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–+ servings
baked branzini fish ready to serve 5

Lemon Garlic Baked Branzino Recipe (Sea Bass)

Jenni Cole
If you're wondering what to do with Mediterranean branzini fish, then you'll love our 30 minute baked branzino recipe with a lemon garlic butter sauce. Simply season the fish inside and out and stuff it with lemon slices and fresh herbs. Drizzle with an easy sauce and impress everyone!
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 14 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Seafood
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2
Calories 576 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ pounds whole branzino cleaned and gutted with head on (2 small fish)
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Fine sea salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • 4 garlic cloves cut into slivers
  • 2 lemons cut into slices
  • Fresh herbs - we used a mix of thyme rosemary, and parsley
  • GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE OPTIONAL
  • ¼ cup butter melted
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh herbs
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 garlic clove minced

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
  • Pat the fish dry with paper towels and place it on a rimmed baking sheet. Rub the skin and the cavity with olive oil and liberally season the interior and exterior with sea salt and black pepper.
  • Stuff the fish cavity with lemon slices, garlic slivers, and a few sprigs of fresh herbs. Add more fresh herbs and sliced garlic around the fish.
  • Bake the branzini for 6-7 minutes on each side, for a total of 12-14 minutes. Our fish was at about 135 F at this point.
  • Broil the fish 6" from the heat source to char one side of the fish and to finish cooking it. The fish is done when the internal temperature reaches 145 F with a digital meat thermometer and the fish is flaky and tender.
  • While the branzini are cooking, you can make the optional herb butter sauce. In a small saucepan over medium low heat, melt a ¼ cup of butter, 1 teaspoon minced fresh herbs, add 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, and 1 clove of minced garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.
  • Serve the roasted branizo whole and drizzle the lemon garlic butter over the fish right before serving. Enjoy! Serves 2-3 people.

Notes

  • Both Whole Foods and Costco carry whole branzino fish with the head and tails on. Whole Foods guts the fish for you and the fish are usually on the smaller size (¾-1 ¼ lb each), whereas Costco doesn't gut the fish and it's sold whole as a larger 3+ lb fish.
  • If your branzini fish didn't come gutted, you'll have to do that yourself - here's a tutorial.
  • Our recipe uses the smaller branzini fish, if you have 1 larger whole fish then you'll need to cook it longer.
  • It's easy to customize the flavors of branzino fish! You can skip the lemon garlic butter for a lighter taste, go Greek style with the addition of grape tomatoes, artichokes, and kalamata olives, or season the inside and outside with pesto sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 576kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 62gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 333mgSodium: 421mgPotassium: 1059mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1040IUVitamin C: 61mgCalcium: 100mgIron: 4mg
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