Spicy Baked Mackerel – Sheet Pan Dinners
Spicy Baked Mackerel – Sheet Pan Dinners
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Spicy flavourful fish and vegetables made all in one pan!
This super easy Baked Mackerel recipe is quick, easy and delicious. If you like mackerel you will love this recipe. The recipe calls for very few ingredients you probably have in the fridge already. The fish is moist, flaky and perfectly seasoned with a tomato and pepper marinade. This is a perfect lazy dinner recipe that takes no time at all.
Everyone loves a sheet pan dinner they are quick easy and there is minimal washing up. Keep ready for a delicious quick and easy sheet pan dinner!
What inspired this recipe?
This Baked Mackerel recipe was made when I needed to use up my fridge ingredients. However, I did take inspiration from somewhere. I am half Nigerian and obviously love the cuisine. I grew up eating Nigerian food and it really is a varied cuisine full of vibrant ingredients and unique flavours.
One of the most popular Nigerian recipes is Nigerian Tomato stew or pepper stew or “obe ata dindin” in Yoruba. This is a stew made using tomatoes, onion, peppers and chilli. The veggies are blended together to form a sauce and fried and boiled for 2 hours before fried meat is added. The result is a delicious spicy tomato stew filled with assorted meats like goat, chicken and beef. There is also a fish version which uses ginger and coriander!
Mackerel fish stew is one of my favourite recipes ever and inspired this Baked Mackerel recipe. It uses the same wonderful ingredients but chopped and in a marinade instead of blended into a sauce. One thing I know is you will love both recipes.
I will be posting my Nigerian Red Stew recipe very soon. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to be notified of our new recipes and find out when I drop my Nigerian Stew recipe!
What do i need?
- Mackerel – I bought whole headless mackerel from Costco for this recipe but you can of course use fillets or steaks the only difference will be the cooking time.
- Pointed peppers – pointed peppers are sweeter and more flavourful than bell peppers but you can substitute with normal bell pepper.
- Shallots and garlic – the basic ingredients of so many dishes will be used in the marinade.
- Spring onion – I also like to add some spring onion for extra flavour.
- Scotch bonnet – I love spicy food and hopefully you do too! So be brave and throw a whole chopped scotch bonnet to the marinade for some real spice!
- Cherry tomatoes – good quality cherry or baby tomatoes are a key ingredient. If you can find san marzano tomatoes I highly recommend these.
- Coriander – Finally add some of my favourite herb for a finishing touch.
If you are based in the UK all these ingredients are currently readily available at Lidl. I am a huge Lidl fan. There produce is better than many other UK supermarkets and the prices are unbeatable! Be sure to look out for their Deluxe range 🙂
Tips & Tricks
- If you are using whole fish you can leave the head on or off.
- I do recommend scoring the skin, if your fish is on the larger side.
- When using fillets or steaks the fish will only need about 10-15 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
- The longer you leave your fish to marinate the stronger the flavours will be. Be sure to marinate for at least 2 hours.
- Bring your fish out of the fridge 20 minutes before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature. This will help you get a more accurate cook.
- When I really want to save time and washing up I add my chosen vegetables to the top of the fish for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
Baked Mackerel Serving Suggestions –
I love to serve this delicious Baked Mackerel with some steamed green veggies. I love broccoli, asparagus or green beans. These vegetable go so well with fish and take no time to prepare.
If you are looking for a more filling meal serve with some White Rice as i have done today for my meal. The juices at the bottom of the sheet pan make a delicious sauce on the rice.
Spicy Baked Mackerel – Sheet Pan Dinners
Equipment
- Baking tray
- Baking paper
- Large bowl
- Ziplock bag
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
Ingredients
- 2 whole mackerel or 4 fillets
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 pointed red pepper
- 1 pointed yellow pepper
- 1 pointed orange pepper
- 1 shallot
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 spring onion
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped coriander
- ½ tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp mixed herbs
- ¼ tsp ginger powder
Instructions
- Wash your vegetable before slicing the peppers into medium strips. Then halve the tomatoes and finely slice the shallots, mince the garlic and chop the coriander. Add everything into a bowl.
- To the bowl add olive oil and all the dry spices and seasoning. Mix everything together before adding the fish or putting everything into a ziplock bag and combining well. Put the fish in the fridge to marinate for 2 hours.
- 30 minutes before cooking remove the fish from the fridge. Place the fish onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Add all of the vegetables and any liquid to the tray.
- Put the fish into a pre-heated 180 °C oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes or 10-15 if using fillets.
Notes
- Score the fish if using whole fish. This will allow the marinade to penetrate the inside of the fish and it to cook quicker and more evenly.
- Remove the head for faster cooking time.
- If using fillets place skin side up for crispy skin.
- Marinate the fish for at least 2 hours.
- To cook your veggies in the same pan simply add them on top 10 minutes before removing from the oven.
Did you make this Baked Mackerel recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @chilliandlife on Instagram and hashtag it #chilliandlife
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