Sheet-Pan Fish Tikka With Spinach

By Zainab Shah

Updated March 11, 2025

  • A blue platter holding golden fish chunks and wilted greens sits against a gray background. To the bottom left corner of the frame is a bowl with rice.
    Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(2,312)
Comments
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Tikka marinade imbues meats and veggies with extreme flavor: Complex, layered heat comes from garam masala and red chiles, garlic adds a delicate depth and ginger a mellow freshness, while yogurt cools, tenderizes and extends flavors from the spices. Though traditionally anything with tikka marinade is cooked on coals for smokiness (see Tip), the flavors come together well in a home oven. This recipe calls for any fleshy white fish that can stand this mix of heady spices and maintain its structural integrity for 12 to 15 minutes in the oven. Lay the fish on a bed of spinach, and the marinade will flavor both. The preparation is simple for this recipe, but the flavorful results are anything but.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 ½ pounds firm, white-fleshed fish (such as cod, basa or halibut, cut into chunks)

  • ¼ cup olive oil or any neutral oil

  • 2 tablespoons full-fat Greek yogurt

  • 1 tablespoon garam masala

  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri or other red chile powder

  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste or freshly grated ginger

  • 1 teaspoon garlic paste or freshly grated garlic

  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander

  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

  • Fine sea salt

  • 1 pound baby spinach (about 14 packed cups)

  • Rice or roti, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

23 grams carbs; 74 milligrams cholesterol; 373 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 596 milligrams sodium; 34 grams protein; 1 gram sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Pat the fish dry and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Combine the oil, yogurt, garam masala, chile powder, ginger, garlic, coriander, turmeric and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and stir until the marinade is smooth.

  3. Step 3

    Add the fish and coat evenly.

  4. Step 4

    Arrange the spinach in an even layer on a large sheet pan. Place the fish on the spinach, dispersing it evenly.

  5. Step 5

    Bake on the top rack for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the fish starts to turn golden.

  6. Step 6

    Set the oven to broil and broil on high just until the fish turns golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt. Serve with rice or roti, if desired.

Tip

  • If the smokiness of tikka is nonnegotiable, heat a hot coal on the stove top for 3 to 5 minutes using tongs, loosely wrap it in foil and stick in the oven either on a separate rack or on the sheet pan alongside the fish and spinach. Though hookah charcoal works best for this, you can use a 1-inch cube of any charcoal.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,312 user ratings
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Comments

Donna

This turned out really quite good. I used cod, and I was worried it would be bland, as NYT recipes can sometimes be, but it's got a nice little kick to it. We find that fish alone tends to lead to 2 hour later munchies, so I added in half a chopped sweet onion and a can of chickpeas to the marinating fish and it's great. This will go on the regular household rotation for when we have cod available.

smarmolade

This was delicious. Made exactly as instructed with fresh halibut. The fish came out so moist and tender. Tip: make sure all spinach sits directly below fish pieces to soak up fish/sauce moisture. Loose spinach pieces on edge will dry out and crisp.

MO’G

I’ve been loving this recipe for a few months but felt like the spinach wasn’t quite right. Last night, I added a heaping spoonful of coconut milk to the pan right as I took it out of the oven and mixed it in. It was the perfect touch - made the spinach just slightly creamy, absorbed some of the delicious tikka spices, and created a bit more of a sauce for my jasmine rice base. Highly recommend!

Jay Hulbert

Made twice, once with cod, once with spot prawns. Cod was very good, spot prawns were amazing! For 2 people I used about 1/2 the fish but all the marinade as per the recipe and all the spinach. Drizzled a little olive oil and sprinkled salt on the spinach before baking. Served with an off dry Riesling and rice or naan. Just excellent!

Eva

Welp, I must've done something terribly wrong along the way because it turned out rather gross. The spinach was burnt to a crisp, which made it bitter and unpleasant. The marinade prevented the fish from getting golden - it was just a thickish paste that sat on top of the fish and got burnt. I spent quite a lot of money on halibut to make this recipe, so I was very disappointed. I had a few bites and left it. Put the fish into a curry the next day and it was rather lovely.

Melissa C

Loved the marinade and will try it on chicken next time, although the monkfish I used was delicious. But agree that the spinach dries out and it was very hard to clean off the pan afterwards. I may cook it separately, with pine nuts, next time.

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