If you're new to cooking seafood at home, swordfish might feel intimidating. Can I talk you into trying it? The mild flavor and tender texture of this fish makes Baked Swordfish with Lemon and Brothy Beans one of my favorite easy recipes, and an easy, fail-proof recipe to try!
3 Reasons to Love Swordfish:
- The texture is tender and succulent. It's more reminiscent of chicken thighs than a typical white fish. Rich and satisfying.
- The flavor is mild and easily absorbs marinades and seasonings. So, if you like big flavors, this is the fish for you.
- Baking fish virtually eliminates one of the top complaints about cooking seafood at home - the odor. Slipping those swordfish fillets into a savory bean stew and baking them behind a closed oven door prevents all the splattering and smells that cooking on the stovetop can create. So if you are cooking for people who don't like the fish smell hanging around well past dinner, this fish recipe should be at the top of your list.
Ingredients for this recipe:
Before we get to the step by step directions, a few notes about the ingredients:
Swordfish steaks: look for fish steaks that are about 1-inch thick. If using steaks significantly thicker or thinner, adjust baking time. This recipe bakes in a casserole dish and serves 4. If you're cooking for 2, halve the recipe and bake it in your large cast iron skillet. If you can't find swordfish, substitute salmon, Arctic char, steelhead trout or even cod.
Rosemary: the recipe calls for just 1 ½ teaspoons of this fresh herb, but it packs a punch! Substitute fresh thyme for a lighter, lemony note.
White beans: our brothy bean stew starts with a couple of cans of drained and rinsed white beans. Substitute cooked beans in the same amount.
Vegetable stock: the recipe calls for veggie stock. If you're cooking for meat-eaters, chicken broth works well as a substitute.
Red pepper flakes (optional): chili flakes add the perfect level of spice to these brothy beans and the swordfish steaks. If you prefer a completely mild experience, omit or reduce.
Full ingredient list and measurements included in the printable recipe card below.
Step by step instructions:
1. Make marinade
Combine olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, sliced garlic, 1 teaspoon of diced fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper in a shallow dish. If using red pepper flakes, add them now. Stir to combine.
2. Marinate swordfish
Add fresh swordfish steaks that you have brought to room temperature, turning to ensure both sides are coated in the seasoned garlic and herb oil. Marinate for 20 minutes.
3. Build brothy beans
Preheat oven to 300℉. Add fresh spinach to the bottom of your baking dish, followed by sliced shallot and drained and rinsed white beans. Pour broth over beans.
Season with remaining salt, black pepper and the remaining ½ teaspoon of fresh diced rosemary.
Add marinated swordfish to baking dish
Pour remaining olive oil and garlic marinade over the fish and white beans.
4. Bake swordfish
Lay fresh lemon slices over swordfish. Transfer to oven and bake gently for 30 minutes, or until fish is cooked through, spinach is wilted and beans and broth are bubbling in the dish.
5. Serve and enjoy
Serve swordfish fillets over the seasoned brothy beans and spinach with lemon wedges.
Looking for more easy baked seafood recipes?
- Baked Walleye with Garlic Lemon Butter
- Baked Tilapia with Lemon Butter Sauce
- Baked Colossal Shrimp
- Baked Scallops with White Wine, Basil and Citrus
- Baked Seafood Casserole (Best Crunchy Topping!)
FAQ's and Serving Suggestions:
Spinach and seasoned, brothy white beans are the perfect sides for this baked swordfish. This simple Mediterranean Tossed Salad would also add a bright note of acidity to the plate.
Cook swordfish steaks until an instant-read thermometer registers 130°F for medium, 135°F for medium-well, or 140 to 145°F for well-done. The size of your steaks will determine the exact time for baking, but generally a 1-1 ¼ inch thick steak will bake at 300°F for 30 minutes to achieve a medium-well to well done temperature.
Finely diced onion, leek or even the white part of green onions are all good substitutes for the shallots in this recipe. If you don't have any fresh alliums, onion powder and garlic powder are adequate substitutes. Start with ½ teaspoon of each and then taste and adjust as needed.
My local grocery store offers gorgeous fresh swordfish steaks daily. But frozen swordfish works well in this baked dish. Just thaw the swordfish steaks in the refrigerator overnight and dry well with paper towels before marinating.
To store leftover swordfish, transfer to an airtight container or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. To reheat, warm gently over medium low heat in a small skillet or baking dish until just heated through.
Baked Swordfish with Lemon and Brothy Beans
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
4 6-ounce swordfish steaks
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
Juice and zest of 1 lemon, plus more for serving
1 ½ teaspoons fresh rosemary, divided
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, divided
¾ teaspoon black pepper, divided
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
5 ounce bag fresh baby spinach
1 large shallot, sliced (about ⅓ cup)
2 cups canned white beans, drained and rinsed
1 ½ cups vegetable stock
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300℉.
- For the marinade: combine olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, sliced garlic, 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper and chili flakes (if using) in a shallow dish. Add fresh swordfish steaks, turning to ensure both sides are coated in the seasoned oil. Marinate for 20 minutes.
- For the brothy beans: Add clean, fresh spinach to the bottom of a large casserole dish. Sprinkle sliced shallots over the spinach. Drain and rinse 2 cups of white beans well. Add the beans over the spinach and shallots. Pour vegetable broth over beans, then season with final teaspoon of kosher salt, ½ teaspoon of black pepper and ½ teaspoon of fresh rosemary.
- Lay the marinated swordfish over the beans and pour any remaining seasoned oil over the steaks. Top with fresh lemon slices.
- Bake at 300℉ for about 30 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork, and spinach has wilted.
- For service: serve the swordfish over the brothy white beans with spinach. Garnish with more lemon, if desired.
Notes
Fresh swordfish is perfect in this recipe, but frozen swordfish works well, too! Just thaw the fish in the refrigerator overnight and pat dry with paper towels before marinating.
If baking swordfish steaks thicker or thinner than about 1-1 ¼ inches, adjust cooking time. If cooking thin steaks, you can begin baking the brothy beans while the fish marinates, adding the fish steaks after about 15 minutes. This will ensure the beans and spinach are ready at the same time as the swordfish.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Easy Recipes
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
christina toth
Brith, beans and swordfish! yikes heading into spring with this on the must-make list!
christina toth
beans and swordfish! perfeito!
Christina Jolam
Can't wait to hear what you think! It's one of our favorites around here.
Rosemary Gold
I made this dish for myself with one 8-ounce piece of swordfish. It was fabulous! The flavors are distinct yet compliment each other. I used chopped red Swiss chard instead of spinach. The only thing that was a problem was that it took more like 35-40 minutes for the piece of swordfish to cook through. I just returned from a trip to Portugal and this dish could stand up against any of the trendy restaurants. It has great presentation. Should be served in a large bowl with crusty bread. Thank you for this recipe!!
Christina Jolam
Love hearing this! So glad you enjoyed this lemon swordfish recipe with beans. The Swiss chard sounds like a perfect substitution. And well done increasing your bake time - your larger swordfish steak would need a little more time than the 6-oz steaks. Great adjustments, all around. And couldn't agree more about the crusty bread...the broth is so flavorful you really can't leave a drop behind 😉 Thanks so much for coming back to leave a helpful review!