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LeetDiet

Easy baked cod

Cod fillets baked in the oven with lemon garlic butter and a crisp panko topping, ready in 25 minutes. The only real skill is taking it out on time.

240
kcal
32g
protein
10g
fat
5g
carbs
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Serves
4

Photograph by Sylwester Ficek on Pexels

Ingredients

  • 4 cod fillets, about 6 oz each and 1 inch thick
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted, plus more for the dish
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • Salt and black pepper

Method

  1. 1

    Heat the oven

    Heat the oven to 400°F and butter a baking dish just big enough to hold the fillets.

  2. 2

    Dry and season the cod

    Pat the fillets very dry with paper towels, set them in the dish and season both sides with salt and pepper.

  3. 3

    Make the lemon garlic butter

    Set aside 1 tbsp of the melted butter for the crumbs. Stir the garlic, lemon zest and juice into the rest and spoon it over the fish.

  4. 4

    Add the topping

    Toss the panko with the reserved butter, the parsley and paprika, and press it onto the top of each fillet.

  5. 5

    Bake

    Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until the fish is opaque and flakes when pushed with a fork, or reads 145°F in the thickest part. If the crumbs are still pale, run the dish under the broiler for 1 minute.

  6. 6

    Rest and serve

    Rest 2 minutes, then spoon the buttery juices from the dish over the fish.

How long to bake cod in the oven

At 400°F, a fillet about an inch thick needs 12 to 15 minutes. As a rule of thumb, allow about 10 to 12 minutes per inch of thickness at the thickest point, and start checking early. Cod is very lean, so the gap between just done and dry is only a couple of minutes. The fish is ready when the flesh has turned from translucent to opaque white and separates into large flakes when you push a fork in and twist gently. An instant-read thermometer should show 145°F, which is the USDA guideline.

Take it out as soon as it flakes. It keeps cooking for a minute or two in the hot dish, which is why the recipe rests it briefly before serving.

Frozen cod

Much of the cod sold in the US has been frozen at some point, and that is fine. For the best texture, thaw it overnight in the fridge, or seal it in a bag and set it in cold water for about an hour, changing the water every 30 minutes. Then dry it thoroughly: thawed fish gives off a lot of liquid, and wet fish steams in the dish instead of baking. You can bake cod straight from frozen if you have to. Rinse off any ice, skip the panko until halfway through, and add 8 to 10 minutes to the time.

Why the fish is patted dry

Water on the surface of the fish dilutes the butter, stops the seasoning from sticking, and makes the crumbs soggy from underneath. A minute with paper towels gives you a noticeably better crust. For the same reason, the dish should fit the fillets snugly. In a large dish the butter spreads thin and burns in the empty spaces. In a crowded one the fish steams in its own juices.

Cod, haddock, pollock or halibut

Any firm white fish works in this recipe. Haddock and pollock are close to cod and usually cheaper; follow the same times. Halibut is denser and meatier and can take a minute or two longer. Thin fillets such as tilapia or flounder need only 8 to 10 minutes, so add the crumbs from the start and watch them closely.

What to serve with it

  • Roasted vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus or green beans. Broccoli and green beans go into the oven 10 minutes before the fish, at the same temperature. Asparagus can go in alongside the fish.
  • Rice or small potatoes to soak up the lemon garlic butter left in the dish.
  • Tzatziki or a simple yogurt sauce in place of tartar sauce.

Keeping it

Leftover baked cod keeps two days in the fridge. Reheat it gently, covered, at 275°F for about 10 minutes. It will not be as good as it was fresh, but it is better than the microwave, which dries lean fish out fast. It is also good cold, flaked into a salad or made into fish tacos.

What it is worth nutritionally

About 240 kcal and 32 g of protein a serving, with only 5 g of carbohydrate, which comes from the crumbs. Cod is one of the leanest proteins you can buy: almost all of the fat in this recipe comes from the butter, so using less butter reduces the calories directly. Unlike oily fish such as salmon or trout, cod has little omega-3. Its value is a lot of protein for few calories.