Tender, flavor-packed fish en papillote, prepared Mediterranean -style with green peppers, tomatoes, and a light lemony sauce, all cooked together in parchment parcels. Comes together in 25 minutes!
En papillote, pronounced ahn-pa-pee-yawt, may sound like something complicated, but it is truly an easy way to cook lean proteins like fish.
When baked en papillote (or in paper), fish fillets like cod, halibut, snapper, trout, or even salmon, cook very quickly and come out tender, moist, and flavorful.
This fish en papillote recipe comes together in 25 minutes start-to-finish. And you’ll love the added veggies and Mediterranean flavors!
Whether you’re a pro at baked cod or a fish newbie, this fish cooked in parchment is a snap to make!
What is Fish en Papillote?
En papillote is a French term that means “enveloped in paper.” And it basically describes a way of cooking in which the food or fish, in this case, is placed in paper pouches of parchment and baked with herbs or seasonings of your choice.
Mediterranean-Style Fish in Parchment
Here’s the gist of this recipe. Parchment parcels of cod fillet (or any thin fish fillet of your choice) covered in a light and lemony Mediterranean sauce with garlic, oregano and cumin, and topped with slices of green pepper and tomatoes. And if you like olives, throw in a couple!
The idea here is that the heat trapped in the sealed parchment paper (or baking paper) will steam the food, producing tender, moist, and flaky fish in no time.
The beautiful aroma and site of the slightly saucy fish and veggies as you split open the parchment is simply irresistible!
How to make baked fish en papillote
- Season the fish with kosher salt on both sides. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Prepare the sauce. In a bowl or measuring cup, whisk together 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve Greek EVOO), juice of ½ lemon, 1 finely chopped shallot, 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon dry oregano, 1 teaspoon paprika, and ½ tsp cumin.
- Prepare the parchment paper. Make sure you have 4 large pieces of parchment paper that are large enough to hold the fish and vegetables with at least a couple of inches of extra paper so that you’re able to seal the parchment well. Mine were 12-inch pieces or so.
- Arrange the fish and veggies. You’ll want to put the fish on one half of the parchment paper (you will fold the other half of the paper over). Add a couple tablespoons of the sauce and arrange the veggies and a slice of lemon on top.
- Fold and seal the parchment pouches. Fold the other half of the parchment on top of the stacked fish and veggies. Touch the two sides of the parchment to each other and tightly roll, going around the edges and folding to secure each piece of parchment around the fish and veggies creating a well-wrapped pouch.
- Bake. Arrange the 4 sealed pouches of fish on a baking sheet and place on the middle rack of your heated oven. Cook for about 12 to 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through (it should flake easily when you test it with a fork).
How to Serve it
How do you serve fish enpapillote? That’s the best part! You cook and serve this baked fish right in the parchment paper parcels.
I use a spatula to transfer the sealed parchment parcels or packets to dinner plates, allowing each person to open their own packet. Easy peasy!
What to serve along
Since we have our protein and veggies, this is already and all-in-one meal.
If you like, add a side of lemon rice or plain couscous to help use up that tasty sauce!
To start the meal, I recommend something like eggplant caponata or big and bright Mediterranean salad such as: panzanella, three bean salad, or mini sweet bell pepper salad.
Make ahead and storage tips
- To make ahead: You can arrange the fish and vegetables and prepare the parchment packets or pouches up to 3 hours in advance. Arrange the sealed pouches on a baking sheet and be sure to refrigerate them until you are ready to bake.
- Leftover storage: You can store leftover cooked fish enpapillote in the fridge for up to 2 days. I typically remove it from the parchment and keep it in a tight-lid container. You can warm it through in a medium-heated oven, if you need to.
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Fish en Papillote, Mediterrnanean-style
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 lb cod fish fillet (1-inch thick) cut into 4 pieces
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/2 tomato thinly sliced into 4 rounds
- ½ green bell pepper cored, thinly sliced into 4 rounds
- ½ lemon thinly sliced into rings
- Handful pitted green olives optional
For the Sauce
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil I used Private Reserve Greek EVOO
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 shallot chopped
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cumin
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Season the fish with kosher salt and pepper on both sides.
