Summary:

One of my favorite Seafood Dinner Recipes, these swordfish steaks are a low carb, keto meal with few ingredients. They only take minutes to prepare, and are quickly pan-seared until golden and crisp on the outside yet juicy and tender within.

Pan-Seared Swordfish

5 from 23 votes

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Prep: 5

Cook: 10

Yield: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS

Swordfish:

▢ 2 (8-ounce) swordfish steaks, 3/4 to 1 inch thick (Note 1)
▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
▢ 1/2 teaspoon table salt

Optional Topping Ideas:

▢ freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
▢ salsa verde
▢ pico de gallo or salsa

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep Swordfish: Pat steaks dry with paper towels. Trim off and discard any skin. Sprinkle both sides of each steak with salt.
Sear Swordfish: Heat olive oil in pan (Note 2) over medium-high heat until very hot, a few minutes. Add swordfish steaks to pan. Flipping every 2 minutes, cook until center registers 130 F, 5 to 7 minutes depending on size of your steaks (Note 3).
Rest & Serve: Immediately transfer steaks to serving plates, letting them rest for a few minutes (Note 4). Add optional toppings over steaks, and serve (Note 5).

NUTRITION

Makes 2 Servings

Amount Per Serving (1 steak, no toppings):

Calories 390
Total Fat 22g	34%
Saturated Fat 5g	24%
Cholesterol 150mg	50%
Sodium 760mg	32%
Net Carb 0g
Total Carb 0g	0%
Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
Sugars 0g
Protein 45g

Vitamin A 5% · Vitamin C 0% · Calcium 0% · Iron 5%

PHOTOS

two raw swordfish steaks on a cutting board

keto swordfish topped with salsa and lemon

NOTES & TIPS

(1) Selecting Swordfish. I use fresh swordfish steaks, about 8 ounces each with a thickness between 3/4 and 1 inch. Try to select two steaks that are similarly sized so they cook at the same rate. If your steak has the right thickness but is too large (about a pound), you can cut it in half to get two 8-ounce steaks. Or if your steak is more than 1.5 inches thick, you can slice it horizontally and end up with two 3/4-inch thick steaks.

(2) Pan. I use a nonstick pan that is 10 inches in diameter, wide enough to hold both steaks in a single layer.

(3) Cooking Swordfish. You should treat swordfish like a fine steak; it should be cooked on the rarer side. Overcooking will turn it dry and flavorless. During cooking, they’re flipped every 2 minutes; I use a stopwatch and flip on even-numbered minutes, and start monitoring the temperature after 4 minutes with a probe thermometer or instant-read thermometer. Using a thermometer is best since the cooking time will vary for differently sized steaks. The swordfish should be pan-seared until it reaches 130 F in the center. Off the heat, the swordfish’s internal temperature quickly rises to 140 F within a few minutes, due to carryover cooking.

(4) Resting Swordfish. While the swordfish steaks are resting, they will finish cooking and some juices may pool around them. If you don’t want the juices pooling on serving plates, rest the steaks on a separate dish before moving them to serving plates.

(5) Serving. The swordfish tastes fantastic by itself; simply lightly salted and cooked in olive oil, with no toppings. The meat is meltingly tender and juicy, no knife needed. This is especially true if it’s fresh, high quality swordfish. Optionally, you can brighten it up by pairing it with lemon wedges, fresh salsa, salsa verde, or pico de gallo — homemade or store-bought. Whatever topping you choose, keep it simple so it doesn’t detract from the delicious swordfish flavor. Low carb sides that pair well with swordfish include a chopped Mediterranean salad, colorful roasted vegetables, or coleslaw.

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Kathy

I made this and it was amazing! The fish turned out perfect, thanks to the wonderfully precise cooking instructions! I didn’t use a thermometer, but I turned the fish as directed while cooking, and cut into the center to see how done it was. I served this with a “salsa” of cubed avocado, blueberries, cilantro & lime juice. Delicious! I will make this recipe again!

Stephanie

Fish sat with Salt and lemon pepper for 30. Then pan seared with olive olive for two minutes per side. Finished with fresh squeezed lemon and 2 tbl. Butter in pan for two more minutes. Rest 10. Awesome!!

