Parmesan Crusted Baked Mahi Mahi
Mahi Mahi is a wonderful white fish with thin skin and firm meat. Besides salmon, my other two top choices for fish is mahi mahi and cod. There is something about the firm yet juicy meat that is delightful to eat and easy to cook.
Mahi Mahi doesn’t fall apart when it cooks because of the dense meat consistency. That makes it easier to cook but also makes it important not to overcook.
Besides the firm flesh, mahi mahi has a pleasant mild flavor with a little sweetness to it. The mild flavor is perfect because it means that this fish will go with a wide variety of flavors and can be served with many different sides. Mahi Mahi is a good fish to pan fry, bake in the oven, grill, and it is great in fish tacos too.
Tips And Steps To Make Parmesan Crusted Baked Mahi Mahi
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. I highly recommend parchment paper (not waxed!) because the fish slides right off.
- Set three wide and shallow bowls in front of you. Mix flour with salt, garlic powder, and grated Parmesan cheese. Whisk eggs with salt and pepper in another bowl. Mix Panko bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic powder, and salt in a third bowl. (Remember to season each layer of the breading!)
- Coat each piece of fish in flour first, then in egg, and last in the Panko mixture. Pat the coating onto the fish firmly and lay in on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish filet.
How To Tell When Mahi Mahi is Done?
- As I mentioned before, it’s best not to overcook mahi mahi or it will be dry. So cook it just until it just turns opaque throughout and flakes easily. That is easy to tell when cooking the fish without coating. Unfortunately, it makes it a bit harder if it’s coated. (But coating also preserves moisture, so there is that benefit.)
- You can always flake off a piece on the thicker side to check inside.
- Or, you can use a meat thermometer and insert it into the center of the thickest part in the fish. Safe fish temperature is 145°F but I find it a little dry at 145°F. I pull my mahi mahi out around 137°-140°F.
Serving Suggestions
- Since the flavor of mahi mahi is so mild, it goes with just about anything you want to serve it with.
- You can serve it over a salad as a healthy dinner salad option. Make homemade Caesar salad or a simple side salad and add some shaved Parmesan cheese to the salad and balsamic vinaigrette to compliment the fish.
- Roasted vegetables make a great option here too. It can actually be cooked at the same time as the fish in a separate baking sheet or in the same one. Try asparagus, green beans, red peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, and cauliflower.
- Mashed potatoes or over roasted potatoes would be great as a comforting side dish option.
How To Make This Mahi Mahi Gluten Free?
- Don’t let the coating put you off because with just a couple of substitutions, you can make this mahi mahi recipe gluten free.
- Use all purpose gluten free flour for the first coating and use gluten free bread crumbs in the outer coating instead of Panko.
- Make sure that Parmesan cheese is freshly grated and there is no additives that could contain gluten.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE leave a 🌟 star rating! Let me know how you liked it by leaving the 📝 comment below or share and tag me on social media @willcookforsmiles. DON’T FORGET to subscribe to my newsletter!
Parmesan Crusted Baked Mahi Mahi Recipe
Ingredients
- 20-24 oz mahi mahi 4 pieces of mahi mahi
Flour mixture:
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- salt
Egg mixture:
- 2 eggs
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
Panko mixture:
- 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Set three wide and shallow bowls in front of you. Mix flour with salt, garlic powder, and grated Parmesan cheese in first bowl. Whisk eggs with salt and pepper in another bowl. Mix Panko bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic powder, and salt in a third bowl.
- Coat each piece of fish in flour first, then in egg, and last in the Panko mixture. Pat the coating onto the fish firmly and lay in on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
Video
Notes
- As I mentioned before, it’s best not to overcook mahi mahi or it will be dry. So cook it just until it just turns opaque throughout and flakes easily. That is easy to tell when cooking the fish without coating. Unfortunately, it makes it a bit harder if it’s coated. (But coating also preserves moisture, so there is that benefit.)
- You can always flake off a piece on the thicker side to check inside.
- Or, you can use a meat thermometer and insert it into the center of the thickest part in the fish. Safe fish temperature is 145°F but I find it a little dry at 145°F. I pull my mahi mahi out around 137°-140°F.
Nutrition
More Delicious Fish Recipes To Try
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles on January 8, 2019.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Delicious! Will bake Costco Mahi filets 15 minutes at the high temperature of 425. Can I do the breading ahead of time?
Hi! I’m so glad you liked it! 😊 I wouldn’t recommend breading the mahi ahead of time — the coating will start to absorb moisture from the fish and turn soggy before it ever hits the oven. For the best crisp texture, it’s definitely best to bread it right before baking. Let me know how it turns out!
Very simple with incredible flavor, excellent for an impressive meal with low effort.
I am so glad you liked it, Ryan!
I made this recipe last night and can’t recommend it enough! Will be in my dinner rotation from now on!
Easy to make, and absolutely delicious, gracias!
I am so glad you liked it!
Easy and Delicious!
Thanks, Janet!
Delicious. Easy to prepare. My go to for Mahi Mahi.
Thank you
So glad you like the recipe, Chip!
Super easy and explained very well.
Dont fry…
Oven bake. Healthier.
So glad you liked it, Mark!
