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This Mediterranean baked halibut recipe is one of the best halibut recipes you’ll ever make at home. It’s top-rated, simple to make and will give you rave reviews from your family!
Fresh halibut is topped with a light mediterranean-flavored sauce and baked for 15 minutes for the perfect easy dinner. If you haven’t tried baked halibut with mayo, it’s actually really good. The mayonnaise adds both moisture and flavor, so this is a great recipe if you tend to overcook fish.
You’ll love this easy meal that can be prepped ahead, but still feels fancy enough to serve guests. Pair it with a butter lettuce salad and Boursin mashed potatoes for a delicious dinner.
The Best Halibut Recipe
This Mediterranean baked halibut recipe has been a favorite for years, getting 5 star reviews all around. It was developed because I often would bake halibut, let it cool, and then mix it with these ingredients to make a fish salad. One day I just tried it all together to cut out an extra step – it worked out great!
It’s a reader favorite because, not only is this recipe delicious, but it also is very simple for every type of cook to make. And you could even substitute the type of fish like I did with this Mediterranean salmon. You’ll love this recipe because it’s:
- Easy – It’s easy to make with minimal hands on time and the clean up is as simple as throwing away the parchment paper. Ready in just 20 minutes!
- 6 Ingredients – Just a few ingredients needed, many of which you probably have on hand!
- Perfect for weeknights – This is one of my reliable recipes that I love to make when I don’t want to think about dinner.
- Special Diet Friendly – This recipe can fit multiple diets. It’s gluten free, dairy free, and migraine diet friendly. It would also fit a Whole 30 and paleo diet.
Ingredients
- Halibut – I use wild caught halibut, but it can be pricey. If you don’t want to spend the money on halibut, wild caught cod is a less expensive substitute. The sauce can really work well on a few different types of fish. Previously frozen halibut is ok, just make sure it’s fully defrosted and dry before baking. I portion out about 6-8oz a person, so 1 3/4-2 pounds for 4 people.
- Sun-dried tomatoes – If you can buy these dehydrated in bulk (not in olive oil), I think the flavor is so much better. However any sun-dried tomato in olive oil will work. You can also make your own sun-dried tomatoes.
- Fresh Basil – Fresh basil is a must for this recipe just because a stronger basil flavor here works well with the tomatoes. Dried will work in a pinch.
- Mayonnaise – I use Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Mayo, or you can even do homemade mayo. It may seem strange to put mayo on halibut, but it keeps the fish really flavorful and prevents it from drying out.
- Dried Oregano – Fresh is certainly fine for this recipe if you have it, but dried works well here.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic works best to add a stronger flavor to the mayo topping.
Recipe Substitutions
I do not recommend replacing the mayo in this recipe, but even if you’re not a huge mayonnaise fan, it doesn’t overpower this recipe. Try it at least once as written! Here are a few other substitutes.
- Sun-dried tomatoes – You can leave out the sun-dried tomatoes, however I would recommend adding a little more basil and oregano for flavor depth. It will change the flavor profile, but still is a great recipe. I’d recommend this air fryer halibut as a similar alternative without tomatoes.
- Halibut – I’ve made this recipe with salmon, cod, and many other types of white fish.
- Egg – I recommend making my egg free mayo.
How to Make
This is the easiest baked halibut recipe you will ever make!
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit or 220 Celsius. Start by patting the halibut dry, place it on a baking sheet covered with parchment or foil for easy clean up, and season it with salt and pepper.
Step 2: Mix together the mayonnaise, sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Step 3: Spoon the mixture on top of the halibut fillet, covering the top with a thin layer. There should be plenty for 2 large fillets. I would recommend doing 2 fillets if just doing a pound of halibut. I tried 3 above, but felt they were too thin. I prefer the larger fillets in the other pictures.
Step 4: Bake at 425F/220C for 13-15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. A thinner fillet will take about 13 minutes, whereas a larger fillet will run about 15 minutes. Top with fresh basil leaves!
Recipe Tip
I absolutely love using these pre-cut parchment paper sheets that you don’t have to worry about cutting. They’re perfect for this baked halibut recipe!
