33 Grilled Fish & Seafood Recipes

Chef Bella Toland of Maui’s Travaasa Hana resort adds tender yellow corn sprouts to the fish platter. Grown indoors on the island year-round, they’re a few weeks old and taste just like corn. This for-the-mainland version excludes them but is just as delicious. Recipe: Grilled Shrimp Basil Lemon Pistou

Watermelon takes on a smoky flavor and meaty texture when it's grilled, complementing the sweet flavor of jumbo shrimp.

Recipe: Grilled Watermelon and Shrimp Skewers

Marinate jumbo shrimp for at least an hour in a spicy marinade before throwing them on the grill--we promise it's worth the wait.

Recipe: Spicy Shrimp Kebabs with Cilantro-Ginger Aioli

Calamari is most commonly seen on menus in breaded-and-fried format, but squid steaks are sweet and mild, making them the perfect grilled base for salty, low-carb additions like olives and capers.

Recipe: Grilled Calamari Steaks with Olive and Bean Salad

Ranch dressing makes a surprising and delicious sauce for salmon. The recipe is adapted from one created by Outstanding in the Field, a California-based event company that serves open-air feasts. To go with the fish, grill zucchini halves and packets of boiled potatoes with a little olive oil. Recipe: Grilled Salmon Packets

“Having access to wild Alaskan salmon is amazing,” says best-selling cookbook author Kim Sunée, who moved to Anchorage several years ago. She loves to serve it as an entire glorious fillet, with rice, lettuce, cilantro, and a crunchy topping like bean sprouts or cucumbers, so people make their own ssam (Korean-style lettuce wraps). “It’s pretty, fresh, and great for those who aren’t eating gluten. And because they make their own bites, it’s more convivial.” This recipe, flavored with the mellow Korean red-chile paste called gochujang, gives the salmon an alluring spicy-sweet depth. It’s based on one in her most recent book, Everyday Korean: Fresh, Modern Recipes for Home Cooks, written with Seung Hee Lee. Recipe: Grilled Crisp-Skinned Salmon with Gochujang Marinade

This crowd-pleaser has everything you want in a fish taco, including a spicy mayo and fresh add-ins like avocado and lightly charred corn.

Recipe: Grilled Corn and Fish Tacos

Wild king salmon requires the right mix of exuberance and restraint. Chefs Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton of Ox restaurant in Portland hit the sweet spot, brightening its richness with tart sumac and a luscious yogurt sauce, and crisping the skin to create cracklings. You’ll need a rimless baking sheet to ease the salmon off the grill.

Recipe: Grilled Salmon with Sumac Oil and Green Onion Yogurt

Chris Cosentino of Cockscomb restaurant in San Francisco is known for adventurous dishes like this one, a meet-up of mild grilled calamari (squid), fresh produce, and exciting seasonings. He grills the calamari over almond wood plus regular charcoal briquets; for the home cook, he recommends easy-to-find mesquite hardwood charcoal. To make the dish as fiery as Cosentino likes it, use 2 tbsp. black pepper and 2 tsp. Aleppo pepper, and don’t seed the serrano chile.

Recipe: Calamari, Watermelon, and Tomato Salad

We are not kidding when we tell you that this is one of the best recipes ever created at Sunset for cooking outdoors. It’s a showstopper—a giant pan of aromatic ingredients simmering over fire—and interactive; you can ask your guests to help stir in the ingredients if you like. And it’s not hard, as long as you prep everything ahead. Cook this paella, and no one will ever forget your party.

Recipe: Grilled Seafood and Chorizo Paella

The potatoes get crisp at the edges, making this dish a little like fish and chips.

Recipe: Indian-Spiced Sockeye and Grilled Potato Salad

If you love grilled fish, consider a grilling basket, which makes fish easier to turn and keeps it in tact when you're moving it around.

Recipe: Whole Grilled Sea Bass with Chimichurri Sauce

Grilling tip: Insert a thin knife into the thickest part of the fish and leave it for 30 seconds. Remove it and hold it against the inside of your wrist; it should feel warm. If it's still cool, grill the fish another 2 to 5 minutes.

