It may seem intimidating cooking a whole fish, but it’s actually easier than you think. It takes almost no time to prepare this tasty Oven Baked Whole Yellowtail Snapper for your family. Juicy and flaky on the inside, and deliciously crispy and seasoned on the outside. The Perfect combination!
The American Heart Association recommends eating a variety of fish at least twice a week. This Oven Baked Whole Yellowtail Snapper recipe is an excellent choice for a healthy diet.
Snapper can be found in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic water, and the Caribbean. Yellowtail and Red Snapper are the most commonly known. It’s a mild-tasting white fish.
But if Red Snappers are quite rare in your location try other white fish: Grouper, Sea Bass, Tilapia, Cod, Catfish, Haddock, Halibut, Trout… just to name a few.
Always start with the freshest fish you can buy and prepare the same day you buy it.
I normally buy our fish at Publix, they always sell the freshest fish.
What I love about Publix is that they even include the recipe for your convenience.
Nice, right?
I love Whole Baked fish, but I would never order it at the restaurant, it’s kinda messy eating with all these bones. At home – it’s a lot of Fun to dig in and scoop every morsel of this delicious fish.
How to Bake Whole Yellowtail Snapper
Since Snapper is a very mild-tasting fish it’s up to you to add just a little seasoning or a lot of seasoning.
- Make sure to rinse and pat dry fish well first.
- Make 3 slits or more on both sides of the fish.
- Make a seasoning mix by combining: melted butter, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and squeezed lemon juice.
- Mix well and adjust to taste.
- Place fish on a lightly oiled foil-lined baking sheet.
- Brush fish with seasoning mix on both sides, inside the cavity, and inside the slits.
- Insert fresh minced garlic or sliced onion and lemon slices inside the fish cavity.
- Insert lemon slices into the slits.
- Dust with additional paprika, salt, and dry parsley.
- Bake in the preheated to 400°F oven for about 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
- Drizzle with lemon juice and dripping from the seasoning.
- Garnish with fresh herbs (parsley or your favorite herbs) and serve.
Serving Suggestions
I just simply served this Amazing tasting Red Snapper with Fresh house salad.
House salad:
A simple Fresh side salad with spring mix, bomb cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, radish, green onion, and feta cheese.
Dressing: extra virgin olive oil, Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, and white wine vinegar.
You can roast potatoes and veggies with the snapper and serve them together.
Rice, couscous, different grains will go nicely with this fish as well.
I actually prefer to eat this fish cold the next day, but it’s delicious hot or cold, your preference here.

Oven Baked Whole Yellowtail Snapper
It takes almost no time to prepare this tasty Oven Baked Whole Yellowtail Snapper for your family. Juicy and flaky on the inside, and deliciously crispy and seasoned on the outside. The perfect combination!
Ingredients
- 2 large whole snapper fish, cleaned and gutted (or similar mild-tasting white fish)
- 4 Tbsp. melted butter
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 3 Tbsp. squeezed lemon juice
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
- lemon slices
- dry parsley
- fresh parsley or your favorite herb
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry fish.
- Make 3 slits or more on both sides of the fish.
- Make a seasoning mix by combining: melted butter, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and squeezed lemon juice.
- Mix well and adjust to taste.
- Place fish on a lightly oiled foil-lined baking sheet.
- Brush fish with seasoning mix on both sides, inside the cavity, and inside the slits.
- Insert fresh minced garlic or sliced onion and lemon slices inside the fish cavity.
- Insert lemon slices into the slits.
- Dust with additional paprika, salt, and dry parsley.
- Bake in the preheated to 400°F oven for about 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
- Drizzle with lemon juice and dripping from the seasoning. Garnish with fresh herbs (parsley) and serve.
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