This Baked Fish with Fennel and Sweet Potatoes dish is one-pan perfection. It cooks in 30 minutes, is light, fresh and herbaceous, and is AIP, paleo and Whole30 compliant.
Who else is team one-pan meal? Let’s be real they’re hard to dislike. This Baked Fish with Fennel and Sweet Potatoes dish has all the best features of a one-pan meal in that it involves easy clean up, the flavors meld together and it’s made in just about 30 minutes so meal time is truly an easy breezy affair.
I made this dish as a quick dinner a few weeks ago using the ingredients in my fridge and pantry. It was magic!
Here’s what you’ll need for this dish:
- white fish – I used cod but fillets any flaky white fish like haddock sole, and even tilapia would work well here.
- sweet potatoes – I used Japanese sweet potatoes in this recipe. The flavor is a lot milder and less sweet than orange sweet potatoes and really complements the flavors of the fennel, lemon and fish here so that’s what I recommend!
- fennel – fresh fennel is used in this recipe and is cooked in the cast iron with the sweet potatoes before adding the fish so that it gets beautifully caramelized.
- lemon juice, thyme (dried or fresh), olive oil, sea salt
FAQs
What are Japanese sweet potatoes? Where can I buy them?
Japanese Murasaki sweet potatoes have a reddish-purple skin with a white interior. Their texture is dry and starchy and their flavor almost nutty. As noted above, their flavour is slightly less sweet than orange sweet potatoes and that’s why I recommend them in this recipe. They lend the perfect amount of sweetness to baked goods, and can more easily be used in savoury dishes.
Depending on where you live and what season it is, your local farmers’ market might carry these. Japanese sweet potatoes are available at major grocery stores and other speciality stores like Trader Joe’s and I’ve seen them at No Frills and Whole Foods in Toronto.
Can I omit the fennel?
I really recommend using fennel here. It provides the dish with such a wonderful depth of flavor from the caramelization. If you don’t enjoy the flavor of fennel you could replace with another vegetable like mushrooms.
How do you store this dish?
Leftovers keep well in the fridge for a day in a sealed container. I suggest reheating in the oven before reserving.
If you tried this Baked Fish with Fennel and Sweet Potatoes dish I would appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and short review. Also, be sure to snap a picture of the finished product and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @healmedelicious.
Enjoyed this recipe? You might also like these other AIP one-pan meals:
- Baked Haddock in Sweet Potato Cream Sauce
- Sheet-Pan Beef and Broccoli with Mushrooms
- Leek and Fennel Risotto
Baked Fish with Fennel and Sweet Potatoes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Baked Fish with Fennel and Sweet Potatoes dish is one-pan perfection. It cooks in 30 minutes, is light, fresh and herbaceous, and is AIP, paleo and Whole30 compliant.
Ingredients
- 1 large bulb fennel, sliced*
- 1 lb Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 3 large cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 TBSP olive oil
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
- 1 lb white fish fillets
- 1 lemon sliced
- 1/4 cup parsley, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F.
- In a small bowl, combine crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and thyme.
- Add the cubed sweet potatoes and sliced fennel into a large cast iron skillet or to a sheet pan and drizzle with 1/3 of the marinade. Use your hands to massage the marinade into the fennel and sweet potatoes so they’re well coated.
- In a large bowl, drizzle remaining marinaded over the fish and set aside.
- Place skillet or sheet pan with veggies into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, flip/stir sweet potatoes and fennel that should be nicely browned and caramelized on one side. Top with marinated fish and lemon slices (and all the juices from the bowl), along with half the fresh parsley and return to oven for another 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, garnish with remaining parsley and serve hot.
Notes
- Cut the stalks and fronds off the fennel bulb and reserve fronds for garnishing if desired. Once stalks are removed, cut the bulb into quarters and then into 1-inch-thick slices.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Mains
I made this dish twice, The first time with Saddle tail snapper & orange sweet potato. The second time with Jewel fish & Japanese sweet potato. They were both delicious. As I did not have the right pan the cooking of the vegetables took a bit longer but it was well worth the effort!.
My family loved this, and one of my kids said it was the “fanciest” thing I’ve ever made. I had never cooked fennel before, so that was a nice addition to our diet. It is uncommon to please everyone in my household, so thanks for a great recipe! I will make it again!
This is SO amazing. Becoming a regular staple at our house! Who knew fennel was a game changer???
I am here to say: if you can’t find Japanese sweet potatoes (they’ve been impossible for me to locate in the last several months) orange sweet potatoes taste absolutely delicious in this recipe. The sweetness is such a nice balance to the fennel, and the bright acidity of the marinade brings the whole dish together in a delightful and surprising way. My husband commented multiple times during the meal that the dish was “exceptional.” I’d agree! So easy and satisfying.
Ive made this twice, once with Purple sweet potato and Barramund, once with Cod and white sweet potato .Both delicious. Im wondering if orange would work instead of Lemon?
Will try 🙂
Used the first of our homegrown fennel today. The sweet potato is a triumph. Simple, fast and utterly delicious. Thanks, Liz in Australia
Made this last night and it was delicious! I used my Dutch oven so I could cook a bigger portion since we had a very big piece of walleye on hand. I will definitely be adding this to the weeknight meal rotation!
This is the first time Ive cooked with fennel. The recipe was easy and very flavorful. Great recipe, thank you!
This turned out SO delicious! I have never eaten roasted fennel before but I would definitely eat it like this again. Japanese sweet potatoes are my favorite, and I just left the skin on and used closer to 2 lbs. We had halibut gifted to us so I used that and the flavor was incredible. My fish was frozen so it felt not as delicate, but I was also thinking to try next time to lower the cooking time to maybe 10-12 minutes, and see if that would keep it more tender. I was also very generous with the parsley, basically used almost a whole bunch, and that was great. Otherwise, perfect and excellent recipe! Thank you!