This delicious grilled red snapper recipe has a cajun seasoning crust bursting with flavor. Grilling snapper is the best way to cook it, as it results in tender, moist fish that flakes apart. It's also incredibly easy—you'll have dinner ready in just a few minutes!
You can grill red snapper on a gas grill (like I did), charcoal grill, or in a grill pan. If you love grilling fish, try my Grilled Halibut and Grilled Cod in Foil as well.
Grilled Snapper Features
- Red snapper is a firm textured sweet fish that's perfect for grilling. It can be grilled whole, but I like using dillets.
- Typically a whole fish weighs between 2 and 5 pounds, so when it's filleted it will serve 2 to 4 people.
- The seasoning blend on this recipe has some heat, so if you are serving this recipe to kids or people who aren't comfortable with spicy food, you can either omit or reduce the cayenne.
- Snapper a great fish for people who don't like fishy tasting fish! It's similar to other white fish with its sweet, slightly nutty flavor.
Grilled Snapper Ingredients
- Red Snapper Fillets - You'll need 2 red snapper fillets. They should have the skin on (this will help them stay together on the grill) and be 5 to 6 ounces each.
- Olive Oil - You'll coat the fillets in 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil. You don't need to use extra-virgin olive oil for this, use the cheaper stuff!
- Seasonings - You'll make a cajun seasoning blend for this recipe. You'll use 1 teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, ½ teaspoon of cayenne, ½ teaspoon of onion powder, ½ teaspoon of dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon of dried thyme, and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
- Optional Toppings - You can serve the fish with lime or lemon slices and chopped fresh parsley.
See the recipe card for more details.
What to Serve with Snapper
This fish is so flavorful that one or two simple side dishes are all you need for a full meal. I typically serve snapper with Grilled Asparagus or Grilled Yellow Squash because you can cook it on the grill with the fish.
It's also good with a green salad like my Panko Parmesan Green Salad or Simple Baby Kale Salad.
If you try this easy snapper recipe, let us know! Connect with us on Instagram and share your photos or leave us a rating.
Grilled Red Snapper
Ingredients
- 2 red snapper fillets skin on, 5 to 6 ounces each
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- optional to serve - lemon wedges and chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
- If fish is frozen, allow it to defrost and come to room temperature. Blot off any excess water with a paper towel.
- Coat both sides of the fish fillets with olive oil.
- Mix the paprika, garlic powder, salt, cayenne, onion powder, oregano, thyme, and black pepper together in a bowl.
- Sprinkle the spice mixture across the fleshy side of the fish fillets.
- Place the fillets, skin side down, on the grill. Close or cover the grill. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes or until the fish begins releasing some moisture.
- Flip the fillets and grill for 2 minutes or until the fish is flaky and has reached an internal temperature of 140 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Remove the skin and serve it with an optional sprinkle of chopped fresh herbs and a squeeze of either lemon juice or lime juice.
Leave a Reply