With just a handful of ingredients and about 10 minutes in the oven, this roasted fish with pesto is a weeknight dinner worth keeping in your back pocket.
Some nights, the best dinner strategy is to let one good ingredient do most of the work. In this case, it’s a jar of pesto, which adds plenty of flavour to fresh fish without any chopping, mixing or extra effort. Use basil or sun-dried tomato pesto, depending on what you have on hand, and serve with rice, roasted potatoes or a green salad. Dinner, handled.
Ingredients for Roasted Fish with Pesto
- Fresh fish fillets, as many as needed
- Bottled basil or sundried tomato pesto
- Olive oil, as needed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions for Roasted Fish with Pesto
1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. On a foil- or parchment-lined baking sheet, arrange fish fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Spoon pesto over each fillet, adding a drizzle of olive oil if pesto is particularly thick. Spread evenly over surface of fish using back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Bake for approximately 10 min per inch of thickness, until fish flakes easily at edges with a fork but remains moist in centre.
Originally published in the August/September 2013 issue. Updated October 2026.
