Easy Seafood Dinner Recipes

This colorful dinner only takes 10 minutes to prepare: While salt-and-pepper-seasoned salmon fillets broil, saute fresh spinach just until tender, and toss with lemon juice, feta, and pine nuts.

Fish tacos often involve deep-frying and heavy sauces. These are fresher and lighter, with a crunchy radish salad and zingy cilantro-lime sauce topping broiled tilapia.

This simple recipe has only two main steps: boiling and tossing. Cook the pasta, shrimp, and vegetables in one pot. (Check the pasta package instructions to make sure you cook the other ingredients for the correct amount of time.)

Create big, fresh flavor with just a few ingredients in this salsa that combines navel oranges, red bell pepper, red onion, and fresh mint. Spoon the salsa over coriander-seasoned grilled tuna steaks.

Sprinkle sweet shrimp with minced garlic and olive oil, and broil for just a few minutes until opaque. Toss with lemon juice and parsley, and dinner is ready!

A light white-wine and chive sauce makes roasted salmon especially moist. Serve with sauteed mushrooms and steamed potatoes.

Economical tilapia gets dressed up with a buttery caper sauce. Serve with a spicy side dish of sauteed arugula and cherry tomatoes.

Chopped red onion, capers, lemon juice, oregano, and juicy slices of tomato add kicked-up flavor to chef Emeril Lagasse's hot, open-faced tuna sandwiches. Slices of provolone cheese over the top melt beautifully under the broiler.

Make a favorite Thai takeout dish at home, starting with a secret sauce made of lime juice, chili sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and anchovy paste. For best results, take care not to overcook the shrimp or the rice noodles.

Bacon seasons the cod fillets while they saute. (Other mild-tasting fish, such as halibut, haddock, or striped bass, would work here, too.) A side salad of slightly bitter frisee and pink grapefruit strikes a balance of flavors.

No ordinary chowder, this one combines fresh sweet corn and shrimp with bacon in its creamy potato-flecked broth. Make sure to wait until the last few minutes to add the shrimp so they don't overcook.

Spread a thin layer of light mayonnaise over tilapia fillets before topping with fresh parsley and dill. You can use any combination of fresh herbs you like in this quick and easy recipe.

Use jalapeno, tomato paste, ginger, and your favorite curry powder to season this brothy, Indian-style curry. Stir in sour cream and lime juice at the end of cooking to add a pleasing touch of tartness.

A dressing of mayonnaise, red-wine vinegar, and caraway seed seasons the cabbage, red onion, and celery slaw that adorns these sandwiches. Choose any kind of firm-fleshed fish you like, such as bass, tuna, tilapia, or salmon.

To make this Italian-American restaurant favorite, steam Manila clams in white wine, garlic, onion, and red-pepper flakes for a few minutes until the shells open. Mix in butter, parsley, and al dente linguine to finish the dish.

Combine the fresh flavors of Kirby cucumbers, pineapple, basil, scallions, and jalapeno with a honey-lime dressing to make the salsa for this dish. With such a flavorful garnish, the sauteed salmon only needs a seasoning of salt and pepper.

Dip skewered shrimp in a mixture of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, and then coat with sesame seeds before sauteing. Serve as a main dish with stir-fried bok choy or snow peas, or as an appetizer for an Asian dinner.

Quickly sear tuna steaks just until browned on the outside but still deep-red in the center. A salad of sweet cherry tomatoes and red onion seasoned with lemon juice makes an easy, colorful accompaniment.

Paprika-seasoned cornmeal creates a crisp coating for pan-fried tilapia fillets. Serve with your favorite salsa, and, if you like, spicy black beans on the side.

Before broiling, coat salmon fillets with a rub of crushed fennel seeds, minced parsley, and brown sugar. Flake the salmon and toss with corkscrew pasta, wilted spinach, and sour cream.

This meal is akin to Southern shrimp and grits, with an Italian twist: Spoon the stewlike shrimp and tomatoes over creamy polenta and serve with green beans.

If you can't fit in a trip to Maine's sunny coast this year, making a meal from foil packets of shrimp, cod, potatoes, and corn may be the next best thing. You can fill the packets up to a day ahead, refrigerate, and throw onto the grill just before it's time to eat -- a boon to low-key summer entertaining.

No barbecue required to prepare this Louisiana favorite of shrimp sauced with butter, Worcestershire, celery, scallion, garlic, and Creole seasoning. Serve the shrimp over steamed rice and garnish with sliced scallion greens.

Tilapia replaces the usual clams in this tomato-based chowder. Potatoes, carrots, and bacon make this soup hearty enough to serve as a main dish.

Cilantro, jalapeno, and salsa give Southwest flavor to these pan-fried tuna patties. Serve on their own as an appetizer, or wrap them in tortillas for a delicious dinner.

Rosemary and red-pepper flakes add zing to garlicky shrimp scampi. Toss the shrimp with spaghetti for a quick, sophisticated pasta dinner.

