Baked Cod in Lemon Cream Sauce with Capers and Shallots

Baked cod in lemon cream sauce is one of those recipes that looks considerably more effort than it is. A thick piece of cod, a quick sauce built in the dish itself, twelve minutes in the oven — and you have something genuinely good on the table. The capers and shallots do the heavy lifting on flavour; the lemon keeps it bright. Serve over mashed potato, and it becomes a proper dinner.

Ingredients for Baked Cod in Lemon Cream Sauce

• 1 thick piece of cod, or 3 smaller pieces (approximately ½ inch thick)
• Knob of butter
• 1 garlic clove, crushed and finely chopped
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Cooking cream
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• A little lemon zest
• Small handful of capers, rinsed
• Sea salt and white pepper
• To serve: creamy mashed potato and freshly chopped parsley

Method for baked cod in lemon cream sauce

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

In a microwave and oven-proof dish, combine the butter, cream, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and white pepper. Microwave in two 30-second bursts, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Stir in the capers.

Nestle the cod pieces into the sauce. Scatter the shallots over the top and spoon some of the sauce over the fish to coat it well.

Bake for approximately 12 minutes until the fish is just cooked through and flakes easily. Don't overdo it — cod turns dry quickly past the point of doneness.

Serve over creamy mashed potato, scattered with freshly chopped parsley and a little lemon zest.

Baked Cod in Lemon Cream Sauce: The Flexible Chef's Notes

Any thick white fish works here – hake, haddock, or pollock. Avoid oily fish; they won't sit well in the cream sauce. The microwave step for the sauce is genuinely useful — it comes together in under two minutes and means one less pan. If you don't have cooking cream, a mix of crème fraîche and a splash of milk works well.

For another cod in lemon cream sauce, try my cod or hake in lemon cream sauce. For another simple fish supper, try my Stir Fry Monkfish Tail, and you'll find more in my cod recipes.

If you've enjoyed the recipes, you can buy me a coffee ☕ — it helps keep the site going.

Footnote

This baked cod in lemon cream sauce is part of my Cod Recipes collection and my Inland Fish and Seafood hub, a collection of resourceful ways to prepare the sea's bounty from the heart of rural Spain. It is also featured in my French Recipes, a collection of French recipes from a former Limousin restaurateur — confit, braises, fish, gratins, and van life French cooking from Casa Adora and the road.
Find more recipes and food adventures here.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef