Did someone say Foil-Baked Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Parmesan Cream Sauce? Sounds good, right?! Making this delicious Chilean Sea Bass in foil along with garlic creamed spinach topped with a lemon parmesan cream sauce makes for the perfect dinner idea anytime!
Who doesn’t love Chilean Sea Bass? It’s rich, buttery, moist, and flaky and literally melts in your mouth. But what’s really strange is it’s not actually sea bass. It’s original name, Patagonian toothfish, doesn’t sound that appetizing so I don’t blame them for changing the name (way back in 1977). 🙂
Chilean Sea Bass can be found in the southern ocean areas of Chile, Argentina, South Africa, and New Zealand which is probably why this variety cost more than the average fish per pound. If you’ve ever enjoyed it, you know it’s worth every single dime.
Back home in Louisiana, the variety of fish options seemed to be limited to catfish, redfish, Sac-a-Lait, and perch. Once I began to travel, I was able to gain an appreciation for different types of fish that were more prevalent in other regions. And that brings me to this delicious Foil-baked Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Parmesan Cream Sauce!
How to cook Chilean sea bass:
- I kept the seasoning simple in this recipe. Just season the sea bass on both sides with sea salt, black pepper, and Creole seasoning.
- Sauté the minced garlic in butter for 1 minute. Add in the fresh spinach and heavy cream. You’ll want to cook the spinach until it begins to wilt, but don’t overcook it because you’ll be putting it in the oven in a later step.
- Grab your foil and place half of the cooked spinach in the center. Place the sea bass over the spinach and seal the foil leaving enough room so the fish can steam. You’ll bake the seabass on a baking sheet for 12 minutes at 400 degrees.
- While the fish is cooking, you can start preparing the Parmesan Cream Sauce. Add butter, flour, and minced garlic to a pan and sauté for a few minutes. Add your wine and chicken broth and cook for another 3 minutes. Lastly, add the heavy whipping cream, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper, sea salt, fresh lemon zest, and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Once the fish is done, pour on the sauce and serve.
Baking this delicious dish sealed in foil along with garlic cream spinach adds additional flavor while it steams the fish to perfection. The lemon sauce blended with the Parmesan cheese and whipping cream was a sauce experiment that ended up being a home-run. I actually use this sauce on so many recipes, including fresh pasta!
When you want to turn your kitchen into an upscale dining experience give this Foil Baked Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Parmesan Cream Sauce a try – paired with your favorite red or white wine, of course.
And if you’re looking for a few more seafood recipes, don’t miss my Creamy Tuscan Steelhead Trout, Creole Fish Etouffee, Honey Balsamic Steelhead Trout, and Pan Seared Salmon with Succotash!
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Foil Baked Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Parmesan Cream Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
Baking this delicious Chilean Sea Bass in foil along with garlic cream spinach served topped with a lemon parmesan cream sauce makes for the perfect dinner idea anytime!
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chilean Sea Bass
- 12 oz. Fresh Leaf Spinach
- 1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 tsp. Minced Garlic
- 1 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1 tsp. Creole Seasoning
- 1 tsp. Sea Salt
- 2 tbsp. Butter
For the Lemon Parmesan Sauce:
- 1 Lemon
- 1/4 cup White Cooking Wine (or wine of choice)
- 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 3 tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp. Oregano
- 3 tbsp. Butter
- 3 tbsp. All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
- 3 tsp. Minced Garlic
Instructions
- Begin by seasoning the sea bass on both sides with sea salt, black pepper and Creole seasoning and set to the side.
- Pre-heat cooking pan to medium heat and add butter. Once the butter melts, add minced garlic and cook garlic for 1 minute. Add the spinach and pour 1/4 cup of heavy cream over the spinach. Cook spinach just until it begins to wilt but do not over cook. Remove from heat.
- Tear 2 large pieces of foil and add half of the slightly cooked spinach in the center of each sheet. Place the sea bass over the spinach and seal the foil together so the fish can steam.
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and cook the fish for 12 minutes within the foil on a baking sheet to prevent leakage. Set to the side when done.
- While the fish is cooking, pre-heat separate cooking pan to medium heat and add butter. Once the butter melts, add flour, minced garlic and allow to cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine and chicken broth and cook for 3 minutes. Add the heavy whipping cream, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper and sea salt.
- Zest the skin of the lemon into the sauce and slice the lemon in half and squeeze both halves of juice into the sauce. Cook on low/medium heat until it binds together.
- Remove the cooked fish and spinach from the foil. Pour on the sauce. Serve hot.
Equipment
Buy Now →Notes
You can substistute any white, flaky fish in this recipe. For example, cod, snapper, grouper, etc.
The lemon parmesan sauce is perfect on many other dishes, including pasta!
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 930
- Fat: 32.5g
Keywords: chilean sea bass,lemon parmesan cream sauce, baked fish, foil baked fish, baked chilean sea bass, roasted bass
This looks amazing! Sea bass is one of my favorite fishes, but living in Louisiana, we always have catfish and freshwater bass in our freezer. I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks a lot Kerri I appreciate it.
