Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers

Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers is a delicious summer dinner, and you can make this with any fish that’s firm enough to cook on the grill! And the fish only needs to marinate a few hours before it’s grilled but the marinating step adds amazing flavor.

PIN Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers!

Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers is something I first made back in the days when I was grilling fish on a houseboat at beautiful Lake Powell. At the lake I often made this with halibut, before it got to be so expensive! But now the Wild-Caught Mahi Mahi I love so much from Costco is a perfect choice for this recipe if Halibut isn’t in the budget!

And when it’s summer I’m always cooking fish on the grill, and I think this flavorful marinade with lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped capers, Dijon, and just a touch of onion and garlic flavor would be good on just about any type of fish that’s firm enough to grill! See some ideas below for other types of fish you can use with this extra-flavorful marinade, and I hope you make some grilled fish for dinner soon!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• white fish fillets
• oil for oiling grill
• lemon pieces for serving fish (optional)
• lemon zest
• fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Dijon mustard (affiliate link)
• extra virgin olive oil
• Capers (affiliate link)
• Garlic Powder (affiliate link)
• Onion Powder (affiliate link)
• Dried Parsley (affiliate link)
• fresh ground black pepper

What kinds of white fish can you use for Grilling?

What kind of fish should you use when a recipe calls for “white fish?” The name White Fish refers to mild-flavored quick cooking fillets of fish such as cod, bass, grouper, haddock, catfish, and snapper and you can use any of those as long as they are thick enough for the grill. You can also use pieces of halibut, Mahi Mahi, Swordfish, or Tuna for this recipe.

How low in carbs is the Grilled Fish recipe?

This easy delicious fish cooked on the grill only has 3 net carbs per serving, and 49 grams of protein!

Why did I use dried herbs in the fish marinade?

I love to use fresh herbs in cooking, but in marinades like this I use ingredients like onion powder, garlic powder and dried parsley because they don’t leave clumps of onion, parsley, or garlic on the fish or meat when it’s grilled. The dried seasonings add flavor and are less likely to burn on the grill.

Tips for Marinating Fish and Cooking Fish on the Grill:

• If you’re a follower of my site you know how I love to marinate chicken, pork chops, beef, and lamb, and for meats I often use a long marinating time, sometimes even marinating overnight and cooking the next day. I do love to marinating fish for a flavor boost, but fish doesn’t need more than a few hours of marinating time, especially with marinades that have lemon or lime juice.
• Cooking fish on the grill can be tricky if you don’t have enough oil to keep it from sticking. Using a marinade with oil can help with that.
• I use a non-stick spray called Pam for Grilling, (affiliate link) which really helps prevent food from sticking.
• You can also oil your grill (before you preheat it) with a paper towel dipped in olive oil with good results.
• Preheating the oiled grill is important with fish; the grill should be hot when you put the fish on; then immediately lower the temperature a bit.
• You can also cook fish on the grill using a BBQ Grilling Pan (affiliate link), which might be easier for some people.

How can you cook grilled fish without an outdoor grill?

If you don’t have an outdoor grill (or it’s not grilling weather), grilled fish like this can easily be cooked on a stove-top grill pan with ridges (affiliate link) or a George Foreman Grill (affiliate link) with good results. Remember that the George Foreman Grill cooks both sides at once so grilling time will be a lot shorter!

How to Make Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Thaw frozen fish overnight in the fridge. (The Mahi Mahi I get at Costco comes individually wrapped like this, which does make them handy to keep in the freezer.)
2. Drain thawed fish in a colander, then press between paper towels to remove excess liquid.
3. Zest the lemon and squeeze the juice. Chop capers, and give lemon zest a chop if it’s not very fine.
4. Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon, chopped capers, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, and black pepper.
5. Put the fish in a Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Let fish marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
6. When you want to cook, drain fish, and let it come to room temperature.
7. Spray grill with non-stick grilling spray or brush with oil, then preheat to high.
8. Lower heat to medium-high when you put fish on the grill.
9. To get criss-cross grill marks, first lay fish at an angle and cook 2-3 minutes, or until you see nice marks when you lift the edge.
10. Rotate fish on the same side but going the opposite angle and cook 2-3 minutes, or until you see opposite grill marks.
11. Turn fish over and cook about 2-3 minutes on the other side. Fish is done when it feels firm, but not hard, to the touch. I cooked these pieces of fish about 9 minutes total.
12. Serve the grilled fish hot, with additional lemon to squeeze on at the table if desired.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

In the photo the Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers is shown with Chopped Greek Salad with Peperoncini, and that was a tasty combination. Grilled fish would also be delicious with any of these side dishes for a low-carb meal:

• Easy Grilled Vegetables
• Grilled Zucchini Caprese Salad
• Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing
• Grilled Zucchini
• Summer Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese

More Tasty Ideas for Cooking Fish:

• Greek Salmon with Tzatziki Sauce
• Kalyn’s Lake Powell Fish Marinade
• Roasted Barramundi with Tomato and Olive Relish
• Mahi Mahi with Mediterranean Salsa and Feta
• Air Fryer Salmon Recipe with Mustard-Herb Sauce

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Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes

This Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers is a delicious idea for cooking fish. You can use a stove-top grill pan if you don't have an outdoor grill.

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 4 Mahi Mahi filets
• 1 T oil for oiling grill grates
• lemon pieces for serving fish (optional)

Marinade Ingredients

• 1 T lemon zest (more or less to taste)
• 3 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T capers, chopped (or more if you really like capers)
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

1. If you’re using frozen fish it’s best to thaw overnight in the fridge, but in a pinch you can thaw them in cold water
2. Drain the thawed fish in a colander, then put between layers of paper towels and press down to remove the water
3. Zest the lemon and squeeze the lemon juice. Chop up the capers a little, and you can also give the lemon zest a chop if it’s in large pieces
4. Then whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon, chopped capers, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley, and black pepper to make the tasty marinade
5. Put the fish pieces in a small Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Let fish marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours. (Don’t leave it much longer than that or the lemon juice will start to “cook” the fish
6. When you’re ready to cook, drain the fish, catching the marinade to discard if you don’t want that going down your drain. Let fish come to room temperature.
7. Spray the grill with non-stick grilling spray or brush with oil, then preheat the grill to high.
8. Lower heat to medium-high when you put fish on the grill. To get criss-cross grill marks, first lay fish at an angle across the grill grates and cook 2-3 minutes, or until you see nice marks when you lift the edge
9. Rotate fish on the same side but going the opposite angle and cook 2-3 minutes, or until you see opposite grill marks
10. Turn fish over and cook about 2-3 minutes on the other side. Fish is done when it feels firm, but not hard, to the touch. I cooked these pieces about 9 minutes total
11. Serve hot, with additional lemon to squeeze on at the table if desired.

Notes

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 394Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 16gCholesterol 174mgSodium 290mgCarbohydrates 4gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 49g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Grilled Fish with Lemon and Capers is not only delicious, it’s perfect for any low-carb or Keto eating plan or any phase of the original South Beach Diet. And this fish recipe has an amazing 49 grams of protein!

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Grilling Recipes to find more grilled fish recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This favorite recipe for grilled fish was first posted in 2011 after I had made it often during my days cooking at Lake Powell! The recipe was last updated with much better photos in 2023 and was last updated with more information in 2025.

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