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In the mood for a delicious fish dinner? This Baked Walleye with White Wine Sauce is a perfect main course for a healthy dinner.
Cooked to flakey perfection with a buttery white wine sauce that makes the fish shine. Not only does it taste great and is healthy, but it is also very simple and done in just 30 minutes. Give our Baked Walleye Recipe with White Wine Sauce a try.
🍷 What makes this recipe special?
This recipe is fast, fresh, and light on calories. It is that simple.
Even though it is a light dinner recipe, it does not skimp on flavor. The butter wine sauce packs a punch and makes this recipe special.
So, if you are interested in doing something other than deep frying walleye (which is excellent, too), think about this classy and flavorful baked fish dish.
This recipe is inspired by my loved walleye fishing trips and this Beer Battered Fish Tacos recipe, which also uses walleye. Of course, check out this Foil Packet Grilled Salmon recipe if you want to keep it in line with a fish theme. A great side for this dish is this Creamy Lemon Butter Sauce pasta recipe.
No matter what you make, make sure to treat yourself.
🐟 Ingredients
Fish is the star of this recipe! While it doesn’t take much to pull this together, there are a few other ingredients. Here is what you will need:
- Walleye
- Butter
- Garlic
- Shallots
- White Wine
- Paprika
- Salt and pepper
- Lemon
See the recipe card for quantities.
What is walleye?
Walleye is a freshwater fish commonly found in Canada and the Northern USA. For those of us that live in the North Dakota and Minnesota regions, it is the primary game fish for sport. When I go fishing, we may catch other fish, but often we are targeting walleye.
We are no strangers to walleye at Ramshackle Pantry. Check out this Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Homemade Sriracha Baja Sauce recipe if you are looking for another walleye recipe.
Size of walleye fillets
The fillets I picture are rather large and about 8 ounces a piece. 4 ounces would be considered a serving if you are serving a full meal, so each of these fillets provides two servings.
Some walleye fillets are smaller. If you are in this boat, it can impact cooking time. Remember that for white fish, the safe cooking temp is 145° Fahrenheit. So, no matter the walleye size, 145° Fahrenheit is what you need to hit.
What kind of white wine to use?
This is a matter of personal preference, but I am using a Kirkland Chardonnay. The price is right; particularly when it comes to baking, I don’t get too picky about the brand of wine I am using.
Other kinds of white wine that work well for this fish sauce are Pinot Grigio or Savignon Blanc. You don’t need to bust your budget to make a great white wine sauce, and there are plenty of options for great wines to use in this recipe.
Seasoning choices
I am a bit of a minimalist regarding seasoning, which shows itself in this recipe. The fish is really the star of this show. White wine and butter are the costars.
The ingredients on the main stage have a great supporting cast of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, and shallots. This ensemble helps to make a great baked walleye and a delicious sauce to spoon over the final plating.
🍲 Instructions
It really does not get much easier than this dish. Add 16 ounces of cleaned walleye to a 9×13 glass baking dish. Add the rest of our ingredients to the dish and put it in the oven for 20 minutes at 400° Fahrenheit. That is it.
Right before serving the walleye, pour the sauce it was baked in right over it. It would go great with a side of rice or perhaps some boiled potatoes. Green beans or zucchini would make a great vegetable with this baked walleye.
🤷 Substitutions and variations
Change this up a few ways
- Fish – This is a walleye recipe, but if you have to, any flakey white fish could be substituted.
- Shallots – Onions could be used in a pinch.
- Butter – If you increase the amount of fish, use 1 Tablespoon of butter for every 4 ounces.
📦 Storage
This recipe does not store well. I have, however, placed in an airtight container and heated this fish up within a day or so. I would not freeze this cooked recipe.
❓ FAQ
Walleye is a freshwater fish native to North America. It is known for its delicate, white, flaky flesh and mild flavor.