To make this quick grilling recipe from chef Emeril Lagasse, wrap your choice of fish fillets -- haddock, cod, or striped bass -- in foil packets with sweet onion, zucchini, and tomato. A mixture of lemon zest, Italian seasoning, red-pepper flakes, and crushed anise seed adds memorable flavor to the fish.

Crisp potato cubes and sauteed scallions are excellent accompaniments to curry powder-seasoned shrimp. Serve with sauteed spinach or a green salad.

Dress up cod by wrapping each fillet in a slice of prosciutto, rubbing with olive oil, and broiling. Serve with sauteed spinach splashed with lemon juice.

Add big flavor to shrimp by sauteing with bacon and marjoram. Toss cannellini beans, salad greens, and the shrimp with a dressing of olive oil, white-wine vinegar, and grainy mustard.

Tuna and cannellini beans add lean protein to this main-dish spinach salad. Green olives, red onion, and chopped parsley give the salad a flavor boost.

Puree cashews, fresh ginger, plain yogurt, cilantro, brown sugar, and curry powder in a food processor to make an addictive dipping sauce for pan-fried shrimp. The sauce can be made up to three days in advance, and the shrimp cooks in just three minutes, so you can get dinner on the table in a flash.

Crispy, breadcrumb-coated baked flounder fillets with tarragon mayonnaise and halved plum tomatoes are made rich and sweet when seasoned with tarragon, sugar, salt, and pepper, then roasted in a hot oven.

A departure from the ordinary bowl of spaghetti, this quick pasta dinner boasts bacon, shrimp, and scallions. Chopped tomatoes are a great addition too.

In this one-dish dinner, sauteed onion and garlic combine with tomato paste, fennel, potato slices, and orange zest, and then simmered in chicken stock. Arrange cod fillets on top of the vegetable mixture and cooked just until opaque.

This colorful main-course salad combines spinach leaves, red grapefruit segments, shrimp, and thinly sliced red onion. The Dijon mustard vinaigrette and the shrimp can be prepared a day in advance so this salad comes together quickly at dinnertime.

Red potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and Kalamata olives seasoned with garlic and rosemary make a delicious side dish for roasted cod fillets. Since everything roasts on one baking sheet, cleanup is easy.

Saute shallots and shrimp together, and then simmer with orange juice and capers. Serve with toasted, garlic-rubbed French bread for mopping up the sauce.

Rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil seasoned with grated ginger and sliced scallions make a quick and tasty sauce for eggplant and seared tuna steaks. Steaming followed by sauteeing makes the eggplant tender and delicious.

Use the microwave to prepare this stew of cod, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, and cilantro. Stir in chopped chipotles in adobo to add a smoky, spicy dimension to the stew.

Toss poached salmon with red onion and lots of fresh parsley in a vinaigrette of capers, olive oil, and red-wine vinegar. Serve this salad with crusty bread, or combine with cooked, cooled penne for an out-of-the-ordinary pasta salad.

Coconut milk adds sweetness and creaminess to this shrimp soup (use light coconut milk instead of regular to reduce fat and calories). You can substitute vermicelli for the angel-hair pasta; just boil the noodles a bit longer.

Thread orange wedges, scallops, Kirby cucumber, and thin slices of fresh ginger onto skewers and baste with honey and orange juice before cooking these colorful seafood kebabs on the grill or under the broiler.

Bake cod fillets on a bed of lemony leeks and tomatoes. Halibut or salmon are also delicious in this recipe.

Tuna, grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives, arugula, and roasted red potatoes dressed in lemon vinaigrette make for a satisfying main-dish salad. Choose tuna packed in olive oil; it has more flavor than the kind packed in water or vegetable oil.

Sear scallops in a hot skillet to create a flavorful, browned exterior. Stir-fry snap peas with onion, ginger, and stir in lime juice, Sriracha sauce (a Thai garlic-chile sauce), cilantro, and the seared scallops before serving.

Coat shrimp with cumin, coriander, and oregano before sauteing. Serve with a cool, spicy salad of cucumber, red onion, hearts of palm, and jalapeno.

Toss cooked spaghetti with lemon zest, parsley, slivered Kalamata olives, and canned tuna for an easy-but-sophisticated dinner. Toasted whole-wheat breadcrumbs add delectable crunch to the dish.

A simple rub of paprika, salt, and pepper season these seared tilapia fillets. (Other flaky white-fleshed fish or chicken cutlets are good substitutes.) Serve with a side dish of protein-packed steamed quinoa flavored with cucumber, dill, feta, and lemon juice.

Simple broiled salmon gets a boost from a flavorful Asian salad accompaniment made of shredded napa and red cabbage with carrots, sweet onion, toasted almonds, and dried apricots, and dressed with a mixture of rice vinegar, sesame oil, and honey.

While the spaghetti boils, make the Asian-style marinade of orange marmalade, soy sauce, sesame oil, red-wine vinegar, and ground ginger. Toss with the shrimp and vegetables before broiling, then combine with pasta and serve.