The juiciest, most tender baked white fish with vegetables, using just about any firm white fish that you'd like - cod, tilapia, haddock, bass, catfish, grouper, etc. The fish is baked in between layers of onion, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
The succulent and tender white fish is baked together with a great abundance of vegetables - onions, carrots, celery, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic and fresh herbs. All the flavors meld together in one delicious dish. This will satisfy your cravings for something hearty, but still leave you feeling light and healthy.
This is another dish from my childhood. My Mom used to make it all the time and I still love it so much and make it quite often. I love how juicy the fish is in this recipe and it's also great that you can use so many different varieties of fish and they all work so well.
You can do all the prep work ahead of time and you will only have to bake it. This is a perfect option for a make ahead meal for a busy day. Isn't that a fantastic option? This also why it's an excellent choice for a stunning company dinner.
What Kind of Fish Should You Use?
White Fish is not a type of fish, here I am referring to a mild, firm white fish. There are so many different varieties available and most of them work great in this recipe.
One of my favorites is cod, but I've used many different types of white fish over the years. Other white fish options: haddock, tilapia, swai, bass, grouper, catfish, snapper, whiting, etc. You can use fresh or frozen fish, just thaw it completely before using.
What Vegetables Are Best To Bake With the Fish?
Oh, just look at all those colorful vegetables! I really love having an abundance of vegetables in this recipe, but if you prefer, you can add less vegetables.
I am using onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic and herbs.
Preparing the Vegetables
- Peel and halve the onions, and then thinly slice them. Peel the garlic and then mince them or use a garlic press.
- Peel and grate the carrots, thinly slice the celery and julienne the bell pepper.
- Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and grate the tomatoes on a box grater. This is a really neat trick to quickly "puree" the tomatoes and remove the skin at the same time. Instead of grating the tomatoes, you can put them through the food processor or blender, or even chop the tomatoes.
- If you don't have fresh tomatoes, you can use canned diced tomatoes, tomato puree, or tomato sauce. I think the grated fresh tomatoes has the best flavor and texture. Not only are the fresh tomatoes less acidic and have a sweeter flavor, but they create a really delicious "sauce" for the vegetables.
Preparing the Baked White Fish With Vegetables:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cut the fish into smaller pieces and blot it dry with a paper towel to get rid of excess moisture. Season with salt, ground black pepper and any of your favorite spices and herbs to flavor the fish.
- Heat oil in a skillet and cook the fish for about 2-3 minutes per side. It should still be partly raw in the center. Cook the fish in batches until it's all partly cooked. Transfer the fish to a plate while you prepare the vegetables.
- In a large skillet, cook the onions, carrots, and celery, seasoning with salt and ground black pepper to taste, for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables soften.
- Add the bell pepper, tomatoes and garlic. Season with salt and pepper as well and more dry herbs and seasoning that you like. Cook for another 8-10 minutes.
- Add the fresh herbs once the vegetables are off the stove.
Why the Extra Step of Precooking the Fish and Vegetables Before Baking?
I know it may seem like a complete waste of time, but believe me, this is actually a really important step. First of all, sautéing the fish and the vegetables will add extra flavor to the overall dish and it will have a much better taste. Second, the vegetables and the fish cook at different rates and the fish would be completely overcooked LONG before the vegetables would become tender.
I sear the fish very quickly on both sides. The fish is still raw in the center when you put it in the oven. Also, if you would put the fish in the oven raw, it will exude a lot of excess liquid, which it doesn't when you sear it on higher heat in a skillet. Otherwise, the dish would be quite watery. Sautéing the vegetables in a skillet first creates caramelization, brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetables and significantly cuts down on the cooking process.
Baking the Fish and Vegetables
- Spread half of the vegetables on the bottom of the baking dish that you will be using. It really doesn't matter what kind of baking dish you use as long as it's rimmed, deep and can be covered. You can use aluminum foil to cover it.
- Place a layer of fish over the vegetables.
- Spread the remaining vegetables over the fish.
- Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt over the vegetables. This step is completely optional, but I think it adds a nice creaminess on top of the fish and vegetables, but you can completely omit it, if you prefer.
- Cover the baking dish with a lid or aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes.
We are basically heating it all up evenly all the way through to the center, and then only waiting for the fish to cook through, which doesn't take long at all. The vegetables are already cooked.
Making the Fish and Vegetables in Advance
You can also do all the prep work ahead of time, assemble the fish and vegetables in the baking dish and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake it. In that case, you will need to bake this dish longer, 40-50 minutes.
PrintBaked White Fish and Vegetables
The juiciest, most tender baked white fish with vegetables, using just about any firm white fish that you'd like - cod, tilapia, haddock, bass, catfish, grouper, etc. The fish is baked in between layers of onion, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 70 minutes
- Total Time: 100 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Course
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lbs of firm white fish (tilapia, swai, cod, etc)
- 2 - 3 Tablespoons oil (grape seed (avocado, olive, sunflower, etor butter)
- 2 large onions (sliced)
- 3-4 carrots (grated)
- 2-3 celery stalks (sliced)
- 4 to matoes (seeded and grated or chopped)
- 1 large bell pepper (julienned)
- 3-5 garlic cloves (minced)
- salt (ground black pepper)
- 1-2 Tablespoon mayonnaise (sour cream or yogurt, optional)
- ½ - 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley (dill, basil, minced)
Instructions
- Cut the fish into smaller pieces and blot it dry with a paper towel to get rid of excess moisture.
- Heat about ½ - 1 Tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over high heat, season the fish on both sides with salt, ground black pepper and any combination of your favorite seasonings.
