/ Updated Dec 05, 2021 / by Carolyn Gratzer Cope / 4 Comments / This post may contain affiliate links. Learn more.
This easy striped bass recipe comes together in one pan with very little work. It's simple enough for a weeknight dinner but looks so beautiful, bursting with rainbows, that it's great for company, too.
Why we love this recipe
I love the way our favorite striped bass recipe comes together quickly and easily without any fancy techniques, but still yields a pretty and impressive result (not to mention an open bottle of wine). Once you've prepped the ingredients, they mingle like magic in the oven and make:
- Perfectly cooked fish filets
- Bathed in a mellow, savory broth
- Studded with veggies and aromatics
I first published this recipe here in 2018, when Umami Girl was just about to turn 10 years old. It reminds me of Umami Girl's early days andraison d'être.I created this recipe in honor of some perfect fresh bass caught locally by our friend Jac, and since then so many of you have made it, too.
That's not such a far cry from our earliest recipes, created to help members of theCatalpa Ridge Farm CSAuse the fruits and veggies they'd picked up from our Hoboken, NJ garage that week. Yay for all that. I can't quite decide whether it all feels like ages ago or yesterday.
What you'll need
Here's a glance at the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe.
- Striped bass (also sometimes called striper, rockfish, or Atlantic striped bass) is a very versatile white-fleshed fish with a mild flavor and medium-firm texture.
- Choose a white wine that you like to drink.
- You can use any chicken, vegetable, or fish broth or stock that you like.
- The tomatoes cook down to help form the sauce.
How to make it
Here's what you'll do to make an easy, vibrant batch of our favorite striped bass recipe. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- First you'll place all the ingredients for the sauce right into the pan and give it a stir.
- Bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Carefully nestle the fish into the sauce. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and dot with butter.
- Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes more, until bass is just cooked through. Sprinkle with basil and serve.
Expert tips and FAQs
What can I substitute for striped bass?
If you're not awash in striped bass but are still looking for a great baked white fish recipe, feel free substitute cod, black sea bass, or halibut.
For a vegetarian version with similar flavors, this sauce would also make a great base for a couple of cans of white beans or chickpeas.
Need a prep protip?
The only real work of this recipe is in chopping the shallots, bell pepper, and tomatoes nice and small so that they cook down into a beautiful sauce in a relatively short time. Other than that, you get to just nestle everything into a pan and let it work for you while you do your thing.
How should I serve it?
There will be plenty of delicious, saucy broth at the bottom of the pan, so we recommend serving the fish in wide, shallow bowls on top of our favoriteeasy orzopasta to soak it all up. It would also pair beautifully with rice pilaf or mashed potatoes.
Can I make this recipe in advance? What about leftovers?
I prefer to make this recipe right before we sit down to eat, especially since it's so hands-off. But if you need to, you could make it in advance, either in full or in part.
One option is to prep all the ingredients up to 24 hours in advance, store them in the fridge, and assemble and bake right before serving. Or you could bake the sauce (through step 3 in the recipe card below) up to 24 hours in advance and then add and bake the fish right before serving.
Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days.
More favorite seafood recipes
- Slow-roasted salmon
- Butter-poached lobster
- Simple soft-shell crabs
- Shrimp scampi
- Pan-seared scallops with chorizo
Hungry for more?
Subscribe to Umami Girl's email updates, and follow along on Instagram.
Yield: Serves 4
Our New Favorite Striped Bass Recipe
We love this recipe for its great combination of simplicity and flavor. Make it in one pan in the oven with no fussy techniques of any kind. The result is brightly colored and full of complementary flavors that really let the fish shine. There will be plenty of delicious, saucy broth at the bottom of the pan, so we recommend serving on top of our favorite easy orzo to soak it all up. If you don't have striped bass, substitute cod, black sea bass or halibut.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced small
- 12 ounces (340 grams) mixed cherry tomatoes, halved (quarter any obnoxiously large ones)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup (60 grams) capers
- ½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- ½ cup (120 ml) low-sodium vegetable, chicken or fish stock
- A few thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 4 6- to 8-ounce (200-gram) striped bass fillets, skin and bones removed
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter, diced
- ¼ cup julienned basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F with a rack in the center.
- Into a large, heavy pan with a lid (such asthis oneorthis one), place the shallots, bell pepper, tomatoes, garlic, capers, wine, stock, thyme, half the salt, and half the pepper. Give it a stir.
- Bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Pat striped bass fillets dry with paper towels.
- Carefully remove pan from oven and arrange filets in pan on top of sauce, nestling them in a bit. Sprinkle fish with remaining ½ teaspoon salt and dot with butter.
- Return pan to oven, uncovered. Bake until fish is just cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with the basil.
- To serve, place about a cup oforzointo each of four wide, shallow bowls and top each with a piece of fish. Spoon some veggies and plenty of sauce overtop.
Notes
- If you're not awash in striped bass but are still looking for a great baked white fish recipe, feel free substitute cod, black sea bass, or halibut.
- Choose a wine that you like to drink. I used Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, which is one of our longtime favorite value wines. It's widely available.
- The only real work of this recipe is in chopping the shallots, bell pepper, and tomatoes nice and small so that they cook down into a beautiful sauce in a relatively short time. Other than that, you get to just nestle everything into a pan and let it work for you while you do your thing.
- There will be plenty of delicious, saucy broth at the bottom of the pan, so we recommend serving the fish in wide, shallow bowls on top of our favoriteeasy orzoto soak it all up. It would also pair beautifully withrice pilaformashed potatoes.
- I prefer to make this recipe right before we sit down to eat, especially since it's so hands-off. But if you need to, you could make it in advance, either in full or in part .One option is to prep all the ingredients up to 24 hours in advance, store them in the fridge, and assemble and bake right before serving. Or you could bake the sauce (through step 3 in the recipe card below) up to 24 hours in advance and then add and bake the fish right before serving.
- Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days.
- For a vegetarian version with similar flavors, this sauce would also make a great base for a couple of cans of white beans or chickpeas.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 236Total Fat: 8.7gCarbohydrates: 8.3gFiber: 2.3gProtein: 25.4g
Hungry for more?
Subscribe to Umami Girl's email updates, and follow along on Instagram.
More Fish + Shellfish
- Maine Lobster Bisque
- Lobster Risotto
- Lobster Stock
- Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)
About Carolyn Gratzer Cope
Hi there, I'm Carolyn Gratzer Cope, founder and publisher of Umami Girl. Join me in savoring life, one recipe at a time. I'm a professional recipe developer with training from the French Culinary Institute (now ICE) and a lifetime of studying, appreciating, and sharing food. More about me.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Jim Bernascomi says
I substituted chicken for the fish and I added potatoes, small potatoes. It’s delicious.
Reply
Carolyn Gratzer Cope says
Oh wow, love that! Thanks for commenting, Jim.
Reply
Shelly says
Fantastic and easy recipe! Very flavorful and the fish melted in our mouths! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Reply
Carolyn Gratzer Cope says
Thank you, Shelly!
Reply
