at the same time, so this is dinner in one pan in 20 minutes. Figure a pound of fish per person since you're paying for bones. The rule to remember: 10 minutes per inch at the thickest part.

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Crispy Yellowtail Sandwich

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Every waterfront bar in the Keys has a fried fish sandwich on the menu, and this is that sandwich at home. Panko is what makes it, because it absorbs less oil and stays crunchy under the bun instead of going soft. Yellowtail has fine bones, so run your fingers over the fillet and cut them out first. Brioche holds up better than a plain bun, and the cheese isn't traditional but it's very good. If you're out of tartar sauce, mayo plus pickle relish gets you most of the way there.

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Fresh Keys Fish

Fresh fish is at the heart of cooking in the Florida Keys. These recipes feature local favorites such as mahi mahi, grouper, tuna, swordfish, tilefish, and hogfish prepared with simple seasonings and bright tropical flavors.

How To Cook Fresh Mahi Mahi

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Fresh mahi mahi is mild, firm, and easy to cook without falling apart. Sear it in a hot pan, then finish it with garlic butter and lemon for a tender, flaky dinner that is ready in minutes. Grilling instructions are included too.

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Pan-Fried Mahi Mahi with Panko

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If someone at the table claims they do not like fish, this is the recipe to try. Mahi is mild and firm, the panko crust adds plenty of crunch, and the creamy bang bang sauce seals the deal. Frozen fillets work well too. Just thaw them completely and pat them dry so the crust gets crisp.

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Pan-Seared Tilefish

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I eat a lot of fish, and tilefish might be my favorite. It is richer and silkier than snapper, mild and slightly sweet, and it holds together in a hot pan better than most white fish. The one thing to know: there is a dark bloodline and a row of pin bones running down the center of the fillet, so cut those out before you cook. Pull it at 125 to 130°F and finish with butter, garlic, and lemon zest.

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Pan-Fried Blackbelly Rosefish

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Rosies are usually sold as bycatch, so grab them when you see them. Blackbelly rosefish has firm, slightly sweet flesh that tastes somewhere between grouper and snapper. The fillets are small, so plan on two per person and press them flat with a spatula for the first minute to prevent curling. Ours were so good that we ate pieces straight from the skillet.

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How to Make Fish Tacos

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This is the one to start with if you've never made fish tacos. Almost any mild white fish works, so buy whatever looks best rather than hunting for a specific one. Two things worth doing: make the taco sauce ahead, and cook the fish last so it goes into the tortillas warm. Once you have the base down, try the Fried Mahi Mahi Tacos or Blackened Snapper Tacos.

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Fried Hogfish with Ritz Cracker Breading

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The Ritz cracker breading came from my fishmonger at the docks in Key Largo after he cleaned a fresh hogfish for me. The buttery, salty crackers create a soft rich coating that suits delicate hogfish perfectly. If you can't find hogfish, use snapper or grouper instead. Make the aioli first so the flavors can develop while the fish cooks.

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Blackened Grouper

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Most blackening recipes coat the fish in melted butter first, which can fill your kitchen with smoke at high heat. I use oil for the first side, then add butter after flipping. You still get a dark, flavorful crust without setting off the smoke alarm. Grouper is thick and meaty, making it perfect for bold blackened seasoning.

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Grilled Grouper Collars

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Collars are the best part of the fish and almost nobody sells them, because restaurants keep them. Ask at the fish market early in the morning when they are putting fish out. That is when I get mine at Key Largo Fisheries. The thick skin protects the meat, so its hard to overcook and stays juicy where a fillet would dry out. Size drives the time more than anything: a small collar can be done in 10 minutes, and my three-pounder took 30. Grill halved lemons alongside it.

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Roasted Swordfish

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Swordfish is one of the easiest fish to cook because the oven does the work and there is no flipping. Before cooking, trim away the dark bloodline running through the center to remove the strong flavor that some people find fishy. One-inch steaks roast in 10 to 12 minutes. Take them out while they still look slightly moist because they'll continue cooking on the plate.

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Blackened Swordfish

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Blackened swordfish is the cast-iron version, with a dark, spicy crust from Cajun seasoning and a hot pan. Cayenne controls the heat, so adjust it to your taste and leave the rest of the spice blend unchanged.

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Crispy Fried Swordfish Steaks

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Nobody breads swordfish. I made this because Michael asked for it after we had fried blackfin tuna the week before, and it turned out to be one of the best ways I've cooked it. Swordfish is dense enough that the panko crisps before the inside overcooks, which is not true of a thin fillet. The leftovers on a toasted bun with tartar sauce the next day were almost better than dinner.

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Fish and Grits

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Grits and grunts is a Keys original, traditionally eaten by fishermen returning from the water. A friend once knocked on my door with a bag of grunts he had caught that afternoon, and I had never cooked them before, so this dish happened. Grunts taste a lot like yellowtail, but they can be difficult to find, so use any thin white fish fillet. And yes, I used instant grits. My Cousin Vinny would not approve, but they turned out just fine.

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Panko-Crusted Tuna Steak

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Neighbors came back from fishing in Islamorada and handed me a blackfin loin at the front door, which is how a lot of dinners start around here. We went with a pan fry, and what a great piece of fish this is. The panko crisps in under a minute a side while the center stays rare, so you get the crunch of fried fish and the texture of seared tuna at once. Fry it whole, slice it later.

