Easy Baked Halibut
Baked halibut topped with a creamy, herbed mayonnaise crust is a dinner sensation! This quick and easy recipe gives you moist and flakey filets with an utterly delicious topping that will have everyone wanting more.
If you need one go-to, no-fail halibut recipe, this is it! While it’s fun to get creative with halibut and make something like halibut ceviche, when you’re looking for the perfect foolproof weeknight meal it’s got to be this baked halibut. It’s the halibut recipe I make most often in my house and I never tire of it.
When I was a kid I visited my aunt and uncle in Alaska and caught a huge halibut (see photo proof on the video below!), and I’ve been a fan of halibut ever since. It’s light yet meaty, boasts tons of nutrients, and doesn’t need much to make it taste amazing.
But to keep it extra moist as it cooks, I took the same route of my dijon baked salmon and whipped up this herby, lemon-y, mayonnaise spread to slather on top. And when you take that first bite, you won’t believe how easy it was to create such a healthy yet impressive dinner recipe!
Baked Halibut Ingredients
Just 5 ingredients plus the halibut are all you need!
- Mayonnaise: I always default to my homemade mayonnaise recipe, but feel free to use store-bought as well.
- Shallot: Adds a mild onion and garlicky flavor with a beautiful pop of pink!
- Lemon Juice: Definitely use fresh squeezed lemon juice for the freshest flavor.
- Herbs: I love chives for this recipe, but any fresh herbs will work!
- Dijon Mustard: Gives it just a kick of that spicy mustard flavor without being overpowering.
- Halibut: This recipe calls for 4 fillets, but keep reading to see how to shop for the perfect ones!
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How To Buy Halibut
While you can find halibut year-round, peak season for fresh-caught Pacific halibut (which I recommend) is March through October. So when you’re in the midst of halibut season, keep your eyes peeled for fish with a firm flesh that’s translucent and glistening. Avoid any fillets with discoloration, yellow-ish fat, or chalky white spots.
Can you buy frozen halibut? You sure can! Frozen halibut is flash frozen right when it’s caught, which helps maintain its freshness, and allows you to store it in your freezer. It’s a win-win option!
How To Bake Halibut
In a short 20 minutes, you’ll have beautiful halibut fillets ready to serve! To get started, preheat your oven to 400F, then follow along below.
- Make the herbed mayonnaise. In a small bowl, mix together the mayo, mustard, shallots, parsley, half of the chives, lemon juice, and pepper.
- Spread the herbed mayonnaise on your fillets. Place your halibut fillets in a baking dish brushed with oil. Then evenly spoon the mayo mixture on top of each fillet.
- Bake away! Pop this dish in the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes. Then right before the fish is done, turn on your broiler for an extra 1-2 minutes to give it that slightly golden crust.
- Garnish and serve. Sprinkle the rest of the chives on top for a fresh green touch, and you’re ready to serve!
Here’s A Few Extra Tips
- Try to buy fillets the same size. This will ensure even cooking amongst all the fillets, and hopefully prevent overcooking them.
- Speaking of overcooking. It’s best to slightly undercook the halibut rather than overcook it. Halibut doesn’t contain much oil, so it’s prone to drying out more quickly. But good news, the mayonnaise crust acts as a barrier to prevent overcooking as well!
Ways To Serve Baked Halibut
With how light and fresh these fillets are, think leafy greens and a variety of cooked veggies for the perfect pairing.
- Side Salad: Come summer, a simple, fresh salad is all you need with this halibut. A few easy options are a cucumber salad, greek salad, or an arugula salad with a simple lemon vinaigrette.
- Roasted Vegetables: Give roasted broccoli, honey glazed carrots, or roasted cauliflower a try for a flavorful, filling meal.
- Sauteed Vegetables: While the fish is cooking, you can whip up sauteed spinach, sauteed cabbage, or green beans right on the stovetop!
How To Store And Reheat Baked Halibut
- For storing: Have leftover fillets? They’ll keep for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- For reheating: To avoid drying out your halibut, reheat it low and slow. The microwave can be convenient and works just fine. But if you have spare time, reheat it in the oven at 275F for about 15 minutes until it’s warmed through.
More Tasty, Easy Fish Recipes
The beauty of seafood is how easy it is to make in a wide variety of recipes. You can start with my best salmon recipes roundup, or a few of these reader favorites!
- Best Baked Salmon
- Dijon Baked Salmon
- Garlic Grilled Shrimp Skewers
- Shrimp Tacos With Cilantro Lime Bacon Slaw
Baked Halibut Recipe Video
Want to see how I make this quick and easy recipe? Watch the video below!
If you make this baked halibut, let me know how it turned out! I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
Easy Baked Halibut
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 halibut fillets
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, shallot, lemon juice, parsley, one tablespoon of chives (save the remaining for garnish), mustard, salt and pepper.
- Lightly coat the inside of the baking dish with oil or butter (to prevent the halibut from sticking). Place the halibut filets in the baking dish. Then evenly spoon your mayonnaise mixture onto the top of the halibut filets.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes minutes being careful not to overcook. Just before the fish is done, turn on the top broiler of your oven for 1-2 minutes to make the top golden. The fish is done when it becomes opaque and flakes easily.
- Remove the halibut from the oven and sprinkle the remaining chives on top before serving.
