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!!
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
I made this dish as per the recipe and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you.
I was wondering I could use the same sauce on a thicker piece of fish – or a whole fish.
À thicker piece of fish would take longer to bake and I worry that the sauce may dry out completely by the time the fish is cooked.
I thought of making the sauce separately and serving it with the baked fish but I fear it would not taste the same. (You do say it needs to cook with the juices of the fish.)
Any thoughts welcome.
Thank you 🙏🏼
Made this for dinner tonight with fresh cod and exactly as written. Served with rice pilaf and green peas and it was over the top…so delicious and so easy!! This is now my go-to recipe for fresh cod or haddock. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
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!
I’m not joking when I say this was literally the best fish I’ve had. Magnifcent to be honest. And so easy to make!
I love, love this recipe! Has anyone made the sauce in batches for the freezer?
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.
I missed adding my rating. Definitely 5 stars!
This was the best sauce! This would be good on anything! In fact, I put extra sauce on my potatoes and veggies. I did have some grated Parmesan cheese and added that to the sauce. I will definitely make this again!
Delicious! In U.S., used Haddock and baked a bit longer as the filet was thick. So good and easy! Will definitely be making often
Incredibly easy and very tasty! Sick of cooking meat for the family and this fish dish is quick and easy to make! I make variations with adding tomatoes and other herbs.
Thank you for making mommy life easier!
Amazing ♥️
Too easy! Perfect for a weeknight. Very delicious, our family loved it. As others stated, the sauce is worth making on its own.
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
Hi. Thought you should know; looks like someone has stolen your recipe and photos: https://recette-cuisine-facile.com/plat/poisson-au-four-avec-sauce-a-la-creme-au-citron/?ssp_iabi=1683750725039
Delicious, thanks Nagi! I substituted eschallots and cream with full fat yogurt and spring onions, and added fresh basil. The sauce went beautifully with plain cabbage and new potatoes.
So quick and delicious. I loved the delicate flavours. I only had pouring cream, so I doubled the amount and added a tablespoon of whole grain mustard. I also added a drained tin of cannellini beans and a cup of frozen green peas towards the end to make it a one pot dish and sprinkled with dill to finish. Definitely a winner!