I love this lemon butter herb baked trout made with just a few simple fresh ingredients in less than 20 minutes. Succulent, melt-in-your-mouth and delish.
Lemon Butter Herb Baked Trout served on roasted bok choy and broccoli.
I make these baked trout fillets often because they are quick and easy to prepare and you can cook vegetables in the same pan at the same time to make a one pan meal. I usually add asparagus, chopped cauliflower or bok choy and broccoli to the pan. These options take about the same time as the trout if cut small enough. Just toss the veggies with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper before roasting. If you like them roasted a little more, place the veggies back in the oven while you are portioning and plating the fish.
How much trout do you need per person? I calculate about 1/2 pound per person as a nice generous portion.
How do you know when the trout is cooked? That depends on how you like it. For moist and tender trout, cook it to a medium or medium-rare. The flesh will just turn opaque and it will be a warm pink in the middle. It should not be pale, dry and flaky.
What can I serve with baked trout? There are so many options. Here are a few of my faves:
- For a 3 in 1 side dish try Party Salad With Vegetables and Quinoa. This side plus the trout make a beautiful lunch or dinner for company.
- Butternut Squash Salad Cups and Instant Pot Risotto with Grill Vegetables would also be great sides for company.
- Good options for weeknight side dishes are Parmesan Orzo With Spinach , Cauliflower Rice with Pesto , Chinese Stir Fried Green Beans or easy Creamed Spinach.
Tailor To Your Taste
- Herbs: I use a combination of fresh dill and parsley with green onions (not a herb). Other good options are basil, tarragon and chives – along with green onions. Thyme is good too, but use less because too much would overwhelm the delicate flavor of the fish.
- Chop fresh peak-of-the-season tomatoes and sprinkle them on top before serving. Drizzle on good olive oil if you like.
- Sprinkle chopped roasted walnuts, pecans or pistachios over the trout fillets once cooked.
- You can use all butter or all olive oil instead of a combination.
- Try salmon instead of trout with this similar roasted salmon stuffed with herbs recipe.
Make Ahead Baked Trout
You can make this an hour or two ahead if you are serving the trout at room temperature for a buffet or brunch. Otherwise, I suggest stuffing the fillets with the chopped herbs several hours or even a day ahead. Just before serving, add the butter, oil, salt and pepper, then bake .
Lemon Butter Herb Baked Trout
Ingredients
Instructions
- HEAT OVEN TO 400F. Prepare a pan lined with parchment or foil sprayed with oil.
- PREPARE TROUT FILLETS: Lay fillets on pan. Microwave butter and oil for 20-30 seconds until melted. Using a sharp knife, cut slits horizontally every 2 inches on each fillet (about 3-4 slits per fillet). Stuff half of mixed herbs into slits. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Drizzle HALF of butter oil mixture (about 2 tbsp) over trout.
- BAKE TROUT: for 9-11 minutes, depending on thickness of fillets, or until cooked. Ideally, trout will be moist and warm pink - not dry, pale and flaky.
- FINISH AND SERVE: Sprinkle remaining herbs and lemon zest over top of fillets. Drizzle remaining butter-oil mixture. Sprinkle lightly with sea or kosher salt. To serve: To serve without skin, slip spatula between flesh and skin, then lift up. I cut trout into portions first (just down to the skin) to make this easier. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Herbs: I suggest using fresh herbs for this dish (well green onion isn't a herb but I always use it in my herb combination). Another option is green onion, one fresh herb and 1- 2 teaspoons of a dried herb such as basil or thyme. Or just use two herbs - whatever you like best.
- Make Ahead: You can make this ahead if you are serving the trout at room temperature, say for a buffet or brunch. Otherwise, I suggest stuffing the fillets with chopped herbs several hours or even a day ahead. Then add the butter, oil, salt and pepper and bake just before serving.
Nutrition
Other quick and easy baked fish recipes you might like:
Janis says
Would this recipe work well using Cod instead of Trout? I have Cod in the fridge so thought this would be a great recipe to use it with. thank you!
Cheryl says
Hi Janis,
Like trout, cod has a mild taste and delicate texture like trout, so I don’t see why not. The flavors would go perfectly too. You can bake it at the same temperature (400F), but you may need to bake it for longer as it’s usually much thicker than trout. The rule of thumb for fish is 10 minutes per inch thickness. It may take 15-18 minutes or until an instant thermometer reads 140-145F. Good luck. Hope it works well. Let us know!
Janis says
Amazing…thank you SO much! I will let you know how it turns out 🙂
Stay safe and healthy xo
Cheryl says
Great. Would love to hear. You stay safe and healthy too.