Mediterranean Sardines on Toast (Ready in 15 Mins)

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If you’re looking to get more omega-3 fats in your diet, then this Mediterranean-style sardines on toast dish is perfect.

Using different spices and ingredients to flavor the sardines, it is a good meal you can whip up quickly if you don’t have many ingredients on hand.

Best served as a quick breakfast or lunch, this is a great recipe to have at the ready for when you need an easy, yet tasty, fish dish.

Why You Should Try This Sardines on Toast Recipe

This recipe is one of the easiest ways to get those omega-3 fats into your diet.

If you’re not a big fan of the taste of fish, then this recipe uses lots of ingredients like lemon zest, chili flakes and garlic to add different dimensions of flavor. 

It also has extra veggies with the tomatoes and onions that can help you hit your 5-a-day.

If you need to consume extra protein within your diet, then the sardines and wholemeal bread also combine to give a big protein boost, with a total of 36g of protein within the meal.

It uses staples that can easily be found in your local supermarket and can be cooked and served on the table within 10 minutes. What more could you want?

Why Choose Sardines on a Mediterranean Diet?

This sardines on toast recipe was created to be as healthy as possible if you’re following a Mediterranean diet.

Sardines are one of the best fish to eat to get your omega-3 fats. Most people don’t get enough omega-3 fat and it must be consumed through diet, as it cannot be produced by the body.

Omega 3 fatty acids have a range of health benefits, including:

• Reduced inflammation (1, 2, 3).
• Reduced triglycerides (4, 5)
• Reduced blood pressure (6, 7)
• Reduced age-related mental decline (8, 9, 10)

Fatty fish like sardines contain the most omega-3 fats, hence why fatty fish is often recommended to be eaten regularly on healthy diets like the Mediterranean diet. 

Out of the fatty fish like salmon, tuna and herring for example, sardines are one of the best fatty fish to choose because

1. They have the one of the highest concentrations of omega-3 fats (1463 mg per serving).
2. They have some of the lowest levels of mercury of any fish according to the FDA (3).

Both of these points mean if you’re trying to eat more fish, then you can’t do much better than opt for sardines.

Health Benefits of Sardines on Toast

This recipe is full of healthy ingredients that are perfect if you’re looking for a health boost. 

• Sardines – these are full of omega-3 fats, but also other important vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B-12, D and calcium, as well as a good source of protein.
• Wholemeal Bread – whole grain bread is a complex carbohydrate. It is full of fiber and B-vitamins and offers a good amount of protein per slice too.
• Tomatoes – tomatoes are an excellent source of a number of different vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, potassium, vitamin K1 and folate (vitamin B9)
• Onions – onions contain good amounts of certain vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, folate (vitamin B9), vitamin B6 and potassium.

Ingredient Substitutions

Scallions (spring onions), shallots or leeks for onion. If you don’t have any onions in your pantry, then there are a couple of alternatives you can use.

• Spring onions have a slightly stronger flavor than onions
• Leeks have a milder, sweeter flavor than onions
• Shallots tend to taste milder than onions, but lose their flavor when cooking, so they aren’t ideal.

Chilis or chili flakes for chili powder. Both chili flakes and chili powder are made from dried chili peppers. However, flakes are small, chopped pieces, whereas powder is fine. Flakes tend to sit atop food, while powders permeate a dish

Chili powder can often include other ingredients such as oregano, cumin and garlic powder that adds flavor. Flakes tend to sit atop food, while powders permeate a dish.

Fresh chilis can be used instead of chili powder too. Generally, 1 chili corresponds to half a teaspoon of chili flakes or powder.

Create your own chili powder with other spices. If you don’t have chili powder on hand, then you can create something similar with different spices. For 1 tsp chili powder, you can use:

• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Tomatoes. We’ve used cherry tomatoes in this recipe, but all kinds of tomatoes are fine. If you use larger tomato types, be sure to cut them thinner so they work nicely on the bread.

Sardines on Toast Ingredients

To make this sardines on toast recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients to serve 2 people:

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ lemon, juice
• 2 x 4oz (2 x 120g) cans of sardines in olive oil
• 4 slices of brown bread
• small bunch of parsley, chopped
• ½ cup (100g) cherry tomatoes
• 4 tbsp hummus

How to Make Sardines on Toast 

Step 1 – Heat the oil in a frying pan. In the meantime, dice the onions and crush the garlic.

Step 2 – When the oil is warm, add the garlic and onions and cook for a few minutes until golden. Add the chilli powder and cinnamon and cook for a further minute.

Step 3 – Add sardines and heat for a few extra minutes until warm.

Step 4 – In the meantime, cut up the tomatoes and toast the bread. Add the parsley and add a squeeze of lemon juice to the sardines.

Step 5 – Spread the hummus onto the toast once ready.

Step 6 – Divide the onions, tomatoes and sardines onto the toast and serve.

Yield: 2

Mediterranean Sardines on Toast

Print

This salmon on toast is full of flavors with a spicy kick. Perfect as a breakfast or dinner and ready in 15 minutes, this recipe is full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ lemon, juice
• 2 x 4oz (2 x 120g) cans of sardines in olive oil
• 4 tbsp hummus
• ½ cup (100g) cherry tomatoes
• 4 slices of brown bread
• Small bunch of parsley, chopped

Instructions

Step 1 - Heat the oil in a frying pan. In the meantime, dice the onions and crush the garlic.

Step 2 - When the oil is warm, add the garlic and onions and cook for a few minutes until golden. Add the chilli powder and cinnamon and cook for a further minute.

Step 3 - Add sardines and heat for a few extra minutes until warm. In the meantime, cut up the tomatoes and toast the bread. Add the parsley and add a squeeze of lemon juice to the sardines.

Step 4 - Spread the hummus onto the toast once ready. Divide the onions, tomatoes and sardines onto the toast and serve.

Nutrition Information

Yield

2

Serving Size

2
Amount Per Serving Calories 524Total Fat 27gSaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 191mgSodium 1017mgCarbohydrates 42gFiber 9gSugar 8gProtein 36g

Want More Delicious, Mediterranean Style Recipes?

If you’ve cooked this recipe, be sure to leave a comment or review! But if you’re looking for more:

1. Find more Mediterranean-style recipes on our website.
2. Try our free 7 day Mediterranean diet plan with 20 recipes.
3. Get our 4-week Mediterranean diet plan, Med in 28 plan, that makes following the Mediterranean diet a breeze!