Baked breaded calamari Mediterranean style is a truly winning fish dish; in addition to being delicious, they are also very easy and quick to prepare.

The calamari, sliced into rings, will be soft and tender inside, but also crispy on the surface thanks to the addition of cornmeal as well as breadcrumbs; they will also be made even more flavorful by cherry tomatoes and black olives.

This recipe could become your ace in the hole for dinners with your friends or family.

Below you will find the list of ingredients, the step-by-step procedure, and also the complete VIDEO.

– Chiara –

Baked breaded calamari

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Economical
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients to prepare BAKED BREADED CALAMARI

1.75 lbs calamari (fresh or frozen)
2 cups cherry tomatoes (I use both yellow and red datterini)
2.8 oz black olives (pitted, make sure they are of good quality)
4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
zest of 1 lemon (edible peel)
zest of half an orange
to taste extra virgin olive oil
to taste salt
to taste ground black pepper
to taste chopped parsley
to taste coarse cornmeal
2 cloves garlic

Tools to prepare BAKED BREADED CALAMARI

Baking pan

Steps to prepare BAKED BREADED CALAMARI

Start with the cherry tomatoes: wash them, cut them in half, preferably lengthwise, and place them in a bowl.
Season them with oil, salt, and pepper; mix them and set them aside for later.
Take the calamari already cleaned (ask your fishmonger to clean them for you, or if you buy frozen ones, they will already be cleaned) and cut them into rings about 0.6-0.8 inches wide.
Place them in a bowl along with the tentacles, after gently drying them as much as possible with paper towels; this step will be very useful to achieve soft calamari inside and crispy outside after cooking.
Note: obviously, if you buy frozen calamari, you will need to defrost them first, preferably in the refrigerator.
Season your calamari rings with oil, salt, pepper, chopped parsley with a knife, and two garlic cloves cut into halves.
Give it a first mix, then add the grated zest of the lemon and half an orange with edible peel.
Now add the breadcrumbs and give it a last mix.
Transfer everything onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper and distribute the calamari well so they are as little overlapped as possible.
Add another sprinkle of breadcrumbs, a generous sprinkle of coarse cornmeal, then add the cherry tomatoes and olives.
Add a few more parsley leaves if necessary and a drizzle of olive oil (optional).
Bake at 374°F in a convection oven for about 15-20 minutes if the calamari are small like the ones I used; if you use larger calamari, extend the cooking time by an additional 5-10 minutes.
Remove your BAKED BREADED CALAMARI from the oven and enjoy them hot.
You will taste the goodness in their simplicity. Crispy on the outside and soft inside, with all the aromas of the Mediterranean.

Storage and Tips

This recipe, as you can imagine, lends itself to many variations; you can indeed replace the cherry tomatoes and/or olives with any other ingredient of your choice, as long as it does not release too much water during cooking and has the same cooking times as the calamari.

For example, you can replace the cherry tomatoes with very small diced potatoes; you can also add some finely chopped onions.

You can also cook only the breaded calamari and pair them with a separately prepared side dish, such as good homemade mashed potatoes.

Baked breaded calamari are best enjoyed hot because they lose some of their crispiness when cold or warm, but if you happen to have leftovers, you can store them for up to one day in the refrigerator covered with food wrap.

– If you liked this recipe, you can find more interesting ideas on my blog page dedicated to MAIN DISHES where I leave you the direct link (HERE).