This Fish en Papillote with Cherry Tomatoes & Capers is the kind of dinner that makes eating well feel incredibly easy. Tender white fish is cooked in baking paper with juicy cherry tomatoes, garlic, capers, lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil, creating a light but flavour-packed dinner in just 25 minutes.

Cooking the fish inside the sealed parcel keeps it beautifully moist, while the tomatoes soften and release their juices into the olive oil, garlic and capers. When you open the paper, there’s a lovely little pool of Mediterranean-flavoured juices underneath the fish that you’ll definitely want some crusty bread for.

It’s quick enough for a busy weeknight, healthy without feeling like “health food”, and there’s very little washing up afterwards. Exactly the sort of fish dinner I want to make again and again.

What Is Fish en Papillote?

En papillote is a French cooking technique that simply means cooking food “in paper”.

Fish is particularly well suited to the method. The fillet is enclosed in baking paper with the other ingredients and, as everything heats up in the oven, moisture becomes trapped inside the parcel. This creates steam, which gently cooks the fish and helps keep it moist and tender.

It also means all the flavours stay inside the parcel. Here, the cherry tomatoes release their juices as they soften, combining with the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, capers and lemon zest to create a light sauce underneath the fish.

I used deep sea perch, which has mild, firm white flesh and worked beautifully with this cooking method.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Deep sea perch: I used 200 g fillets of deep sea perch. The flesh is mild and firm and stayed beautifully moist when cooked in the paper parcels. Other firm white fish can also be used, although the cooking time may need to be adjusted depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Cherry tomatoes: These soften inside the parcel and release their juices, which become an important part of the light sauce around the fish.

Garlic: Thin slices of fresh garlic gently soften as the fish cooks and flavour the juices without overpowering the fish.

Capers: Their salty, tangy flavour gives this otherwise very simple combination a little punch. Drain them before adding them to the parcels.

Lemon zest: Lemon zest gives you the freshness and fragrance of lemon without adding too much acidity while the fish cooks.

Extra virgin olive oil: With such a short ingredient list, good extra virgin olive oil makes a difference. It combines with the tomato and fish juices to create the sauce in the bottom of the parcel.

Fresh basil: Basil goes on after cooking so it stays fresh and fragrant rather than wilting inside the parcel.

Lemon: Serve lemon wedges alongside the finished fish so you can add a squeeze at the table if you want a little extra acidity.

Watch How to Make It

If you prefer to see it come together, I’ve filmed the full process here:

Watch my Fish en Papillote with Cherry Tomatoes & Capers video on the Three Friends Cook YouTube channel to see how I assemble, seal and open the parcels.

Pro Tips

Choose similarly sized fish fillets. This helps both parcels cook at approximately the same rate. My deep sea perch fillets were 200 g each and were just cooked after 15 minutes.

Don’t over-season the fish. Capers already bring quite a bit of salt, so season the fish lightly before sealing the parcels. You can always add more at the table.

Slice the garlic thinly. Thick pieces may not have enough time to soften during the relatively short cooking time.

Seal the paper well. Bring the two long sides of the baking paper together over the fish and fold them over tightly several times, then tuck the remaining ends underneath. You want to keep as much steam as possible inside while the fish cooks.

Be careful when opening the parcels. There will be hot steam trapped inside, so open the paper away from your face.

Add the basil at the end. Fresh basil is much better here than basil cooked inside the parcel. Scatter it over as soon as you open the paper and the residual heat will release its aroma.

Watch the thickness of your fish. Fish fillets can vary enormously in shape even when they weigh the same amount. If you substitute another fish, use the cooking time as a guide and check the thickest part for doneness.

How to Serve Fish en Papillote

I like serving the fish straight from the opened baking paper. Apart from looking lovely, it means you don’t lose any of those delicious juices collected underneath.

Crusty bread is probably my first choice alongside it — particularly because you can use it to mop up the mixture of tomato juices and extra virgin olive oil left in the parcel.

For a light dinner, add a simple green salad or some seasonal green vegetables. My Pan-Fried Asparagus with Brown Butter, Capers and Almonds would also make a lovely spring side, although I would leave the capers out of the asparagus when serving the two together.

If you love these Mediterranean flavours, you might also like my Mediterranean Baked Fish. It uses a different cooking method and is a more substantial baked fish dish, while this en papillote version is all about gently cooked fish and those light juices trapped inside the parcel.

And my Sauce Vierge is another great recipe to have on hand when you want something fresh and tomato-based to serve with simply cooked fish.

Storage

Fish en papillote is at its best served immediately while the fish is freshly cooked and the juices inside the parcel are hot.

If you do have leftovers, remove the fish and tomatoes from the baking paper and transfer them, along with any remaining juices, to an airtight container. Refrigerate promptly and use within 1–2 days.

Reheat gently so you don’t dry out the fish.

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FAQs

Can I use a different fish for fish en papillote?

Yes. I used 200 g deep sea perch fillets, but other firm white fish fillets can also be cooked en papillote. The important thing is to adjust the cooking time if your fillets are substantially thinner or thicker.

Can I prepare the fish parcels ahead of time?

You can assemble the parcels a little ahead of cooking and keep them refrigerated until you are ready to bake them. Because this is such a quick recipe, however, I prefer assembling them shortly before they go into the oven.

How do I know when the fish is cooked?

The flesh should be opaque and separate easily when gently flaked at its thickest point. My 200 g deep sea perch fillets were just cooked after 15 minutes at 200°C fan.

Do I need to add liquid to fish en papillote?

No. There is no need to add wine, stock or water to this recipe. The fish and cherry tomatoes naturally release moisture as they cook, and because the parcel is sealed, that moisture is trapped inside. Combined with the extra virgin olive oil, it creates plenty of delicious juices around the fish.

Can I use aluminium foil instead of baking paper?

Baking paper is my preference for this recipe and is the traditional choice for cooking en papillote. It also allows you to serve the fish directly in its opened parcel.

Why do you add the basil after cooking?

Fresh basil loses much of its bright flavour and colour when cooked for too long. Adding it when the parcel is opened keeps its flavour fresh while the heat from the fish releases its aroma.

Final Thoughts

This Fish en Papillote has quickly become one of my favourite ways to cook white fish.

There’s very little preparation, it takes just 15 minutes in the oven and the baking paper does most of the work. But what I really love is that something so simple can taste this good.

The cherry tomatoes, garlic, capers, lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil give the fish plenty of Mediterranean flavour without overwhelming it, and those juices hiding underneath when you open the parcel might just be the best part.

It’s fresh, healthy, genuinely delicious and easy enough to make on a weeknight — exactly the kind of dinner worth keeping in your regular rotation.