Storage Information
Fridge – Mediterranean halibut can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. I would recommend eating this as fresh as you can, it’s always best that way.
You could even mix this up into a fish salad, adding a little bit more mayo, if you’d like to serve it cold as leftovers.
Freezer – I don’t recommend freezing this recipe after cooking. Not only does the texture change, but this one is easy enough to make without worrying about reheating.
Reheat – To reheat, either microwave in 30 second increments, or warm in an oven, covered, at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5-7 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
I recommend pairing this halibut recipe with some easy sides like roasted baby potatoes and green beans. Some other options that would work for this are:
Vegetables – A few of my favorite vegetable sides that pair well are simple green beans, roasted mashed cauliflower, and cauliflower in cheese sauce.
Starches – Boursin mashed potatoes are probably my favorite side, but even simple roasted potatoes are delicious.
For a pasta, try my mascarpone pasta or mozzarella alfredo which both have mild flavors that won’t overwhelm the fish. Warm bread is also wonderful here.
Greens – My favorite simple salad is this butter lettuce salad, but for a great summer side, try the peach burrata salad with a basil vinaigrette.
Choosing Halibut
If you have a local fishmonger you like, it’s always best to get wild caught halibut that’s fresh. Because halibut can be expensive, I usually wait till my grocery store has a sale and then plug it into my recipes for the week.
- Ask your fishmonger for a “center cut, even piece” for best results. This will allow for more even cooking.
- If halibut is out of your budget, cod is usually less expensive and will also work in this recipe.
Another cost saving practice is to purchase frozen halibut and defrost it overnight in the fridge. For a quick defrost, you could place the sealed bag of halibut into room temperature water for about 30 minutes.
Easy Fish Recipes
Seafood
Air Fryer Halibut with Crispy Panko
Seafood
Sweet Chili Salmon (Air Fryer or Oven)
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 review in the recipe card! Don’t forget to tag me @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram, and follow along on Pinterest for more great recipes!
Mediterranean Baked Halibut
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh halibut, cut into 2-3 fillets
- 3 tablespoons sundried tomatoes, chopped
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
- kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F/ 220 C. Mix together chopped sun-dried tomatoes, mayo, garlic, and oregano.
- Place parchment on top of a baking sheet, then place the fish on top, skin side down. Sprinkle fish with a tiny bit of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Spread the mayonnaise/tomato mixture over the top of the fish.
- Bake at 425 for 15-17 minutes. My fish was about 1 1/2″ thick and took 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top with fresh chopped basil. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use previously frozen halibut, just make sure it’s fully defrosted and patted dry.
- This recipe works with cod or even salmon – any mild white fish!
- I like to use fresh sun-dried tomatoes (I get these in the tomato area at Central Market), but you could also use ones packed in oil or water.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
is there anything you could substitute the mayo with? I really don’t like it
Same. I will make it with a little olive oil and the spices listed.
This was excellent. I know it’s good when my husband says it’s “Company Worthy”. I added capers and a bit of lemon zest as well. Served over a bed of hot steamed rice and a spinach salad with a cranberry-pear vinaigrette dressing. Yum.!
Winner, winner fish dinner! Will make this again and again. My basil froze last night so I used Herbes de Provence — worked great. Loved the sun dried tomatoes. Very few restaurants make anything this good and I live o Cape Co.d. Easy to make.
Stunning recipe and delicious all the way around. We don’t get much fresh halibut around here, so I had to order online (for anybody else in the same situation, this is what I used: https://qualityseafooddelivery.com/halibut/). This was a hit with the family. I’m loving your site and recipes!
Wonderful recipe. Forgot a picture. Everyone enjoyed it. The sundried tomatoes make the dish. As well as the fresh basil on top. Best halibut recipe ever.
WOW! So simple yet flavorful. This will be in the monthly rotation.
What can be used instead of mayo?? Anything?
Not really, but if it’s an egg thing you can use this aquafaba mayo.
I was wondering the same thing. It’s actually a mayo thing for me. Wondering if you actually taste it. Love all things Mediterranean and I have some halibut I want to cook for dinner but little worried about the mayo.
My sister substituted butter because they were out of mayo and it was delicious.