Lemon Pepper Garlic Rainbow Trout and Asparagus baked on a sheet pan in the oven. Healthy, low-carb, and gluten-free recipe, packed with healthy omega 3 fatty acids. Easy and quick - only 30 minutes from start to finish!
For this recipe, I used a single large rainbow trout fillet which made 2 generous servings. You can easily double this recipe by using 2 trout fillets.
Rainbow trout is such a tasty fish with a wonderful yet mild flavor - it doesn't need much enhancing at all, which makes it a very easy fish to cook. To bring out the best flavor out of trout, I used very basic ingredients: olive oil, salt and pepper, minced garlic, and fresh lemon slices. That's it! That's all you really need to make the best rainbow trout!
The fish is baked on a sheet pan together with asparagus. This recipe makes a complete meal: you get the dinner (trout) and the side dish (asparagus) done at the same time.
About trout
- Trout is low carb and contains a good amount of protein. There are also health benefits to eating trout as it is packed with omega 3 fatty acids.
- Asparagus has a low carb content and makes an excellent side dish for trout.
What spices to use for cooking rainbow trout
There are lots of ways that you can enhance the flavor of trout with simple ingredients:
- Use basic ingredients, such as salt and pepper, minced garlic, and lemon slices.
- Dried and fresh herbs go great with rainbow trout. Use thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley, or dill.
- Use dry rubs for fish. You can buy excellent dry rubs made specifically for fish in various stores, or you can make your own. It's easy to make your own dry rub for fish: combine small amounts of dried paprika, chili powder, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt & pepper, and dried herbs, such as oregano, parsley, cilantro, etc.
How to cook rainbow trout fillets in the oven
Rainbow trout fillets are usually quite large in size, which makes them well-suited for baking on a sheet pan in the oven! Here is how to make baked rainbow trout:
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Line a rimmed small baking sheet (I used half sheet) with parchment paper.
- Place trout fillet skin side down in center of the baking sheet. Brush 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the trout.
- Sprinkle salt and cracked black pepper over the trout.
- Spread minced garlic over the trout fillet.
- Top trout with lemon slices.
- Bake for about 15 minutes at 400 F in the preheated oven until the trout fillet is cooked through.
Step-by-step photos for cooking the rainbow trout:
Place the trout fillet skin side down and asparagus on a parchment paper lined sheet pan:
Spread olive oil over the trout and the asparagus. Sprinkle the fish and the vegetables with salt and black pepper. Add minced fresh garlic on top.
Add thinly sliced lemon.
Bake in the preheated oven at 400 F for about 15 minutes.
Remove lemon slices before serving, if you like.
What to serve with rainbow trout:
- Oven-roasted vegetables, such as asparagus, sliced bell peppers, red onions.
- Grilled vegetables, such as squash, zucchini, red onions, asparagus, or bell peppers.
- Potatoes. Serve mashed potatoes or oven-baked potatoes roasted with herbs and garlic in olive oil.
- Fresh green salad. Make a simple green salad by tossing together spinach, or arugula, or mixed salad greens with a small amount of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Top the salad with shredded Parmesan cheese and a handful of nuts, such as cashew nuts, pine nuts, or toasted slivered almonds.
- Rice. Jasmine rice is an excellent side dish choice for trout fish. For more flavor, serve wild rice or flavored rice.
Other trout recipes
These 2 recipes feature pan-fried trout cooked in a large skillet on a stovetop:
- Trout Recipe with Garlic Lemon Butter Herb Sauce - pan-fried trout made with Italian herb seasoning, chopped fresh parsley, and garlic butter sauce.
- Steelhead Trout with Garlic Butter Lemon Caper Sauce - healthy and low-carb dinner rich in lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
Side dishes to serve with rainbow trout
Fresh, colorful, Mediterranean-style salads are a way to go with trout:
- Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad with Basil Pesto
- Tomato Basil Avocado Mozzarella Salad with Balsamic Dressing
You can also serve plain rice or flavored rice as a side dish. Make your own flavored rice:
Baked Rainbow Trout with Lemon, Pepper, and Garlic
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Line a rimmed small baking sheet (I used half sheet) with parchment paper.