- Prepare the sauce. Place the olive oil, lemon juice, shallots, garlic and spices in a small mixing bowl or measuring cup and whisk to combine.
- Prepare 4 large pieces of parchment paper (about 12 inches or so on each side). Fold the parchment pieces down the middle to mark two halves.
- Assemble the pouches. Place each fish fillet on the bottom half of a parchment piece. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the prepared sauce over the fish. Add 1 lemon slice, 1 tomato slice, and 1 bell pepper slice on top.
- Fold the top half of the parchment paper over the fish and veggies and go around to fold and secure each piece of parchment around the fish and veggies creating a well-wrapped pouch.
- Place the fish pouches on a large baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack of your heated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the fish is fully cooked and flakes easily.
- To serve, leave the fish and veggies in their own closed parchment pouches and transfer each pouch to a serving plate.
Notes
- Serve with a side of lemon rice or plain couscous to help use up that tasty sauce!
- To make ahead: You can arrange the fish and vegetables and prepare the parchment packets or pouches up to 3 hours in advance. Arrange the sealed pouches on a baking sheet and be sure to refrigerate them until you are ready to bake.
- Leftover storage: You can store leftover cooked fish enpapillote in the fridge for up to 2 days. I typically remove it from the parchment and keep it in a tight-lid container. You can warm it through in a medium-heated oven, if you need to.
- Visit our Online Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including extra virgin olive oils and spices used in this recipe.
Yum! This is always a hit here at the house! So delicious and so tasty! Can’t wait to make this again!
This is so good and really easy to make! Always a hit at my house!
So flaky, this dish comes out perfect everytime.
Thanks, Krystle!
Absolutely delicous! We served this with a side of quino and salad!
Wow! My new favorite way to eat cod!!
Awesome!! 🙂
I loved it! Packed full of amazing flavors!! So easy to make, too!
It’s definitely a great idea for an easy dinner! It looks fancy too!
This fish en papillote couldn’t look any more perfect!
The fish looks perfect! I love the lemony sauce. This is such a fun way to cook it!
I agree!! Thanks, Dorothy!
Now this is interesting, I can’t wait to try it!
Enjoy 🙂
This recipe sounds delicious and I look forward to trying it soon. One person in our home does not like tomato, is there something to substitute for him. Thanks
Hi, Laurel! You could simply omit the tomato from that person’s pouch. You could also easily add whatever veggies they do like.
Loved the way the paper trapped in all that flavor; this has easily become a new favorite recipe! It was delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sara!
Enjoy your recipes, never disappointed.
Awww! Thank you so much!!
remove the embedded ads. I will not continue to use your site if you leave them embedded and I cannot delete them.
Jan, ads will remain on our site because it is the only way we can offer this service to you and our wonderful readers completely for free.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, Jan. This is a wonderful site and embedded ads are a small price to pay for all of these fantastic recipes. Going to try this one tomorrow night.
I made this recipe and it was amazing! I had haddock fillets and they worked fine. I subbed thin sliced cucumbers for the peppers and used olive tapanade that I made. It looked so fancy for such an easy, fast prep. I have always been reluctant to cook fish at home, but will be making this a lot! I’m so glad I found this site, and I will be trying many of your recipes.
Thanks, Julianne
That’s wonderful! Thank you, Julianne!
I find cooking en Papillote so convenient for a meal one wants go have go smoothly, and feel special. As well, the food is always moist, never dry,. I will try this one happily! Thank you for it! Haven’t seen this photo of you before, Very nice!
I so agree, Elizabeth! Thank you so much for sharing.
There is so much to love about this delicious fish recipe! Fish en papillote is such a great way to prepare fish without messing it up. But I so appreciate your step-by-step photos here and all the great tips. This is a winner!
I’m so glad, Cindy! Thanks so much for sharing