Lemon Butter Baked Cod

Last updated on April 13th, 2019 at 10:36 pm

This Lemon Butter Baked Cod is the perfect healthy and easy weeknight dinner! Baked Cod in a lemon butter sauce with cherry tomatoes and olives, all ready in just 30 minutes!

Baked Cod

I love cooking with cod because while cod on its own is pretty boring, if using the right ingredients you can have amazing results. This recipe is foolproof and incredibly simple. It’s also a great recipe to use for any white fish. While I used cod, feel free to replace it with halibut, tilapia, or whatever fish you like.

I used cherry tomatoes and olives in this dish. I love baked cherry tomatoes, and they add so much freshness to a dish like this. However, you could use so many other great ingredients like asparagus, peppers, maybe even some baby spinach.

Ingredients You Need to Make Baked Cod

My favorite thing about this dish is the sauce. It’s so full of flavor and so fresh. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• butter
• garlic
• chili flakes
• white wine
• lemon juice
• salt & pepper
• cherry tomatoes
• olives
• parsley
• thyme
• cod fillets

How to Make Lemon Butter Baked Cod

There are mainly 2 steps to making this cod. Start by seasoning the cod with salt and pepper on both sides. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil in a 9×13 inch baking dish then place the cod in the dish.

Bake the fish, covered with foil for about 12 minutes at 425 degrees F.

While the fish is baking, prepare the sauce. Start with melting the butter in a skillet. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and let it come to a boil. Add the cherry tomatoes, olives and lemon juice. Let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to pop. Finally add the herbs and stir.

Remove the foil from the fish and pour the sauce over the fish. Return the dish to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

What to Serve With Lemon Butter Baked Cod

We served this cod over rice. However, you could serve it over pasta, quinoa or orzo as well. There’s plenty of sauce that would go great over pasta such as penne.

Other dishes to consider serving this with:

• Asparagus and tomatoes
• Lemon asparagus and orzo
• Kale and Quinoa Salad
• Mashed potatoes

Tips for Making the Best Baked Cod

Do not over bake the cod. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the cod to cook completely at 400 F degrees. Of course the time depends on the thickness of the fillets. When it’s done baking, the cod should be flaky and opaque in color.

Use simple ingredients. Cod will shine with just a few delicious ingredients, such as butter, garlic, lemon juice or even capers. Keep it simple!

Make the lemon butter sauce separately so it keeps its creaminess and won’t break down.

How to Store Leftover Cod

Properly store leftover cod in an airtight container in the fridge. It can last 3 to 4 days.

You can also freeze it, in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

More Fish Recipes:

• Fresh Sole Fish with Pea Salad
• Vietnamese Fish Tacos
• Fish and Chips
• Firecracker Salmon
• Baked Lemon Garlic Halibut
• Halibut Soup

Lemon Butter Baked Cod

This Lemon Butter Baked Cod is the perfect healthy and easy weeknight dinner! Baked Cod in a lemon butter sauce with cherry tomatoes and olives, all ready in just 30 minutes!

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: baked cod, cod, lemon garlic butter

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 3

Calories: 379kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients

• 1 lb cod fillets (about 3 fillets)
• 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Lemon Butter Sauce

• 4 tbsp butter unsalted
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
• 2 sprigs thyme

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Prepare and bake cod: Season the cod filets on both sides with salt and pepper. Drizzle the olive oil in a baking dish and lay the filets in the dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 12 minutes.
• Make the sauce: While the fish cooks, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, then pour in the white wine. Allow the sauce to come to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes. 
• Add the cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives and lemon juice. Let the sauce simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to pop. After the sauce has simmered, add the parsley and thyme, and mix well.
• Add sauce to cod and bake: Remove the foil from the fish, and pour the sauce into the baking dish over the fish. Spread the tomatoes and olives evenly around the filets. Return the dish to the oven and cook for another 5 minutes.

Watch How To Make It

Notes

1. This recipe will work with other mild flavored white fish such as tilapia, bass, halibut, sole, etc.
2. Dry white wines work best for this recipe. This includes Chardonnay, pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon blanc.
3. If you don't want to use wine, you can use 1/4 cup chicken broth with 1 tsp vinegar as a substitute.
4. You can use more or less garlic depending on your preference.
5. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition

Serving: 1fillet | Calories: 379kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 838mg | Potassium: 902mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 28% | Vitamin C: 45.3% | Calcium: 6% | Iron: 9.1%

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