I don’t make fish often because it tends to be on the expensive side, but I’ve really been craving it lately. Add to that my continued efforts to try to buy higher quality and sustainable meat and seafood, and my price tag just got even higher. So, what did I do? I paired my fish with two super inexpensive items: rice and cabbage. It’s all about balancing those higher priced items with bulkier low cost items. This easy Baked Chimichurri Fish Bowls include a rice base, a big pile of simple red cabbage slaw, and cod filets baked in a vibrant chimichurri sauce. Any extra chimichurri gets drizzled over top to make sure every bowl is moist and delicious!
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What Kind of Fish Can I Use?
You can use any white fish for these bowls, but just be aware that thinner filets will cook much faster. I used thick cod steaks that were about 1-1.5 inches thick. As they are also the most expensive item in the dish, your overall cost will depend greatly on whether you can get a good deal on your fish. As I mentioned earlier, I opted for sustainable rather than budget this time around, so my total cost was a bit higher than usual.
Should Baked Chimichurri Fish Bowls be Served Hot or Cold?
When I ate these bowls the “day of” the rice was warm, slaw was cold, and the fish warm. I packed them up into individual containers and will be eating the leftovers as a cold dish.
Baked Chimichurri Fish Bowls
Servings 4 bowlsIngredients
SIMPLE SLAW
- 1/2 head red cabbage (about 4 cups shredded) ($0.88)
- 1 carrot ($0.16)
- Handful fresh cilantro ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice ($0.09)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil (like canola) ($0.04)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
CHIMICHURRI
- 1/2 cup olive oil ($0.83)
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar ($0.40)
- 1 cup packed Italian parsley ($0.35)
- 1/2 cup packed cilantro ($0.19)
- 3 cloves garlic ($0.24)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
FISH AND RICE
- 4 (5oz) cod steaks ($12.00)
- 4 cups cooked rice ($0.75)
Instructions
- Prepare the slaw first so that the salt and lemon juice have time to soften the cabbage. Slice or shred the cabbage as thinly as possible (this is very important). Use a large-holed cheese grater to shred the carrot. Roughly chop a handful of cilantro leaves.
- Combine the cabbage, carrot, cilantro, lemon juice, oil, and salt in a bowl. Stir to combine. Let the cabbage sit for at least 30 minutes to soften, stirring occasionally.
- Combine all the ingredients for the chimichurri in a food processor or blender and pulse until the herbs are finely chopped. Alternately, you can mince the garlic, parsley, and cilantro with a knife and then stir them together with the remaining ingredients.
- Begin preheating the oven to 400ºF. Place the cod steaks in a baking dish. Spoon half of the chimichurri over top, reserving the other half for drizzling over the bowls after baking. Bake the fish for 12-15 minutes, or until it is cooked through (the fish should flake when a fork is inserted, but still be moist).
- To build the bowls, place one cup cooked rice in a bowl, top with a heaping cup of the slaw (make sure to stir just before serving), and then place the baked fish on top. Drizzle some of the remaining chimichurri over the entire bowl and enjoy!
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Nutrition
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Chimichurri Fish Bowls – Step by Step Photos
Prepare the simple slaw first so that the salt and lemon juice have time to tenderize the cabbage. Shred or slice 1/2 head of cabbage as thinly as possible (if you have a food processor or mandolin, those will get you nice super fine shreds). Use a large-holed cheese grater to grate one carrot, and roughly chop a handful of fresh cilantro. Place the cabbage, carrot, and cilantro in a large bowl.
Add 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice, 1 Tbsp neutral oil (like canola or your favorite light oil), and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir to combine. Let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes to soften, stirring it occasionally to redistribute the salt and juices.
Next, prepare the chimichurri. Place 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, about 1 cup packed Italian parsley leaves, 1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves, 3 cloves of garlic (peeled), 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and 1/2 tsp salt in a blender or food processor. Pulse until the garlic and herbs are finely chopped and the mixture looks like a green sauce.
Begin Preheating the oven to 400ºF. Place four cod steaks in a baking dish. Cover the cod in half of the chimichurri sauce, saving the rest to drizzle over the completed bowls.
Make sure the cod is completely coated in the chimichurri.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, or until the fish flakes but is still moist.
When you pull at the fish with a fork, it should flake into large moist pieces.
To build the bowls, place one cup cooked rice in the bottom of a bowl, add one heaping cup of the simple slaw, then top with one of the pieces of chimichurri baked fish. Drizzle the remaining chimichurri over top.
I packed these up as meal prep bowls for the next few days. Although the fish and rice were warm when I ate the first one, I’ll be eating the leftovers as a cold dish.
Fressssshhhhhh! And you might not guess it by looking at it, but these Baked Chimichurri Fish Bowls are EXTREMELY filling. Win!
At $4.06/serving, is this the most expensive recipe on BudgetBytes?
Just tried it tonight- pretty tasty and filling! And very nice aesthetically. My husband and I did eat it with Sriracha on top though. It would have been a little bland otherwise.
