Psari Plaki is a traditional Greek baked fish dish comprised of white fish that is baked with tomatoes, onions, fresh herbs and olive oil. This version includes potatoes for a complete meal that bakes up in one pan!
Psari Plaki (pronounced Psah-ree plah-key) is a classic Greek dish that manages to be both hearty and healthy. Its comprised of fresh, healthy ingredients that all bake up together in the oven for a one-pan meal that’s as easy to do as it is delicious.
This Greek recipe does require a long time to bake since this version (my mom’s version) includes potatoes and that definitely adds to the cook time. The good news it is hands-off time so you don’t need to stand around in the kitchen. If you opt to make this dish without potatoes, you can significantly reduce the cook time and make this a low carb dish too! In our house, though, we are all about the carbs and potatoes that bake up in the same pan as fresh vegetables and herbs are some of the tastiest you will ever eat!
Fresh ingredients and loads of flavour!
Psari plaki is often made with cod fish but any white fish can be substituted. Feel free to use your favourite variety based on your personal preference.
This Greek baked fish recipe is made the classic way my mom taught me. The fish is baked up with lots of onions and tomatoes which adds so much flavour as they bake up in the pan together. This recipe for psari plaki also includes peppers (bell or mini sweet peppers) which isn’t typical of this dish but it adds delicious flavour and colour too.
Like other Mediterranean recipes, lots of fresh herbs add to the tastiness of this dish too. Fresh parsley, basil, and oregano are used in my recipe and lots of them. 1/2 cups worth plus more for garnish too! You can play around with how much of each you want or just use parsley if that’s all you have on hand.
Be sure to serve this dish up with some crusty bread to soak up all of the delicious sauce!
Read on for my step by step instructions and loads of tips to help you recreate this one pan meal. If you love one pan fish recipes, be sure to also check out my recipe for Sheet Pan Honey-Mustard Haddock and Roasted Vegetables.
Why you will love this dish:
- Everything cooks up in one pan!
- It’s delicious!
- The meal is healthy and loaded with nutritious ingredients.
- Though it bakes for about an hour (to ensure the potatoes are cooked), its a mostly hands-off dish so it is easy to do!
- Only 10 minutes of hands on time are needed.
- The potatoes absorb all the delicious flavours from the other fresh ingredients making them so delicious.
What does Psari Plaki mean?
Psari is the Greek word for fish. Plaki refers to the style of cooking which involves baking foods in a sauce made up of tomatoes, onions, and fresh herbs. This cooking style also typically includes a good amount of olive oil. While cooking fish using the plaki style is most popular, this cooking method can be used for other foods including beans like gigantes (giant beans).
Ingredients for Psari Plaki
- Potatoes: cut into bite sized pieces.
- Onions: sliced.
- Tomatoes: You can use grape or cherry tomatoes or larger tomatoes that have been chopped.
- Bell pepper or mini sweet peppers: Any colour can be used, including red, yellow or green pepper. I’ve listed these as optional since peppers aren’t typical for plaki dishes. They add a lot of flavour and bright colour to the dish so I highly recommend adding them.
- Fresh herbs: Parsley is a must for plaki dishes but I also use fresh oregano and basil too.
- Salt and black pepper
- Olive oil: Use good quality olive oil.
- Tomato sauce: Helps to build the sauce. You can also use grated fresh tomatoes.
- White fish: Cod (Bakaliaro in Greek) is a popular fish choice for this type of dish (either fresh cod or salt cod) but any white fish variety will do. I have used cod, halibut, haddock, and basa. Thicker pieces like loins are preferable to thinner fish fillets but any cut can be used. The cooking time can easily be adjusted depending on the size of your fish portions.
Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Psari Plaki
1. Slice the vegetables: Slice the potatoes, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers and place them in a large pan.
2. Season the vegetables: Season the vegetables with the fresh herbs, salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat all the vegetables well. Drizzle the tomato sauce over the vegetables.
3. Bake: Bake for 45 minutes (pre-heat oven to 400F first), until potatoes are tender.
4. Add the fish and continue baking: Nestle the cod (or other white fish) between the potatoes and vegetables and return to the oven for 20 minutes or until the fish is cooked through [cooking time will depend on the thickness of your fish portions so adjust the cook time accordingly.]
5. Garnish and serve: Sprinkle with fresh herbs before serving.
Tips and variations for making this tasty dish
- Cut potatoes into bite sized pieces to ensure they cook up as quickly as possible.
- Use grape or cherry tomatoes and leave them whole to reduce prep time!
- While fresh herbs are the best and should be used in this dish, if you don’t have fresh oregano, you can add some dried oregano to the dish instead. I would still use fresh parsley though.
- Omit potatoes altogether for a low carb dish. Without the potatoes, this dish can cook up in just 20 minutes!
Storing and reheating
Once cooled, place leftovers in an airtight container and store in the fridge. You can reheat leftovers in the oven, stove top or microwave.
What to serve with Greek Baked Fish
As this is a one pan meal, you can serve it up as is without adding anything at all. I do highly recommend serving the finished dish with some crusty bread though to soak up all that delicious sauce! A nice Greek Salad is another personal favourite.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
-Cathy
You may also like these other Greek (& easy) recipes:
Gemista (Greek Stuffed Peppers and Tomatoes)
Fasolakia (Greek Green Beans)
Yogurt Flatbread (a great substitution if you don’t have any crusty bread on hand)
Psari Plaki (Greek Baked Fish)
Ingredients
- 4-5 large potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 medium onions sliced
- 2 cups grape tomatoes halved (or chopped tomatoes)
- 3 bell peppers sliced, any colour (optional)
- 1/2 cup fresh herbs parsley, oregano, basil (+ more for garnish)
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 6 fish portions (cod or other white fish)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Slice the potatoes, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers and place them in a large pan.
- Season the vegetables with the fresh herbs, salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat all the vegetables well. Drizzle the tomato sauce over the vegetables.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
- Nestle the cod (or other white fish) between the potatoes and vegetables and return to the oven for 20 minutes or until the fish is cooked through [cooking time will depend on the thickness of your fish portions so adjust the cook time accordingly.]
- Sprinkle with fresh herbs before serving.
Notes
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
