Healthy & Light Seafood

Lemon-Herb Baked Fish

Name: Lemon-Herb Baked Fish
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 4 firm white fish fillets, about 180 g each; 2 lemons, one sliced and one juiced; 4 garlic cloves, sliced; 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 200 g cherry tomatoes; 100 g kalamata olives; Fresh parsley, to serve

Baking fish at 200°C dries the surface quickly and traps moisture inside.

By Dana Reyes

Tested at least twice · Updated September 2026

Lemon-Herb Baked Fish — Firm white fish, olive oil and a hot oven — the simplest kind of healthy dinner.

10 min

Prep time

15 min

Cook time

Serves

4.8

1,152 RATINGS

Why high heat is the key

Baking fish at 200°C dries the surface quickly and traps moisture inside. The result is opaque, flaky fish rather than the watery texture that comes from gentle poaching.

A bed of thinly sliced lemon and garlic underneath the fish protects the flesh from the hot tray and flavours the juices that collect. Spoon those juices over before serving.

Ingredients

Makes 4

Instructions

About 25 min from start to finish

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lay the lemon slices and garlic in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Drizzle with half the olive oil.

Season the fish with salt, pepper, oregano and paprika. Lay it on top of the lemons and drizzle with the remaining oil.

Tuck the cherry tomatoes and olives around the fish. Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on thickness, until the fish flakes easily.

Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over everything and scatter with parsley. Serve with crusty bread or steamed greens.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

Fish thickness

If the fillets are very thin, check at 10 minutes. Overcooked white fish becomes rubbery fast.

Make it a tray bake

Add sliced potatoes or courgette to the dish at the start. They will roast alongside the fish.

Herb swaps

Dill, basil or thyme all work in place of parsley. Use what you have.

Questions we get a lot

Can I use frozen fish?

Thaw it fully and pat dry before seasoning. Excess water makes the dish soupy.

What fish is best?

Cod, haddock, pollock, sea bass or snapper all work. Avoid very delicate fish like sole.

Do I need to flip the fish?

No. The heat circulates in the oven and the lemon base protects the underside.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.