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My Oven Baked Cod is So Good!
This oven baked cod is super easy to make in a casserole dish! Just pop it in the oven for 15 minutes and it’s ready to go!
I originally tested and photographed this recipe as a full sheet pan meal paired with green beans and cherry tomatoes over couscous, but I found that a lot of people just wanted a straightforward recipe for how to bake cod in the oven. Well, this is it!
Oven Baked Cod Ingredients
- Cod fillets: Fresh or frozen cod will work for this recipe. I prefer using frozen fish because it’s generally flash-frozen when it’s caught as opposed to fresh fish at the grocery store that may be sitting on ice for a few days or may have once been frozen and thawed.
- Olive oil: I love olive oil in this recipe, but you can definitely swap it with avocado oil or even butter.
- Lemon: Make sure you use a fresh lemon for this recipe because I slice half of it to put around the cod on the baking dish. I juice the other half to add to the fish when it’s done cooking.
- Seasonings: My go-to spice blend for this cod is dried thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Feel free to switch them around, but keep the same measurements because it works out great for the amount of cod.
- Parsley: I like to add fresh chopped parsley at the very end, but you can skip it if you don’t have any on hand.
Popular Additions
- Turn it into a sheet pan cod meal. Baked cod with tomatoes and green beans is one of my favorite combos! 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, plus an extra ½ teaspoon of garlic powder and an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt to season the veggies.
- 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.
- Give it a Mediterranean twist. Scatter ¼ cup pitted sliced olives or 1 to 2 tablespoons of drained capers on top of the fish before baking.
How to Make Oven Baked Cod
My Best Baked Cod with Lemon Tips
- Thaw the cod properly. If you’re using frozen fish, 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 lukewarm (not hot) water for 10-15 minutes, changing out the water a couple of 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. Otherwise, they’ll steam in the oven instead of roasting.
- Be careful not to overbake 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.
Serving Ideas
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 until just 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 Recipe
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 juiced 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 sprinkle on the 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
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!