Steaming fish in parchment paper is a healthy, tasty way to cook it, and it’s so simple you can have it ready in less than 15 minutes. Impress dinner guests by presenting them with their very own parchment pouches, or have it as an easy meal for one!
Why This Fish In Parchment Is So Good
- An easy recipe, done in 15 mins!
- Great for dinner parties or a quick weeknight meal.
- A healthy mix of baked fish and veggies.
- Little clean up!
Ingredients
- Two 16-inch parchment paper sheets (or tin foil)
- Rosemary sprigs (or cilantro or parsley or thyme)
- One 5-6 ounce skinless fish fillet
- Diced zucchini
- Cherry tomatoes, halved
- Artichoke hearts (canned) quartered
- Dry white wine
- Salt and pepper
- Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
How To Make This Baked Fish In Parchment – Step by Step
- Lay one parchment paper over another, long side of the paper horizontal. Lay herb sprigs in middle of the parchment. Season fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Lay fish on top of the herb sprigs.
- Spoon the zucchini, tomatoes and artichoke hears over the fish. Season the vegetables with a pinch more of salt and pepper. Pour the white wine over everything.
- Seal the packet closed by rolling and crimping the long sides together over the fish and vegetables. Then roll and crimp the ends closed so no steam can escape. Place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, until fish cooked through. Timing depends on thickness of fish. 10 minutes for 1/2-inch fillet; 15 minutes for 1-inch fillet.
- If you are cooking more than one packet, add another minute to cooking time for each additional packet. Just before serving, carefully open the packet (hot steam!) add just a squeeze of lemon juice over everything.
What Kind Of Fish Should I Bake?
You can use any type of fish that you want. I cooked with salmon, and the only thing you need to know about baking salmon is that you might find perfectly safe, but unsightly white protein specs once it’s cooked. It’s a natural occurrence when you bake salmon, so don’t worry if you see it! I’m giving you the recipe amounts for one, but this is a very flexible recipe. If you have 2 people, then make 2 packets.
Fish In Parchment – An Easy Weeknight Meal
Simple, flexible recipes with little clean-up are the type of recipes that I think Jay would appreciate and this one is from Cooking Know How cookbook by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough (they have a blog called Real Food Has Curves). Baking fish in parchment paper packets is so incredibly easy, almost foolproof for cooking novices. Just chop some veg and put it in with the fish – done!
Clean up is as quick as crumpling the paper and tossing it away.
Can I Bake Frozen Fish?
You can skip the thawing process altogether and cook frozen fish straight from the freezer. You’ll have to add a few minutes to the cook time in your recipe to account for the lack of thawing, but you can poach, steam, bake, broil or grill fish straight from the freezer!
Top Tips For This Baked Fish In Parchment
- Prepare your food. Before you prepare your parchment, get your fish seasoned; have any sauces you might be using ready; and have your veggies washed, cut, and ready to place.
- Prepare your parchment. Tear/cut parchment into segments — one segment per fish. The size of the parchment depends on the size of your fillets, but you should be fine with a piece of parchment that measures approx. 13 inches wide. Lay each segment down on a flat surface.
- Place your food. Set down your fish and top with your wet component (this might be a sauce, olive oil, knobs of butter, wine, or freshly squeezed citrus). Place any additional toppings you’re using (grape tomatoes, olives, capers, artichokes, etc.), and a slice or two of a citrus fruit (optional, but adds great flavor).
- Fold your packets. Once everything is in place, take one of the sides of your parchment and fold it over the fish. After that, grab the other side, and fold it over enclosing the fish. Twist the ends of the parchment one at a time, securing each one by tying butchers twine around it.
How to bake fish in parchment paper (video)
Check Out These Other Delicious Fish Dishes
- Grilled Fish Tacos with Corn and Pepitas
- Thai Fish Soup
- Grilled Fish with Citrus Herb Crust
- Steamed Fish with Black Bean Sauce
Baked Fish in Parchment Recipe
Ingredients
- Two 16-inch parchment paper sheets or tin foil
- 2 rosemary sprigs or cilantro or parsley or thyme
- One 5-6 ounce skinless fish fillet
- 1/2 cup diced zucchini
- 3 cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 small artichoke hearts canned quartered
- 1 tablespoon dry white wine
- salt and pepper
- squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450F.
- Lay one parchment paper over another, long side of the paper horizontal. Lay herb sprigs in middle of the parchment. Season fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Lay fish on top of the herb sprigs. Spoon the zucchini, tomatoes and artichoke hears over the fish.
- Season the vegetables with a pinch more of salt and pepper. Pour the white wine over everything.
- Seal the packet closed by rolling and crimping the long sides together over the fish and vegetables. Then roll and crimp the ends closed so no steam can escape. Place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, until fish cooked through. Timing depends on thickness of fish. 10 minutes for 1/2-inch fillet; 15 minutes for 1-inch fillet.
- If you are cooking more than one packet, add another minute to cooking time for each additional packet. Just before serving, carefully open the packet (hot steam!) add just a squeeze of lemon juice over everything.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
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Made this with Red Snapper tonight. Substituted Scallions for the zucchini. Added a little freshly sliced ginger & minced garlic. Used Chardonnay for the liquid. Served with fresh sautéed asparagus. It was delicious!!! Thank you for this recipe! Amazing!