Yummmm this is exactly my kind of fish recipe! I love foil wrapped fish because the flavors really bake into the fish. That lemon parmesan cream sauce has me drooling!
Thanks a lot Dominique
I’m not a huge fan of fish, but must admit, this looks very tasty!!! And I love when culinary experiments go well, that sauce looks soooo creamy and tasty! Perfect to finish the whole dish up.
Confession: I’m not usually a fish lover, but I would eat this dinner any day of the week! Perfectly cooked and totally gorg!!!
Wow thank you I appreciate that Kelly!
This was absolutely delicious. I’m not kidding, I licked my plate clean. I had to use flounder as no sea bass was available; I bet it would be even more delicious with the sea bass!
Thats really awesome to hear. Thank you for sharing Laura
I am totally in love with sauce. Such a flavorful recipe. Looks so perfect!
Thanks a lot Sri!
This looks AMAZING. I love sea bass, but it often comes out a little bit flavorless. I think that would be impossible with the garlicky spinach and cheesy sauce that you paired it with, so I can’t wait to give it a try.
Daniela I appreciate that thanks
This looks absolutely fantastic. My fella is Keto and this looks like it would fit really well into his diet.
Ok good deal thanks a lot Jenni!
Superb recipe!! We do love our seafood and Chilean Sea Bass is right up there. It is one special fish and I really like how you included the creamy spinach in the foil packet. This is a keeper of a recipe. Will be trying it out soon.
Thanks a lot Marisa! Please let me know how it goes.
I’m not sure if I’ve tried Chilean sea bass…perhaps I was deterred by the price but will have to give it a try. Your preparation looks delicious! Pinned to my recipes to try board.
Yes it can cost but you can substitute a different white fish of preference and I’m sure it would come out just as good. Thanks David
What a beautiful piece of fish! It looks perfect on its own, but your lemon Parmesan cream sauce has me drooling.
Thanks a lot Abby!
I have not tried Chilean sea bass before!! Not sure if that is available in Australia. Will have to check it out as the recipe sounds amazing,
Any white fish would be just fine Vanessa. Thanks!
When it comes to fish, it’s the sauce that firs it for me. And this one is perfection!
Thank you Lorie!
Absolutely gorgeous and what a perfect recipe. Chilean sea bass is one of my favorites and this sauce is out of control!!
Thanks a lot Heather!
Frozen Chilean Sea Bass is sold at Costco in the US. It’s quite pricey, but worth it. I’ll be doubling the recipe for 4 adults. Sounds delicious!
Yes it can be a little pricy but other white fish can work as well. Thanks James!
This looks so good. I’m trying this tonight.
Thanks Marcia!
Any recommendations for the white wine , first time cooking with wine?
Hello Jasmine! You can actually just go with the “white cooking wine” that you can get from your local grocer. It would be located near the vinegar. Hope you enjoy it!
Never, repeat NEVER, use “cooking wine” as a substitute for white wine.
Read the label….would you drink it? You cook with what you like to drink.
Thank you Richard for the info I will definitely keep that in mind.
I agree!
wow sounds delish. cooking this tomorrow for guests. to save time am wondering if it will work with the full filletted fish. will use regular sea bass or nile perch as we dont get the chilean sea bass in my country.
Hello Mel! Any white flaky fish will do so regular sea bass or perch would work perfectly. And you should be fine with covering the entire/whole fish filet in foil (on top of the creamed spinach). Enjoy!
This looks delicious, going to try this out….but what if I don’t use Chilean sea bass and just use regular season bass…will it still turn out delicious?
Hello Puja! Absolutely, any sea bass would be equally perfect for this recipe.
Holy cow!! Delicious!
Thanks, Lupe! Glad you enjoyed it!
★★★★★
This was delicious!!! It was SO easy to make! We paired it with buttered spaghetti noodles and put some of that yummy sauce over it. We used cod from Costco and it tasted fantastic. (also more affordable option) Very simple directions! We loved it so much we are going to make it again tonight for my parents.
Connie this is so awesome! Thanks so much for sharing I appreciate that and its give me encouragement so thanks again!!
I have tried several recipes each successful but this one is the best. My wife Karen and I loved it so much that I made it three times in two weeks.Each time I made I knew what I was going to eat the next day. Spaghetti with the extra sauce.My wife fell in love with sauce and decided to use it with spaghetti. That too was a hit. Thanks.
Arthur, thanks so much for sharing this. This is what keeps me inspired to continue trying to be creative and try to make good food for food lovers. This is awesome!!
Not a big fish cooker so how would I do this with frozen fish?
Hello Amy, I think fresh fish would be a lot better. I wouldn’t recommend frozen but if that’s all you have then make sure you allow it to sit long enough to completely thaw before cooking.
