Dover Sole Meunière

Easy Sole Meunière is a delicious fish dish sure to please. Sole fillets are lightly browned and then served with a simple brown butter lemon sauce.

After living in France for 3 years, I never thought I’d attempt a sole meunière recipe on my blog. In France, this dish uses the whole fish, which is often dramatically deboned at the table earning oohs and ahs from delighted diners, including the great Julia Child. (In fact, she credited this dish with sparking her deep passion for French cooking.)

But after some kitchen testing, I discovered the secrets to making this classic at home. Because after more than a decade studying French cooking, I’ve learned that great French cuisine comes down to high-quality ingredients and simple techniques that let them shine. Let me show you how.

Why You'll Love this Sole Meuniere Recipe

• Easy-to-make: This recipe uses sole fillets rather than preparing the whole fish.
• Sustainable: Sole ranks as a “best choice” in terms of sustainable fish according to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch (for both U.S. and most worldwide fisheries).
• French elegance: Such a simple dish, but you'll see why Julia loved it!

Sole Meuniere Ingredients

This recipe is so simple, with just 6 ingredients, but because of that, quality is very important.

• Sole Fillets: The traditional preparation of Sole Meunière uses Dover sole, but other types of sole are fine alternatives. Dover sole can be quite expensive, so note that you can also try any other delicate white-fleshed fish. That said, if you can afford it, this is a fantastic Dover sole recipe!
• Olive Oil: Choose a mild olive oil for this recipe, so it does not overpower the delicate fish.
• Butter: The reason this dish may taste so delicious in France is partly due to the quality of its butter. If you can find a rich, locally made butter, it will really shine in this meal. I prefer to use unsalted butter, and adjust the salt levels in the sauce after cooking, but salted butter would also work.
• Flour: try using a gluten-free flour or cornstarch if you want a gluten-free sole meunière.
• Lemon Juice: Fresh-squeezed lemon juice is key to this recipe. One lemon will usually yield about two tablespoons of juice.

How to Make Sole Meunière

1. First, rinse your fish fillets gently and pat dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides. Put 2 tablespoons of flour into a shallow dish. Press fish fillets gently into the flour on both sides to coat, brushing off any excess.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. When butter melts, add sole fillets and cook over medium heat until bottom is golden-brown, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Flip carefully and then add another tablespoon of butter.

4. Cook, basting fish with the butter, until it is just done (another minute or so). Remove the fish fillets.
5. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter, turn heat down to medium, and continue to cook the sauce until butter is lightly browned (take care not to let it burn) and smells nutty, about 1-2 minutes.
6. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.

7. If you use clarified butter, you’ll get a clear browned butter with no bits floating around. But it won’t be any more delicious. Pour lemon brown butter sauce over fish fillets to serve. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Expert Tips

• Have all your ingredients prepared and ready to go before you start because these tiny fillets will cook in just minutes.
• Note that the classic Sole Meunière preparation uses whole fish. The advantage of using whole fish is that you can baste them in the butter sauce longer, and the flesh remains extremely tender. However, the disadvantage is that it takes some careful eating to remove the fish bones.
• In a fancy restaurant, you might find your sole deboned for you table-side after cooking. But at home, with no waiter to debone your final dish, starting with fillets is an easier approach.
• Sole is quite a delicate fish. Do yourself a favor and let your fishmonger do the work of preparing them for you. Sole fillets can be quite tiny, so look at the size before you order—at my poissonnière in Paris, a single portion size was 3 fillets.
• The other change I’ve made from traditional recipes is to replace clarified butter with regular butter. Clarified butter does not burn as easily as regular butter, because the milk solids have been removed. But as long as you are careful, using regular butter works just fine, as long as you don’t mind a few browned bits speckling your sauce.
• Note, if you want to make this Dover Sole Meunière for 4 people, it is easy to double. However, you will not be able to fit all the fillets in your skillet at once without steaming them. In that case, you will need to cook your fish in two batches.
• You may want to have warm plates waiting in a very low oven, where you can keep your first batch of fillets until the second batch is ready.

FAQs for Sole Meuniere

Other France-Inspired Recipes

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may want to check out some of my other France-inspired recipes. Coq Au Vin Blanc and Hachis Parmentier are other delicious French dinners, while Frisée Salad, Salade de Tomates, and Green Beans Almondine make fantastic sides. Other favorites include:

If you try this easy Sole Meunière recipe, we would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—your feedback is invaluable to us.

And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter. We’d love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!

More Recipes To Try

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• Breakfast Crepes
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• Pickled Shallot
• Vanilla Simple Syrup
• GF Muffins

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Easy Sole Meunière

Chef Molly Pisula

Easy Sole Meunière is a delicious fish dish that comes together in minutes. Sole fillets are lightly browned and then served with a simple brown butter lemon sauce.

4.98 from 39 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 13 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine French

Servings 2

Calories 374 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4-6 fillets of sole about 8 ounces total
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley to serve

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Instructions

 

• Rinse your fish fillets gently and pat dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Put 2 tablespoons of flour into a shallow dish. Press fish fillets gently into the flour on both sides to coat, brushing off any excess.
• Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet.
• When butter melts, add sole fillets and cook until bottom is golden-brown, about 2-3 minutes.
• Flip carefully and then add another tablespoon of butter.
• Cook, basting fish with the butter, until it is just done (another minute or so).
• Remove the fish fillets.
• Add the rest of the butter and continue to cook the sauce until butter is lightly browned (take care not to let it burn) and smells nutty, about 1-2 minutes.
• Stir in lemon juice.
• Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
• Pour over fish fillets to serve. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Notes

Recipe Tips: 
Sole Meunière is best prepared à la minute (just at the time you want to eat). However, you can and should prepare all your ingredients in advance. Prepare your flour, chop your parsley, squeeze your lemon juice, measure out your butter. You should have it all ready to go because this dish cooks extremely quickly.

You can easily double this recipe for 4 people, but note that you will need to cook your fillets in two batches. You may want to have warm plates waiting in a low oven to keep the first batch warm while the second is cooking. You won’t need to double the sauce, but you might add just a little more butter.

Nutrition

Calories: 374kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 19gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 125mgSodium: 575mgFiber: 1g

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More About Molly

Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!

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