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My Oven Baked Cod is So Good!
This oven baked cod is the answer to the question, what’s for dinner tonight. It’s one of those effortless, healthy, delicious proteins you can cook in less than 15 minutes and pair it with so many dishes like simple Couscous, a Cauliflower Salad or Roasted Sweet Potatoes. The cod comes out of the oven fork-tender and perfectly flakey. It’s melt in your mouth good!
I originally tested and photographed this recipe as a sheet pan meal cooked and paired with green beans and cherry tomatoes over couscous, but I found a lot of people just wanted a simple and straightforward recipe for how to bake cod in the oven and this is it! If you wanted to though, definitely try adding green beans and tomatoes right in the same dish (you’ll need a bigger one) or on a sheet pan with the cod because they also cook in less than 15 minutes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cod fillets: Fresh or frozen cod will work for this recipe. I prefer using frozen because frozen cod is generally flash frozen when it’s caught as opposed to fresh fish at the grocery store may be sitting on ice for a few days or may have been once frozen and thawed.
- Olive oil: I love olive oil in this recipe but you can definitely swap it with avocado oil or even butter.
- Lots of lemon: I slice half of it to put around the cod on the baking dish because it looks really good that way and I juice the other half to add to the dish when it’s done cooking. That way it immediately hits the fish with a fresh bright flavor.
- Seasonings: Dried thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Feel free to switch them around though but keep the same measurements because it works out great for the amount of cod.
Popular Additions
- Turn it into a sheet pan meal: I recommend adding 1 pint cherry tomatoes and 12 ounces fresh green beans next to the cod on a large sheet pan and baking everything together. You will need to add an extra tablespoon of olive oil though, an extra ½ teaspoon of garlic powder and an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- Drizzle with butter. To add a bit more fat and flavor you can melt a little bit of butter to apply to the fillets before pulling them from the oven.
- Add panko for a crispy cod fillet. Oven baked cod with panko is a delicious recipe, too! To make your cod crispy, season your bread crumbs with the same thyme, garlic, salt and pepper you use on the fillet. Make an egg wash and dip the fillets in the wash followed by the seasoned panko.
How to Make Oven Baked Cod
My Best Oven Baked Cod Tips
- Thaw the cod properly. If you’re using frozen, the correct way to thaw it is to remove it from any plastic packaging and place it in a closed airtight container in the fridge overnight. If it’s almost dinner time and you’re desperate, you could keep it in the plastic bag and submerge the bag in luke warm (not hot) water in 10-15 minutes, changing out the water a couple times.
- Pat the cod dry. You don’t want any moisture on the cod before baking it. The olive oil and seasoning will not stick as well to a damp cod fillet. Using a clean paper towel, pat it dry, and then move on with the recipe steps.
- Don’t crowd the cod too closely on the baking dish. This way they don’t steam in the oven but roast instead.
- Be careful not to over-bake the cod. Cook it to 145°F internal temperature or just watch the time closely and if you notice the cod start to crack on its own, you may have overcooked it.
What to Serve
Make the oven baked cod a full meal with some veggies and a starch; these are my go-tos because they pair really well together.
- Roasted Green Beans: I love green beans in the oven because they maintain their crunch. Put them on the same baking dish or sheet or roast them separately.
- Cherry Tomatoes: I love the color of the tomatoes against the white fish and green beans. Plus when they blister in the oven, they create a little sauce from the tomato juice and go so well with the cod.
- Couscous. I used fine couscous with the cod and veggies which just needs to soak in hot water without the need the need for direct heat from a stovetop. It’s a fast and delicious choice that I love using when I’m busy. Grab my tips for cooking three kinds of couscous.
- Garlic Roasted Potatoes: Another option is to serve your cod with roasted potatoes. Have them finish at the same time by starting the potatoes first!
Recipe Help & FAQs
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days until you’re ready to reheat. To reheat this recipe, you can pop it back in the oven at 325°F for 10-15 minutes just until warmed through.
For cod to be considered safe to eat, you need to cook it to an internal temperature of 145°F. Keep in mind that your fish will continue cooking for a few minutes after you take it out of the oven.
If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can test the cod with a fork to see if it’s ready to eat. Put the fork into the thickest part of the cod at a slight angle. Twist the fork a tiny bit and see if a piece of cod easily breaks off or flakes. If it does, then your cod is most likely done baking. The only way to be 100% certain is by taking its internal temperature.
Tough cod can mean that you overcooked it. This is where having a meat thermometer comes in so handy! Keep in mind as well that the size of the cod fillets is going to change the final cooking time. If you have extremely thin fillets, you’ll want to start checking them around the 7-minute mark. The same goes for thick fillets. Make sure to adjust your cooking time depending on what you’re working with.
More Fish Recipes:
- Samke Harra (Spicy Fish)
- Pan Seared Halibut
- Grilled Cod
- Sayadieh
- Honey Lemon Salmon
- Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Salmon
- Baked Feta Salmon
- Grilled Mahi Mahi
- Tomato Poached Cod
If you try this Oven Baked Cod recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
This oven baked cod recipe was originally published on February 15, 2015, and has recently been updated with a slightly modified recipe to remove the veggies for a simplified version. It also includes new photography and step-by-step images to help make it. If you loved the sheet pan version with roasted green beans and cherry tomatoes, you can still find it in the recipe card’s note section below.
Oven Baked Cod
Ingredients
- 4 (6-ounce) cod fillets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 lemon half juice and half sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Pat the cod dry with paper towels and place in an 8×11 baking dish. Drizzle the olive oil over the cod, then with thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Use your hands to rub the oil and seasoning into the cod.
- Tuck the lemon slices around the cod. Bake until the cod looks flaky, 12-15 minutes, depending on the thickness.
- Pour the reserved lemon juice on top and sprinkle with parsley before serving, if desired. Serve with your favorite sides.
Equipment
Notes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
12 ounces fresh green beans
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Fine couscous for serving
Chopped parsley for serving
Instructions
Preheat the oven 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Pat the cod dry with paper towels and place in the middle of the sheet pan in a single layer. Add the cherry tomatoes on one side and the green beans on the other side. Season the cod and vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.
Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice over the cod. Season with thyme and garlic powder. Use a brush or your hands to spread the marinade on the cod and brush any remaining marinade over the vegetables.
Place the pan in the oven and bake until the cod looks flaky and tomatoes begin to soften, about 12-15 minutes.
Serve the cod with the green beans and tomatoes over couscous or any other grains and spoon the juices from the baking dish over the cod.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Loved this !! Easy to prepare and tastes delicious !!
Thank you so much, Judy!
I made this as meal prep for the week and is so delicious, super easy and quick to make.
That is so great to hear! Hope you continue to enjoy it!
The cod recipe was easy and result was delicious! Very moist and leftovers were great the next day.
Thank you! I love that!