Baked Cod with Lemon, Garlic, and Spiced Coating Recipe
This Baked Cod Recipe with Lemon and Garlic features tender cod fillets coated in a flavorful spice mix, seared to perfection, and finished in the oven with a zesty lemon-garlic sauce. Perfectly balanced with fresh parsley, it’s a simple yet elegant dish that’s light, healthy, and ideal for a quick weeknight dinner or special occasion.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Low Fat
Ingredients
Fish and Herbs
- 1.5 lb Cod fillet pieces, 4-6 pieces
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Lemon Sauce
- 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
For Coating
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 3/4 tsp sweet Spanish paprika
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure it’s ready for baking the cod after searing.
- Prepare Lemon Sauce Base: In a shallow bowl, combine fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and melted butter, stirring gently. Keep this sauce aside without the garlic for now.
- Mix Coating Ingredients: In another shallow bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, ground coriander, sweet Spanish paprika, ground cumin, salt, and black pepper, creating a seasoned flour mixture for coating the fish.
- Coat the Cod Fillets: Pat each cod piece dry with a paper towel. Dip the cod fillets first into the lemon sauce to moisten them, then dredge thoroughly in the spice-coated flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour to avoid clumping. Reserve the lemon sauce for later use.
- Sear the Cod: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a cast iron skillet or any oven-safe pan over medium-high heat. When the oil starts shimmering but not smoking, add the coated cod fillets. Sear for about 2 minutes on each side to achieve a light golden crust without cooking fully. Then, remove the skillet from the heat.
- Add Garlic to Sauce and Drizzle: Add the minced garlic to the reserved lemon sauce and mix well. Drizzle this garlic-infused lemon sauce evenly over the seared fish fillets in the skillet.
- Bake the Cod: Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Bake the fish until it flakes easily with a fork, typically about 10 minutes, but start checking at 8 minutes to avoid overcooking.
- Garnish and Serve: Remove the skillet from the oven, sprinkle freshly chopped parsley over the fish, and serve immediately while hot and flavorful.
Notes
- Use cod fillets that are similar in size for even cooking.
- Be careful when searing the fish to avoid fully cooking it before baking; the goal is to develop color only.
- Start checking the fish early while baking to prevent overcooking and drying out the fillets.
- If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, any oven-safe frying pan will work.
- For a gluten-free version, substitute the all-purpose flour with gluten-free flour or almond flour.
