Today I am sharing my recipe for an easy and healthy Oven Roasted Yellowtail Snapper recipe that will have the whole family coming back to the dinner table again and again.
The yellowtail snapper is flavored with Old Bay seasoning and packs a flavorful punch. Give it a shot - you'll love the delicious results, we promise!
Jump to:
- Why We Love This Recipe
- What You Need
- What Can I Substitute for Yellowtail?
- How to Thaw Frozen Fish
- How to Roast Yellowtail
- What is Old Bay?
- What Goes with Roasted Yellowtail Snapper?
- Where To Get Yellowtail in the Florida Keys
- Learn More about Yellowtail Fishing in the Keys
- "📖 Recipe"
- FAQ
- What to Serve with Roasted Yellowtail Snapper
Why We Love This Recipe
Whether it's yellowtail or hogfish, your taste buds are sure to thank you for this one-pan wonder! Fresh fish is a treat.
With 2 minutes of prep and ten brief minutes of roasting time, you'll have a super healthy meal. Steam some veggies on the side or eat with a big salad.
What You Need
- Yellowtail Snapper is available all over Florida. Wild-caught thin fillets of your favorite fish will work well too.
- Unsalted butter
- Salt & Pepper, just a bit.
- Seafood Seasoning. I used Old Bay seasoning to make this fish. It is available in all U.S. grocery stores. I also like Southernmost Blend from Key West Spice Co. You can pick them both up at Publix and Winn Dixie throughout Florida.
- Lemons
- Fresh parsley, either flat leaf or curly.
What Can I Substitute for Yellowtail?
You can substitute any thin white fish fillet for Yellowtail in this recipe. Hogfish, Mutton Snapper, Mango Snapper, Red Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, or Catfish would be great.
If you have a thicker fillet, such as Triple Tail, Grouper, or even Mahi, roast these for 15-20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork, and you'll have an excellent meal.
If you're outside of Florida, look for wild-caught Flounder, Sole, Cod, or Red Snapper.
How to Thaw Frozen Fish
If your snapper is frozen, place the frozen fish in the refrigerator to thaw. It shouldn't take more than an hour. Yellowtail is very thin.
Or you can place the fish in a colander in the sink and run cold water over it until it softens. Be careful not to rip or break the fillets when you're aggressively defrosting.
How to Roast Yellowtail
Roasting yellowtail in the oven is a simple process.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F with the oven rack set in the lower half of the oven.
- Spray a 13 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray or brush with oil. I use a Pyrex glass pan.
- Rinse fish and pat dry with paper towels.
Lightly season the fish and both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place fish in the pan.
Season top of fish with Old Bay seasoning, or other seafood seasoning.
Scatter butter over and around the fish. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until fish easily flakes with a fork.
Remove from oven. Scatter parsley over all.
What is Old Bay?
Do you love seafood? Have you ever come across mild spicy seasoning with herbs and hints of citrus that adds a whole new flavor to your meals? If so, you were probably tasting Old Bay Seasoning.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Old Bay was the brainchild of Gustav Brunn, a German immigrant. Brunn was a spice merchant in Germany and continued in the same work in the U.S. after World War II.
He made a spice blend specifically for Baltimore's wholesale seafood businesses and Old Bay was born.
This delicious blend of spices has been delighting diners since 1939 and continues to be one of the most popular seasonings for fish, shrimp, crab cakes, and chicken wings.
What Goes with Roasted Yellowtail Snapper?
Roasted or baked Yellowtail would go well with any vegetable or salad.
You can roast the Yellowtail and serve it on top of a Caesar Salad. You can also serve it with a side of our Chickpea Feta Salad.
For hot sides, try these:
- Lemon Asparagus Rice
- Authentic Spanish Rice
- Crispy Oven Roasted Broccoli with Garlic
- Oven Roasted Cauliflower
- Oven Roasted Cauliflower and Carrots
- Roasted Asparagus
Where To Get Yellowtail in the Florida Keys
- Key Largo Fisheries in Key Largo (will ship wild caught fresh fish overnight)
- Casamar Seafood Market in Tavernier
- Keys Fisheries in Marathon
- Brutus Restaurant and Seafood Bar in Marathon
- Eaton Street Seafood Market in Key West
- Half Shell Raw Bar in Key West
What Other Fish is Native to the Florida Keys?
Yellowtail Snapper is caught right off the coast of all the Florida Keys and Miami. It is a wild-caught small fish with flaky, mild, and sweet flesh. The fish cooks in 10 minutes.
- Grouper
- Hogfish
- Snook
- Dolphin, or Mahimahi
- Mutton Snapper
- Mangrove Snapper
- Swordfish
For native shellfish, be sure to check out the stone crabs, key west pink shrimp, and spiny lobsters at our local restaurants.
Learn More about Yellowtail Fishing in the Keys
There's an interesting article on floridasportsman.com that describes how to catch yellowtail that includes chum, oats, Ballyhoo, and shorter rods.
There's also night fishing from Robbie's of Islamorada. The five-hour trip runs from 5:30 to 12:30 and bait, tackle, and rods are included. Check it out--looks like fun!
Summary
With a few simple steps, you can make delicious and healthy seafood dishes in no time! I love cooking thin white fillets of fish with Old Bay on busy weeknights – usually yellowtail, but sometimes we have hogfish.
Roasted yellowtail is a low-calorie and low-carb fish recipe that takes five minutes of prep work and ten to 15 minutes in the oven.
If you want to air fry the yellowtail, check out Air Fryer Snapper with Cauliflower.
"📖 Recipe"
Roasted Yellowtail Snapper with Old Bay Seasoning
Equipment
- 9 x 13 baking dish
- Tongs
- Knife
- small saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Yellowtail snapper fillets defrosted if frozen
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay seafood seasoning original flavor
- sea salt
- black pepper
- 2-3 lemons cut into wedges
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with rack set in low position of oven.
- Spray 9 x13-inch pan with cooking spray or brush pan with oil. If you are using a rimmed sheetpan, cover with parchment paper.
- RInse fish and pat dry.
- Season fish and both sides with salt and pepper.
- Arrange fish in single layer on baking pan.
- Season fish with Old Bay seasoning, or other seafood seasoning
- Cube butter and scatter the cubes over and around fish.
- Place pan in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes or until fish easily flakes with a fork.
- Remove from oven. Scatter parsley over fish.
- Plate servings and spoon butter over each filet. Serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
FAQ
Yellowtail filets are about $16.00 per pound and whole fish are about $12.00 per pound in Key Largo.
Yellowtail snapper from Florida and the Caribbean is about 30 inches (75 cm) long and weighs 3 to 5 pounds.
Yellowtail is mild and sweet tasting. It is fish, so it tastes like fish, but not "fishy" tasting. Consume within 2 days of catching it so it's fresh or pack and place in your freezer for up to 3 months.
Yellowtail Snapper from the Florida Keys is sweet and mild tasting. It is one of the prized fish species of Key Largo.
Yellowtail is a mild sweet tasting fish. It can be fried, pan-fried, roasted or used in ceviche.
Each 4 oz. serving has 110 calories.
What to Serve with Roasted Yellowtail Snapper
The following dishes are all from Cooking in The Keys
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