Whoa… I even impressed myself!!! This was amazing. I am not a good recipe follower and was going to try to pan fry the fish and then put some of the panko/parm on top. BUT, decided to actually follow the recipe and it came together quickly and came out DELICIOUS. Cooked through. Tender and nice crunchy crust without burning. Definitely going to make this a signature dish of mine. I threw together some leftovers and made a Quinoa Vegetable Hash that was a perfect accompaniment. And a big slice of lemon on the side.
I am so glad you liked it!
It stuck to the foil if I make it again I’ll try on parchment paper or spray the foil.
Loved this simple recipe. I did not use any salt. The Parmesan adds plenty of saltiness. I did increase the the garlic to 1 teaspoon and I believe fresh parsley will only make it better.
Used Mahi from Omaha Steak, they were surprisingly good. Going to use this recipe with Grouper when we get home
Thanks, so glad you liked it!
It was delicious, but a little dry. I think I over cooked it. I’ll try again
Has anyone tried this in the air fryer yet? Just wondering if it would turn out well?
Hi Erin,
I haven’t tried these in the air fryer yet but that’s a good idea!
This recipe is fantastic. My husband and I both loved it. I followed the recipe exactly, no changes. I will definitely make it again.
I’m SO glad to hear that, Marci! Thank you!
Baked it tonight with a side of roasted brussel sprouts and petite potatoes. Came out perfect. Thank you!
So glad you liked it, Jim!
Do you cook this with the skin on or do you use skinless filets?
I used skinless since it’s breaded all the way around. I think the bottom side of the fish breading would get soggy with skin on.
I made the recipe for my husband. He loved it. The one problem is I made too much, can it be reheated.
Hi Lisa,
Yes, you can. I would not reheat in the microwave instead reheat in a pan on medium low-medium and heat till cooked through.
We are KETO. Can I eliminate the flour? Thanks
Sure, but it won’t be breaded or you could try to replace it with almond flour the texture will be different but that should work. I am not sure about the bread crumbs but I know some people use crushed pork rinds in their place.
I was able to enjoy this tonight. This was as high quality as anything I’ve ordered in a restaurant. I can’t wait to try it again!
Thank you, Andy! So glad you liked it!
Everybody loved it. Thank you
Your so welcome, Erik!
Has anyone tried this in an air fryer vs. the oven? Wondering what the setting SL should be for air fryer.
I did mine in the air fryer on the bake setting. I set the timer to 18 minutes, but at 9 minutes I checked my fish and it was actually a little overdone. Also, I had no bread crumbs in the house, so I used French’s Fried onions and crushed them up. OMG!!!! It was SSSSOOOOO good!!!!
This is a delicious recipe for mahi mahi. I routinely soak fish in buttermilk for 15 minutes before cooking, then rinse and prepare as directed. It works beautifully to remove any fishy smell or taste. My wife teases me that I don’t like my fish to taste fishy, but that’s okay. Haha.
Thank you, Allan! That is smart! Maybe I could trick my husband into eating fish if I did that! 😉
This one is a hit!! My son who can be a very picky eater loved it! It does need a squeeze of lemon, but other than that, I’ll be making this one again. Thank you!!
Thank you for that wonderful recipe. It was super delicious. ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you, Liz, for taking the time to come tell me! I am so glad you liked it!
You are so welcome, Liz, I am so glad you liked the recipe!
can you use frozen Mahi Mahi for this?
Hi Jennifer,
You can use frozen Mahi Mahi but you will need to thaw them and pat them dry with a paper towel as they do hold some extra moisture.
We’re baking this for dinner tonight & just wanted to say thanks for including internal temps for the fish!
Your very welcome, Pam! I hope you enjoyed it! 🙂
What are the measurements of the ingredients?
Hi Catherine,
The measurements for the ingredients as well as the recipe are in the recipe card above, please let me know if for some reason you can’t see it.
Enjoy!
Delicious! Thank you!
So glad you liked it, Christin.
Also thx so much for putting healthy, delicious recipes on here. Makes eating healthier simple, fun and easy! Love ur site. Thx so much!
Thank you for taking the time to comment! I try to make a variety of stuff so there is something for everyone. 🙂
Love it! I’ve used this on salmon and mahi mahi and turned out so delicious! Has definitely become 1 of our weekly meals .
What a sweet complement! Thank you so much, Hannah!
I have tried a couple of these recipes! Yours blew the others away! Magnifique! Thank you for publishing!
Aww thank you so much for your sweet comment, Jennie! I am so glad you liked the mahi mahi 🙂
Hi, I just made your recipe..just wow! I didn’t have bread crumbs just dried stuffing which I blended..awesome, cause I can never seem to find a good one! Thanks!! ♡♡♡
Awe thanks, Gina! I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
My husband just returned from fishing in La Paz, Mexico. His trip was successful and my freezer is filled with 37 pounds of Mahi Mahi/Dorado. I discovered this recipe and it’s become my favorite way to prepare the fish. Thanks!!!
It is definitely a keeper. I subbed a combination of cassava flour and coconut flour for the regular flour, and then Whisps (Parmesan crackers) for the Panko crumbs. So yummy! Thank you!
Hi, Alexis! I am glad you liked it!!
Great info on the flours and the Whisps.Thanks.
You’re so welcome! Enjoy!
My husband and I loved this recipe! Plan to use
this recipe on other fish and chicken!!