Garlic Butter Lemon Baked Cod

Impress your family for dinner tonight with this incredibly easy Garlic Butter Lemon Baked Cod! With the zesty lemon and the rich garlic butter sauce, this will get the thumbs-up from even the pickiest eaters.

Are you a fish lover? I definitely wasn’t always. Definitely nothing beyond a salmon fillet.

But when you marry a guy who comes from a Mediterranean island? You gotta change your ways, ha!

I’m an absolute convert when it comes to fish now – and both kids are HUGE fish lovers, too.

This is one of my favorite easy and absolutely foolproof ways to prepare fish – any fish really, but today it’s cod. I make it at least once a month, and it’s always a huge hit at our house!

Lemon Butter Baked Cod Video Tutorial:

Baked Cod with Lemon and Butter

I’ve been making fish this way for years now – because it’s quick, easy and absolutely delicious.

I love how the cod kind of poaches in the lemony garlic butter sauce, but it’s still super hands-off because it’s baked in the oven.

The fish stays super succulent and delicious this way, and you automatically get a delicious sauce to mop up with bread, rice or potatoes. Win!

How to Bake Cod

There are many different ways to make oven baked cod, but this is the method I use the most, right next to foil baking.

It’s super simple: Place the fish in a greased baking dish (skin-side down, if there’s skin on your fillets) and pour the lemon mix over it. Dot with butter and bake!

So easy, but so good.

How long to bake cod

The exact baking time depends on the thickness of your fillet pieces.

When I have quite thick fish, I’ll bake it for around 20 minutes. Thinner pieces will be done after 10-15 minutes.

You can also check with an instant-read thermometer to make sure you’re not eating undercooked fish.

How do you know when cod is cooked? What temperature should you cook cod at?

You can tell your cod is cooked when it becomes opaque and flakes easily.

The internal temperature for cod should reach 145°F at the thickest part to be safe.

What should I serve with baked cod fish?

We love serving this with vegetables and any carb that helps mop up the delicious sauce – potatoes, rice or even some crusty bread are all a great choice.

To make a SUPER easy dinner:

Just place the baking dish with fish on one side of a rimmed sheet pan and fill the remaining space with veggies that will cook in 15-20 minutes (bell peppers, zucchini, red onion, asparagus, cherry tomatoes…), drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Then bake as directed in the baked cod recipe below and serve with bread. So, so easy!

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More easy fish recipes:

Baked Whole Fish

Summer Veggie Salmon Foil Packets

Honey Teriyaki Salmon Baked in Foil

One Sheet Pan Tuscan Baked Salmon and Veggies

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