Easy Baked Cod With Lemon Sauce
on Feb 25, 2022, Updated Jan 30, 2025
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A truly simple fish dish, but with a nice personality thanks to a drizzle or dollop of lemon yogurt sauce.
This is one of the easiest fish dishes ever, perfect for a weeknight dinner. The cod fillets are literally roasted with just oil, salt, and pepper, and then a small drizzle of lemon yogurt sauce gives it extra personality. But the simplicity of this baked cod recipe truly allows the flavor of the fish to shine on through, so get a piece of super fresh fish.
You can use cod, halibut, or scrod, any flaky white fish. Actually, you could use any fish you wanted — perch, salmon, whatever…all that you’re doing is adding a bit of creamy citrus-ness to the situation.
Round out the tender fish with Bulgur Wheat with Caramelized Onions and Parsley, Roasted Carrots with Tapenade Dressing, and Parmesan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts for a very pretty meal. In the spring try it with any version of asparagus. If you are making any roasted vegetables to go with the fish, you can slide the cod into the oven for the last 10 or so minutes of roasting time, maximizing your oven space and energy. Also, try this with Easy Cheesy Rice with Broccoli and Chimichurri Garlic Bread. Maybe top the fish with some roasted cherry tomatoes and serve with some lemon slices or wedges.
Table of Contents
Baked Cod: A foolproof, simple recipe that lets the flavor of the fish shine (with extra personality thanks to a drizzle of lemon yogurt).
How Long to Bake Cod
The rule of thumb for cooking fish is 10 minutes per inch of thickness. You want the cod to be opaque and separate into chunks of large flakes when you stick a fork in it. If you are baking larger fillets of fish, even if they are not thicker, you’ll need to add more time. For this baked cod, if your filets are 1 inch thick, they should take 10 minutes to bake at 400 degrees. The internal temperature should be 145 degrees.
Lemon Yogurt Sauce for Cod
The yogurt sauce is basically made of two ingredients: Greek yogurt, and lemon. That’s it (okay, okay, salt and pepper). You will use both the zest and the juice of the lemon, which is the best way to get the most flavor out of a single piece of citrus fruit.
You can be a little fancy in topping the fish with the sauce with the help of a plastic baggie. No agility or technique involved here, just a squiggle over the fish. If you want to skip the yogurt in the baggie part, you can just top each filet with a spoonful of the lemony sauce. It will save a plastic bag, which is a good thing environmentally, but you won’t get that slightly sexy zigzag drizzle of sauce.
Ingredients
- Cod filets – As always, find the freshest fish you can (or use frozen and defrosted cod). Make sure to pat it dry before putting it in the pan.
- Olive or vegetable oil – You can also use melted butter if you prefer.
- Salt and pepper
For the Lemon Yogurt Sauce:
- Plain Greek yogurt – I like whole milk Greek yogurt.
- Lemon – Use a whole fresh lemon, as you will add both the juice and the zest to the lemon sauce.
How to Make Baked Cod
- Prepare the oven and dish: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a shallow baking dish or rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Roast the fish: Place the fish in the prepared baking dish. Rub the tops with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the cod for about 10 minutes (a bit longer for thick filets) until it is cooked through and flaky.
- Make the sauce: While the fish is roasting, place the yogurt, lemon juice and zest in a sealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and mush it all around until blended.
- Serve: When the fish is done, snip a tiny corner off of the baggie and drizzle it over the fish. Serve hot.
Storage and Leftovers
You can store leftover cod in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in the microwave, or in a low oven until just heated through. It’s ok if the sauce is already on the fish, but ideally you would keep the cooked cod and the lemon yogurt sauce separate. The sauce can be stored for up to 3 days; give it a good stir before adding it to the fish.
Other Sauces for Fish
Drizzling or dolloping a piece of simply roasted fish with a sauce is such an easy way to make dinner interesting. Try sesame drizzle, olive drizzle, green goddess sauce, chimichurri sauce, or salsa verde — this is a smart use for leftover sauces of all stripes.
What to Serve With Baked Cod
More Fish and Seafood Recipes
- Cod with Fresh Herb Sauce
- Rosemary Orange Cod Filets
- One Pot Cod, Cabbage, and Edamame
- 5-Ingredient Honey Ginger Salmon
- New England Baked Haddock
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Easy Baked Cod with Lemon Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 6 to 8 ounces filets of cod (about 1-inch thick)
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
For the Lemon Yogurt Sauce (Optional)
- ½ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spray a shallow baking dish or rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the fish in the prepared baking dish and rub the tops with the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast the cod for about 10 minutes until it is cooked through and flaky — if the pieces of cod are thinner or thicker than 1 inch, you may need to reduce or extend the cooking time by a couple of minutes.
- While the fish is roasting, place the yogurt, lemon juice and zest in a sealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and mush it all around until blended. When you are ready to serve the fish, snip a tiny corner off of the baggie, and drizzle it over the fish. Serve hot.
