This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
From start to finish, garlic butter steelhead trout, cooked in foil is the easiest trout recipe in the world. Baking fish in foil with garlic, butter, and lemon is an easy, winning combo that yields a juicy buttery flavor. While the prep work takes minutes, the cleanup only takes seconds, making this a 25-minute recipe with cleanup included!
Steelhead trout is very similar to salmon in both flavor and appearance, however, steelhead trout tends to be a little milder. Not to be confused with rainbow trout, which tends to be lighter and color and milder in flavor in my experience.
The cook-in-foil method is incredibly easy because there is very minimal cleanup. I’m talking done-in-25-minutes easy. Because the fish is wrapped in foil, the fish is steamed, retaining the moisture, and rendering juicy and tender meat.
Looking for similar buttery and delicious recipes? Try my baked Triscuit-crusted cod, easy lemon butter scallops, and my delicious salmon bowls.
Table of Contents
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
- Steelhead trout filet: look for a full longer portion of trout that hasn’t been cut into individual pieces. You can remove the skin but it’s optional. Once the fish is done cooking, the skin will easily separate from the meat. Salmon or sockeye salmon makes a great substitute.
- Butter: butter helps form the paste that coats the whole fish. It adds buttery flavor and texture to every bite. Use salted or unsalted. If using unsalted, you may need an extra pinch of salt on the fish.
- Lemon: I like to reserve lemon for just before serving as well. It’s hard to beat a fresh squeeze of lemon on finished fish. For even more flavor, incorporate lemon zest.
- Garlic: fresh garlic is a must. Do not substitute with anything pre-minced or garlic powder for best results. A microplane is my favorite way to finely mince fresh garlic into a paste.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities below.
Expert Tips
- There are a few methods when it comes to covering the fish in garlic butter. If you soften the butter into a soft paste, you can evenly spread it on top of the filet. It’s a great way to ensure the fish is entirely covered.
- This foil method will work for just about any fish and any topping. I’ve done it with cod, haddock, salmon, and of course, steelhead trout. If your fish is on the larger side, you can crimp together two pieces of foil so you have a larger surface area.
More Seafood Recipes
Enjoy this recipe? If you made this recipe, please leave a ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ star rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments!
Garlic Butter Steelhead Trout
Ingredients
- 1 pound steelhead trout filet, skin removed optional
- 1/3 cup butter, softend/room temp
- 2 cloves garlic, minced/grated
- small handful fresh parsley, minced
- small handful fresh dill, minced
- Lemon slices, to top
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add softened butter to a small bowl. Stir in garlic, parsley, and dill. Mix until fully incorporated.
- Roll out a sheet of aluminum foil that is roughly 8 inches longer than the filet. If your filet is larger/wider, you can crimp together two pieces of foil so you have more foil to work with. They also make wider rolls of foil.
- Place the trout filet in the center of the foil. Fold up all 4 sides of the foil. Season trout with salt.
- Spread herb butter over the trout until evenly coated or top with 3 large dollops. Top with sliced lemon wheels.
- Fold the long sides of the foil over the trout, covering completely, and seal it tightly. Fold the ends over and seal into a closed packet. Place on a baking sheet and bake until fully cooked, about 15-18 minutes.
- Carefully open the foil packet when ready to serve. Steam will build up and may be hot when opening!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Eric, Andalucia
Since my stroke earlier this year, I am on a strict Pescatarian diet. Getting a little tired of salmon I came across your Trout recipe. I followed this to the T, although I did spend 5 minutes pin-boning. What an excellent result, so pleased I tried it. Such a different taste to salmon. Had it with a small salad with beetroot, cherry tomatoes and sprinkled with a few seeds.
Thank you very much.
Yes indeed, what an Awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing I had all the ingredients because we’re on the health kick and I’m always looking for recipe for salmon, chicken and fish.
Awesome! I’m a college student so salmon is usually out of my budget but it was on sale at the store today so I was able to get 2lbs which will last me at least 4 meals. Because it’s such a rare treat for me, I wanted to make sure that it came out perfect, and was this recipe perfect. I used the bottled lemon juice and no parsley but otherwise stuck to the recipe (though I did double the butter and garlic since my fish was bigger). 17 minutes in the oven and I got the most succulent, perfectly cooked salmon I have ever had. The only thing I think could have been better would be to add more lemon juice, but it’s easy enough to just splash some more on before eating.
simple and great, thanks for this
I omitted the garlic and used Durkee’s citrus grill seasoning. Serve over sautéed spinach for a perfect fish entree.
Friends and family request this simple recipe when invited for dinner.
Love this recipe my family loves it!! Thank you letting us enjoy your recipe!!
Your recipes are so easy to follow. They are so delicious . Just can’t wait to get into the Kitchen again. Thanks my brother..
Thanks bro – I appreciate it
This was amazing! I made it last night for the family and they ate it right up!
Fantastic! Love one “pot” meals and that’s exactly what I turned this recipe into. 1st time I put a thin layer of onion on the foil, covered that with fresh spinach, & thinly sliced potatoes. Seasoned each layer lightly with salt, pepper and dill then followed the rest of the recipe Husband couldn’t rave about it enough. 2nd time layer of onions, zucchini and precooked rice, seasoning the same and again followed the recipe. This is definitely a favorite recipe.
I really enjoyed this recipe. It was simple and easy to follow and execute. It tasted delicious! The only issue I had was when it was time for the last 5-ish minutes for broiling–what temperature should it be at? Thanks!! Will be trying out more of your recipes due to how delicious this one was!