The baking time for walleye will depend on the size and thickness of the fish and your desired level of doneness. A general rule of thumb is to bake the fish for about 10-15 minutes per half inch of thickness until it is opaque and easily flakes with a fork. Make sure the fish reaches 145° Fahrenheit.
📝 Tips and tricks
- Our instructions call to bake for 20 minutes but use a meat thermometer to ensure the walleye hits an internal temperature of 145° Farhenhight.
- If you increase the amount of fish, use 1 Tablespoon of butter for every 4 ounces.
- Spread the garlic and shallots evenly over the entire dish. We want some of these bits directly on the fish and in the sauce.
- Don’t break the bank on the wine you use. A nice, inexpensive Chardonnay works great for this.
- Consider serving with boiled potatoes and steamed vegetables for a nice dinner. Or give this Creamy Lemon Butter pasta a try.
🛠 Products used in this recipe
😋 Did you make this recipe?
That is awesome, and thank you so much for giving this Baked Walleye with White Wine Sauce recipe a try. If you could leave a rating in the comment area below, it would be greatly appreciated. This lets me know how I am doing and helps others decide if they want to make this recipe. Most of all, thanks for visiting Ramshackle Pantry.
Baked Walleye with White Wine Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
A flakey fish dinner, this Baked Walleye with White Wine Sauce is packed with flavor. The buttery wine sauce covers colorful, spiced fish fillets and provides a comforting and calorie-conscious dinner.
Ingredients
- 16 Ounces Walleye fillet
- 4 Tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tablespoons shallots, minced
- ½ cup White Wine, such as chardonnay
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- Salt, to taste
- Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- Lemon, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° degrees
- Place fish in an appropriate baking dish (I use a 9×13 glass baking dish)
- Add white wine
- Add salt, pepper, and paprika evenly over fish
- Spread garlic and shallots evenly over entire dish
- Spread chunks of butter evenly over fish
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the thickest part of the fish reaches 145° Fahrenheit.
- Plate and spoon sauce over fish.
Notes
- Our instructions call to bake for 20 minutes but use a meat thermometer to make sure the walleye hits an internal temperature of 145° Farhenhight.
- If you increase the amount of fish, use 1 Tablespoon of butter for every 4 ounces of fish.
- Spread the garlic and shallots evenly over the entire dish. We want some of these bits directly on the fish, but also right in the sauce.
- Don’t break the bank on the wine you use. A nice, inexpensive Chardonnay works great for this.
- Consider serving with boiled potatoes and steamed vegetables for a nice dinner.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 Ounces
- Calories: 239 Calories
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 62 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 128 mg
I also like fried fish, but this was a nice change from the norm. Good recipe. Thanks for sharing.
We fish and this was a good recipe. Usually we fry our fish, but it is nice to have something a bit lighter once and a while.
Glad you liked it, Tom. Thanks for giving the recipe a try.
Made this tonight and had to substitute with what I had on hand; it was delicious, my family loved it. Thanks for sharing!
Gotta do what you gotta do! Glad you all loved it!
I loved the flavor of this recipe and was happy not to have to fry fish as that is all we typically do. We all really enjoyed this recipe…thank you! The only reason I gave it 4 out 5 stars is because of the instructions. I patted the walleye down to remove excess moisture and then seasoned both sides prior to placing in the pan with the white wine. I had to nice size filets that were a little over a pound, I placed them side by side, placed the cubed butter pieces and then laid some sliced lemon slices in between the filets of fish so that each lemon round was evenly placed. This helped to really break up the richness of the wine and butter.
Thanks again!
Thanks for giving it a try, Leslie and I am glad you liked it! Can I ask what you didn’t like about the instructions? You can help me make them better.
I will try this recipe tonight. Looks delicious. Exactly what we were looking for. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks
Jim
I made your receipe for walleye in wine and butter sauce tonight. Excellent! I added a touch of bay seasoning and that was a nice addition. My wife thanks you very much and is happy I saw your post. We will definitely have this again.
Jim
I am so glad you like it, Jim!