This is similar to how I used to wrap trout in sassafras leaves and roast them over a fire while out camping up in the mountains. The trout would kinda sorta steam inside the packet and absorb the lemony flavor of the sassafras leaves. Upon opening the cooked package, the skin of the trout would stick to the leaves and the cooked meat could be easily lifted up off the bones. Yum…
Jaden, I tought my own bachelor brother Jay this exact same recipe. When he went off to college, this was what he wanted me to teach him. And now he has fixed it a half dozen (probably more) times for dorm room dates! Keep cooking:) Julia
Love the video presentation/tutorial. Fish in parchment is so delicious. I have never seen the rectangular fold used here–it looks much easier than the mutilple-fold method I have used. As a note, I use egg white on the edges before making the final fold. This helps create an air tight seal. Thanks for sharing, very nicely done.
this is gonna be so exciting! i am going to make this dish for my family this weekend. it’s going to be my first time cooking in parchment paper. i hope all goes well. 🙂 thank you Jaden! i love your blogs!
This recipe just put me out of a bind. Because I didn’t have all of the ingredients, I used artichoke, asparagus and regular tomatoes cut into chunks. It was delicious and loved not having much to clean up.
oooow wow – that looks amazing! I have been looking for a recipe to cook for my crew team – some of them are vegetarians – and this is PERFECT! I think I may use grouper instead of salmon…
Perfect way to make a meal! 🙂 Ah.. the colors and flavors of spring/summer!
I love fish in parchment… such a simple way to retain flavor and moisture, plus it gives such an elegant presentation!
How is it that I always forget this simple, yet absolutely perfect way of cooking fish when I’m trying to figure out what to make? Noted. Again. Maybe I will actually remember one of these days!
I’ve never tried to cook fish in paper before, although my parents say it’s really good. Maybe I’ll experiment with this recipe and give it a go. Thanks for sharing!!
Made this tonight and it was fantastic!! A little heavy on the rosemary for me though, I can already think of many combinations I will be trying out.
Thanks!
wow this look and sounds delicious! I’m looking forward to treating myself to the bright, clean and vibrant flavors! thanks.
This is excellent. I’ve prepared fish this way, but it’s been several months. Must do it again…..soon!
Thanks for the great post. 🙂
This looks so simple, healthy and delish. Thank you for reminding me to eat more fish and it is definitely on my grocery list for today. Gotta get those Omega 3! 🙂
Love those guys. They make cooking such fun. Plus, their recipes are just awesome.
This looks delicious and very healthy-nice photos. I love baking fish with thinly sliced potatoes, veggies, and herbs in parchment paper-the result is always so good and satisfying. It’s easy too!
Absolutely Stunning. I love how fresh this looks.
And, I agree, I don’t think any of us want to think about our brothers romping in the supply closet.LOL!
Have a great weekend!
This is not only a great dish for professionals like your brother, but… *giggle*
Sorry it was that comment you made about the supply closet… *cough* *cough*
…it’s also great for people who have to avoid oils and eat lean!
So easy. We did this en papillote method last year, and it was too easy. Thanks for mentioning that it works with any seafood. Had no idea you could do this with scallops too!
We had Fresh Chilean Sea Bass – Ca Sea Bass Hap Dac Biet in a fine Vietnamese Restaurant and it was cooked En Papillote.. with the French term that they used I thought it was something complicated…but here you are showing us how… thanks for sharing. And showing it in video helped a lot!
Gong Xi Fa Chai! Haven’t dropped by for awhile…. :o)
I haven’t cooked fish in parchment paper in a long time! I have some salmon in the freezer, I think it’s destined for this recipe!
Looks like summer! I need a bit of that in my life, thank you.
Hi, I am a Chinese customer,I saw your website, Do you know the vegetable parchment paper? I want to buy the vegetable parchment paper,but I don’t find it where to buy it,Can you tell me the vegetable parchment poper’s company website?thanks very much!Happy New years !
this is just gorgeous! i need to eat more fish and this looks like just the ticket. looking forward to seeing you in austin in a few weeks, too!
Jaden: Thanks so much for featuring one of the recipes from our book! How nice to see it on your fabulous site. And such gorgeous pictures, to boot!
The Italian hue shows us spring is upon us soon!
I’ve never cooked fish like this. What could be better than an easy clean up?!? Love it!
My dad used to make fish in Foil on the grill when we would go camping. Seems like the same kind of deal.
What a colorful blend of ingredients. And it looks very clean.
This is perfect for my lunches when the hubby is at school on my days off. Something he would hate but I would love and it’s small enough to make just for me! I am going to omit the zucchini (YUK) and put in avacado instead tho…
We do different versions of this in foil packets when we go on camping trips. So easy on the grill, or even right over hot coals of the campfire, and it’s great having no dishes to wash afterward. Great photos! I’m coveting your EGO lights. 🙂
yum!! this is so healthy and easy to do! thanks!
the problem with this recipe is that once you make it going to back to other fish preparation methods is really hard as this is so easy and so tasty
I need to work more fish into the diet. Definitely the easy clean-up is the deal closer for me!
Looks so fresh and delicious. It’s the clean up that is selling me on the whole parchment idea. I’m going to have to give it a try!
This recipe looks fantastic, I’m going to try it this week!
I have to say also that I love love love that its sized for one dinner for one person! It can be so hard to find one person meals, so this is great. Thank you!
That is certainly a lovely and healthy dish! I particularly love the addition of artichokes.
J and I were newlyweds the first time I baked fish in parchment paper. I was preening my feathers proudly when J asked what was in the “bag.”
With a pseudo French accent, and a sexy pout, I replied, “Actually, it is fish en papillote.”
Dinner interrupted.
I’m just starting to get into eating fish, this is something I definitely need to try.