The secret to this juicy baked fish recipe is in the quick marinade with spices, garlic, fresh basil, a little citrus, and extra virgin olive oil. Works great with any white fish, like halibut, cod, halibut, snapper, and beyond.
We often forget that, just like chicken and meat, fish can benefit from a little time in a tasty marinade. As long as you keep the acid low and the marinating time short, marinating a firm fish or a fish fillet like halibut or cod for just 30 minutes can do some good.
The marinade infuses the fish with all sorts of mouthwatering flavors. And, just like cooking fish in foil, it prevents the fish from drying out. Today’s tender baked fish recipe could not be any easier to make. I used halibut fillet, but any other white fish will work.
I add the fish and the marinade over a bed of colorful bell peppers and shallots, and bake for about 15 minutes. Easy! My family loved this baked fish with lemon rice and a big bowl of Greek salad.
Table of Contents
What’s in the Fish Marinade?
You’ll notice that I kept the citrus portion low, using the juice of 1 lemon (2 tablespoons of citrus) to 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- Garlic: 10 fresh garlic cloves. I like to mince the garlic as finely as I can for maximum flavor.
- Fresh basil: 15 fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons. The combination of fragrant fresh basil with the warm spices packs this baked fish recipe with great flavor. If you don’t have basil, you can use parsley, cilantro, dill, or thyme to your liking.
- Spices: A trio of dried oregano, coriander, and paprika.
- Citrus: Juice of 1 lemon, which is about 2 tablespoons of citrus. If you like, you can switch it out for lime, white wine, or a mild-tasting vinegar.
- Extra virgin olive oil: I used 6 tablespoons of Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil. Because the fish bakes with the marinade, it’s important to use a tasty oil that enhances the flavor of the fish.
How Long to Marinate Fish?
In general, it’s safe to marinate a fish fillet like halibut or even a flaky fish like cod for 30 minutes or so refrigerated. If you’re marinating a fairly thick fish steak like a tuna fish steak or a swordfish steak, you may go for 1 to 2 hours of marinating. Always keep your marinated fish in the fridge.
How to Make this Baked Fish Recipe
There really are two steps to this fish fillet recipe: Marinate and bake. Here’s how it’s done:
- Marinate the fish. Pat a 2 pound fish fillet dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in a large zip-top bag. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon paprika, 10 minced garlic cloves, 15 sliced basil leaves, 6 tablespoons olive oil, and the juice of 1 lemon. Zip the bag shut and massage to be sure the fish is evenly coated in the marinade. Marinated for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour in the fridge.
- Meanwhile, get ready to bake. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Arrange 2 sliced bell peppers and 2 sliced shallots in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Bake the fish: Place the fish on top and pour the marinade over it. Bake in heated oven for 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
What to Serve with Baked Fish
Serve baked fish immediately with your favorite grain or lemon rice and a side of Greek salad, white bean salad, or herbed zucchini.
More Baked Fish Recipes
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Easy Baked Fish with Garlic and Basil
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fish fillet (like halibut or cod)
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 10 garlic cloves, minced
- 15 basil leaves, thinly sliced
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 bell peppers, any color, sliced
- 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
Instructions
- Season the fish. Pat the fish dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Place in a large zip-top bag. Add the oregano, coriander, paprika, minced garlic, basil, olive oil, and lemon juice. Zip the bag shut and massage to be sure the fish is evenly coated in the marinade. Marinated for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour in the fridge (see notes).
- Meanwhile, get ready to bake. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Arrange the bell peppers and shallots in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Bake the fish: Place the fish on top and pour the marinade over it. Bake in heated oven for 15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- How long to marinate fish: I used halibut fillet in this recipe and I typically marinate it about 30 minutes. Thicker fish steaks, like tuna or swordfish, can marinate for 1 to 2 hours, but that is not the kind of fish I would recommend for this recipe.
- How to know if your fish is cooked? Your fish should be opaque and should flake easily with a fork at the thickest part. You can also use an instant read thermometer, which should register 145°F.
