French · Dinner

Sole meunière

Name: Sole meunière
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 8 skinless sole fillets, 3 to 4 ounces each; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 2 tablespoons neutral oil; 8 tablespoons unsalted European-style butter, divided; 2 tablespoons drained capers; 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley; 1 lemon, cut in 4 wedges

Delicate sole lightly floured and sautéed until golden, then glossed with nutty brown butter, fresh lemon, parsley, and briny capers.

About 30 minTotal

About 30 minActive

$$$Cost

AdvancedDifficulty

Makes 4 servings

Equipment

Use another covered 12-inch oven-safe skillet or transfer before the oven finish.
Best large covered skillet
All-Clad D3 12-Inch Fry Pan with Lid · 41126
View at Amazon
Another workable path: Use another covered 12-inch oven-safe skillet or transfer before the oven finish.
Paid links. As an Amazon Associate, Kwilt earns from qualifying purchases.
How we chose
Research-backed · reviewed Aug 2026
We matched the twelve-inch footprint, fitted lid, tri-ply heat distribution, 600°F oven and broiler rating, current model 41126 and UPC, ownership burden, and exact Amazon identity. Kwilt has not cooked with this pan.
All-Clad D3 12-Inch Fry Pan with Lid · 41126: Its twelve-inch cooking surface gives rice, shrimp, meat, and vegetables room to cook evenly, while the fitted lid and 600°F oven rating cover both the lidded stovetop method and the shepherd's-pie oven finish. Trade-off: It is a premium-priced pan, food can stick without sound preheating and fat control, and the long handle plus lid need more storage room than a basic skillet.
Another workable path: Use another oven-safe 12-inch skillet with a well-fitting lid; if the handle has a lower heat limit, transfer oven-finished food to a suitable baking dish.
Sources
All-Clad model 41126 specifications
Amazon exact product listing

Ingredients

1× recipe · Makes 4 servings

8 skinless sole fillets, 3 to 4 ounces each
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons neutral oil
8 tablespoons unsalted European-style butter, divided
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon, cut in 4 wedges

Instructions

Pat sole completely dry and season with salt and pepper. Put flour in a shallow dish; dredge fish immediately before cooking and shake off every loose patch so the coating remains nearly invisible.
Heat oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a over medium-high. Cook sole in two batches until golden underneath, about 2 minutes; turn gently and cook until opaque and 145°F, about 1 minute. Transfer to warm plates.
Wipe burnt flour from the skillet. Add remaining 6 tablespoons butter and swirl over medium heat until milk solids turn hazelnut brown and smell nutty, 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and carefully add capers and lemon juice; the butter will foam. Stir in parsley and immediately spoon the beurre noisette over the fish.
Serve at once with lemon wedges. Do not hold covered or flood the fillets—the appeal is the contrast between a delicate golden surface and bright brown butter.

FranceFrench household and bistro cooking

From the table

About this recipe

Sole meunière is a French bistro classic in which delicate sole receives an almost invisible flour coat before quick sautéing and a finish of hazelnut-brown butter, lemon, capers, and parsley.

À la meunière means in the miller's style: lightly floured and cooked in butter. Dover sole is canonical, but responsibly sourced Pacific or lemon sole works. The dish is not a cream sauce or heavy breading; flour, brown butter, lemon, and parsley are the entire disciplined structure. This Kwilt version follows the reviewed household adaptation: Preserve the highly rated minimalist bistro method, use fillets for household reliability, and separate the fish sauté from the brown-butter step so neither flour nor butter burns.

Sources

Dinner does not stop at the recipe