Kim Quinn

I adore swordfish more than any other. Its texture reminds me of a juicy pork chop.. I pat dry, season with olive oil, fresh ground pepper and a Greek salt free seasoning from TJ’s. Let it sit covered 30 mins and then bring my skillet to decent heat but no raging. I place it in and leave it alone, watching the bottom begin to turn white. Before it gets to the middle, I flip and watch the bottom again. Before it is white all through, still a bit pink stripe at center, I pull it off to a plate and let it rest. Yummmmmy!!!🤣
Thank you for your recipe. I do like it, when no fresh lemon is available, with a great chunky salsa or pico. I opt for a larger piece of fish, for myself,and forgo rice, grains etc. I love them, they hate me. 👍

Elisabeth Talis

This was excellent! My only problem was that the pieces were different sizes, and I didn’t catch them all in time. Even the pieces that were a little too cooked were delicious though! I made a balsamic vinaigrette with a ‘greek salad’ and topped it with the fish, with a side of brown rice. A true keeper- Thank you!

JanB

This was absolutely delicious, and so easy!!! Using Julia’s notes and tips made it easy to follow the recipe and have the swordfish steaks turn out perfectly – golden outside and moist, tender and perfectly cooked inside. After reading another review, I made sure to ask for a steak that was cut the same thickness throughout. I just topped with a little fresh squeezed lemon juice, and served broccoli and seasoned cauliflower rice on the side. My husband loved it so much, I made it twice in one week! (Whole Foods had it $7.00 off a pound!). I look forward to trying more of Julia’s recipes.

Jennie

I bought mine at Whole Foods on sale too! I only buy Swirdfish when it’s on sale-)

David

Wonderful! I used some home made pesto as a topper and it was perfect. I also recommend using a cast iron skillet… nice even heat distribution and a fantastic golden seared glow!

Jack

Prepared the swordfish in a cast iron skillet on the grill as instructed. Topped with rosemary and thyme sprigs. Excellent!!

Harry

I overcooked it I think I left the heat too high. Have used this recipe and it was wonderful.

Fantastic, restaurant quality meal! Thank you for the recipe and tips! I added the pics Dr gallo and canned green beans to the pan afterwards- was like Greek green beans-) Thank you so much!!!

Jodys

perfect, simple, delicious

Leslie

The sear and cooking to 130 – and rest to 140 – was perfect! A little lemon and a few capers, with a side of asparagus was great.

Katie

Omg this was sooooo perfect!!!! Topped with homemade mango salsa!!! TDF!!!!

Darlene

This was a simple yet tasty way to fix swordfish. My people loved it and I served it with Hollandaise sauce. It was amazing. I will definitely will be making this again.

Johnny Three Timesss

After I fill in the checkmarks where do I press done?

Prepared the swordfish earlier with Simple rosemary and Tyme, perfect however we have a friend that cold packs fresh mango/jallapeno salsa. Topped the swordfish after cooking and let rest. Unbelievable! It will knock your socks off. Great recipe, Thanks!

Devon

I think my husband wanted to marry me again!!! This was so good. I followed the two minutes and let my bigger steak stay on the pan for an extra minute. It was perfectly done l! I made guacamole to top it and the flavors were perfect. Thanks for the recipe!

Kristen H.

I had a frozen 1.35 lb steak that I thawed first. I cooked as directed and added butter and lemon during the resting stage, absolutely delicious. If there were more stars, I’d give them! Thanks for the comment on setting the timer for 2 minutes, it helped tremendously.

Elle

Simple and perfect! My steaks came out so good. I was planning to save half of mine to simmer in curry but it was just too good tht I ate it all, lol

Lisa

Love the precise instructions – every two minute flip and using the thermometer! This is a game changer. No more guessing when the swordfish should be taken off to rest. The thermometer tells you – perfect! It was delicious. Nothing worse than overcooked dry as a bone swordfish or fish of any kind for that matter. Thank you!

Sandra Mike

I overcooked it slightly. I seasoned with Old Bay, lemon pepper and lemon juice. It was wonderful. I agree that the instructions were perfect.

Jane Young

This is my go-to recipe for Swordfish every time. Delish!!

Phylis Petronino

Delicious

Joan Devlin

Excellent recipe. So simple but brilliant. I did miss on the every two minutes but it still was juicy and delicious. I went with a lemon, butter wine and parsley sauce on top.
Just perfect. Thank you.

Pan-Seared Swordfish