Nutrition
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excellent ideas
What type of what type of bags do I use and where do I get them and what are they called
Hi Charles, Devin here from the editorial team. Any large, sealable bag works well – it just needs to be big enough to fit the fish and marinade. You can also just put everything in a large mixing bowl and massage the marinade with your hands, then wash your hands well (or use gloves) and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Hope this helps!
I made this for supper along with roasted spaghetti squash. My husband and I both LOVED it. We will be adding this to our regular rotation. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing!
This is such an easy, satisfying fish din. My go to in addition to piccata. Tonight I used thyme from my garden, also precooked the onions and peppers because I am using cod which cooks quite quickly. Served with roasted butternut squash with tahini (your recipe) and steamed green beans. So fresh, delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe! (I also have your cookbook, of course!!!)
This is an amazing dish. I can’t say how amazing it was.
I riffed off your dish and here were the changes I made.
* I used Grouper(very similar fish)
* Used dill instead of oregano – used alot of dill. I find that for me oregano overpowers the fish sometimes and I like to taste the sweetness of the fish
* I marinaded for an hour(I thought it was too long, but it was perfect)
* I didn’t have bell peppers so I used Pablano peppers
* Put the peppers, shallots and added 8 whole compari skinned tomatoes(whole) around the sides.
* Added a bit of olive oil to the dish and baked(peppers, shallots, and tomatoes) on 425 for about 10 minutes(no fish yet). Wanted to get a good sauce and I didn’t want to overcook the fish trying to cook the vegetables.
* Added the fish and cooked til the internal temp was 145.
Most amazing dish I’ve had since I was in Italy. My wife and I love to cook with whole(non processed) foods. This checked all the boxes. Had an amazing sauce to dip bread in after-words. Note about the Pablono peppers, while they added taste we didn’t eat the peppers because they were a bit bitter. Would have been better with regular bell peppers.
Thanks for sharing your adaptations here, Jay! This is definitely a fun recipe to play with a bit! So glad you enjoyed it!
This was excellent and so fast! Thank you for sharing, I will def be making again
We made this for dinner tonight, it was so easy and so delicious! We even made the recommended Greek lemon rice with it, also fantastic!
The marinade is excellent. I could only find cod. Cod bakes very fast so it came out over cooked. Next time I’ll look harder for halibut or flounder.
I coupled it with galic parmesan carrots. That was an amazing side dish!
Very nice. Up the salt and the olive oil content, tho. I cooked for 20 minutes just to be safe (my instant read thermometer chose this moment to die).
Oh, no! Glad it still worked out, even after the loss of your instant read thermometer!
I hope to buy your cookbook. I love watching your posts & seeing the delicious recipes you create. My Dr. says your way of cooking is one of the healthiest.
Thank you so much, Anne!
This was my first recipe of Suzy’s I tried back in 2020, and it is an old friend at this point. I will never live up to my first attempt because I splurged in Chilean sea bass and will never know when I can justify $60+ on fish for two lol. But the dish is so colorful and bursting with flavor. You will not be disappointed.
I did not have time to marinate but was still absolutely delicious. Used sea bass.
Thank you so much for this recipe! We prepared with haddock filets & it was delicious. We marinated 4 filets in the suggested marinade for 1 hour & then baked for 15 minutes. The shallot & bell pepper base to set the filets on is just the best!
We reduced the recipe for the two of us & grilled veggies for the side. This is my go to recipe now!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Barbara Anne!
I made this recipe exactly as written. It was delicious!! I highly recommend this recipe. It was different, and I paired it with the white bean salad, yum…..yum….yum!!! Another keeper! Thank you so much for the good tasting food.
So glad you enjoyed it, Mari!
Just made this as a surprise for my wife! It was delicious! The only issue I have is that now this level of dish will now be expected from me! Lol I did add some capers and sun dried tomatoes because I can’t leave well enough alone. Turned out great
Do you use multiple fillets or one singular in this dish?
Either will work!