Nutrition
Recipe originally posted Oct 2014, but updated with new information.
We made this today and it was awesome.😒
Happy to hear this baked halibut was a success Mark!
I want to give this a try, but only have sablefish (black cod) at the house. Would it work for it?
Hi Stacy – Yes, you can make this recipe with cod as well!
Never had Halibut before so decided a Lisa recipe would probably be a good way to break the “never.” It was.
Happy to hear you decided to take a chance on this recipe for your first baked halibut!
I tried the recipe yesterday and was so happy with the result. Perfectly moist and so flavourful. I love mustard notes in the sauce – so simple yet delicious. Halibut is definitely on my list of favourite fish :)
Happy to hear your halibut recipe was a success Daria!
Another classic downshiftology recipe: easy, healthy and super delicious. I could not find halibut so swapped it for cod (baked for 12 minutes and it was perfect). The whole family loved it. And I agree with a previous comment that you can easily make this on a weeknight. Easy does it ;-). Thanks Lisa!
Glad this worked perfectly with cod fillets! Next time, you’ll have to try it with halibut!
This was really tasty. I was quite pleased. I didn’t give it 5 stars because my husband didn’t think the flavours were balanced. He thought there was maybe too much lemon and Dijon? I liked it though. Maybe for his taste I will add less of the lemon and mustard.
You can always reduce the amount of lemon and mustard a bit if it’s too strong.
Made this last night and it was so good and so fast and easy to make. This recipe will definitely been in my meal rotation a lot. Thanks for a great recipe.
Glad this recipe was a success :)
Full proof recipe, moist, and delicious. I’m new to cooking, 1st time cooking Halibut! This recipe opened opportunity for me to try something new, and I am so happy for the encouragement. Made it for dinner last night with the suggested homemade mayonnaise and it was an absolute sensation. NO leftovers with requests to make again. I used the recommended dill in the herb mayonnaise dressing. The dinner guests requested to top with parsley due to their food sensitivity. They were surprised the dill in the dressing was not an issue for them and they loved the halibut! Thank you for sharing…Tonight I am making your tuna salad recipe, using the remaining homemade mayonnaise…the gift that keeps on giving!
Happy to hear your first time cooking halibut was a success Erica! Glad the dill wasn’t an issue in the end as well :)
Delicious and easy enough for a weeknight dinner
Most definitely!
This was delicious and so easy to make! I didn’t have chives on hand but I used some dill and tarragon, with great results!
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed this recipe Andrea :)
Just had this for lunch, it was delish, may have to try cilantro next time instead of parsley tho. Yumm.
Glad you enjoyed this baked halibut recipe Paul!
This looks amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Hope you enjoy this delicious baked halibut Elizabeth!
Fantastic recipe. Many thanks!!
Glad you love this one Silvia!
I haven’t tried this yet, but we have halibut quite a bit since we live in Alaska! We go subsistence fishing for it in the fall. My husband is a commercial fisherman so maybe you’ve eaten some of his halibut! He has a specialty for baking halibut and I thought I would share it since mayonnaise is part of the recipe. You can caramelized onions with garlic and put a layer of that underneath and on top of the fish before you add the mayonnaise topping. Absolutely wonderful! Thank you for promoting wild Alaskan halibut!!
Hi Carol – I’m jealous you have such awesome access to Alaskan seafood! That twist with the caramelized onions sounds delicious, I’ll definitely have to give that a try next time. Thanks for sharing!
I’ll say that I was skeptical of this recipe—mayo on fish?—but decided to try and am so happy I did! It was delicious! Tangy and flavorful, and all-around great. Will keep in the fold for sure!
So glad you ended up enjoying this recipe Diana!
This was FANTASTIC! Even my hubs who is not a fish lover enjoyed this recipe. It’s a keeper! Looking forward to making it again. The only thing I added was a sprinkle of lemon pepper on top of the mayo.
Hi Elvira- Love the little sprinkle of lemon pepper :)
The halibut was perfect. Fabulous recipe. Can’t wait to make this again!
Hi Sheryl- So glad you loved this halibut!
Very simple, tasty recipe that lets the flavor of fresh halibut shine through. Easy to follow recipe, will definitely make this again, thank you!
Wonderful! I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe Karmen!
This sauce for the halibut is an excellent and semless blending of flavors. Thanks for sharing it. I served it with baked asparagus and baked potato. Happy Spring is what this meal felt like to me.
That’s such a great way to describe this dish – “happy spring”. Love that! Thanks Nancy. :) x
Apparently we devoured all of the halibut from our Port Hardy, Vancouver fishing adventures, so I subbed it with ling cod, which is a deep water, white, flaky delicious, (albeit ugly), fish. Instead of removing it (I didn’t want to mangle the delicate fish), I put it skin side down on the buttered bottom of the baking pan. The herbed mayo crust sauce comes together in a flash (& DO make it from scratch – it’s SO easy & SO delicious). I served this baked fish recipe w/ Lisa’s Swiss chard side dish & her orange, fennel, avocado salad. All the flavors meld beautifully, & The Hubbs & I were both members of The Clean Plate Club. (Oh. You can tell his plate’s pictured because bread & I had to break up.)
What a great dinner combo! Well done!! :) x
Thanks for the recipes & inspiration!
xo