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Baked sardines on a baking sheet with lemon slices, a drizzle of chermoula sauce and some stuffed tomatoes on the side

Sardines

We love Sardines! And this is a full guide on everything you need to know about Sardines! How to buy, how to cook sardines, canned sardines, a fabulous Sardine recipe and much much more with video! This is a seafood lovers dream so don't miss it! 

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Main Dish, Seafood
Cuisine American, Italian, Mediterranean, seafood
Keyword canned sardines, how to cook fish, how to cook sardine, Sardine fish, Sardines, seafood, what is sardine
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 477 kcal
Author Mahy

Ingredients

  • 16 sardines fresh

Flavoring

  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 cup fresh herbs minced, a combo of parsley cilantro oregano and mint or your favorite
  • 1 large lemon juiced
  • 2/3 cup olive oil extra virgin--we use Mina Olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt and peppr or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 jalapeno minced, optional
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes optional

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

  2. Prepare the sardines making sure they're washed, dried and gutted.

    A hand holding a fresh healthy sardine showing details of how to buy

  3. Mix all the flavor ingredients in a small bowl

    Ingredients mixed in a bowl to flavor the sardines which include garlic, herbs, olive oil and lemon and seasoning

  4. Take the gutted sardines and use a spoon to spoon in a tablespoon or so of the flavoring mix into the git and sides of each sardine.

    A spoon slathering the ingredients for sardine recipe inside the gut of fresh sardines to flavor it

  5. Repeat with the remaining ones

  6. Arrange the flavored sardines on a baking sheet and add some lemon slices if you like.

    Flavored sardines on a baking sheet with lemon slices ready to go in the oven to bake

  7. Drizzle with olive oil and bake the fish for 12-15 minutes depending on the size.

  8. The sardines are ready when they shrink slightly and the skin looses the shine.

    Baked sardines out of the oven cooked and ready

  9. drizzle some chermoula sauce over the cooked sardines and serve with some herb/chermoula sauce tomatoes.

    close up of a cooked sardine on a sheet with lots of herb sauce chermoula and lemon wedges

  10. Enjoy!

    A hand holding a cooked sardine with a wooden spoon showing the perfectly cooked fish

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  1. Try to buy fresh sardines when possible, and make sure they smell clean like the ocean, the gut is intact and the skin is shiny.
  2. When buying fresh, make sure to cook them the same day because of their high omega-3 content.
  3. The flavor ingredients are an old family recipe, feel free to use your own spice blends.
  4. Bake the sardines in a singe layer so they cook evenly.
  5. Sardines are great as main dishes, but also great to use as an appetizer like calamari.
  6. Make the chermoula sauce ahead of time, which is similar to a chimichurri sauce but it's Moroccan rather than Argentinian.
  7. Serve sardines with bread, salad, pasta, rice or as it is!
Nutrition Facts
Sardines
Amount Per Serving
Calories 477 Calories from Fat 441
% Daily Value*
Fat 49g75%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Polyunsaturated Fat 8g
Monounsaturated Fat 33g
Cholesterol 68mg23%
Sodium 157mg7%
Potassium 420mg12%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 18g36%
Vitamin A 183IU4%
Vitamin C 21mg25%
Calcium 259mg26%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.