Super Simple Baked Fish — Easy Oven Dinner for the Whole Family
Minimum Effort, Maximum Delicious — That’s My Kind of Fish
Super simple baked fish is exactly what it sounds like — a handful of ingredients, one broiler pan, about 15 to 20 minutes in the oven, and you have a beautiful protein on the table that the whole family can enjoy. I am not a complicated cook. I never have been and I never will be, and I think that is exactly why people keep coming back to my kitchen. I make this for Jason because it fits perfectly into his Mediterranean diet, but honestly everyone at my table eats it. The night I filmed this video I served the fish with my Garlic and Herb Smashed Potatoes and a quick sauté of zucchini and onion — my Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots are the other side I reach for again and again when the whole meal needs to come out of one oven. That is my kind of dinner.
🫒 This recipe is part of The Terrace, my Mediterranean diet hub — where I keep all my Mediterranean-friendly recipes, pantry staples, and the story behind why we eat this way.
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Watch me walk through how I make this super simple baked fish — from frozen Costco fillets to dinner on the table — or scroll down for the full printable recipe card.
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Super Simple Baked Fish
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Ingredients
- 6 oz salmon fillets skin off (or tilapia, or your choice)
- extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Kinder’s The Blend seasoning or salt, pepper, and garlic
- Old Bay seasoning for tilapia
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- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Place fish fillets on a broiler pan or foil-lined baking sheet, skin side down.
- Drizzle olive oil over the top and bottom of each fillet.
- Season salmon generously with Kinder’s The Blend (or salt, pepper, and garlic).
- Season tilapia with Old Bay seasoning.
- Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes until cooked through. Fish should be fully opaque and flake easily.
- Serve immediately with Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots and baked potatoes or smashed potatoes and sautéed zucchini and onions for a complete oven meal!
Nutrition
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Notes
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Tap the stars above to rate it! This helps other families find it.Why This Super Simple Baked Fish Works
Super simple baked fish works because it leans on three things and nothing else: good fish, olive oil , and a seasoning that does the heavy lifting. No marinade. No breading. No sauce to make. You drizzle olive oil on both sides of the fillets, sprinkle them with seasoning, and put them in a 400°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes depending on how well-done you like your fish. The high heat gives you tender, flaky fish with a little bit of color on top, every single time.
The other thing I love about this recipe is how flexible it is for a family with different tastes. My kids are tilapia kids — mild, white, flaky, no fish flavor that scares them off. Jason and I are salmon people. So I do five tilapia fillets and two salmon fillets on the same pan, season each fish for who’s going to eat it, and pull everything out of the oven at the same time. I get the salmon and the tilapia both at Costco in those frozen packs, and I just unfreeze whatever I need for the night. They thaw really fast in the fridge or in a bowl of cold water, and frozen fish lets me make this recipe any night of the week without a trip to the store.
Salmon gets a drizzle of olive oil , salt and pepper, and Kinder's The Blend — that is all I put on it because we usually finish it with a teriyaki or sweet chili sauce at the table. The tilapia gets the same olive oil and salt, then a really generous dusting of Old Bay . I am not skimpy with the Old Bay. There is a reason it is the seafood seasoning of the South and it makes mild fish taste like something. According to the FDA’s seafood safety guidance, fish is cooked through when it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F and flakes easily with a fork — 15 to 20 minutes at 400°F gets you there in my oven every time.
A Few Things That Make Super Simple Baked Fish Even Easier
- Spray the pan and line the bottom with foil. I spray the slotted top of the broiler pan with cooking spray so the fish doesn’t stick, and I put Reynolds foil in the bottom of the pan to catch the drippings. The foil makes cleanup almost nothing — lift it out, throw it away, and the pan goes back in the cabinet clean. If you don’t have a broiler pan, a big foil-lined baking sheet does the job too.
- Olive oil on both sides, not just the top. A drizzle on the top is what everyone does, but flipping the fillet and brushing the bottom is what keeps the fish from drying out against the hot pan. I use a heavy glass measuring cup to drizzle — better control than the bottle. Both sides. Every time.
