Best Baked Cod Recipe Ever
This cod recipe is one of the best meals I’ve ever made, but don’t just take my word for it! With over 100 ratings and a 5-star review, it’s loved by readers, too. In fact, it has continued to be one of the most popular recipes on the site since I first posted it in 2016, getting millions of page views on a regular basis.
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Buttery Cod Fish Recipe
A quick, easy meal, it features tender, flakey cod coated in a decadent tomato herb butter sauce and is ready to eat in under an hour.
I love to prepare it for friends and family, and they always beg me for the recipe, because they don’t believe it didn’t come from a restaurant! It’s so tasty that even those who don’t love fish ask for seconds.
We love to serve it with rice, quinoa, or crust bread to soak up all the sauce. And you can never go wrong with a side salad, too.
My Take on The Butter and Tomato Cod Recipe
So I changed the recipe up a bit and put my own little spin and it’s seriously the best cod recipe out there.
It’s basically garlic, shallots, tomatoes, spices and broth simmered until tomatoes burst and release their juices. Then you stir in the butter and fresh herbs and OMG!
The result is velvety, thick, slightly spicy and sweet butter that you will want to eat by a spoonful.
Plus all those juices on the bottom of the pan…(my heart) ♥
Cod Recipe Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Aromatics: Shallot and garlic.
- Oil: I like to use olive oil, but avocado oil will also work.
- Tomatoes: Grape or cherry tomatoes.
- Chicken stock: Use homemade chicken stock or store-bought stock.
- Herbs and spices: Kosher salt, red pepper flakes, fresh chopped herbs (basil, parsley, chives, cilantro, etc.)
- Granulated sugar: Helps balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is best.
- Lemon: Lemon juice adds brightness and helps tenderize the fish. Freshly squeezed is best, but bottled varieties will also work.
- Cod fillets: Look for fresh cod that is bright, moist, and firm.
How to Make The Best Baked Cod Recipe Ever
You’ll need a small saucepan and a casserole dish for this recipe. The recipe card below has all the details you need.
Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic, and sauté until soft, stirring occasionally.
Step 2: Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, sea salt, red pepper flakes, and sugar. Simmer uncovered until the tomatoes break down and release their juices and the liquid has almost evaporated.
Step 3: Remove the saucepan from the heat, and stir in the butter and fresh herbs. Cover to keep warm while preparing the fish.
Step 4: Drizzle the bottom of the casserole dish lightly with olive oil.
Step 5: Use a clean paper towel to pat the cod dry, and arrange it in a single layer in the dish. Season generously with salt and pepper, and drizzle the top with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Step 6: Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove the cod from the oven, and spread the tomato butter on top.
Step 7: Cover the casserole dish again, and let it stand for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped herbs, if desired, and enjoy warm.
How to Serve This Recipe For Cod
You can serve it with rice, quinoa, or my favorite…crusty bread to soak in all the juices. I mean does it get better than that!?
I’m really hoping you give this baked cod with butter a try and even if you’re not a fish lover, I think it will change your mind.
Storing and Reheating Leftover Baked Cod
Store leftover cod with tomato herb butter in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
More Baked Cod Recipes
- Cod in Creamy Roasted Pepper Sauce
- Baked Fish and Vegetables in Foil Packets
- Blackened Salmon Lettuce Wraps – you can easily sub cod for this recipe
- Bruschetta Baked Cod with Panko
Video: How to Make Cod with Tomato and Herb Butter
Recipe for Baked Cod
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 45 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Most tender, flakiest, and flavorful cod you will ever make! This tomato and herb butter compliments the mild tasting cod in the most delicious way ever. It will be the only baked cod with butter you will crave time after time.
Ingredients
Tomato and Herb Butter
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, sliced
- 3 Tbsp. fresh chopped herbs (basil, parsley, chives, cilantro), plus extra for garnish
Cod
- 2 – 2 1/4 pounds fresh cod fillets, cut into 6-8 oz. portions*
- 1 lemon
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
Tomato and Herb Butter
- In a small saucepan heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté shallot and garlic for 4-5 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally.
- Add tomatoes, chicken stock, sea salt, red pepper flakes, and sugar. Simmer, uncovered, for 15-17 minutes or until tomatoes break down and release their juices and liquid has almost evaporated.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter and fresh herbs. The herb butter should be velvety and thick. Cover and keep warm while the cod is baking.
Cod
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Drizzle the bottom of a casserole dish lightly with olive oil. You want a dish big enough to fit the cod in a single layer with some room around or you will get too much juice during baking.
- Pat dry the cod really well and place in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper to taste but be generous. Drizzle the top lightly with olive oil and squeeze of fresh lemon. I used about 1/2 lemon. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 12-18 minutes or until easily flaked. Baking time will depend on the thickness of the cod.
- Remove from the oven and evenly spread the tomato butter over the cod. Cover back with aluminum foil and let stand at room temperature for 1-2 minutes before serving. You just want all the flavors to come together.
- Garnish with fresh chopped herbs, if desired, and serve immediately.
