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This baked fish recipe uses simple ingredients for big Mediterranean flavor! Make up a pan with any type of white fish, garlic, tomatoes, capers, and olives for a showy dish. The big flavors makes this recipe a reader favorite!

Baked Fish with lemon and olives in pan
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Baked fish might sound a bit pedestrian—until you’ve tried this Mediterranean baked fish recipe! One bite and you’ll be singing its praises. Roast up any white fish with lemon, garlic and a simple mix of tomatoes, onions and olives.

It comes out perfectly fork tender with a punchy zip from the lemon and tender vegetables to flavor each bite. The minute we tried it, we knew it was destined for our regular rotation: it works as both an easy weeknight meal and for dinner parties! The big flavors has made this recipe become a reader favorite over the years.

“Just made this recipe with tilapia. It is amazing! Loved the way the flavors worked together and how easy and quick it is to make. YUM!” -Peggy

“This is excellent! I’ve made it before and I’m making it again tonight. My husband loves it.” -Carol

“Made this as a weeknight dinner and it was easy and delicious! Thank you for sharing recipes that not only taste delicious but are easy for busy nights!” -Laruen

Ingredients in this baked fish recipe

This baked fish recipe uses a simple Mediterranean preparation to bring big flavors to the dish! It’s easy to slice up the vegetables before baking, and it comes together into something that seems much greater than the sum of its parts. The genius of this recipe is this: the fish bakes on top of aromatic vegetables, which give it just the right amount of moisture and form a sauce that infuses a pop of zingy flavor into each bite.

You can use any type of white fish in this baked fish recipe: in fact, it doesn’t even need to be white fish! It works with salmon too. Here are some varieties of mild white fish that work well. Keep in mind that each type of fish has a varying level of fillet thickness:

  • White fish fillets: Tilapia, halibut, cod, grouper, snapper, pollock, or bass (salmon also works)
  • Cherry tomatoes, red onion, garlic
  • Green olives and capers
  • Fresh parsley
  • Olive oil
  • Dried oregano
  • Lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper
Baked Fish

How to bake fish

Baking white fish is pretty straightforward: it’s all about how thick the fillet is! Here are a few simple tips for how to bake fish:

  • Pat the fillet dry, then season with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon. This is a great basic flavor profile.
  • Bake the fish for approximately 20 minutes at 425°F. The exact timing depends on the thickness of the fish. A very thin fillet may take 15 minutes, and very thick may take 25 minutes or more.
  • Bake fish until the internal temperature is 140°F when measured with a food thermometer. This is a more precise measurement that yields perfectly cooked fish.
Baked Fish

About the olives

This baked fish recipe uses olives for the Mediterranean-style preparation: which can be a polarizing ingredient! You can omit the olives if you’re cooking for olive haters; the dish is still delicious. But we highly recommend using them for the best flavor here! The Italian variety Castelvetrano is a green olive with a mild, buttery flavor: you can find this variety in many grocery stores near the other canned olives.

Sides for baked fish

Once you’ve got a pan of this baked fish recipe, we think you’ll agree: it’s a winner! Our entire family loves this one. Here are a few ways to pair this Mediterranean-style dinner: both for quick weeknight meals and for dinners to impress:

Baked Fish Recipe

Dietary notes

This baked fish recipe is pescatarian, gluten-free and dairy free.

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Easy Baked Fish

Baked Fish
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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.9 from 17 reviews

This baked fish recipe uses simple ingredients for big Mediterranean flavor! Make up a pan with any type of white fish, garlic, tomatoes, capers, and olives for a showy dish. The big flavors makes this recipe a reader favorite!

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Main dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Fish
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 pounds white fish fillets (tilapia, halibut, cod, snapper, and so forth)
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • ¼ cup green olives, sliced in half (optional*; we like Castelvetrano)
  • ¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the fish to stand at room temperature while prepping the vegetables.
  2. Chop the tomatoes, olives, red onion and garlic, as noted above.
  3. Place the chopped vegetables, drained capers, and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley in the bottom of a 9 x 13″ baking dish. Mix with 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and fresh ground black pepper.
  4. Pat the fish dry. Rub it with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, split between the filets. Sprinkle both with the oregano and a few grinds black pepper. Place the fillets on top of the vegetables in the pan, then gently drizzle the fillets with the lemon juice.
  5. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish; check at 15 minutes for very thin fillets), until the fish is flaky and the internal temperature is 140 degrees Fahrenheit when measured with a food thermometer. Garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and serve immediately, adding a few spoonful of vegetables to each plate (over the top or next to the fish).

Notes

*Omit the olives if you’re cooking for olive haters; the dish is still delicious. But we highly recommend using them for the best flavor here! The Italian variety Castelvetrano has a mild, buttery flavor. 

