Garlic Butter Swai Fish

by Sabrina Snyder

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2 Comments

6 Servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
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Garlic Butter Swai Fish is a tender and flaky freshwater fish, finished with a smooth sauce that rounds out every bite.

This simple dish is sure to become one of your favorite recipes to prepare an easy fish dinner. For more seafood recipes, try making Baked Salmon with Dill Sauce or Grilled Cilantro Lime Shrimp. 

Sabrina’s Garlic Butter Swai Fish Recipe

Swai is a freshwater fish with a very mild flavor. With this Garlic Butter Swai Fish recipe, you’ll cook it so it’s crisp on the outside, and tender on the inside. The bright and mildly rich sauce completes the entree with amazing flavor. Serve with roasted vegetables, Easy Dinner Rolls, and Garlic Butter Roasted Potatoes to round out your meal. I’ve included an air fryer version below, so be sure to check that out.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Garlic Butter Swai Fish Recipe

Garlic Butter Swai Fish is a tender and flaky freshwater fish, finished with a smooth sauce that rounds out every bite.
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Fish, green beans, and rice in dinner bowl.
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 6 Swai fish filets
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions

  • Add butter to a large heavy skillet on high heat.
  • Season Swai with salt, pepper, and paprika.
  • Coat the Swai with the flour and shake off the excess.
  • Add fish to the pan, cook for 3 minutes.
  • Flip the fish and cook an additional 2 minutes until well seared on both sides.
  • Remove from the pan, lower heat to medium add in garlic and stir.
  • Cook for 30 seconds until aromatic.
  • Add in lemon juice and lemon zest and stir.
  • Serve Swai and spoon lemon butter sauce over the top.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 Filet | Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 477mg | Potassium: 532mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 317IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg

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Chef’s Note

If you want to make this recipe gluten-free, you can swap out the regular flour for gluten-free cracker crumbs to give the fish fillets the same crispy edges. You can also use cornstarch, but I make sure to pat the filets completely dry before dusting, and only apply a very thin, veil-like layer.

Can this be made ahead of time? 

Yes. If you cook in advance, you can follow the stovetop or air fryer instructions. Then put the in an airtight container to store in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to cook. Preheat your oven to 275 degrees, and place the fish on a rimmed baking sheet. You can cover the baking dish with foil to stop from drying out in the oven. Then place the recipe in the oven to reheat it. Make the garlic butter sauce fresh on the stovetop while reheating.

How to Store

  • Serve: For the best flavor, enjoy crisp and tender Swai while the fish and garlic butter sauce is still warm. Be sure not to leave the seafood out for more than 2 hours, or it will go bad. 
  • Store: To keep fresh, wait for the leftovers to cool. Then transfer to an airtight container or cover it in aluminum foil to keep stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. 
  • Freeze: To keep longer, store it in a freezer bag or another freezer-safe airtight container. Frozen fish can stay good for up to 3 months. 

Air Fryer Swai Fish

  • Prep time: To start, preheat the air fryer to 390 degrees Fahrenheit. Then prep the air fryer basket with a coating of olive oil or melted butter.
  • Coat fish: Season Swai with salt and pepper, then coat the fish fillets in a layer of all-purpose flour.
  • Cooking time: Place the fish in the air fryer basket, close the fryer, and cook for 5 minutes. Then flip the fish and continue air frying for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the fish from the fryer.
  • Garlic butter: Use the directions in the recipe card to make the sauce in a pan, or set an Instant Pot to sauté setting, and add the butter and garlic. Cook the garlic until it’s aromatic, then add the lemon juice and zest. Cook for a few minutes.

Seafood Recipes

Fish served with green beans with the recipe title in a yellow banner

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

    1. Yes you can Patricia. Tilapia is leaner than swai, so make sure you don’t overcook the filets.

      Reply