Baked Cod Lemon Butter (Printable)

Tender cod fillets baked with lemon butter, garlic, and fresh herbs for a healthy main dish.

# What You Need:

→ Fish

01 - 4 skinless, boneless cod fillets (5 oz each)
02 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
03 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

→ Lemon Butter Sauce

04 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
05 - 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
06 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
07 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
09 - 1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped (optional)

→ To Serve

10 - Lemon slices, for garnish
11 - Additional chopped parsley (optional)

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking dish large enough to hold the cod fillets in a single layer.
02 - Pat cod fillets dry with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and pepper, then arrange in the prepared dish.
03 - In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, and dill if using.
04 - Pour the lemon butter sauce evenly over the cod fillets.
05 - Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until cod is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
06 - Garnish with lemon slices and additional parsley before serving immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The fish stays buttery-tender while the sauce creates its own little pool of luxury in the dish.
  • It's genuinely quick enough for a Tuesday night but elegant enough to serve when people are coming over.
  • You can have this on the table in under thirty minutes, from cold kitchen to warm plates.
02 -
  • The most common mistake is not drying the fish thoroughly before cooking—wet fillets never brown properly and the sauce gets watery instead of silky.
  • Fresh herbs actually matter here in a way they don't in every recipe; dill especially changes the whole character of the dish, so don't skip it thinking it's decorative.
03 -
  • If your cod fillets are especially thick, cover the dish loosely with foil for the first ten minutes to keep them from drying out on top while the center cooks through.
  • Bring your fish to room temperature for five minutes before baking—it cooks more evenly than cold-from-the-fridge fish, and the timing becomes more predictable.

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