Mediterranean Baked Fish
Published Jan 10, 2025
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With beautiful, bright, and fresh flavors, this Mediterranean Baked Fish is a great nutritious one-pan dinner that you can make in just under 30 minutes. Fresh cod filets are baked to perfection with a beautiful mix of veggies and ingredients until soft, succulent and delicious.
The best part is that it pairs with so many sides and is naturally gluten-free, too! It’s a great meal to make if you want to try the Mediterranean diet!
On days when I’m looking to put together a busy weeknight dinner for the family, I almost always turn to using fish. The reason? It cooks quickly and is a great, versatile protein to work with.
My Fish in White Sauce, Lemon Butter Tilapia and Sheet Pan Salmon and Broccoli are all great options to pick from if you’re looking for some easy fish dinner recipes!
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Mediterranean Baked White Fish
- Ingredients Needed
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Mediterranean Baked Fish
- 1: Prepare the marinade.
- 2: Marinate the fish.
- 3: Season the veggies.
- 4. Layer veggies in baking dish.
- 5. Arrange marinated fish.
- 6. Bake and serve.
- Tips to Make the Best Mediterranean Baked Fish
- What Goes with Mediterranean Baked Fish?
- Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
- More Fish Recipes to Try
- Mediterranean Baked Fish Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Mediterranean Baked White Fish
- It’s super easy to make. Everything comes together in just one pan, and you need only a few minutes to assemble the dish. It is such an easy way to cook fish.
- It’s bursting with flavor and deliciousness. With fresh ingredients, Mediterranean baked cod is such a bright and lively dish to have on the dinner table.
- If you’re looking for a quick dinner recipe to whip up for the whole family, this baked fish is beyond perfect! It needs just 20 minutes in the oven- max! The cooking time could be less, depending on the thickness of your fish filet.
Ingredients Needed
Here is everything you need for this healthy dinner!
- Fish: I used Cod filets, the best choice for this recipe. You can try using another type of white fish like haddock, sea bass, or halibut.
- Veggies: Fresh vegetables, briny olives and capers bring bright Medittarenean flavors to this dish. I used a mix of red onion and garlic for the savory deliciousness, cherry tomatoes for the tanginess, fresh lemon for the bright and citrusy flavors and black olives and capers for the salty, briny flavor. I also had some yellow bell peppers, which I added for the sweetness and apop of color. You could also use green olives in place of the black olives.
- Seasonings: To season, I just used some dried thyme and oregano, fresh basil to garnish and some sea salt and black pepper.
- Olive oil: Use the best quality olive oil you can find – it really matters. Extra virgin olive oil works best!
Check out the full recipe and instructions at the bottom of this post.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you don’t have cherry tomatoes, feel free to dice up your regular tomatoes into chunks and use them instead.
- I used black olives here because that’s what I had. If you have Kalamata olives, I would highly recommend using them instead, because they have an incredible flavor that beautifully complements the other ingredients.
- To lend the dish a nice kick of heat, add some cayenne or red pepper flakes into the marinade too.
How to Make Mediterranean Baked Fish
To make the Mediterranean-style baked fish, start by getting all your ingredients ready.
1: Prepare the marinade.
In a bowl, combine the minced garlic, dried oregano, and dried thyme. Add the extra virgin olive oil (or avocado oil) and fresh lemon juice, and whisk until all ingredients are well combined. This will be the marinade for the fish fillets.
2: Marinate the fish.
Arrange the fish fillets in a shallow dish and generously drizzle the prepared marinade over the fillets. Make sure each piece is fully coated on all sides. Cover the dish and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to infuse the fish with the marinade.
3: Season the veggies.
In a separate bowl, toss together the diced bell peppers, red onions, cherry tomatoes, black olives and capers with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper then toss to coat the vegetables evenly.
4. Layer veggies in baking dish.
Once the fish has marinated, remove the dish from the fridge. Arrange the prepared vegetables in another baking dish.
