Parmesan Crusted Halibut Recipe
Need a new recipe for fish? This Parmesan Crusted Halibut Recipe uses simple, real food ingredients and is so delicious that you won’t want to eat anything else for a week! It’s easy to make in the oven or air-fryer and won’t leave you feeling guilty, with low-carb & keto friendly substitutions included.
Delicious enough for a special occasion but easy enough for busy weeknights.
Parmesan Crusted Halibut Recipe Ingredients
One of my favorite parts of this Parmesan Crusted Halibut recipe is that all of the simple ingredients can be found at Aldi (or your favorite local grocery store) making it not only a delicious family friendly and healthy recipe BUT it’s also very budget friendly, too!
- halibut fillets
- mayonnaise
- grated parmesan cheese
- breadcrumbs, panko crumbs or pork panko, if keto
- Butter softened, not melted butter
- parsley (dried or fresh parsley)
- Garlic (fresh is best but garlic powder works in a pinch)
- lemon zest (or lemon juice)
- Black Pepper
What might come as a little bit of a shock is that we are NOT using eggs, egg mixture egg whites or egg wash for this baked parmesan crusted halibut. Instead we are using MAYONNAISE, which is basically eggs and oil in this restaurant quality, easy Halibut recipe.
How to make Parmesan Crusted Halibut
Making Parmesan Crusted Halibut is so easy!! You don’t even need to thaw out your frozen Halibut, you can make this recipe using FROZEN Fish. Infact when you use frozen fish for this recipe like my Garlic Parmesan Baked Keto Salmon Recipe it helps to ensure that your fish doesn’t get over cooked, keeping it moist and flakey. However if you have access to Fresh halibut, by all means use it only be aware that the cooking time might be slightly shorter. Use a meat thermometer, when in doubt to make sure that your parmesan-crusted halibut is cooked perfectly.
In your food processor combine topping ingredients, pulse until combined.
I always have seasoned breadcrumbs in my pantry so that’s what I reach for most often, but you can use panko breadcrumbs (for a panko parmesan crusted halibut) as well. Additionally, if you need to eliminate carbs this recipe works perfectly by swapping in Pork Panko as the base for the breadcrumb mixture instead of gluten!
Smear each halibut filet (frozen is preferred for thin fillets) with mayonnaise then coat with the crumb topping mixture. You can drizzle your crumb topping with olive oil or give it a cooking spray to help it more evenly brown, if desired.
Again, I smear my FROZEN halibut filets with mayo then dip the fish filet (mayo side down) into the bread crumb mixture that I have in a shallow dish. You can also sprinkle halibut with the parmesan mixture topping if you prefer that method too.
Any surplus bread crumb mixture topping can be stored in the freezer in a bag or airtight container to use later, when you make this easy fish recipe again – and trust me you will make this again!
Best way to Cook Parmesan Crusted Halibut
Your crumb topped halibut filets can be cooked in the oven or the air fryer. Both will turn out absolutely delicious, however after testing this recipe several times in both, I feel very strongly that the air fryer is the better choice for a crispier crust that is more uniformly browned.
When you bake the halibut on parchment paper, it tends to leak liquid especially when using frozen filets that prevent ample crispiness. Using a boiler pan or a rack so that the liquid can separate from the fish is helpful.
Parmesan Crusted Halibut Nutrition
When using 1 pound of halibut filets, this Parmesan Crusted Halibut will serve 2-4 people depending on how generous the desired serving size is. A 4 ounce serving is roughly 300 calories with 27g protein, 20g fat and 2g carbs. Full nutritional info can be found at the bottom of the recipe card.
Parmesan Crusted Halibut Substitutions
This parmesan crusted halibut recipe can easily be modified to suit your needs; here are a few suggestions:
- Instead of alaskan halibut filets, try flounder, cod, haddock or other mild flavor, flaky white fish fillets.
- Swap different herbs for the parsley; I suggest chives, oregano, basil or dill
- Asiago or Romano cheese would be delicious in place of or mixed with Parmesan Cheese
Tips and tricks
Here are a few additional tips and tricks for this fish with a parmesan crust;
- Fresh vs Frozen Fish: As I mentioned earlier, for thin filets of fish I prefer to start with frozen filets to ensure that the fish cooks slowly without drying out. You want the texture of the fish to easily flake with a fork, while still being moist.
- You can prep your frozen filets ahead of time, smear with mayo and coat with the crumb mixture then place the sheet pan into the freezer until you are ready to cook. I suggest putting everything together in the morning, pop them into the freezer and you have a great option for a busy weeknight dinner.
- Cooked Parmesan Crusted Halibut will keep in the fridge, in an air tight container for 2-3 days. This recipe makes great leftovers!
- I don’t call for any salt in this recipe since the parmesan cheese and mayo both already contain salt, I feel that seasoning is adequate.
- The Best wine to serve with Halibut is a dry white wine, an excellent choice is always wines from Dry Farm Wines (I’ve been a customer of theirs since 2017!!)
- Serve this easy recipe with any side dish you’d like, we enjoy it with sautéed peppers and homemade rice pilaf. Steamed Broccoli is also a great combo for dinner tonight.
If you like this Parmesan Crusted Halibut Recipe, here are Other Healthy Recipes with Fish and Seafood you may enjoy:
- Grilled Fish Tacos with Fermented Cilantro Kefir Sauce {Gluten-Free}
- Instant Pot Fish Chowder Recipe
- Spicy Brazilian Fish Stew
- How to make a Chilled Seafood Tower
- The Best Seafood Salad Recipe
- Garlic Parmesan Baked Keto Salmon Recipe
- Instant Pot Shrimp Scampi Paella Recipe
Parmesan Crusted Halibut Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound halibut
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup pork panko or bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon Butter (or ghee) softened
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 cloves Garlic minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 pinch Black Pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a food processor, combine butter, parsley garlic, parmesan cheese and bread crumb (or pork panko, if keto) – pulse to combine
- smear each halibut filet with mayonnaise
- sprinkle with the parmesan topping, pressing to coat well
- Place coated filets on parchment lined baking sheet
- Bake at 400F for 20 minutes
Air fryer Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350F
- In a food processor, combine butter, parsley garlic, parmesan cheese and bread crumb (or pork panko, if keto) – pulse to combine
- smear each halibut filet with mayonnaise
- sprinkle with the parmesan topping, pressing to coat well
- carefully transfer coated halibut into your air fryer
- Air fry for 15 minutes at 350F