• Start Here
  • About
  • Recommended
  • Books
  • Shop
  • My Account
  • Search
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Autoimmunity
  • Nutrition
  • Gut Health
  • Wiki
  • Contact
  • Media Requests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate
  • Refund Policy
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content

The PaleoMom circular atom logo

The Paleo Mom is a scientist turned health educator and advocate.

  • Start Here
  • About
  • Recommended
  • Books
  • Shop
  • My Account
  • Search
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Autoimmunity
  • Nutrition
  • Gut Health
  • Wiki
You are here: Home / Recipes / AIP Recipes / Baked Whole Red Snapper
red snapper

Baked Whole Red Snapper

April 27, 2012 //  by Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD

Facebook0Tweet0Pin0LinkedIn0

About Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD

Award-winning public speaker, New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned health expert, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD (aka The Paleo Mom) believes the key to reversing the current epidemics of chronic disease is scientific literacy. She creates educational resources to help people regain their health through diet and lifestyle choices informed by the most current evidenced-based scientific research.

I have very fond memories of fishing with my brother and my dad in this tiny little leaky row boat that my family owned when I was little.  We lived on the Pacific Coast, so mainly what we caught was rock cod and the occasional mud shark (neither of which I remember enjoying eating).  We were always excited to catch a red snapper (and even more excited when we lucked out and caught a salmon!), which has a lovely mild but distinct flavor (the snapper, I mean).  So, when I can find fresh whole wild red snapper in the store (Costco has it sometimes), I often buy a few and throw them into my freezer.  I love to buy whole fish.  It is typically cheaper than buying fillets (again, you’re saving money by doing the work yourself), is very simple to prepare (this is one of my quick weekday meals), and I also get to save the heads and tails for making broth later.  The fish that I bought were gutted but not scaled, which is fairly typical when buying whole fish.  If you are uncomfortable scaling a fish yourself, you can ask your fish monger to do it for you (it’s not hard to do but I do tend to continue to find stray fish scales in my kitchen for days afterward). 

This recipe would work for any whole fish, be it one you catch or one you buy.  The seasoning is very simple and versatile.  Sometimes I use regular lemons but I prefer to use Meyers lemons, which have a lovely flavor with a little less tang that works very well with snapper.  If the fish is larger, I may use 1½ or even 2 lemons.  I have also been known to substitute fresh thyme or tarragon for the parsley, depending on my mood.  We can usually feed two adults and two small children with a 1½ pound whole fish.  Actually, this is my 5-year old’s favorite meal. 

*NEW* The Gut Health Cookbook!

The Gut Health Cookbook is fantastic! Thank you for researching and creating The Gut Health Cookbook! Such wonderful recipes! I’m so excited to try them all! -Sue

The Gut Health Cookbook puts the 20 Keys to Gut Health into practice with:

  • 180+ recipes featuring 61 gut health superfoods
  • Gut health food lists
  • Why’s behind each gut health superfood

Get instant digital access for $27.99

Buy Now

Baked Whole Red Snapper

 Ingredients:

  • 1½ -2 pound whole red snapper, gutted
  • 1 Meyers lemon, sliced into thin circles
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley sprigs

1.    Preheat oven to 375F.
2.    Scale fish in the sink (preferable one with a disposal, otherwise you’ll want to line the sink with newsprint or something similar to make cleaning up the scales easier) by scraping a sharp knife (I like to use a slightly serrated knife) against the grain of the scales, i.e., from tail to head.  The occasional scrape in the opposite direction can help loosen stubborn scales.  Remember to do both sides.  You can tell the fish is completely scaled when it has a very smooth texture when you rub it with your hand.
3.    Lay the fish flat on a cutting board.  Use a sharp knife (again, I like a little serration here) to cut through the skin and flesh down to the spine, 5 or 6 slices spaced about 1½ inches apart down the body from head to tail (slices are parallel to the gills, either straight up and down or slightly angled, up to you).  Flip the fish over and repeat on the other side.
4.    Stuff sprigs of parsley into the cuts you just made on the fish on both sides.
5.    Place a sheet of tin foil about 2 ½ times longer than the fish on a rimmed baking sheet (if you have a large fish, you may want to use two sheets side by side, slightly over-lapping).  Line up half of your slices of lemon on the sheet of tin foil and place your fish on top of them.  Line up the rest of your lemon on top of the fish.  Fold the tin foil over the fish and fold the end and sides over a couple of times to create a sealed envelope for the fish to bake in.
6.    Bake for 20-25 minutes, until fish is opaque throughout and segments flake apart easily.  To serve, use a metal spatula or cake knife to gently pry the meat way the spine.  Once you have the top half of the fish served, you can either peel the spine off the bottom half or flip the fish over to access the other half of it.
7.    Enjoy and watch for bones!

Facebook0Tweet0Pin0LinkedIn0

Category: AIP Recipes, Main Dishes, Recipes

food prepping

The #1 Tool for Paleo and AIP success!

Create completely customizable and versatile meal plans with thousands of top-notch recipes; make shopping a breeze with the app, and even get reminders for meal prep timing! Get all my recipes from ThePaleoMom.com for just $1 more when you sign up for meal planning with Real Plans!

Want to track what you are eating? Check out the NEW Real Plans Macro Tracker!

Get Real Plans!

You may also like

  • Lemon Parsley Cauliflower Rice
    Lemon Parsley Cauliflower “Rice”

    I have to admit that I’ve never really liked rice,…

  • Baked Fresh Ham
    Baked Fresh Ham

    When I bought half a pig, I ended up with…

  • Basil Avocado Baked Salmon-2 copy
    Basil-Avocado Baked Salmon

    What better way to follow up a post on the…

  • Greek Inspired Chicken Breast
    Greek-Inspired Baked Chicken Breast

    This simple chicken dish is quick to put together and…

  • Garlic and Lemon Roasted Cauliflower
    Garlic and Lemon Roasted Cauliflower

    Okay, admission time:  cauliflower is not my favorite.  When I…

  • mashed Cauliflower
    Mashed Cauliflower

    Mashed cauliflower is the standard Paleo mashed potato substitute.  It's…

  • Lemon Parsley Cauliflower Rice
    Lemon Parsley Cauliflower “Rice”

    I have to admit that I’ve never really liked rice,…

  • Baked Fresh Ham
    Baked Fresh Ham

    When I bought half a pig, I ended up with…

  • Basil Avocado Baked Salmon-2 copy
    Basil-Avocado Baked Salmon

    What better way to follow up a post on the…

  • Greek Inspired Chicken Breast
    Greek-Inspired Baked Chicken Breast

    This simple chicken dish is quick to put together and…

  • Garlic and Lemon Roasted Cauliflower
    Garlic and Lemon Roasted Cauliflower

    Okay, admission time:  cauliflower is not my favorite.  When I…

  • mashed Cauliflower
    Mashed Cauliflower

    Mashed cauliflower is the standard Paleo mashed potato substitute.  It's…

Previous Post: « Nuts and the Paleo Diet: Moderation is Key
Next Post: Smile! Better Yet, Laugh! »
  • Contact
  • Media Requests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate
  • Refund Policy

Lithium Apple logo

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Itunes

Site Footer

Disclaimer: The majority of the links in ThepaleoMom.com posts and sidebar are affiliate program links.
This means that (most of the time) when you purchase a product linked from my site, I receive a commission.

Copyright © 2021 The Paleo Mom · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.