- Place rainbow trout skin side down in the center of the baking sheet. Brush half of olive oil amount over the top of trout.
- Toss the asparagus (ends trimmed) with the remaining half of olive oil. Place asparagus all around trout on a sheet pan.
- Sprinkle the trout and the asparagus with salt and pepper. Add minced garlic on top of the trout fillet and asparagus. Top with lemon slices.
- Bake for about 15 minutes at 400 F in the preheated oven until the trout is cooked through.
- Remove from the oven. Remove lemon slices from the trout before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Could you sub.steelhead for rainbow trout in this recipe.
I prefer sheetpan recipes and steelhead is more available
Yes, you can use either!
I made this tuna bake and it was great and fanstasic! Just what I needed being fast and having most of the indgredients right here at home. I left out the aparagus (we don't care for that) and added a baked potatoe and small salad. On my own plate, I added spinach and asiago cheese melted on top. Very delicious and quick.
Hi Susan! I'm so happy to hear this recipe worked well with tuna! I love your serving suggestions, too!
Hi Julia, I just tried your recipe for rainbow trout
and I can honestly say this is the very first time
I made something from theses sights that actually
turned out perfectly. Usually it is not cooked when they
say. Thank you so much, I will be using your recipes
a lot.
Joan Churchill
Thank you for trusting my recipes, Joan! I hope my other dishes will not disappoint either.
Being in the South it is hard to find trout in the supermarket. Is there another fish you would recommend using with this recipe? Could salmon be used?
Hi Nancy, salmon will work great! Large unsliced salmon fillet or individual salmon fillets are both great options.
Julia,
The picture is a side of trout, probably 3-4 pounds. Yet the recipe is for 1 pound. Did you actually use this recipe for that side of trout? Do you triple all the ingredients when the trout is that big. Shouldn’t the picture match the recipe?
Carolyn, no, this trout was definitely on the smaller side, 1 pound. I think what might be confusing for you is the perceived size of the sheet pan. I actually used a quarter sheet pan (sized 9x13 inches) - that's what's pictured. 🙂 (as opposed to a regular full-sheet pan measured 26x18 inches or even a half sheet).
You can also see by the size of the asparagus that the trout is not that big. 🙂 I wish I could get my hands on a 3-4 pound trout though! 🙂
Caught a 8# & 4# Rainbow in Oct., This is the best tasting simple recipe I have used so far !!! I sinned I used 1/2 butter!
By the way your images are over the top !
Thanks
Mark, I am so glad you like this recipe! 🙂 Thank you for your compliments about my photos and for taking the time to share your super positive review!
I have never seen rainbow trout that salmon colored...steelhead trout, sure ;!)
Pretty sure that that isn't a trout in the pictures. Salmon develop a red tinge to their flesh from eating plankton in the ocean. I have not eaten or cooked ocean run steelhead. So I guess it could be that. But that is steelhead. Yes I know "technically" steelhead is a trout from the ocean.
Jesse, this was labeled as "rainbow trout" when I bought it. 🙂 But anyway, I am looking forward to making more trout dinners after the holiday rush is over, so I have a better variety of trout recipes of all kinds to present and choose from.
The rainbow trout I'm baking tonight is pretty red orange
Interesting. There are so many varieties of fish within a variety!
My family ice fishes in Colorado lakes. Our trout are definitely pink, they do look like salmon. Right on Julia!
Wow, ice fishing in Colorado sounds like fun! I live in Colorado mountains but have never done this!
Yup, and I am cooking some rainbow from Lake Erie tonight that is definitely the same salmon colour.
Thanks for chiming in, Dave! Freshly-caught trout is the best!
Easy weeknight sheet pan dish!! Thanks for the inspiration!
So glad I found this recipe. So easy and delicious. Will definitely be making this again. Thanks, Julia!
Very easy recipe! Recommend starting the cooking of the asparagus before the fish as our meal turned out such that the fish was overcooked and the asparagus was undercooked.
Marion, that's a great tip, especially if the asparagus stalks are thick.