White Fish in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Julia S
May 22, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Jun 7, 2024

Tender, flaky white fish swimming in a sea of light cream sauce brightened with fresh and sundried tomatoes. Perhaps nothing revolutionary, but a solid choice for a tasty weeknight meal that's relatively low prep and low effort!

Close up of flaky pieces of white fish, fresh and sundried tomato pieces, vegetables, and pan fried gnocchi coated in a creamy sauce and topped with slightly melted parmesan cheese and fresh parsley in a white bowl.

Recipe Notes, Modifications, and Customization

Ingredients

Fish

Different types of white fish are grouped together as a category because they share a lot of similar characteristics. I find that for the most part they're close enough that it doesn't make a huge difference to swap them out in most recipes. Full disclosure, my decision on which type to use is usually largely dependent on what was available and most affordable at Costco lately.

But, if you do want to get into it, the main differences between types of white fish come in terms of:

flakiness — influences how the fish will hold up to being stirred in the sauce and result in larger or smaller pieces of fish in the final dish
flavour — some varieties do have a slightly stronger flavour than others
fat — leaner varieties are more prone to overcooking and becoming dry (though this is mitigated to some degree in this recipe as cooking the fish in the sauce helps prevent drying out)
thickness — how thick or thin the fillets are will influence the time it needs to cook through

A lot of what determines which fish is 'best' to use in a recipe is personal preference. Just keep in mind how each factor will affect the final dish, and choose whichever type best suits your tastes. If you're unfamiliar with white fish and looking for some extra explanation and info on the different varieties, this post from The Cookful and this post on the Alaskan Salmon Company's website are helpful.

Cheese

I use a lactose free dairy cream cheese and a parmesan-style soy 'cheese' when I make this recipe.

I haven't tried many non-dairy cream cheese alternative products, but have seen quite a few out there (if anyone has tried any good ones and has recommendations for me to try, drop a comment!)

I also have not personally tried these, so can't guarantee the results, but if I was to recommend some non-dairy alternatives, I would think that it would probably be fairly similar (or at least also enjoyable) to sub the cream cheese with Silk's whipping cream alternative (I find it doesn't have too strong of a non-dairy flavour as compared to an equally rich alternative like coconut cream), or Silk's non dairy half and half for a lower calorie version (with the caveat of coming with the loss of some degree of richness) or with a bit of blended tofu.

The parmesan could probably be best imitated with nutritional yeast to get a similar savoury flavour, but might need a little additional salt. I'd definitely give it a taste before going too crazy on that front, though.

Vegetables

I would say the onions and tomatoes are pretty integral to the flavour and composition of the sauce, so I wouldn't recommend leaving those out. I included spinach in the recipe as well, but if that isn't your thing feel free to omit.

If you're looking to beef up your veggie count and really get your half plate, throw in some of your faves! My personal suggestions would be zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, or broccoli.

If you're adding extra veggies, I'd add them closer to the end of cooking. For things that take longer to cook like mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, or anything frozen like peas I would add in at the same time as the fish, whereas for quicker cooking vegetables that run the risk of turning into less than appealing mush if cooked too long (e.g. zucchini, cabbage, bell peppers, greens) I'd give the fish a few minutes head start before throwing the vegetables in.

Chicken base

I generally use a concentrated stock base (this is a Better Than Bouillon household. No I am not sponsored I am just a fan) and add water as opposed to using stock, since I find it's easier to control the flavour without having to worry about adding too much liquid and crossing the line from sauce to soup. Also you can leave a jar of that stuff in the fridge forever whereas I'm pretty sure you're supposed to consume those tetra packs of stock within like a week once opened, and I sometimes don't have use for an entire litre of stock in that timeframe. But anyways, you definitely can just use stock in place of the base and water if that's what you prefer/have on hand.

I don't have a lot of experience using the powdered stock mixes, but for the Better Than Bouillon it recommends to cut 1 tsp of base with 1 cup of water to get the same concentration as 1 cup of regular broth/stock. So if you are using one of the powders, I'd use whatever amount of powder the package recommends for making 2 cups of stock/broth, whether you actually need 2 cups of liquid to cover your fish or not (this should give you a similar flavour intensity as the recipe as it's written).

I was also gonna mention this as like a vegan stock option, but then realized that the fish is kind of one of the main pillars of the recipe, so vegans are probably not my main audience here lol. BUT, pescatarian diets are pretty common, and if that's you then a quick sub with vegetable base/stock shouldn't give you any trouble!

Sundried tomato oil

If you're using sundried tomatoes reconstituted from dry, or in some form other than in oil, I'd recommend subbing the sundried tomato oil called for in the recipe with olive oil.

Method

Structural integrity of the fish

As mentioned in the above "fish" section, how the fish holds up will depend a lot on the type of fish used. If you don't mind a bit of disintegration, follow the recipe as written and try and be careful when stirring in the cheese. If you're really adamant about keeping your fillets as intact as possible, follow the recipe up to just before you add in the cheese. Carefully remove the cooked fish from the sauce and set aside, stir in the cheese and adjust the seasoning and thickness of the sauce, and then carefully add the fish back in and spoon the sauce over it to coat.

Thickening the sauce

On the topic of thickening the sauce, whether this step is even necessary will depend on how much water/stock was added in the first place and how hard you've been boiling things. If you do need to to thicken the sauce, you can either let it boil gently uncovered until the extra water evaporates off, or if you're impatient and getting hangry (I know I usually am while cooking dinner) you can dissolve some cornstarch (I usually start with around 2 tsp/10g) in a few tablespoons of water, stir it into the sauce and give it a minute or two to get to work. If the sauce is still too thin, continue adding dissolved cornstarch 1 tsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Make it a Meal

To me, a creamy tomato sauce whispers "pasta" or "gnocchi", but the world is your oyster (or in this case your white fish, I guess). The recipe that inspired this one served it over rice. Another idea is along with a side salad and some bread or garlic toast to soak up extra sauce. Or if you're trying to cut carbs or going for a lighter meal, I imagine it would also be quite nice over a bed of greens.

If you are serving with pasta or gnocchi, you can either serve the fish and sauce spooned over the cooked pasta/gnocchi, or you can cook the pasta/gnocchi a little al dente, toss it into the pan along with the spinach, and give it a good toss and a few minutes to get nice and saucy.