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More baked fish recipes

Love baked fish recipes? There are loads of ways to prepare fish in the oven. Here are a few more ideas:

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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29 Comments

  1. Dianne says:

    I’ve made this a few times, usually with haddock filets. It’s a favourite! Even my fish-hating husband likes it enough to ask for seconds…






  2. Peggy Arnest says:

    Just made this recipe with tilapia. It is amazing! Loved the way the flavors worked together and how easy and quick it is to make. YUM!






  3. Marie Funaro says:

    Thank you for cod recipie. Please include sodium content in nutritional values in recipes as well as protein, potassium, phosphorus. I have to monitor these.

  4. Katherman says:

    I made this last night with haddock fillet and it was absolutely delicious! I’ve made this fish many ways and this will be my go to for sure! The only thing I would try to do next time is to put fish into pan 1st and add all the other ingredients on top. I think it would make the fish tastier and juicier.






  5. Carol Koslow says:

    This is excellent! I’ve made it before and I’m making it again tonight. My husband loves it. Try it , you will too. Thanks.






  6. Jeanne says:

    I have made this many times, usually with fresh gulf coast red fish or speckled trout. If your filets are small or thin I recommend baking the veggies for five minutes before adding fish. Castelvetrano are my favorites so I add extra! Tonight I had leftover roasted eggplant so added that to veggies. Delicious, thanks for the recipe.






  7. Adrienne says:

    Ok i hate olives but I listened to your recommendation and used the castelvetrano olives and I don’t hate them! In fact this recipe is fantastic! I just overcooked the tilapia a bit but I can’t wait to try again! 🤤🤤🤤






  8. James Walters says:

    I made this Sunday, using one pound of swai filets. My wife really liked it. Simple to put together, and very tasty.






  9. Erica Mcfadgon says:

    Great recipe






  10. Lauren says:

    Made this as a weeknight dinner and it was easy and delicious! Thank you for sharing recipes that not only taste delicious but are easy for busy nights!






  11. Alene says:

    Baked grouper tonight using this recipie. It was delicious! I’ll be back for more and a cookbook.






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      So glad you enjoyed!

  12. Shery Sullivan says:

    I made this using Pollock along with your fried potato recipe. It was so good together. This sauce even paired well with the potatoes. My husband and I both loved them both. Very tasty. Thank you.






  13. Shery Sullivan says:

    Excited to try tonight for our Friday fish with fried potatoes and your yummy Mediterranean veggies. Appreciate your special recipes. I’ll be giving my daughter your cookbook for her birthday. She’ll appreciate the vegan recipes.

  14. Stephen says:

    My wife wanted me to try this tonight…and we did. We are from the East coast of Canada and have plenty of Haddock and Halibut on hand and decided to use the Haddock.. a wonderful white fish here on this Coast.
    It was delicious !
    The cherry tomatoes we bought from a farm market in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia were so sweet and added so much to this dish, source your tomatoes locally they are always the best.
    The Olives you recommended – Castelvetrano we purchased and totally awesome … the flavor was second to none.
    We questioned the amount of Oregano, but as always… we follow a new recipe as written – well we were pleasantly surprised … it was perfect flavoring…
    Can’t wait to go to Europe/Mediterranean area in the Spring to try more of this type of dish during our travels there.

    Thank you so much for sharing.. our next dinner guests will be pleasantly surprised when we serve this meal to them…
    A White Pino Grigio served with this dish was thee perfect pairing…
    Steve & Nancy

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      So glad you enjoyed!

  15. Beginner Food says:

    We got frozen tilapia fillets at home and they would be perfect for this. I’ve always loved to bake our dinners, you can just do other things while you wait for them to be cooked






  16. Melanie Burger says:

    I made this last night and it was obscenely delicious and so unbelievably easy. It will definitely be in heavy rotation for a while!






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      So glad you enjoyed!

  17. Judy says:

    A lot of us are using an air fryer these days.
    If you think it is ok, do you have any time conversions?

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      That should work, but we don’t have any experience with timing. Sorry!

  18. Danita says:

    Made with two thick cut Atlantic cod fillets and used black olives as I keep those on hand. Used up the last of my summer cherry tomatoes. I liked how easy this was to put together and quick to cook. I roasted some broccoli on a separate pan at the same time and it was a perfect light and quick dinner for two.






  19. ellen says:

    Thank you so much for this! I tried it and it is the best recipe I’ve tried so far. My family enjoyed it!






  20. Laurie LaBean says:

    Can you use frozen fish?

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      Yes, just thaw in refrigerator before hand.

  21. Florida says:

    Thanks! This looks amazing, will pick up some fresh fish today. And it’s only 4 points per serving for those on Weight Watchers.

    1. Florida says:

      Made this exactly as written including the Castelvetrano olives and Tilapia last night and it was AH-MAZING. Definitely on the keeper list. THANKS.






      1. Alex Overhiser says:

        So glad you enjoyed! It’s definitely on regular rotation here.

  22. Sonja Overhiser says:

    Let us know if you have any questions!






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