- Match the seasoning to the fish. Kinder's The Blend is my go-to for salmon — the bolder fish wants a bolder seasoning. Old Bay on tilapia is the move every time because tilapia is milder and benefits from that classic seafood blend. And please be generous with the Old Bay. Fish can be bland if you don’t season it.
- Cook salmon and tilapia together on the same pan. Both finish in 15 to 20 minutes at 400°F, so you can do one pan with both fish for the family. Salmon gets the Kinder’s, tilapia gets the Old Bay, and everyone at the table gets the one they like best. This is exactly how I feed my crowd of seven.
- Make it a full oven dinner. The night I filmed this video, the fish went into the oven and my Garlic and Herb Smashed Potatoes finished baking at the same time, with a quick sauté of zucchini and onion on the stovetop. If I am doing baked potatoes and Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots instead, everything cooks at 400°F — potatoes on the bottom rack for the full hour, carrots in at the 30-minute mark, fish last at 15 minutes. One temperature, three dishes, dinner on the table.
Super Simple Baked Fish FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Time
What temperature and how long do I bake super simple baked fish?
Bake super simple baked fish at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes depending on how well-done you like it. The fish is done when it’s fully opaque and flakes easily with a fork. I bake mine very well done at 20 minutes, but if you prefer your fish a little less cooked, start checking at 12 minutes. Every oven runs a little different.
What kind of fish should I use for this baked fish recipe?
Salmon and tilapia are what my family loves, and they cook in the same time at the same temperature, so I make them together on one pan. But this method works with any fish fillet about six ounces — cod, mahi-mahi, flounder, swordfish, or whatever you enjoy. The bake time stays right around 15 to 20 minutes for a fillet that thickness. If your fillets are thicker, add a few minutes; thinner fillets need a couple less.
Can I use frozen fish for this recipe?
Absolutely — that’s exactly what I do. I buy salmon and tilapia at Costco in those frozen vacuum-sealed packs because they’re individually portioned and I can just thaw what I need for the night. Thaw the fillets fully in the fridge overnight or in a bowl of cold water for about an hour, then pat them dry with paper towels before drizzling with olive oil. Wet fish does not get golden on top, so the drying step matters more than people realize. Once they’re dry, the recipe is exactly the same as fresh.
Is super simple baked fish Mediterranean diet friendly?
Yes — that’s actually why I started making it. Fish is a Mediterranean diet staple, the olive oil is core to the diet, and the seasonings are just spices. Jason has been eating this on his Mediterranean diet for over a year and never gets tired of it. If you’re being strict about it, double-check your seasoning blend doesn’t have added sugar (most don’t, but worth a glance).
What do you serve with super simple baked fish?
The night I filmed this video, the fish was on a plate with my Garlic and Herb Smashed Potatoes, a quick sauté of zucchini and onion, and a slice of sourdough bread. My other favorite combination is my Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots with baked potatoes — everything cooks in the oven at 400°F and lands on the table together. Here’s the silent video from when I first made this with the carrots and baked potatoes — you can see how the whole meal comes together.
A quiet look at the same recipe paired with Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots and baked potatoes — everything in one oven at 400°F.
Can I make super simple baked fish ahead of time?
Fish is one of those things that really wants to be served right out of the oven. You can prep the fillets ahead — oil them, season them, and have them on the pan covered in the fridge for up to four hours — but I would not bake them ahead and reheat. Reheated fish gets rubbery fast. If you have leftovers, they’re fine cold the next day flaked over a salad.
How do I know when the fish is done?
Fully cooked fish is opaque all the way through and flakes easily when you press it with a fork. If you want to be precise, an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the fillet should hit 145°F. Salmon can be pulled a couple degrees earlier if you like it slightly pink in the middle; tilapia and other white fish should always be fully cooked through.
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Ingredients
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More Easy Weeknight Dinners You’ll Love
- Garlic and Herb Smashed Potatoes — the side dish I served with the fish in the video, crispy on the edges and creamy in the middle.
- Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots — the other side I reach for with this fish, sweet and sticky and ready in 30 minutes.
- 4 Ingredient No-Peek Chicken and Rice — Jason’s mom’s recipe and one of the most hands-off dinners in the rotation.
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Super Simple Baked Fish — About Stephanie’s Recipes
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.