5. Arrange marinated fish.
Top them with the marinated fish fillets. Place a few lemon slices on top of each fillet for added flavor. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
6. Bake and serve.
Transfer the baking dish to the preheated oven and bake for 15–20 minutes. Carefully remove the dish from the oven. Garnish the fish with fresh basil leaves and additional lemon slices or lemon wedges, if desired.
Tips to Make the Best Mediterranean Baked Fish
- Everyone’s oven works differently, so check the dish at the 15-minute mark. Overcooking the fish will cause it to turn dry and chewy, which is not what you would want. You want the fish to have flaky flesh.
- Make sure you pat the fish dry and soak up all the excess moisture using paper towels before you marinate it. You don’t want it all to be a runny mess.
- Love the citrusy flavors of lemon? Add some fresh lemon zest in addition to the lemon juice!
- For extra flavors of the Mediterranean, you can also top the dish with some crumbled feta cheese right before you serve.
Mediterranean fish is best made and served fresh. If you do have some leftovers, you can refrigerate them for up to 24 hours in an airtight container and reheat them whenever you want to.
What Goes with Mediterranean Baked Fish?
Ready to serve your baked Mediterranean fish? Here are a few good serving ideas and suggestions to get you going!
- Team up the fish with some rice like Garlic Herb Rice, or a nice bread like Homemade French Bread or Garlic Butter Rolls to mop up all that delicious sauce!
- Sometimes, I like serving the fish with a simple pasta dish like Lemon Garlic Butter Pasta and a veggie side like Sauteed Vegetables or Garlic Butter Green Beans.
- For healthier or low-carb options, you could serve this fish with some brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower rice.
Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
You can! I would recommend using a flaky white fish for best results. The best choices are Haddock, Striped Bass, Mahi Mahi, Grouper and Cod.
Cod and most other white fish usually cook perfectly in the oven at the 15-20 minute mark. To check if the fish is done, check if it flakes when you try to cut it using a fork. If it does, it is ready to serve!
While I would recommend using fresh fish, you can try using frozen fish too. Remember first to allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator!
More Fish Recipes to Try
If you make this Mediterranean baked fish recipe please leave a star rating below. Your rating helps others find the recipe plus I love hearing from you! Thank you!
Mediterranean Baked Fish
Ingredients
- 4 cod fish fillets about 6oz each
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of sea salt and black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 Lemon juiced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ¼ cup Black olives pitted
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1 Lemon thinly slices
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 sprig fresh Italian basil
Instructions
- In a bowl combine the minced garlic, dried oregano ,and dried thyme. Add the extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and whisk until all Ingredients are well combined. This will be the marinade for the fish fillets.
- Arrange the fish fillets in a shallow dish and generously drizzle the prepared marinade over the fillets. Make sure each piece is fully coated on all sides.
- Cover the dish and place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to infuse the fish with the marinade.
- Meanwhile preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a separate bowl, toss together the diced bell peppers, red onions, cherry tomatoes, black olives and capers with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper then toss to coat the vegetables evenly.
- Once the fish has marinated, remove the dish from the fridge. Arrange the prepared vegetables in another baking dish and top with the marinated fish fillets. Place a few lemon slices on top of each fillet for added flavor.
- Transfer the baking dish to the preheated oven and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.
- Carefully remove the dish from the oven. Garnish the fish with fresh basil leaves and additional lemon slices, if desired.
Notes
- Everyone’s oven works differently, so make sure you check the dish at the 15 minute mark. Overcooking the fish will actually cause it to turn dry and chewy, which is not what you would want.
- Make sure you pat the fish dry and soak up all the excess moisture using paper towels before you marinate it. You don’t want it all to be a runny mess.
- Love the citrusy flavors of lemon? Add in some fresh lemon zest in addition to the lemon juice!
- For extra Mediterranean flavors, you can also top the dish with some crumbled feta cheese right before you serve.
