Easy Oven Baked Trout

Learn how to cook trout in the oven so it is flaky, moist, and flavorful. This incredible baked trout recipe is easy and works for rainbow trout but can easily be adapted for larger varieties like steelhead.

Baking whole trout in the oven is genius, especially when you do it in foil or parchment paper packets (called fish cooked en papillote or “paper”). With our easy trout recipe, the fish stays super moist and dinner will be on the table in about 20 minutes. You can’t beat that. This truly is one of my favorite trout recipes!

After sharing this easy recipe with friends, some were nervous about cooking the whole trout (with the skin, tail, and head still attached). So, if you think the same, stop. I promise it’s all going to be okay!

Key Ingredients

• Trout: You can buy trout as whole fish that has been gutted and cleaned (like in our photos) or as fillets. For this recipe, we’re using whole trout. Look for cleaned and butterflied whole trout. By butterflied, I mean that the fish is slit down the middle but still has the halves attached. I’ve used rainbow trout in our photos, but this recipe works well for larger, saltwater varieties like arctic char, steelhead trout, and even salmon. Check my tips in the recipe for adjusting cooking time.
• Lemon and Fresh Herbs: Since we use butterflied trout, we can sneak a few aromatics into the middle to infuse the fish while it bakes. I love lemon slices and a handful of fresh herbs like parsley, cilantro, or dill. Thinly sliced garlic or onion are also lovely.
• Seasoning: I use olive oil, salt, and pepper to season my trout, but you can always use your favorite seafood seasonings instead. I’ve also made a Cajun spiced trout before and loved it. Try my Cajun seasoning if that sounds like something you’d enjoy.

How to Bake Whole Trout to Perfection

Freshwater trout, like rainbow trout, is my favorite fish to cook at home. Thanks to our simple cooking method, it cooks quickly, and the fish turns out to be incredibly tender and succulent.

We will bake our trout in packets. I used foil to make my packet in the photos, but parchment paper is a great option, too. I place my trout down onto the foil, lightly drizzle with oil, and then season the fish inside and out with salt and pepper (remember, you can use your favorite seafood seasoning instead).

Then, I stuff the trout with lemon slices and fresh herbs. Sliced onions are lovely, too! Finally, I fold up the sides of the packet to secure it and bake the trout in the oven until the flesh flakes easily with a fork.

The cooking time for your trout will vary depending on how large the fish is and the variety of fish you are baking. A small trout, like the one pictured in our photos, takes about 15 minutes in a 400°F oven. You can serve the fish as-is in the packets or remove them and remove the fillets from the bones. I love serving it next to a simple salad with my favorite balsamic vinaigrette or a dollop of homemade tartar sauce.

How to Debone Trout

Watch our video to see me debone our cooked trout. I’ve also shared my tips below for filleting cooked trout, which I find much easier than when the fish is raw. It’s a simple process. I use a spoon and butter knife to do it. Here are the basic steps I follow. I highly recommend watching the video:

1. Pull away all the fins. Since the fish is cooked, they come away easily.
2. Press the knife into the soft flesh just before the head and cut up to the bone. Repeat this with the soft flesh just before the tail.
3. Use the knife to follow the line down the middle of the trout (this follows the spine). Just cut up to the bone.
4. Following the line you just made down the spine, use a spoon to carefully pull/push the top and bottom fillet away from the bones.
5. Pull the tail up and away the fish. By doing this the spine and bones will come away with it.
6. Clean all the fillets of small bones and transfer to a plate for serving.