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Easy baked cod recipe with lemon, olive oil, salt and cayenne pepper. One of the best cod recipes baked in the oven. Moist, juicy with 5 mins prep time. So good!
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Baked Cod Recipe
Cod is my favorite fish, other than swai fish and tilapia.
Oven baked cod is one of the best fish recipes and the end result is always juicy and moist.
As cod fillets have very mild flavor, you only need a few ingredients such as lemon and olive oil to bake the fish.
Why This Recipe Works
This simple and healthy recipe is so easy and calls for four (4) seasonings to bring out the natural flavors of cod fish. The cooking process takes as little as five (5) minutes prep time.
It’s a great dinner idea for those busy weeknights, especially after a busy day at work and you just want to come home for a simple, healthy, and quick dinner.
Other fish Recipes You Might Like
Garlic Butter Fish
Baked Salmon
Lemon Butter Swai Fish
Lemon Parmesan Tilapia
Ingredients for Cod Fish Recipes
Fresh or frozen cod.
Olive oil.
Lemon juice.
Cayenne pepper.
How to Bake Cod?
To bake cod fillets in an oven, first you need a baking tray. I like using a glass baking tray.
You can also line a piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet and place the fish on top of it before baking.
The perfect temperature for baking cod fish is 400°F or 205°C.
How long to bake cod? The answer is 10 – 12 minutes; the baking time for cod fish depends on the thickness of the fish.
DO NOT overcook the fish fillets or they will turn dry and rubbery.
Can I Use Frozen Cod Fillets?
Yes. Thaw the frozen cod fillet at room temperature before cooking. Do not cook frozen fish straight out of the freezer as the texture will be tough.
After thawing, do make sure you pat dry the fish fillets with paper towels to remove excess water inside the fish. This simple step will make sure that there is no cloudy “fish water” seeping out after baking, and the natural sweetness of cod will shine through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is It Healthy?
This recipe is healthy as cod fish is very low in fat. It’s high in lean protein and loaded with vitamin B-12, B3 (Niacin) and B6.
It has a lot of health benefits such as promoting heart wellness and brain functions. It’s also low in mercury.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This baked cod fish is only 286 calories per serving.
What to Serve with This Recipe?
Serve this dish with side dishes such as boiled potatoes. For a healthy meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Baked Cod (The Best Recipe!)
Easybaked cod recipewith lemon, olive oil, salt and cayenne pepper. One of the bestcod recipesbaked in the oven. Moist, juicy with 5 mins prep time. So good!
Try a gentle cooking method: Instead of adding fat, you can also try a gentle cooking method like steaming or cooking en papillote. Both of these methods help to preserve Pacific cod's high moisture content and produce incredibly tender results.
Should I defrost cod before cooking? You don't have to defrost cod before cooking it as long os the fillets are around six ounces and under one-inch thickness. Anything larger and you should consider defrosting your cod first or else you'll risk uneven cooking throughout the cut.
Soaking is the most important step in preparing salt cod. Most recipes say to soak for 24 hours. However, this is risky and may leave the fish too salty. About 48 hours is a better bet.
Carefully flip the cod and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the fish feels slightly firm when gently pressed with your finger.
Dry fish: It used to be recommended to rinse fish before baking, but fear of splattering harmful bacteria that might be on the fish changed that. We recommend not rinsing unless you need to rinse off any scales. Pat dry with paper towels whether you rinse or not.
Before cooking, soak the fish in milk for 20 minutes
In this scenario, the protein in the milk binds with the compounds that cause that fishy odor, in essence extracting if from the fish. What's left behind is sweet-smelling, brighter flesh with clean flavor. (Just make sure you pour that milk down the drain.
Pan-frying is a great option for cod fillet or loin as there is time to produce a lovely crispy skin without overcooking the delicate, flaky flesh. This is the way cod and similar white fish are often cooked in restaurant kitchens and is very simple to do at home.
Overcooked fish loses its natural moisture, which can result in a dry and chewy texture. The proteins in the fish also begin to tighten, which can make the fish tough and rubbery. In addition, overcooked fish can have a severe lack of flavor, as the heat causes the natural oils in the fish to evaporate.
If you salt your fish less than an hour before cooking, you can leave the fish on the kitchen counter. If you salt it for longer, refrigerate it so it doesn't spoil. Another tip is to remove the fish from the fridge half an hour before cooking.
Take your fish out of the refrigerator 5 to 10 minutes before grilling to let it come to room temperature. You will want to leave your fish on the grill for 8 to 10 minutes per inch of thickness. Make sure to preheat your grill to 400°F to 450°F and always grill with the lid down.
Salting fish, like sea bass fillets, before cooking helps to firm up the flesh and improves the texture. If you've travelled much in Spain or Portugal you will no doubt of seen salt cod, or bacalao on the menu – this is where the fish is covered in salt for days to remove all the moisture.
If you use this method, be sure to leave the fish in its plastic wrapping. If you place the fish directly in the water to thaw, it will become waterlogged and fall apart when baked.
Fish usually turn mushy after being taken out of the freezer to defrost before cooking. Per The Spruce Eats, it can happen when your previously frozen fish is dunked in water without any packaging and takes in moisture.
To give the cod some good color and texture, sear it in olive oil for about 2 minutes on each side. Add the lemon sauce. Now, to the lemon sauce, add 5 minced garlic cloves (so much flavor), then pour it over the cod. Bake in 400 degrees F heated oven for about 10 minutes or until the cod is cooked through.
COD-FISH is a strand-specific modification of standard FISH technology which allows the hybridization of single-stranded probes to one, and only one, chromatid of a metaphase chromosome.
The secret to cooking perfectly moist and flaky fish is to avoid overcooking it. The use of fat and lemon juice in this Whole30 cod recipe locks in the natural moisture of the fish and helps it cook in a quick manner. As a result, you should never have dry, rubbery fish again.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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