Garlic Butter Baked Cod
Do you love garlic bread as much I as do? Like, do you keep it on hand in your freezer at all times? Then you’re going to love this Garlic Butter Baked Cod. In my search for a more filling vehicle for that buttery garlic goodness (something that I wouldn’t be tempted to eat 16 pieces of in one sitting), I found some leftover cod fillets in my freezer that had “garlic butter” written all over them!
The mild, slightly rich flavor of a cod filet is the perfect base for the zesty fresh garlic and sweet, creamy butter. And as if this Garlic Butter Baked Cod wasn’t already perfect, it also happens to be incredibly fast and easy to make. Weeknight dinner perfection!
For this recipe, I literally took my basic Garlic Bread recipe and duplicated the topping, adding a pinch of paprika for color (baked cod is notoriously pale), and used that as the topping for my cod. I also happened to have a couple lemons, so I sliced one up and added it to the baking dish, which added a nice bright flavor to balance the rich butter. It’s absolute flavor perfection and my mouth is watering just typing this!
Should I Use Frozen or Fresh Cod?
Use whichever is available to you. If using frozen, make sure it is fully thawed first (transfer to the refrigerator the day before).
Is Fresh Parsley a Must?
I don’t expect you to buy an entire bunch of parsley just for 1 Tbsp of chopped parsley for this recipe. If you don’t already have some on hand, you can either skip the fresh parsley, or use one teaspoon dried parsley in its place.
Is the Lemon Necessary?
While you can make this recipe without the lemon, the lemon does take the flavor to the next level, so get a lemon if you can! Single lemons can be expensive, so remember, you can freeze your whole lemons if you buy them by the bag!
What Should I Serve with Garlic Butter Baked Cod?
I served my Garlic Butter Baked Cod with Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes, but I think it would also be awesome with roasted broccoli, maybe some Lemony Artichoke and Quinoa Salad, or Roasted Vegetable Couscous.
P.S. I wrote the recipe below for just two servings because that’s all the cod I had left after testing, but you can easily increase it to four by changing the number of servings in the box below. It will automatically adjust the ingredients below to match.
Garlic Butter Baked Cod
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter (room temperature) ($0.26)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/8 tsp paprika ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.01)
- 1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley ($0.10)
- 8 oz. cod (two 4 oz. filets) ($2.48)
- 1 fresh lemon ($0.37)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl, combine the butter, olive oil, garlic, paprika, salt, and chopped parsley. Stir until it forms a fairly smooth paste.
- Take a small dollop of the garlic butter and spread it over the surface of a small baking dish to keep the fish from sticking. Add the cod filets to the dish and then coat all sides of the fish with the remaining garlic butter.
- Slice half of the lemon and add the lemon slices to the baking dish with the fish. Cut the remaining 1/2 lemon into wedges for serving.
- Bake the cod for 20 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork and the internal temperature reaches 145ºF. Spoon any juices from the bottom of the pan over the fish. Serve the cod immediately with the remaining fresh lemon wedges for squeezing juice over top.
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
Pictured with Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes.
Step by Step Photos:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp room temperature butter, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 cloves garlic (minced), 1/8 tsp paprika, 1/8 tsp salt, and about 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley.
Mix the ingredients together until they form a fairly smooth paste.
Take a small dollop of the garlic butter and smear it over the surface of a small baking dish (to prevent the fish from sticking). Place the cod filets in the dish, then coat them on all sides with the remaining garlic butter mixture. Slice half a lemon and add the slices to the baking dish. Cut the rest of the lemon into wedges to serve with the finished fish.
Bake the Garlic Butter Cod for 20 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork and reaches an internal temperature of 145ºF.
Spoon any of the juices in the pan over the fish (that will spread the lemony flavor).
Serve immediately with some of the baked lemon slices, and a couple of the fresh lemon wedges to squeeze over top.
I paired my Garlic Butter Baked Cod with Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes. It’s a great easy no-brainer side dish that you can serve with anything from fish to steak! Stay tuned!
I found the recipe simple and delicious! I added a little bit more garlic and used smoked paprika l, and me and my hubby loved it! Thx so much!
For a novice this was delicious and easy to do! I love cod being from the cape cod area did it justice!
Delish! I have tried several cod recipes, and this is the only one I will be repeating – regularly! And I will definitely be using the garlic butter topping on my garlic bread in the future. Thank you for sharing this!
Fantastic ! I wanted to make fried fish but the pieces were wrong. I saw this recipe, tried it and am now putting it in my cookbook . So yummy. It’s in my experimental successes list! I had leftover roast butternut squash which I baked at the same time. Normally I, too, would have gone with something like asparagus.
My new favorite baked cod dish. so delish!
This was very simple to make, yet very flavorful. I put a couple of slices of ginger on top of the fish. This recipe is now one of my go to recipes to add more fish to our diet and change things up. Thank you!
Had fresh lemons and salmon in the fridge, so decided to give it a go. Worked great with the salmon! Very fresh and flavourful. Served with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli, and spooned the extra garlic butter over the sides.
LOVED THIS!
I’ve made this twice now; once with cod and once with chicken. Absolutely fantastic! The only change I made was adding some feta to the asparagus and tomatoes.
Delicious, going to make this again and again. Cod was moist and flakey.
I made this tonight and increased the recipe to 4 servings. Made exactly as recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Restaurant quality! Definite keeper!
This looks really delicious. I love fish and rarely make it because I often spoil it. This recipe looks pretty sure fire.
Gonna make this tonight! Looks delish! Do you think it will still turn out if I use lemon juice in the mix instead of lemon? I have no lemons on hand.
While you can make this recipe without the lemon, the lemon does take the flavor to the next level, so get a lemon if you can. Single lemons can be expensive, so remember, you can freeze your whole lemons if you buy them by the bag!
I agree with Max. The cod was overdone at 20 minutes. Next time- 15 minutes or how about broiling to get a crunchy top? Loved the recipe and the look of the dish. Worth experimenting with.
There are comments about the cod coming out rubbery, that’s because it’s overcooked. Try 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes instead of the full 20 minutes. When the fish flakes and is opaque on the inside, it is cooked.
This was so good! I actually had about 1/4 C of olive oil in a measuring cup before I looked up the recipe. I went with that much olive oil and the rest of the recipe. When the timer rang, I thought I had turned down the oven while I waited for my family to get to the table but it cooked at 400 for another 7 minutes or so. It was perfect! Happy accidents!