Recipe: Whole Grilled Trout with Romesco

Another secret to perfectly grilled shrimp: Rub them with salt and sugar before cooking to seal in their juiciness and sweetness. We love the shrimp with a two-punch licorice hit of anise seeds and ouzo.

Recipe: Salt-cured Ouzo Shrimp

A side of salmon, hot off the grill and laid on fig leaves from a backyard tree if you have one, makes a spectacular main course. If you’re daunted by the prospect of flipping such a large piece of fish, cut it into three sections before grilling (they’re easier to turn) and arrange them end to end on the platter.

Recipe: Grilled Salmon with Caramelized Lemons

A spicy glaze makes these oysters really stand out from the crowd.

Recipe: Grilled Oysters with Chipotle Glaze

This refreshing dinner salad is perfect for those hot summer nights when only salad will do. We particularly love its fresh tomato vinaigrette. (Look for wild Alaska salmon when grocery shopping.)

Recipe: Grilled-Salmon Salad

Tropical fruit salsa and peppery ahi tuna steaks make this an easy ― and stylish! ― dinner.

Recipe: Seared Tuna with Papaya Salsa

Firm, meaty rainbow trout is one of our most sustainably raised fish. In the U.S., it's grown on clean, well-managed farms in Idaho. This grilled version is finished with a crispy, crunchy nut-studded topping with lots of lemony zip.

Recipe: Grilled Trout Fillets with Crunchy Pine-nut Lemon Topping

These succulent grilled shrimp get their kick minty-lime kick from a cocktail-inspired marinade. (When shopping, look for U.S.-farmed or wild-caught shrimp.)

Recipe: Mojito Shrimp

The light, refreshing zing of citrus pairs perfectly with lightly charred ahi for a sophisticated dinner. Try it with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris.

Recipe: Grilled Ahi Citrus Salad

Classic California flavors ― bay and lemon ― set off perfect cubes of meaty swordfish in this vintage Sunset recipe.

Recipe: Skewered Swordfish with Bay and Lemon

As if a luscious patty of salmon wasn't enough, we upped the ante with smoked salmon cream cheese spread on the buns.'

Recipe: Double Salmon Burgers

This one is an absolute favorite in Sunset’s test kitchen. We just can’t get enough of this halibut recipe's simple combination of crusty grilled bread, fresh rosemary, and succulent fish.

Recipe: Halibut Kebabs with Grilled Bread and Pancetta

We love this basic salmon recipe with its sweet, mustardy glaze. Clean-up is a breeze too; it cooks on heavy-duty foil.

Recipe: Barbecued Salmon

A sweet and spicy ginger sauce is drizzled over perfectly grilled rockfish and tender-crisp asparagus in this succulent recipe.

Recipe: Spicy Soy-Ginger Grilled Rockfish with Asparagus

Romesco sauce ― a sweet bell pepper–based sauce with almonds and hits of tangy vinegar ― is a perfect complement for sweet, delicate shrimp.

Recipe: Grilled Shrimp with Romesco Sauce

Rich and spicy, these grilled shrimp will wake up your taste buds. Serve it with a refreshing yogurt drink on the side.

Recipe: Javanese Sambal with Grilled Shrimp

This made-for-eating-outdoors dinner combines bright citrus with the sharp, herbal notes of rosemary and ouzo.

Recipe: Ouzo-Rosemary Shrimp on Lemon Orzo

Prepared pesto makes this dish super-fast to prepare, and lemon adds a light, fresh note.

Recipe: Grilled Shrimp with Lemon-Pesto Rice

Western salmon meets Scandinavia in this light, refreshing recipe, bursting with lemony zing and fresh dill.

Recipe: Grilled Lemon-Dill Salmon with Cucumber Salad

Chef Christian Graves, from Jsix Restaurant in San Diego, loves how well the grilled flavor of the mussels pairs with the coolness of the cucumber and the spicy hit of the chiles. He prefers ‘Corno di Toro’ chiles for his recipe, but you can also use Fresnos.

Recipe: Grilled Mussels with Cilantro Bath

This aromatic main course, created by John Fink of Bay Area catering company The Whole Beast, uses fresh homegrown bay leaves, but dried ones work too.

Recipe: Salmon with Bay, Orange, and Porcini