Skip to main content

Fish Packets With Snap Peas, Tomatoes, and Herb Butter

4.9

(7)

Among top fish recipes is this dinner of fish packets with snap peas tomatoes and herb butter.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Kate Schmidt

This recipe is part of our Back-to-School Meal Plan featuring five easy weeknight dinners made from one grocery bag of ingredients.
These easy, build-your-own fish packets let kids help out with dinner and choose which items they want to include. The herb butter infuses the fish and vegetables with rich flavor and the tomatoes release their juices to create a light sauce. If you are following our Back-to-School Meal Plan, make a double batch of the butter and reserve half for the BBQ Pork Chops with Herb Butter Corn and Sweet Potatoes.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    40 minutes

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons finely chopped tender herbs (such as cilantro, chives, and/or parsley)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more
1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 pint cherry tomatoes (about 2 1/2 cups), quartered
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 (1/2"-thick) skinless flounder or tilapia fillets (about 6 ounces each)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil

Special Equipment

4 (16x12") sheets parchment paper

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix butter, herbs, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper in a small bowl.

    Step 2

    Fold parchment sheets in half and use scissors to cut halves into 4 large hearts. Unfold and place parchment hearts open on a work surface. Spoon 1 Tbsp. herb butter in the center of one half of each heart, then divide snap peas, tomatoes, and garlic evenly into small piles over butter. Lay fish over vegetables, then top with 1 Tbsp. herb butter; season each with 1/8 tsp. salt and a pinch of pepper. Fold parchment over and crimp edges tightly to form a sealed packet.

    Step 3

    Transfer packets to 2 large rimmed baking sheets, arranging in a single layer. Bake until just cooked through and a tester inserted through parchment slides through fish easily, about 13 minutes. Carefully cut open packets (steam will escape). Top with basil.

  2. Do Ahead

    Step 4

    Butter can be made 3 days ahead; cover and chill. Fish packets can be assembled 4 hours ahead; chill. Let sit at room temperature 15 minutes before cooking.

Read More
This summery sheet-pan dinner celebrates the bounty of the season and couldn't be simpler to make. Chorizo plays nicely with the salad, thanks to its spice.
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
Traditionally, this Mexican staple is simmered for hours in an olla, or clay pot. You can achieve a similar result by using canned beans and instant ramen.
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.
In this lasagna, soft layers of pasta and béchamel are interspersed with a rich tomato sauce laden with hearty Mediterranean vegetables.
Creamy and bright with just a subtle bit of heat, this five-ingredient, make-ahead dip is ready for company—just add crudités.
Spaghetti is a common variation in modern Thai cooking. It’s so easy to work with and absorbs the garlicky, spicy notes of pad kee mao well.