Chunky, tangy and savory, this simple caper sauce recipe packs a bright, delicious finish for fish, shrimp and even chicken. Easy to make and ready in minutes, this fish caper sauce is the perfect way to take your simple grilled, baked or pan-fried fish dishes to the next level.
Try it in my pan-seared salmon recipe!
Hey guys!!
It’s easy caper sauce can transform any simple fish, like this pan-seared salmon, into a restaurant-style dish.
It’s a bit like piccata, but made with lime instead of lemon. The lime brings more zest and a tarter flavor profile to the sauce. That said, all that fatty butter and the saltiness of the capers help complement the bitterness of the limes, leaving us with nice tart notes.
Plus, the addition of lime zest helps impart floral, smooth, and citrusy flavors as well. It’s so good!
I love serving this caper sauce on fish, like salmon, sea bass, tilapia… and it works on shrimp and chicken too.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
Kissxx
Try these other great sauces: Butter Lime Fish Sauce, Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce, Mango Cucumber Salsa.
What you need to make this recipe:
Making changes to a recipe may cause the recipe to fail. Substitutions can significantly alter the final results.
- Onion — I use yellow or white.
- Brazilian stir fry – or a few chopped garlic cloves.
- Butter — I like to use unsalted butter in recipes like this because then I can salt the recipe to my liking. You can use salted butter if you don’t have unsalted butter, but taste it before adding more salt, especially considering that capers are also salted.
- capers — the star of our dish! These salty, salty, acidic green sprouts add SO MUCH FLAVOR to any dish.
- White wine — a dry white wine, such as a sauvignon blanc or a pinot grigio, will bring out the acid profiles of our sauce more, while an oaky white wine such as a chardonnay will be rounder and softer.
- Fresh thyme — I wouldn’t add dried thyme because it’s a quick sauce and dried thyme won’t release much flavor, as well as not soften completely, potentially leaving you with unsightly bits of sticky thyme leaves in your dish. mouth.
- Fresh parsley — Italian or flat-leaf parsley works well here. Fresh parsley adds a nice brightness, so don’t skip it.
- Lime – First we will peel it, then we will squeeze it.
Recommended equipment
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How to prepare caper sauce
Fry the aromatics. We start by melting a little butter and then adding the onions to sauté just enough to sweat them out, which means we want to cook the onions until they’re soft and translucent.
Next, add the Brazilian stir fry. Sauté until fragrant and lightly browned. This will also bring out some sweetness from the onion, which helps as we add the salty and acidic elements of the recipe.
Pour in the wine and add the thyme. Let simmer to evaporate the alcohol and let the thyme flavor infuse.
Once the wine has almost evaporated, remove the thyme from the pan and discard it.
Add the chopped capers, lime juice and the rest of the butter. Stir gently until the butter has melted.
Taste and season with salt and ground pepper… but go easy on the salt. Capers are already salted, so be sure to start with just a pinch.
Finally, turn off the heat and add the chopped fresh parsley and lime zest, then blend to combine.
Pro tip!
It’s important to add the lime zest and chopped parsley off the heat because we don’t want to cook them. We just need the residual heat to warm them up and release their bright green, grassy flavored oil into the sauce.
If we cook them, the flavor profile changes: the lime zest can become bitter and the parsley can become muted and flat.
Then, simply serve a generous helping of this buttery, tangy goodness over baked, grilled, or pan-seared fish.
I love it on pan-seared salmon!! But it works for any fish like tilapia, bass, cod, haddock, halibut and many more.
It even works on shrimp or chicken! So versatile and delicious.
How to store:
This caper sauce recipe doesn’t make a ton of sauce, but if you have leftovers, simply transfer them to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Reheat in 30-second bursts in the microwave until thoroughly heated.
What to serve with this sauce:
Pair this sauce with your favorite fish… and pair it with the following:
Do you like rice? Serve your fish with the instant brown rice recipe, carrot rice or walnut rice. They will absorb the rest of the sauce very well.
Want another carb to serve your fish on? Try mashed yuca or instant pot garlic mashed potatoes.
Do you need a green to match everything with? I love serving air fried broccolini or baked asparagus with parmesan alongside seafood recipes.
Other sauces and condiments to try:
More fish recipes you’ll love:
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Buttery caper sauce
Chunky, tangy and savory, this simple caper sauce recipe packs a bright, delicious finish for fish, shrimp and even chicken. Easy to prepare and ready in minutes, this caper sauce for fish is the perfect way to take your simple grilled, baked or pan-fried dishes to the next level.
Portions: 0.5 cup
Calories: 1445kcal
- 1/2 cup of onion cut into cubes
- 2 spoons of the Brazilian stir-fry or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 6 spoons of unsalted butter
- 3 spoons of coarsely chopped capers
- 1/4 cup of white wine
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 table spoon of chopped parsley
- 1 tsaapoon of lime zest from 1 lime
- 1 table spoon of lime juice, freshly squeezed
- Salt and pepper to taste
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Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
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Measure the onions. Let them cook until soft and transparent, about 2-3 minutes.
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Add the Brazilian stir fry and sauté until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
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Pour in the wine and thyme. Cook until the wine is almost completely cooked off.
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Remove the thyme and discard, then add the capers, lime juice and the rest of the butter. Stir until the butter has melted.
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Give it a taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Turn off the fire. Add the parsley and lime zest. Mix to incorporate.
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Serve over fish, shrimp or your favorite protein. (Works great with chicken too!)
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 1445kcal | Carbohydrates: 36G | Protein: 7G | Fat: 137G | Saturated fats: 87G | Polyunsaturated fats: 5G | Monounsaturated fat: 35G | Trans fats: 6G | Cholesterol: 361mg | Sodium: 1371mg | Potassium: 637mg | Fiber: 7G | Sugar: 9G | Vitamin A: 5341UI | C vitamin: 57mg | Soccer: 213mg | Iron: 4mg