Hi Eric,
I made this with Cod (we are from Boston and it is readily available) . Me and my
Husband loved it. Absolutely delicious. We are always looking
For ways to elevate our fish dishes and this really hit the mark!
Thanks so much for the recipe.
This is pretty awesome Cindy I truly appreciate it!!
Might give this a tweak, substituting homemade egg noodles & peas.
Very complimentary with that delicious sauce.
Cool sounds like I need to come take a cooking class from you Richard. Thanks a lot!
Just wondering if it can be made in parchment paper instead of foil? Going to try it any way. Will let you know
Hello Melinda honestly I’m not sure. I’ve never tried to use it to cover anything so I can’t say that I know. I apologize.
I know people have substituted other white fish, but what about a SALMON fillet for this recipe? Not sure if that sauce would pair well with salmon (?) Whole recipe sounds REALLY good. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks so much Karen. I’m not sure about Salmon to be honest. Because of its flavor profile, it may not blend well with the other ingredients in this dish. But I’m an experimental type of person so I would probably make a small batch to test it.
Good day! Would you mind if I share your blog with my myspace group?
There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate
your content. Please let me know. Thank you
Yes that is not a problem at all. I appreciate the support so thank you.
Just made this this evening. My husband and I are huge fans now! We enjoy new recipes especially fish ones. This had perfect flavor. I paired it with plain couscous, so not to take away from the flavors of the fish. My only issue was getting the sauce thick, but the sauce still had amazing flavor.
Molly this is so awesome! Thanks so much I really appreciate it.
Want to make this for our family of six. Do you think I can bake 6-8 filets on a bed of the creamed spinach in a 9×13 baking dish, then covered tightly with foil and baked? Then pour the sauce on top of fish after plated? I don’t want to do individual foil packets.
Lynn I think that idea will work fine as long as a fish is covered and sealed with foil paper I think you would still have the same effect so I say go for it!
Is this recipe Paleo?
Hey Holley — Because of the dairy products (cheese, butter, heavy cream) used in this recipe, it is technically not Paleo.
Dude!!!!! This is soooo freakin’ good. We grilled the sea bass (‘cause we live in Florida and the weather is beautiful this time of year). I sautéed the spinach first and then added it to the AMAZING sauce at the end. Great recipe. Will watch for more from you. ??
★★★★★
★★★★★
Wow this is awesome. Thanks so much I truly appreciate that. I’m glad you all enjoyed it.
This recipe was a huge hit in my house! Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks for trying it out Jennifer! Glad you enjoyed!
Delicious, but its quite a bit of prepping work…
★★★★★
Thanks so much Carolyn for giving it a try. Yes it can be a bit of prep work but hopefully it was worth it. Thanks again!
My husband and I love this recipe. We are having a dinner party this weekend and this is the main course. Wondering what wine you would or have paired with it?
Thanks so much! I think a good Malbec or even a Pinot Noir would be great. I personally don’t drink a lot of white wines, but I would think a Riesling would pair well. Please let me know how it goes. Thanks again!!
Excellent really good my husband and I are on a keto diet only love it thanks for sharing
Lindsey
★★★★★
Thank you for sharing. This is a good recipe for the Keto diet. Thanks again, Lindsay!
This was sooooo good! Super easy. Didn’t have creole , used Trader Joe’s “ Chile lime” blend
Nice substitution! Thanks for checking it out Jr!
★★★★★
Hi can this lemon parmesan sauce be prepared and frozen ahead of a big
dinner party to save me time ( and stress ! ) thanks
Hello, Chris! It absolutely can be frozen ahead of time.
5 stars all the way. Outstanding! Thank you for such a delicious recipe.
★★★★★
Hey Kerry! Thanks for stopping by and sharing what you thought of the recipe. Glad you enjoyed it!
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This was quite possibly the best fish I have ever eaten! Thank you!
★★★★★
What a compliment! Thanks, Andrea!
I can’t have heavy cream. Any recommendations for substitutions? I was thinking half and half or evaporated milk. Thank you.
Hello, Sue. I’d go with half-and-half plus butter. Melt ¼ cup butter and slowly whisk in ¾ cup half-and-half. This is the equivalent of 1 cup of heavy cream. If the sauce is on the thin side, add a tablespoon of flour (at a time) to thicken it.
Thank you!!
Thank you!!
This was incredible!!!! I’m staying in Kauai, Hawaii for a few weeks and bought fresh sea bass from a local fish market, I searched recipes and finally settled on this one and boy am I glad that I did! It was one of the best dishes that I’ve ever cooked. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
That just made my day, Ashton! Thanks for stopping by and letting me know how much you enjoyed it. It’s comments like this that keep me cooking.
Love this recipe, but it has taken me a little longer to cook the seabass. Love the cream sauce and made broccoli too!
★★★★★
Hello Kris! Yeah, cooking times may vary a little depending on oven temperatures and thickness of the fish. Glad it still turned out great for you!