Baked Gefilte Fish in Tomato Sauce

Baked Gefilte Fish on a plate with slices of lemon

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Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 75 mins
Thaw/Chill time: 2 hrs 10 mins
Total: 3 hrs 35 mins
Servings: 8 servings

Special dinners for Passover and other Jewish holidays require special foods. In these situations, to make life easier, if you stumble upon a great shortcut, why not take it? In other words, why work hard when you don't have to? This baked gefilte fish could not be easier. The bulk of its prep time is hands-off: it bakes in the oven and then chills before it's served cold. You can bake this ahead of time by a day or so, chill, and then serve it.

Gefilte fish translates from Yiddish as "stuffed fish." It's made from deboned fish such as carp, pike, mullet, and whitefish that is turned into forcemeat; i.e., it's ground and combined with other ingredients such as eggs, breadcrumbs, and seasonings, and then stuffed back into the skin of a whole fish before then being poached in stock. These days, it's very common to encounter gefilte fish jarred or frozen, rather than in its original preparation.

On its own, gefilte fish is a fairly mild-tasting fish, so it does well with some assertive flavors—it's why it's often served with horseradish, for example. You can make this dish without spending all day in the kitchen. Simply buy a frozen gefilte fish loaf, cover it with tomato sauce and then some aluminum foil, and bake. Baked gefilte fish in tomato sauce is an easy and delicious Shabbos appetizer.

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf gefilte fish, frozen

  • 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

Steps to Make It

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

  2. Let the loaf defrost for about 10 minutes, just enough so you can unwrap it from the paper.

  3. Pour half of a can of tomato sauce into a loaf pan. Place the gefilte fish loaf on top of the sauce.

  4. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce on top of the fish loaf. Cover with aluminum foil.

  5. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

  6. Cool, and then cover and refrigerate.

  7. Serve slices of the fish, cold, on top of lettuce.

Recipe Variations

  • Lightly sauté an onion and some garlic and place it on top of the tomato sauce and fish.
  • You can also add some sauteed sliced bell peppers to the tomato sauce.
  • Dried herbs such as paprika, allspice, and parsley work well.
  • Don't forget to add some salt and pepper if it needs it. Sometimes canned tomatoes can be salty, so be sure to taste it first.

How to Store and Freeze Baked Gefilte Fish

Store gefilte fish, once baked, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve cold. This fish also freezes well. If you freeze the fish, be sure to boil it again, then chill and refrigerate before serving.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
67 Calories
1g Fat
7g Carbs
7g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 67
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Cholesterol 21mg 7%
Sodium 517mg 22%
Total Carbohydrate 7g 3%
Dietary Fiber 0g 2%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 3mg 14%
Calcium 21mg 2%
Iron 2mg 11%
Potassium 155mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)