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Stone Crab, Lobster, and Shrimp

Florida spiny lobster, stone crab claws, and Key West pink shrimp are among the Keys' most prized catches. These recipes keep the preparation simple, allowing their naturally sweet flavor and tender texture to shine.

Stone Crab Claws with Mustard Sauce

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Stone crab claws are one reason so many people visit the Keys in winter. Their meat is sweet and succulent, and the season runs from October 15 through May 1, making them worth planning a trip around. Serve the claws chilled with plenty of mustard sauce and lemon wedges for a true Florida Keys experience.

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How to Boil Spiny Lobsters

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Spiny lobster is the Keys version, no claws, all tail, leaner and firmer than Maine lobster but just as sweet. Season runs August 6 through March 31. Cook them the day you get them for best results. Ten minutes in salted boiling water, then straight into ice. Pull the vein out of the tail before you serve.

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Key West Lobster Rolls

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A classic New England lobster roll made with spiny lobster. The tail meat is firmer than Maine, so it holds its shape in the dressing. Warm bun, cold filling, assembled right before you eat.

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Lobster Salad

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We keep traps out during lobster season, so I've made this salad many times. Serve it over greens, in lettuce cups, stuffed into an avocado, or in a lobster roll. Sprinkle the Old Bay on top just before serving so the salad stays white, and chill it for 30 minutes to let the flavors blend. Two spiny lobster tails provide about as much meat as one Maine lobster.

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Boiled Key West Pink Shrimp with Old Bay

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Boiled shrimp with Old Bay is an easy meal that leaves you plenty of shrimp for shrimp and eggs, a tossed salad, or shrimp tortilla wraps. Boil peeled shrimp for just two minutes, then transfer them directly to an ice bath. Use Key West pinks if you can find them, but any wild American shrimp works.

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Shrimp Salad with Old Bay and Dill

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Old Bay adds savory flavor to the creamy dressing and balances the natural sweetness of Key West pink shrimp. Frozen shrimp work well too, but choose a bag with loose pieces rather than one frozen solid. Make the salad a few hours ahead so it has time to chill and the flavors can blend.

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Key West Shrimp Tacos

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Fastest taco night there is. The shrimp cook in about three minutes, which is why you chop everything else first. Get the cabbage, tomatoes, onion, and lime on the counter before the pan gets hot, or you'll be standing there with overcooked shrimp. Pat them dry before seasoning so they brown instead of steam. The homemade taco seasoning makes enough for two or three pounds, so jar the rest for next time.

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Soups and Chowders

These hearty soups and chowders turn fresh fish, shrimp, and homemade seafood stock into rich, comforting meals. They are perfect for cooler evenings, rainy days, or anytime the air conditioning is cranked up.

Homemade Fish Stock

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If you're buying whole fish, ask for the frame. Markets often give it away or charge almost nothing, and it makes better stock than anything in a carton. A couple of things worth knowing: take the gills out, and keep it to about 30 minutes. Fish stock isn't like chicken stock, and it can turn bitter if it goes too long. Lean white fish works best, and a gentle simmer keeps it clear. When you're done, pick the meat off the bones and save it for chowder or fish cakes

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Creamy Fish Chowder

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This came out of a grouper carcass. I made stock with it and turned that into chowder, and the homemade stock is what makes the difference. Store-bought works if that's what you have. The part to watch is the end: once the fish and cream go in, keep the heat low. A hard boil breaks the fish apart and separates the cream. Cod, grouper, snapper, or halibut all work.

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Shrimp Chowder

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I made this chowder on a 90-degree day with the AC cranked, which is the only way chowder happens down here. Add the shrimp last and cook them for just three or four minutes. Warm the cream separately, then keep the chowder over low heat so it stays smooth and the shrimp remain tender. Chicken broth works if you don't have seafood stock.

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Sides

Sides in the Keys lean tropical and bright, because that's what fried fish wants next to it. Plantains, coconut rice, and mango slaw that cut the richness. Make them before you cook the fish, since fish takes minutes and these can wait.

Spanish Rice

The Cuban side of the Keys shows up in the rice as much as anywhere. Onions and peppers first, then the rice and tomato sauce. It goes with just about everything on this list.

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Easy Spanish Rice Recipe made with converted rice, tomato sauce, onion, green pepper, garlic, ketchup, and peas. This one-pot side dish cooks in 20 minutes and goes with chicken, beef, pork, fish, or shrimp.

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Mango with Chili Lime Salt

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This is barely a recipe, but it is exactly what I want after a plate of fried fish. Toss ripe mango with lime zest, lime juice, chili powder, and flaky salt for a five-minute tropical side. Florida mangoes are in season from July through September, and smooth, non-stringy Keitt mangoes are worth seeking out. Any ripe mango works the rest of the year.

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Dessert

Finish your tropical feast with a taste of the island's most iconic sweet treat, made from tart freshly squeezed Key limes and rich sweetened condensed milk.

Key Lime Pie

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Key lime pie is the most iconic dish in the Keys. The filling needs only Key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. Grind the graham crackers finely so the crust holds together, and squeeze fresh Key limes at least once to taste what makes this pie so special. Mix gently after adding the juice to help the filling set properly.

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