- Cook the fish for about 2-3 minutes per side. It should still be partly raw in the center. Cook the fish in batches until it's all partly cooked. Transfer the fish to a plate while you prepare the vegetables.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prep all the veggies. Peel and halve the onions, and then thinly slice them. Peel the garlic and then mince them or use a garlic press. Peel and grate the carrots, thinly slice the celery and julienne the bell pepper. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and grate the tomatoes on a box grater. Instead of grating the tomatoes, you can put them through the food processor or blender, or even chop the tomatoes.If you don't have fresh tomatoes, you can use canned diced tomatoes, tomato puree, or tomato sauce.
- Heat another Tablespoon of butter or oil on medium high heat and add the onions, carrots and celery to the skillet. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables soften.
- Add the bell pepper, tomatoes and garlic. Season with salt and pepper as well and more dry herbs and seasoning that you like. Cook for another 8-10 minutes. Add the fresh herbs once the vegetables are off the stove.
- Spread half of the vegetables on the bottom of the baking dish that you will be using. Place a layer of fish over the vegetables. Spread the remaining vegetables over the fish.
- Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise, sour cream or yogurt over the vegetables. This step is completely optional.
- Cover the baking dish with a lid or aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes. We are basically heating it all up evenly all the way through to the center, and then only waiting for the fish to cook through, which doesn't take long at all. The vegetables are already cooked.
Notes
You can do all the prep work ahead of time, assemble the fish and vegetables in the baking dish and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake it. In that case, you will need to bake this dish longer, 40-50 minutes.
What To Serve With the Fish
My favorite side dishes with this fish dinner:Long Grain Rice
This is an updated version of the Baked White Fish and Vegetables recipe that was published originally on January 13, 2014. The recipe is the same with updated pictures.
Can you used canned tomatoes instead of grating them? Perhaps you have already had this question but there were a lot of comments to go through.
Thank you.
Sure you can, Olga. It will have a slightly different flavor and consistency, but will work too.
Looking for things to make my 90 yr old mother so she can just nuke or oven bake without any fuss. Anyone ever tried this with frozen fillets and in foil pouches? Just wondering. I have frozen tilapia and cod and want to try this dish, but can't defrost then refreeze the fish. Any suggestions?
I have a recipe for fish in pouches, Karen, if that would help.
You can bake this dish (you can also easily halve the amount) and your mother can just heat up a serving size.
Fish in Parchment Recipe
So easy to make and just perfect ! We loved it! Thank you for awesome recipe
Great recipe! Thank you for sharing Olga. Love how much vegetables is in this dish.I used zucchini in place of pepper, since I didn’t have any. It came out great, not mushy at all . I think the leftovers are even better the next day after all the flavors mix together longer, 😋
I make this recipe on repeat!!!
This was sooo good!
What size baking dish do you recommend for this recipe?
I used a 13 x 9 inch baking dish in the picture, but I've used many different sizes over the years. If you use a smaller baking dish, just arrange the fish and vegetables in the baking dish in layers.
Just made this, it was excellent! Just made a few changes. Didn't sauté the fish, also spread the fish with kale pesto (I was trying to use up kale and basil - recipe at Epicurious. (For the top layer, I mixed pesto with plain yogurt.) Baked at 400 for 22 minutes covered, then broiled for a few minutes uncovered after sprinkling Parmesan cheese on top.
I was worried that pesto and the veggies wouldn't go well together, but I loved it!
I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed it, Nelya.
I was looking up a recipe for leftover carrots and celery and this page came up - I was not disappointed. It was soooo good. My husband thinks that cod is a really bland fish but after eating this dish he said "This is the best thing you've ever made!"! I added a little bit of chili to give it some spice and a small can of tomato puree. The rest I follwed your recipe exactly. The leftovers were out of this world! Thank you so much!
I would love to make your baked white fish and vegetable recipe today but I would need to freeze it first for a dinner party I'm having in a few weeks. I have fresh cod in the fridge and would like your opinion on how to proceed.
Would you prepare the whole meal and not cook it right away but freeze it with the yogourt topping on top? Or would you cook it first and then freeze it and I'll have to put it in the fridge for 24 hours before the party to reheat?
Which way would it be best?
Thanks for your help!
Lynda
Very Delicious Dish! My husband loved it :). Will be making this often. Thanks for a great recipe!
Just made this dish, and it was DELICIOUS. I followed the directions to the letter until I got to the LAST step and made a huge "mistake." Without double-checking the amount of yogurt to spread on top, I just plopped about three quarters of a cup on top (following my cooking instincts) and spread it out thinly as directions stated. When it came out of oven, it didn't look like the picture in that the yogurt covering was still layered on top. That's when I realized my "mistake, " and I was so disappointed until I tasted it. It was STILL wonderful. This is going to be a staple dish in our household. My husband, who is usually skeptical of my new recipes, really liked it as well.
Thanks so much!!!!
Extra yogurt is just extra flavor, right:)? I'm so happy you enjoyed this dish, Pamela. Thank you for taking the time to write.
Would it be possible to use salmon?
Sure you can Shannon. However, salmon has a tendency to dry out very easily, so I would definitely try not to over cook it. As soon as you put it in the oven and the whole thing becomes hot and you can see some bubbles around the edges and I would turn it off right after.
Thank you! I'm gonna try it out. Looks delicious ❤️
Question. Made this a couple of times and follow the recipe exactly. It's delish every time but for some reason has a ton of water after its done cooking. Your pic looks like there is no water. Any idea why? Thank you!
I'm not sure why that is, Larisa. I've never had it become watery. I'm sorry I can't help you more.
Olga - thank you very much for the recipe. Does the cooking time need to be adjusted if I am using small individual pots, ramekins-size type (gorshchiki)? Thank you
Most likely, since it will take less time to cook through, Katya. It really doesn't need too much time to cook, since basically the fish and the vegetables are both mostly cooked before they even go in the oven.