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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
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.
Asparagus takes longer than 15 minutes to cook.
At 400 degrees? You must have some giant asparagus. That should be plenty of time.
The recipe is good as is. With Asparagus you break off the bottom sometimes two inches hold it there and where it breaks is discarded as tough ends. Took me decades to learn this.
Love this site and LOVE that trout recipe. Simple, easy, and delicious!
Great recipe! This is now my go-to when I make trout. Simple, healthy and delicious !
Very good. Simple recipe. My family enjoyed it. Thank you very much
I've eaten a lot of trout over the years most of which were fresh caught out of Rocky Mountain streams by my father. Your recipe is superb! It will become my go-to way to make it on a regular basis for my husband and I. Delicious!! I will also use it as a meal for company. because it's impressive! ~thank you so much~
The fish was very tasty and easy to prepare. I had no asparagus, so I microwaved yukon gold potatoes for 3 minutes and zucchini for 1 minute tossing both in olive oil and seasonings afterward and added to the prepared baking sheet. The doneness along side the fish was just right when I removed from the oven.
Note: I cut the potatoes and zucchini into bite size pieces to ensure doneness before baking.
Absolutely superb! Simple, 100% delicious, easy to do. I had smaller fillets, so done in about 12 minutes. Did it with no asparagus, but that would've improved it even more.
It's in the oven. Didn't havecasparagas. Will update! Thank you.
This is a hit every time. Thanks so much for this simple recipe.
Try this but changed it up a little
I added oregano and limes and used salted butter instead of olive oil
and baked in a casserole dish
I have made this several Tim’s but without the asparagus. Just because I had no asparagus. I have followed your recipe for asparagus alone.
Kudos for the fish. Kudos for the asparagus.
Excellent recipes
Very good, simple Rainbow Trout recipe, thank you!
You are very welcome! I am glad you enjoyed it!
It's hard to go wrong with this combination of simple quality ingredients. I think it's improved by putting some asparagus crosswise on the sheet, with the fish on top of it. Elevating the fish, over asparagus, or lemon slices, or big rosemary spears (if you have a plant that needs cutting), so that it bakes rather than stews - even better! Bonus: toast some pecans to scatter over the finished trout, with some fresh parsley.
Thank you for such great tips and ideas! I think it's a wonderful idea to bake the fish over asparagus or lemon slices. And, serving toasted pecans with the baked trout sounds so good!
Can I use toasted walnuts instead?
This was a very tasty recipe. I’m not even a fish person and really enjoyed it, and my husband loved it. It was so easy and quick to make too. Thank you!
You are very welcome! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Thank you for posting this! Our whole family enjoyed it!
I am so pleased to hear that! 🙂