Notes
*I used about 2 1/4 pounds of cod that I was able to cut into six (6-8 oz.) individual portions
**This cod serves really well with cooked rice, quinoa, or crusty bread to soak up all the juices.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 (6-8 oz.) fillet plus sauce
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 3.1 g
- Sodium: 383.3 mg
- Fat: 11.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 6.8 g
- Protein: 57.7 g
- Cholesterol: 168.7 mg
Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
Hi, I’ve just stumbled across your blog. Lots of fabulous recipes I must make….. I know and appreciate that this recipe is a butter based sauce. But i have to avoid high saturated fat. I wondered if it would work with a small amount of dairy free spread or can you suggest adding anything else that I could sub with to stabilise the sauce. Thanks
Hi Nina: it’s so hard to recommend an alternative as the butter truly adds the creaminess and velvety texture to the sauce at the end. I haven’t tried this recipe with any dairy-free alternatives so it’s really hard to say how it will turn out.
This was so easy to make and sooooo good! Thank you!
Thank you!
Can you add more stars? Five (5) are not enough!
Made this for Ash Wednesday dinner, just the cod, the sauce and some fresh bread. Nothing is left and I still want more. Even with mixing up the order on a couple things, and having to use a couple dried herbs, it was great!
I shared this on my Facebook page, thank-you for sharing this recipe.
Thank you Sandra! I so appreciate your feedback. So happy to hear you love this cod with tomatoes.
I made this for my family tonight and they loved it! My only problem was I over cooked the fish. Lesson learned for next time. This would even be great with shrimp over angel hair pasta…..just even the tomato mixture alone would be amazing!
Thank you Amy! I appreciate your feedback.
Made this tonight and wanted to thank you. Actually, it’s the second recipe we’ve made of yours this week!
We only made two cod fillets for my husband and myself – everything else we made to the recipe and it was absolutely perfect – served with a side of brown rice. Thanks again!
Thank you Cassie. So glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate your feedback.
This is an amazing recipe! I served this for my annual Friendsgiving meal this year and easily served 16 people. I created individual servings by using augratin baking dishes. The sides selected were pine nut couscous with yellow raisins and cranberries along with roasted root veggies. It was truly amazing.
I prepared it again last night and changed the veggie to asparagus and decided to plate it all together. I then poured the amazing tomato herb butter sauce over the entire dish.
Thank you so much! This will be a ‘go to’ recipe for years to come.
It sounds amazing ! Thank you so much Brooke.
Made this yesterday for Christmas Eve … Part of 7Fishes … BIG RAVE REVIEWS from all …(did not use the red pepper flakes and used seafood broth) Will make The Tomato butter for many other entres …
Thank you! So glad it was a hit!
Made this tonight, opted to serve over fresh baby spinach. Warm and happy dinner that was quite easy. Thanks!
Thank you Kathy!
Amazing recipe, def restaurant quality. If I had more cod, I would make it for dinner again tonight. Thanks for a great, healthy recipe!!
Thank you Lisa! That’s such a sweet feedback. I appreciate it.
Great recipe. Can’t wait to make it again. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!
Absolutely delicious. My 10 year old and my husband devoured it. Will definitely add to our “meatless” rotation.
Thank you Julie! So appreciate it.
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to make it this week.
Thank you!
Loved this recipe! Made it 2times and hate when people make alterations on a great recipe but I added one ingredient. I had already cooked fresh corn on the cob in the fridge and I wanted it for a vegetable so I cut it off the Cobb and added it to the tomato’s and it was delicious and pretty.
Wow corn sounds awesome! Thanks so much for your feedback Kyle!
Thanks for this recipe. It was delicious and such a pretty dish to serve! The only change I had to make is when my cod came out of the oven there was a lot of liquid in the pan so I drained off before adding the tomato herb butter. I didn’t want that beautiful herb butter to thin out. Anyway, it’s a dish I will make again soon 🙂
Thank you Dawn! I appreciate your feedback and so glad you loved it.
I was skeptical mine would not be as good since I only had prechopped yellow onion, frozen cod and canned tomatoes on hand. But it still turned out delicious! Even my foodie father loved it. I agree the sauce is versatile enough to try on several different things. Yummy!
That’s awesome Shannon! So glad you made it work with ingredients on hand. Thank you for your feedback.
This recipe is simply delicious. It is quick, easy and just delightful to look at. We have it once a week and would definitely serve it for company. We like to make it with multicolored tiny tomatoes for extra lovely appearance. Many thanks for this recipe that is a much enjoyed part of our home menu.
Thank you! I appreciate your feedback.
Can I substitute haddock? Same baking time?
You definitely can. I would just keep an eye on the fish. It should be very similar cooking time.
I made this tonight and it was delicious. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Wendy!
Just made this tonight. Used cod loin and added spinach to the sauce. Doubled the recipe for the amount of cod. Absolutely FABULOUS! Very well balanced and seasoned perfectly. I will be doing this again. Thanks.
Thank you Tonya! So glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you! My husband has been wanting a fish dinner for 2 days. He said this is a gourmet meal! ; )
He loved the little bit of sweet of the tomatoes and the red pepper flakes!
Great marriage of flavors!
Thank you Lora! Glad you all enjoyed it.