This easy Baked Swai Fillet recipe in a delicious White Wine Lemon Garlic Sauce is great for weeknight diners or for feeding a crowd at a dinner party. If you can't find swai, you can make this with tilapia instead.
I brought this baked swai dish to a recent family dinner at my aunt's house, and I wanted to share this super simple recipe with you!
If you have never heard of Swai, it is sometimes calles Basa. It is one of my favorite types of fish, and I really hope you get to try it!
Swai tastes amazing with just a few simple ingredients: I make a simple sauce with lemon juice, garlic, butter, and dry white wine. For this recipe, I bake swai in this lemony garlic sauce. It cooks quick, it's super versatile, and is easy to make and delicious.
(Curious about swai?? Check out my other swai recipes!)
Related recipe: Clams Oreganata in White Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 swai fillets (thawed if frozen)
- ¼ cup dry white wine (or use chicken broth or veggie broth if you don't cook with wine)
- 2 tablespoons butter (or use margarine or olive oil if dairy-free)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about ½ lemon - use freshly squeezed!)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves , stems removed and finely diced
- Optional: 1 teaspoon paprika or paprika (it adds a nice touch of color and is very mild in flavor)
You'll also need: a large baking pan with high sides to make sure the delicious sauce doesn't spill out as you handle the tray. Any aluminum, glass, or metal baking dish would work!
Related recipe: Spice-rubbed Swai with Tomatillo Peach Relish
Baked swai instructions
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375F.
Step 2: In a small saucepan, combine the white wine, butter, lemon juice, salt, and minced garlic. Cook while stirring until all the butter melts. Remove from heat.
Step 3: Arrange the swai fillets in a large baking pan. Season with a tiny bit of salt, pepper to taste, and paprika.
Step 4: Pour the white wine sauce over the swai fillets. Sprinkle with half the fresh parsley.
Step 5: Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes, or until the swai is fully cooked and flakes easily. Garnish with remaining fresh parsley.
Related recipe: Shrimp Oreganata
Cooking tips:
You'll want to use the freshest ingredients to make this sauce. Using fresh lemon juice, fresh parsley, and fresh garlic will give the sauce the most flavor. It's worth taking the extra minute or two to prepare these fresh ingredients instead of using bottled lemon juice or dried garlic or parsley.
- Fresh lemon juice. Freshly squeezed lemon juice has a much brighter, more vibrant flavor than the bottled stuff. And as a bonus, there are no preservatives whatsoever! I use this lemon squeezer to squeeze lemon halves in just a second or two.
- Fresh parsley. Fresh herbs add so much flavor and a beautiful color to most dishes, so I always try to use fresh when I can. These herb scissors are kind of fun to use and definitely take the pain out of chopping herbs.
- Fresh garlic. One of the first things my mom got me when I moved out on my own is this garlic press that she loves. 13 years later, it's still going strong in my kitchen and I use it pretty much daily.
This is a great recipe for serving a family or serving a crowd. It is so easy to bake swai in a large baking pan without having to fuss over each individual fillet. You can also easily double this recipe if you wanted to.
This baked swai would be great served with a simple pasta tossed in olive oil or with rice. Swai would be delicious with my Pistachio Linguine recipe.
It would also go great with a piece of baguette to soak up the delicious white wine sauce.
More ways to use swai: Try swai in this fish loaf recipe!
How does swai taste?
Swai tastes very light and is not too fishy, and cooks very quickly because the fillets are pretty thin. It is also much more affordable than a lot of other seafood. This means it shows up on our dinner table quite often!
All of these reasons make Swai perfect for a large dinner party - you won't be breaking the bank, and even people who don't like fishy fish might enjoy this dish (say THAT 5 times fast!).
Plus swai is so easy to cook, it's perfect for when you have lots of other recipes to worry about in the kitchen.
Related recipe: 10-minute Chili Lime Swai Fillets (great for fish tacos!!)
Where do I buy swai fillets?
Swai is typically sold in the frozen packaged seafood section of your grocery stores. Major brands such as Orca Bay sell swai, but you will also often find no-name-brand packages of swai in the same freezer section.