This has to be one of the best recipes you’ve ever published, Beth. It’s excellent as-is, and I’ve made it easily half a dozen times in the last year. The coleslaw works very well with green cabbage, and especially with a splash of white wine vinegar. Tilapia instead of cod is also great, and around here it’s a bit cheaper.
Seriously, 10/10. It’s easy to make two or three times this recipe to feed large groups, and it is without fail an absolute hit.
Seriously one of my favorite recipes EVER! Have made it frequently and tried it out on many guests with praise!
Hi Beth! I love your recipes and helpful pictures. This is one of my favorites!!! I make it with tilapia. The sauce is so yummy. My family loves it! Thank you.
I made this last night. I liked it but the rest of my family didn’t care for it much. It was just okay for us.
Hi Beth! Since now I’m an official WWBC (what would Beth cook) believer, I’m excited to try all of these! Would this hold up for a week’s worth of lunches? I’m totally fine with freezing the fish and leaving it to defrost the night prior for the Thursday/Friday meal, but would the sauce and slaw hold up?
I don’t think this one would work so well for freezing. Fish is so delicate that I don’t know how it would handle the freeze/thaw. The slaw does soften each day and I think it’d be okay for 3-4 days, depending on your tolerance for that sort of thing. :P
Isn’t canola oil processed oil? Olive & coconut oils would fit the 21 day diet & the 20/80 maintenance menu.
This is one of my family’s favorite meals. My ten year old loves it! I have made it with flat iron steak and with cod and tilapia. The chimichurri sauce is to die for!
My grandpa bought a lot of catfish when it was on sale a while ago. Do you think that would be a good replacement for the cod?
I’ll be honest, I think I’ve only every had catfish once in my life (despite living in Louisiana!) and I don’t remember what it tasted like, so I’m not sure. :(
This was FANTASTIC! I’ve never had chimichurri sauce before but I will absolutely make it again. The cabbage went so well with this and the rice was so tasty with that sauce as well. I’m nervous about cooking fish, worried I’ll overcook it. This recipe was easy and so tasty. Budget Bytes hasn’t steered me wrong yet! Thanks!
I have shrimp, chimichurri, rice and Trader Joe’s mango-jicama slaw in the fridge- I know what’s for dinner tomorrow! I’ll make what I have on first then make this one :)
Wow!! I’m sure glad I found your blog!! 😄
These are also delicious with salmon – I found Coho salmon on sale for about $5 cheaper than cod, so just used that. It was lovely.
Wow! Great deal!
I really dislike fish so I wonder if you think this same recipe would work with chicken breast pieces? I also would like to know how the dish held up for your leftovers. It sounds really good and I love “planned overs” even if this one couldn’t be frozen for later!
Yes, you can definitely do this with chicken instead (grilled or baked, but baking time will differ from the fish). I definitely wouldn’t freeze this one because of the fresh slaw, but it held up pretty good in the fridge, IMHO! But of course that is always subjective. :)
This looks amazing!!
Oooh! that’s one up for my summer recipes 2017! Thank-you! I don’t mind spending my moulahs on cod as it comes on sale every so often in my area. I love 35 min.or less lunch/dinner that packs a protein punch to my teengirl and I or whom ever sits at the table at the time. Rice and slaw, divine! I do sometimes using pre-shredded slaw during mid-week for convenience. Thanks so much for yet again, another inspirational meal :)
Perfect inviting photos ! I think of making one extra portion to have this for my office lunch. Thank you for sharing !
This looks amazing!
I really enjoy your blog. I have worked in the hospitality industry for a number of years, but an new to blogging. I found out about you reading a free e-book by Taste of Yum. You were one of the top 30 food bloggers that they recognized, so I figured I’d try to learn from the best! Your blog is amazing, and not only am I learning, but salivating over your beautiful pictures. Thanks a million! :)
This looks and sounds so delicious! I love cod and would like to cook it more often. High-quality proteins make a huge difference, and I definitely think it’s worth the extra cost. I like your idea of serving the fish with inexpensive (but still tasty) rice and slaw. :)
This looks amazing. I’m going to make it but eat without rice because I follow a low carb diet. A dollop of sour cream would be good too! Thanks so much for posting delicious recipes. I’ve made several and they always taste great and can be easily tweaked for low carb. Thank you!
What kind of tweaks to you made to low-carbify budget bytes recipes? I’m trying to eat less pasta and rice and bread but I still have the same (small) budget…without those cheap, satisfying staples it’s been hard to adapt. I’d love any suggestions!
I just take out the rice or pasta and substitute it with steamed or roasted cauliflower or broccoli or zucchini. I put olive oil and a touch of salt and pepper. The veges serve as a backdrop to the flavors and spices in the main dish, just like rice and pasta do. So for this I would keep the cabbage and add a layer of veges under it. Bread is a tough one to substitute though. Hope this helps you!
Looks yummy! I love fish and hope you’ll post more recipes for it!