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!!
Great cream dish for fresh mackerel.. fantastic thank you
Yummy sauce but my fish wasn’t cooked after 10 minutes on a preheated oven of 200°.
This is the best way that I know to turn $17/kg Woolworths frozen hoki fillets into an amazing meal. Served on mash with a rocket salad. Don’t forget the caramelised balsamic and shaved parmesan. I had to double stack the fillets because they were so thin. no sauce between the fillets. Soooo good.
My boss said it was delicious 😋
Superb ~ Used Deep Sea Perch, side of potato gratin with broccoli & carrot. Not my first time cooking this superb dish and definitely not the last. Thank you Nagi xx
I used Mahi Mahi. the lemon and tang were great
Hello! I’d like to make this recipe today but I have a problem: my oven is broken & only heats up to approx 300°f. Should I bake in the oven or can I pan fry? If I were to pan fry, how would that work? Thank you!
Made this one tonight, super yummy. The lemon isn’t extra lemony, but the flavors all mix together well to create a light bright fish. Great flavors definitely making again.
https://fast-enhancement.today/baked-fish-with-lemon-cream-sauce/#jump-watch%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Also made this, we didn’t have any candied almond slivers, but did have some Mike’s Hot Honey Almonds, lol. Used those instead, lol. Yummy.
https://theforkedspoon.com/oven-roasted-green-beans-with-almonds/
This was an excellent dish. My husband and I enjoyed it. Next time, however we won’t salt the fish and the sauce as we found it to be a bit salty for our taste.
This was delicious.
I used halibut, but I bet it would be just as delicious with a more economical white fish like cod or haddock. I was distracted and overcooked the fish a little bit, but the wonderful sauce made up for that. (learning curve- next time it will be even more perfect!
So delicious and easy. Where has this recipe been all my adult cooking life? I used inexpensive basa fish and ate it along side a homemade ceasar salad. Would totally go great with angel hair pasta and a glass of chardonnay. Thanks for posting!
I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times and it always turns out great.
Overall good recipe and provides a method conducive to family dinners and gatherings. I have one culinary dilemma, the raw garlic, it very prominent and not the typical sautéd garlic flavor. When I make it again I’m going to bake the fish to 75% w/ oil butter shallot but make the cream sauce separately sautéing the garlic in butter and adding cream mustard then reduce and add to fish
Beautiful recipe, prepared exactly as the recipe was written, absolutely perfect 👌
Will definitely be on rotation, thank you Nagi xx
Absolutely yummy dinner! Definitely be making it again!
This is one of the most delicious recipes I’ve ever cooked, it’s hard to believe that SOOOO much flavour can come from so few ingredients, and a total prep and cook time of 15 minutes!
My 3 year old absolutely loved it too. Ate it with rice and a side salad. Will definitely be adding this to the rotation!
Made this twice and made the following changes after observation. I made as written but found the Dijon too strong and overpowering. Also the shallots slid off the fish after pouring the sauce over. Because of the amount of Dijon, the lemon flavor was gone when combined with the other ingredients. Changed the amount of Dijon to 1 teaspoon. Made the sauce without the lemon but added 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper. Poured over the fish then sprinkled the shallots over the sauce and added some capers. Baked as per instructions then squeezed 1/2 a lemon over the top when done along with the parsley.
GREAT! But do not put all the sauce on fish before cooking like I did. Then you have no sauce for later. I wish this little comment was mentioned in step 4 of the instructions. I had lots left over, so I just poured it on before baking. Delicious sauce!!
I tried this recipe using bass fish and it was delicious!
just delicous, supa healthy and i was a great way to finish a 4 day fast……too easy to make and my 12 yr old son licked his plate clean…lol
What could you use leftover sauce?
Omg this is hands down the best fish recipe I’ve ever made! I used barramundi and had it with rice and broccoli on the side. So easy and I’ll definitely be making it again. Thank you so much Nagi you’re the best!!!