How Long To Cook Catfish Fillet On Stove

Lemon Baked Cod Pin 1

Impress your family for dinner tonight with this incredibly easy Garlic Butter Lemon Baked Cod! It's made with just 5 ingredients (plus salt and pepper), which makes it perfect for those busy weeknights.

With the zesty lemon and the rich garlic butter sauce, this will get the thumbs-up from even the pickiest eaters.

overhead view of four cod loin fillets in white casserole dish with lemon sauce and lemon slices

Easy baked cod recipe

This is one of my favorite easy and absolutely foolproof ways to prepare fish – any fish really, but especially cod. I've been using this recipe for years now, because it's quick, easy and absolutely delicious. I make it at least once a month, and it's always a huge hit at our house.

Prep is super quick and easy – you'll need just 5 ingredients, plus salt and pepper!
All of the cooking happens in the oven – I love how the cod kind of poaches in the lemony garlic butter sauce, and it's super hands-off because it's baked in the oven.
No platters and much less fish smells in the house vs cooking it on the stove!
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!

Ingredients you'll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

ingredients for garlic butter lemon baked cod with text labels — Ingredients for Garlic Butter Lemon Baked Cod: Cod loin fillets, butter, lemon juice, sliced lemon, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and optionally parsley.

Ingredient notes

Cod loin fillets: Cod loin is thicker and stays juicier compared to regular cod fillet pieces. I highly recommend using loin for best results, although you can definitely use the more budget-friendly fillets. Reduce the oven time to 10-15 minutes, depending on the exact thickness of your fish pieces.
Garlic: Feel free to use ½ teaspoon dried garlic powder in place of the freshly minced garlic.
Lemon juice: I use fresh lemon juice for this recipe, but bottled is fine in a pinch. If you're not a fan of the slight bitterness in cooked lemon, leave out the sliced lemon (the bitterness comes from the pith, so juice only is perfectly fine to use without yielding this hint of bitterness).
Parsley: The parsley is absolutely optional and I often don't have any on hand. It's not crucial to the success of this recipe, but it adds a nice pop of flavor.

How to bake cod

four cod loin fillets in white casserole dish — add seasoned cod to oiled dish

female hand pouring lemon sauce over cod loin fillets in white casserole dish — add seasoned cod to oiled dish

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

1. Season the fish with salt/pepper and place in a greased baking dish (skin-side down, if there's skin on your fillets).

2. Combine lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then pour over the fish.

3. Dot with butter and bake!

So easy, but so good.

overhead view of white casserole dish with four cod pieces in lemon garlic butter sauce, topped with lemon slices and chopped parsley

Recipe FAQs

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 to?

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 (source).

overhead view of flaked cod in lemon garlic butter sauce

Serving ideas

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

For a vegetable side, we love sautéed green beans (or air fried green beans), roasted broccoli (or air fryer broccoli) or roasted asparagus (or… you guessed it: air fryer asparagus).

Or 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!

Video tutorial

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Garlic Butter Lemon Baked Cod

Impress your family for dinner tonight with this incredibly easy Garlic Butter Lemon Baked Cod!

made it? tap the stars to add your rating!

Recipe details

Prep 10 mins

Cook 20 mins

Total 30 mins

Servings 4 servings

Difficulty Easy

▢ 1 ½ pounds cod loin fillet patted dry and lightly seasoned with salt/pepper
▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
▢ 4 tablespoons lemon juice from 1-2 lemons
▢ 4 cloves garlic minced; or less to taste
▢ salt & pepper to taste
▢ ¼ cup butter diced
▢ 1 small lemon sliced
▢ chopped parsley optional to serve

Prep: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a rectangular baking dish that will comfortably hold all your cod pieces and place the fish inside.
Make sauce: Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
Assemble: Pour the lemon sauce over the cod in the baking dish. Evenly sprinkle with the diced butter. Place lemon slices on cod pieces.
Bake: Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until fish is opaque and flakes easily. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve, if you like.

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Ingredient notes

Cod loin fillets: Cod loin is thicker and stays juicier compared to regular cod fillet pieces. I highly recommend using loin for best results, although you can definitely use the more budget-friendly fillets. Reduce the oven time to 10-15 minutes, depending on the exact thickness of your fish pieces.
Garlic: Feel free to use ½ teaspoon dried garlic powder in place of the freshly minced garlic.
Lemon juice: I use fresh lemon juice for this recipe, but bottled is fine in a pinch. If you're not a fan of the slight bitterness in cooked lemon, leave out the sliced lemon (the bitterness comes from the pith, so juice only is perfectly fine to use without yielding this hint of bitterness).
Parsley: The parsley is absolutely optional and I often don't have any on hand. It's not crucial to the success of this recipe, but it adds a nice pop of flavor.

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 (source).

Serving: 1 serving Calories: 310 kcal Carbohydrates: 2 g Protein: 30 g Fat: 19 g Saturated Fat: 8 g Cholesterol: 103 mg Sodium: 193 mg Potassium: 729 mg Vitamin A: 420 IU Vitamin C: 8.4 mg Calcium: 36 mg Iron: 0.7 mg

Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Healthy

Recipe first published on 03/06/2019. Updated with new photos, better text and minor changes to the wording in the recipe on 05/26/2021.

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