This Baked Fish recipe comes with a Lemon Cream Sauce and is made in ONE baking dish! Yup, just throw it all in one pan, bake it, and you end up with a tender juicy fish in a creamy lemon sauce. The the juices of the fish mingles in with the sauce while it’s baking, as if made from the best fish stock!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Baked Fish
If the idea of baked fish conjures up the words pale, colourless and bland, then this one’s going to be a game changer for you!!
It’s an effortless 15 minute recipe one pan recipe where fish is baked with a creamy lemon sauce. It’s the sort of recipe you can make no matter how hectic your household is, or on a lazy Sunday night because it’s this easy:
Mix butter, cream, garlic, mustard and lemon;
Pour over fish; and
Bake – no flipping required.
And out comes this – tender baked fish fillets with a beautiful lemon cream sauce that’s perfect with fish!
This recipe will work for most fish, but is especially great for white fish fillets
When you bake fish, you just can’t get colour on it like you can with pan frying, and this means loss of flavour. So I like to either have a flavoured crumb, like I do for my other Emergency Fish recipe, Parmesan Crusted Fish (10 minutes, no messy dredging!) or a Sauce.
The Lemon Cream Sauce for Fish
This recipe really is all about that Lemon Cream Sauce for fish which is made in the same pan while the fish is baking. It’s a simple sauce which actually tastes pretty unimpressive when you first mix it up.
But once it’s baked and the fish juices mix in with it, it transforms into an incredible sauce. It’s basically like making a sauce with real homemade fish stock – just like fine dining restaurants do!
What this tastes like
The recipe name implies that the sauce is rich but actually, it is not! I describe it as kind of light and fresh, yet a bit creamy. You will be thankful there is a decent amount of sauce because it’s perfect for mopping up with bread or spooning over mashed potato!
What you need
Not very much!
White Fish fillet – any fairly flat white fish fillet is fine here, about 2 cm/ 4/5 ” thick or less. Any thicker, and the fish will take longer to bake which will thicken the sauce too much so you’ll need to thin it with a splash of water.
Escallot/French onion – those small onions, they’re more delicate than normal onions so they work well in a quick fish recipe like this. Use the white part of green onions as a sub, or really finely minced normal onion.
Dijon Mustard – sauce thickener. Can sub with other non seedy mustards.
Garlic – goes in almost everything in my world!
Cream – use heavy / thickened cream if you can, to help with sauce consistency. Low cal sub – evaporated milk. It’s not quite the same, but I’ve been known to use it when I’m trying to be “healthier” 😂
Butter – there is no substitute! 😂
Lemon – lime would work in an emergency situation. Sub: 1/3 cup white wine simmered to reduce to 2 tbsp, use in place of lemon in recipe.
Really QUICK Baked Fish Fillets
I say this is a quick recipe – and I mean it. It takes longer to heat up the oven than it does to prepare this recipe! Watch the video and see!
Dinner on the table in just 15 minutes. Tender, juicy fish with a creamy lemon sauce. A really fantastic way to make baked fish – it’s so, so good! – Nagi x
Try these on the side:
Everyday Cabbage Salad, big juicy Greek Salad
Fresh Garden Salad with Balsamic Dressing, French Dressing or Italian Dressing
Potatoes au Gratin, Easy Creamy Potato Casserole or Mini Potato Gratin Stacks
And more fish recipes:
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce (One Baking Dish!)
Ingredients
- 4 x 150- 180g / 5 – 6 oz fish fillets , about 1.5cm / 1/2″ thick, skinless and boneless (Note 1)
- 50g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup cream, heavy / thickened (See Note 2 for sub options)
- 1 – 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- Salt & pepper
- 1 1/2 tbsp eschallots (French onion) , finely chopped (Note 3)
- Fresh parsley and lemon slices , to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F (all oven types).
- Place fish in a baking dish – ensure the fish isn’t crammed in too snugly. See video or photos in post. Sprinkle both sides of fish with salt and pepper.
