Sole Meuniere is a classic French dish usually made with sole fillets dredged through flour and fried in butter then served with a brown butter sauce! Simple and delicious! This is a Julia Child classic dish that’s ready in only 20 minutes!
This classic dish of fillets of Sole Meuniere from Julia Child couldn’t get any simpler or more heavenly. The sole fillets are slightly crispy, dripping with butter and studded with capers, parsley and lemon. As you fry the capers in the brown butter sauce they crisp up nicely and blossom adding a big flavor hit to this already delicious fish.
What Is Sole Meuniere?
This is a classic French dish that’s just made up of whole or fillet Sole that’s been dredged in flour and browned in butter. You take that resulting brown butter and you drizzle it over the fish once it’s done and top it all off with parsley and lemon. This recipe is a riff on the Julia Child classic, this time starring some beautifully salty and bright capers!
I often say that I wished we ate more fish and when I eat simple fish dishes like this that are just bursting with flavor, I really mean it. I often forget how simple fish is to cook! Not only is it simple but when prepared properly with the right flavors, it’s absolutely delicious.
Ingredients In Sole Meuniere
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Sole – A mild white fish.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
- Flour – Just all purpose to help us crisp up our fish a little bit.
- Butter – Unsalted today as we want to control the sodium content in our dish.
- Capers – Drain the capers before adding them. This ingredient is optional but highly recommended.
- Parsley – Fresh chopped up fine.
- Lemon – We’re going to cut this into slices to lay over our fish as well as extra wedges to squeeze lots of fresh lemon over our fish.
How To Make Sole Meuniere
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Prepare the fish: Season fish with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge the fillets through flour to coat both sides; shake off any excess flour.
- Brown the fish: Add 1 tbsp of the butter to a hot skillet and when the butter is very hot but not browning, lay as many fillets as will fit in the skillet and saute a minute or two per side or until golden brown. Transfer the fish to a platter and repeat with remaining fish fillets if needed. Preheat your oven to 200 F degrees, turn if off then place fish in the oven to keep it warm.
- Prepare the sauce: Wipe the frying pan clean and add the remaining butter. Heat until bubbling, then add the capers and cook until the butter starts to brown.
- Finish the dish: Garnish the fish fillets with parsley then immediately pour the butter sauce over the fish fillets, the parsley should bubble up nicely. Garnish with lemon wedges or slices and serve at once.
What Other Fish Can I Use?
This dish is usually made with sole fillets, but sometimes it’s hard to find sole so don’t be discouraged! Feel free to use any of these in its place:
- Tilapia
- Trout
- Snapper
- Cod
What Can I Serve Sole Meuniere With?
This simple little fish dish pairs well with so much! You can eat it on its own or prepare one of these side dishes for a full satisfying meal.
- Balsamic Parmesan Roasted Asparagus And Tomatoes
- Lemon Orzo With Asparagus
- Italian Roasted Mushrooms And Veggies
- Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
- Mashed Potatoes
Tips For Making The Best Sole Meuniere
- Julia Child’s recipe calls for clarified butter. To achieve this heat your butter in a pot and skim off the foamy white layer that appears on top of the melted butter. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Do not over crowd the pan otherwise your fillets won’t brown properly.
- You can use either bone in or bone less fillet. Boneless will cook faster and be easier to eat and prepare – so use whichever you are more comfortable with.
Storing Leftover Sole Meuniere
You can store this recipe in the fridge for about 3 – 4 days if stored properly in an air tight container. Unfortunately this recipe doesn’t freeze well but it’s so easy that it’ll be no hassle to make it day of!
Craving More Fish? Try These Delicious Recipes:
- Vietnamese Fish Tacos
- Firecracker Baked Salmon
- Honey Garlic Salmon and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner
- Maple Mustard Glazed Salmon
- Blackened Fish Tacos With Mango And Avocado Salsa
- Fresh Sole Fish With Pea Salad
- Spicy Fish Taco Bowls
- Bruschetta Salmon
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Sole Meunière
Ingredients
- 6 fillets sole (about 1 lb) or other thin fish fillets like flounder
- ¼ tsp salt or to taste
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper or to taste
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp butter unsalted
- ⅓ cup capers drained
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
- 1 lemon cut into slices plus extra lemon wedges
Instructions
- Season fish with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge the fillets through flour to coat both sides; shake off any excess flour.
- Add 1 tbsp of the butter to a hot skillet and when the butter is very hot but not browning, lay as many fillets as will fit in the skillet and saute a minute or two per side or until golden brown. Transfer the fish to a platter and repeat with remaining fish fillets if needed. If you have a warming drawer keep the fish in the warming drawer until butter sauce is ready, otherwise preheat your oven to 200 F degrees, turn if off then place fish in the oven to keep it warm. Make sure the platter or dinner plates the fish is on are heat-proof.
- Wipe the frying pan clean and add the remaining butter. Heat until bubbling, then add the capers and cook until the butter starts to brown.
- Garnish the fish fillets with parsley then immediately pour the butter sauce over the fish fillets, the parsley should bubble up nicely.
- Garnish with lemon wedges or slices and serve at once.
Video
Recipe Notes
- I served these fillets with grilled asparagus, new potatoes would also work or served over rice.
- It's pretty easy to burn your browned butter so make sure to keep an eye on it. The butter will be ready when you start seeing browned specks begin to form at the bottom of the pan. Also smell it, it should have a nutty aroma.
- Capers are not traditionally used in this recipe. If you'd prefer not to use capers, it is okay to omit them.
- You can store this recipe in the fridge for about 3 - 4 days if stored properly in an air tight container. Unfortunately this recipe doesn't freeze well but it's so easy that it'll be no hassle to make it day of!
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
- Recipe originally shared Jun 2011.
We made this with flounder. It was fantastic. Tons of flavor and it looks great on the plate. It was fast to make. This is definitely on the “do it again list”. It would be great for company too.
Loved this recipe! So easy to make and smells absolutely delicious when you’re cooking. Can’t wait to make it again, we used ling instead of sole because we’re in Australia but it tasted great regardless! Thanks so much Jo xo
I loved your recipe.So delicious and yummy.I made it for my family and enjoy all. Before this i made this from ( https://www.sooperchef.pk/ ). this cooking website their taste also awesome.
Thanks, Inzaman!
Hi Jo. I am with Kevin on this one. We have recently made a better effort to eat more fish and I quite often make it with brown butter. I also an a big fan of capers, they add such a briny brightness to dishes.
Made this Tonight ~ used flounder, thanks for the suggestion ~ it was AWESOME !!!!
Oh, and Easy !!
Nice, so glad you liked it!
We made this with flounder. It was fantastic. Tons of flavor and it looks great on the plate. It was fast to make. This is definitely on the “do it again list”. It would be great for company too.
So glad you liked it! 🙂
This looks heavenly, just perfect! And I love the flounder idea, too. Thanks Jo!