# Baked Sardines with Chickpeas and Tomato

**By Merve Tığlı** · 2026-10-07

Fresh sardines baked on a thick tomato and chickpea sauce, warmed with sweet paprika and cumin, then finished with lemon and parsley — a simple, hearty Mediterranean dinner.

**Serves 2**

### Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

-   Energy: 537 kcal
-   Protein: 41 g
-   Fat: 24 g
-   Carbohydrate: 30 g
-   Fibre: 12 g

_Estimated values._

### Ingredients

-   300 g fresh sardines, cleaned, heads removed and butterflied (fresh anchovies or horse mackerel can be used instead)
-   1 can (400 g) chopped tomatoes
-   200 g cooked chickpeas, drained
-   1 medium onion, finely chopped
-   2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
-   1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-   1 tsp sweet paprika
-   ½ tsp ground cumin
-   ½ tsp salt
-   ¼ tsp black pepper
-   Juice of ½ lemon
-   2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

### Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 200 °C (fan 180 °C).
2.  Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3.  Stir in the paprika and cumin, then add the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, salt and black pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
4.  Pour the sauce into a baking dish and lay the sardines on top, skin side up.
5.  Bake for 15–18 minutes, until the sardines are cooked through and the flesh is opaque and flakes easily.
6.  Squeeze over the lemon juice, sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.

**Tags:** anti-ageing, brain-health, dairy-free, gluten-free, healthy-ageing, high-protein, hormone-health, recipes, weight-loss, weight-management, wellness, womens-health

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> Source: [nFit Diet & Nutrition](https://shop.nfitdiet.com/blogs/nfit-recipes/baked-sardines-with-chickpeas-and-tomato)