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
- 1 pound rainbow trout
- 1 pound asparagus
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic , minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper , cracked
- ½ lemon , sliced
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
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.
Excellent and very simple! My wife who is not a trout eater was very impressed!
I've made this recipe several times, sometimes with asparagus and sometimes with zucchini. The recipe is easy, quick, and very tasty. Definitely two thumbs up!
Thanks. Followed recipe after finding great looking fillets at the grocery store for the first time.
Fresco!
Tasted great , delicious.
Thanks for the info, normally I overcook.
What a fabulous recipe. THANK YOU
This recepie is the best. Thanks
Thank you! 🙂
Really good
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Love this simple, delicious recipe, made even easier (and still delicious) by subbing lightly sprinkled garlic powder instead of fresh when I’m tired or in a hurry. I cooked oven roasted potatoes in a separate pan at same temperature about 30 minutes before adding the pan of fish to the oven for the additional 15 minutes. Haven’t tried with asparagus yet, but looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Lesli, you are very welcome! Love that you serve this with oven-roasted potatoes - that sounds so good! Thank you for taking the time to share such a positive comment and the 5-star rating! 🙂
I made this tonight for the first time. I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic and it was delicious! Very light meal and extremely easy and quick to make.
Linda, I am glad garlic powder added good flavor! Thank you for the comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
Tried recipe for first time, with family and friends, we all enjoyed it, however I think you should mention that a combination of garlic and lemons turn the trout blue, which at first looked like mould. Embarrassing until I looked on the internet and found this is a normal type of reaction and harmless.
Thank you, Teresa, for such a helpful and insightful comment. It will be helpful to me and other readers.
I made this tonight for the first time. I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic and it was delicious! Very light meal and extremely easy and quick to make.
Linda, thank you so much for taking the time to write this comment and provide a 5-star rating - I really appreciate it! 🙂
My wife and I generally aren't fond of seafood but this dish was fantastic!! So easy and more importantly, super delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!