More easy seafood recipes to feed a crowd: Mayo Baked Whole Salmon Fillet
Can I use tilapia instead of swai?
Yes, you can absolutely use tilapia instead of swai in this recipe. Just follow the instructions exactly the same way. The only precaution is that tilapia fillets are typically a little smaller than swai fillets, so you can use 8 tilapia fillets if you're looking to serve a larger crowd.
Related recipe: Swai in Tomato Caper Sauce
How do I cook swai?
Just like most seafood, Swai fillets tastes GREAT with a bit of lemon or lime. So in this recipe I bake the swai in a delicious garlicky sauce made with lemon juice and white wine. It's such a tasty, delicate flavor that really works well with white fish such as swai.
The White Wine Lemon Garlic Sauce can be made in advance. This makes the prep & cook time is very quick when it's time to bake the swai fillets. Just pour the sauce over the swai fillets in a baking dish, and pop it in the oven.
You'll need a large baking pan for this recipe, such as this one here. Or if you don't want to mess with washing fishy dishes, you can use disposable aluminum baking trays such as these. Just make sure your baking pan has high sides, so you don't accidentally spill the delicious sauce.
Looking for other easy seafood dinner recipes?
- Crispy baked ocean perch
- Blackened salmon with mango black bean salsa
- Pan-fried salmon with apricot tomato salsa
- Sheet pan shrimp and vegetables
- Cajun shrimp with cauliflower "grits"
If you enjoyed this swai recipe, please let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to save it on pinterest for later!
Baked Swai with White Wine Lemon Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 swai fillets - (thawed if frozen)
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice - (about ½ lemon)
- 2 garlic cloves - finely minced or chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt - divided
- freshly ground black pepper - to taste
- 2 tablespoons parsley leaves - stems removed and finely diced
- Optional: 1 teaspoon paprika - (it adds a nice touch of color)
Special equipment
- Large baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a small saucepan, combine the white wine, butter, lemon juice, half the salt, and minced garlic. Cook while stirring until all the butter melts, then remove from heat.
- Arrange the swai fillets in the baking pan - they can be touching but shouldn't overlap too much. Season with the remaining salt, pepper to taste, and paprika (if using).
- Pour the white wine sauce over the swai fillets. Sprinkle with half the fresh parsley.
- Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes, or until the swai is fully cooked and flakes easily. Garnish with remaining fresh parsley and serve immediately, spooning the extra sauce over rice, pasta, or veggies.
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
Adrienne
Friday 17th of June 2016
The first time I tried this, I used some moscato that I'd gotten at a good sale price and wasn't too fond of for drinking, but it sure made the fish taste awesome! I've made it a couple of more times after that and it's always a hit with my family!
Kate
Saturday 18th of June 2016
Hi Adrienne! Thanks for stopping by and letting me know you enjoyed this recipe. It means a lot to me! :)
I also often use wine that is not great for drinking to make this - usually a bottle that I didn't finish drinking, it's perfect for cooking!
Sue
Monday 20th of July 2015
Kate! Your sauce is SOOOO yummy! Next time I'm going to double the sauce for serving over rice :) I definitely added your recipe to my pinterest files! Thank you
Darcey
Wednesday 17th of June 2015
I just made this and it was delicious! I added capers, which gave it a nice change in texture. I've never made swai before and this seemed like a good starter recipe. I can't wait to try your chili lime version.
Susan
Sunday 29th of March 2015
I made this Swai with white wine and garlic sauce, the entire family loved it. I had a few swai and a tilipa fillets and both were delious !! thanks for the recipe
Kate
Monday 30th of March 2015
Susan - It makes me so happy to see that your family loved this recipe! Thanks so much for coming back here to tell me that :)
Fran @ G'day Souffle'
Sunday 4th of January 2015
Hi Kate, I especially like your Swai dish topped with the peach tomatillo sauce. The layering with the chard gives a lot of color and texture to the dish. Happy New Year!
Kate
Sunday 4th of January 2015
The Swai with the peach tomatillo salsa is also my favorite out of the three :) But I was cooking for some members of my family (ahem, grandma) who don't like anything new or exciting when it comes to food, so I had to stick to a more classic sauce without anything on top or on the bottom.