- Place butter, cream, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a microwave proof jug or bowl. Microwave in 2 x 30 sec bursts, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
- Sprinkle fish with shallots, then pour over sauce.
- Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until fish is just cooked. Remove from oven and transfer fish to serving plates. Spoon over sauce, and garnish with parsley and lemon wedges if using.
Recipe Notes:
- salmon (too fatty, sauce splits)
- very thin delicate fish like flounder, Dover Sole
- small whole fish like sardines or mackerel
Nutrition Information:
Originally published October 2016, updated with much needed new photos, brand new video and updated writing. No change to recipe, it’s a firm reader fave that I wouldn’t dare change!
Life of Dozer
Yesterday was a day of experimenting with slow cooked curries. So there was plenty of downtime spent doing THIS!
And from when I originally published this recipe in October 2016:
From a little camping trip last weekend – getting smashed in the waves at beautiful Jimmy’s Beach, NSW Australia. He’s a sucker for punishment, that one. I really have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t get swept away by a rip!!
Outstanding, simple, moist and flavorful every single time on Ling Cod or Halibut. Frequently requested by family. We like it so much I’m going to try it with lime juice on shrimp and want to experiment with little bay scallops. I don’t want to overcook the delicate scallops so might try sous vide method 122 degrees 30 minutes. Would love suggestions from anyone who’s tried it with scallops.
Love! Served with rocket and Parmesan salad, and garlic bread to mop up sauce
Wow wow wow fabulous delicious thanks Nagi
Another amazing recipe! My kids devoured this fish. The sauce is perfect.
Hi, how would I reheat leftovers?
Incredible recipe….just perfect and delicate. I used Hake and added Artichokes and Green Olives. I served with Asparagus and Rice. The lemon cream sauce was good ladled over the rice, too! YUM! This is a new fish favorite! Thank you.
I made this with cod and it was a big hit. I need work on adding enough salt and pepper, but that’s my issue. The sauce is fantastic. My fish was not consistent in thickness, so I put the thicker ones back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
I’ve made this several times and it’s always a big hit! The last dinner party, one of the guests (former restaurateur/chef) said this was the best dinner I ever served (and I’m a good cook 😁). Making it tomorrow again for 10. You are always my go-to first and foremost. xoxo
In Sydney. Made this with barramundi. Only change was substituted finely sliced leeks for shallots. Served with asparagus and oyster mushrooms. So easy, just be careful to keep the oven temperature at or below what Nagi recommends or IMHO the sauce may split. Superb! Definitely in the tin!
My family loved this. I used cod. For the sauce, I halved the butter, used lime juice instead of lemon and minced yellow onion because I didn’t have shallots or lemon juice. I would make this again. Thank you for the recipe.
Great easy recipe, very tasty
United States. Tried the baked
fish with lemon cream sauce. It was quick, impressive and very tasty. Good job Nagi!!
Made this tonight and used rockling and doubled the sauce but didn’t need it and it was delicious. Baked mine for 20 mins as fillets were thick. Definitely making it again soon
WOW !! fantastic recipe, i used 2 filets and 8 lg shrimp and served over steamed rice and steamed greens , the sauce is so luscious, that i plan on making it and serving over steamed veggies all by its self . only thing i added was a tbls of capers.
Absolutely delicious!
I made this recipe 2 times. I love all your recipes !
I made this using large lemon sole fillets , it’s absolutely delicious, I added the grated zest of the lemon also , don’t hesitate to make this
Perfection 👌. I followed the recipe to the T and used Barramundi 😋
Love love love this recipe. But will make 1.5 serving of the sauce next time to keep the mash potato happy (& me).
The sauce is the best, I used frozen basa fillets so cheap and not fishy, even froze a couple of portions and gently reheated careful not to overcook. Paired with Nagis buttered corn rice which freezes great too. Such a great dish light and eeeeasy love it!
Wow. I’ve got Dinner but hadn’t ever noticed this recipe. I made it tonight with tarakihi. It was stunning and so quick and easy. Thank you Nagi x