Baked Cod With Tomato Herb Butter

Baked Cod With Tomato Herb Butter is a simple and delicious way to incorporate more fish into your weeknights!

Fact: Fish Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

The right amount of garlic and fresh herbs can make pretty much anything delicious. But we amped things up even further here with the addition of tomato and lemon.

Because cod has such a mild flavor, it’s an ideal dinner choice—especially if you’re entertaining or if someone in your family is on edge over eating fish. It’s also got a firm and flaky texture which makes it palatable.

You can’t really lose with this one, my friends.

How Long to Bake Cod

When it comes to baking cod (or any fish, really) 400º F is the sweet spot in order to yield the best texture and moist moisture. At this temperature, you want to aim for a bake time of 12-15 minutes.

Check the internal temperature at 12 minutes to avoid overcooking your cod. You’re looking for an internal temperature of 140-145º F.

It’s always best to check on your fish earlier, because overcooked fish is, to be quite honest, ruined.

What to Serve With Baked Cod

This particular recipe leaves you open to a lot of options! Here are some of our favorites:

• Air Fryer Green Beans
• Crispy Roasted Mini Potatoes
• Grilled Asparagus
• Air Fryer Broccoli
• Instant Pot Rice Pilaf
• Easy Side Salad

Here Are the Ingredients You’ll Need

• Boneless, skinless cod fillets
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Tomato paste
• Fresh parsley
• Fresh basil
• Fresh thyme
• Capers
• Garlic
• Lemons
• Grape tomatoes
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper

How to Make Baked Cod With Tomato Herb Butter

1. Preheat the oven to 400º F.
2. Remove the cod fillets from the fridge, pat them gently with a paper towel, and let them sit on the counter at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes. Bringing the fish to room temp helps you get a more even cook.
3. Pop the butter, oil, tomato paste, fresh herbs, capers, garlic, salt, and pepper into a small mixing bowl. Mash and mix it all together until you have yourself a nice little compound butter!
4. Place some lemon slices down into the baking dish.
5. Now set your fillets over the lemon slices so they are sitting on top of them. You only need about one or two slices of lemon per filet.
6. Divide the compound butter up evenly and spoon the mixture over each filet. Press down on the butter and smother the filets with it so the tops are fully covered.
7. Place a slice of lemon or two on top of each fillet, and then pop the grape tomatoes into the pan.
8. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes; be sure to check on the fish after 12 minutes. You don’t want to overcook it!
9. When it’s ready, remove it from the oven, spoon over some of that pan sauce, and garnish with some fresh basil and parsley.

Useful Tools for This Recipe

• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Baking sheet
• Meat thermometer
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons

Recipe Tips + Tricks

1. I like to take my fish out once they reach an internal temp of 140º F if I can. They’ll continue to cook a bit once taken out of the oven, and once served, will reach that perfect 145º F.
2. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fish, so keep that in mind.
3. Be sure to slice your lemons thin and discard the slices closer to the end that are heavy in pith (the white between the rind and the pulp). The pith is bitter, and when cooked, the bitterness will transfer to the sauce, which you definitely want to avoid.
4. Cod will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days, but I’d discard it after that.
5. Instead of tomato paste, you could use 2 teaspoons of marinara.
6. This recipe will work with any mild-flavored white fish.

Have You Made This Recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a STAR rating & commenting below with feedback!

You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme

Other Easy Fish Recipes You’ll Love:

• Crispy Baked Alaska Pollock
• Chili Seasoned Grilled Mahi Mahi
• Salt & Pepper Crusted Sea Bass
• Mediterranean Fish en Papillote
• Thai Sweet Chili Air Fryer Salmon Bites
• Crispy Air Fryer Fish Sticks

SaveSaved Pin Print

5 from 5 votes

Baked Cod With Tomato Herb Butter

By: Dana Sandonato

Baked Cod With Tomato Herb Butter is a simple and delicious way to incorporate more fish into your weeknights!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes minutes

Bring the fish to room temperature: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Want to save this recipe?

Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from us every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Save Recipe

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 6 oz cod filets, Any mild-flavored white fish will work.
• ▢ Sea salt and cracked black pepper
• ▢ 3 TBSP softened butter
• ▢ 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ▢ 2 tsp tomato paste
• ▢ 1 tsp fresh thyme
• ▢ 1 tsp chopped fresh basil
• ▢ 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• ▢ 1 tsp drained capers
• ▢ 2 small lemons or one large
• ▢ 1 cup grape tomatoes
• ▢ Extra chopped fresh basil and parsley, for garnish

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 400º F.
• Take the cod fillets out of the fridge and gently with them with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Then, let them sit on the counter to come to room temperature for about 15-20 minutes. This helps the fish get a more even cook.

Make the Tomato and Herb butter.

• Transfer the butter, oil, tomato paste, fresh herbs, capers, garlic, salt, and pepper into a small mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash it all together until it's thoroughly mixed and you have a compound butter.

Prepare the cod.

• Place a few lemon slices into the baking dish. You will be placing your cod filets on top of them, so you only need one or two per fillet. (See notes about lemon slices)
• Set the fillets onto the lemon slices.
• Divide the butter up evenly into four portions and spoon each portion over the filets, spreading it over them evenly.
• Place a lemon slice or two on top of each fillet, and then add the grape tomatoes into the pan.
• Pop the pan into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes. Check on the fish after about 12 minutes to avoid overcooking it. You want an internal temperature of 140-145º F.
• When the fish is ready, remove from the oven and spoon some of the pan sauce over each filet. Garnish with fresh basil and parsley prior to serving.

Notes

Slice the lemons as thinly as possible and discard the slices closer to the end of the lemon that contain more pith (the pith is the white part between the rind and the pulp). The pith is bitter and when it’s cooked, the bitterness transfers to the sauce, which you definitely want to avoid. This tip goes with any meal where you’re cooking lemon slices with your food!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 383mg | Potassium: 166mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g

Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!