Baked Cod Garlic Butter Herbs (Printable)

Flaky cod fillets bathed in garlic butter and fresh herbs for a light, nutritious main course.

# What You Need:

→ Fish

01 - 4 skinless, boneless cod fillets (6 oz each)

→ Garlic Butter

02 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
03 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
05 - 1/2 tsp sea salt
06 - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

→ Fresh Herbs & Garnish

07 - 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
08 - 1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
09 - 1 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
10 - 1 lemon, sliced (for garnish)

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly grease a baking dish large enough for the fillets.
02 - Pat cod fillets dry with paper towels and place them in a single layer in the prepared dish.
03 - Whisk together melted butter, minced garlic, lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper in a small bowl.
04 - Pour the garlic butter mixture evenly over the cod fillets.
05 - Sprinkle chopped parsley, dill, and chives evenly over the fish.
06 - Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until cod flakes easily with a fork and is opaque throughout.
07 - Top with lemon slices before serving.

# Helpful Tips:

01 -
  • The fish stays impossibly tender and moist while the garlic butter creates this golden, fragrant sauce you'll want to pour over everything on your plate.
  • It comes together in under 30 minutes, which means you can actually enjoy your evening instead of being stuck in the kitchen.
  • Fresh herbs make it taste expensive and thoughtful without requiring any fancy cooking skills or hard-to-find ingredients.
02 -
  • The most common mistake is cooking the fish too long because you're unsure if it's done—it'll keep cooking even after you pull it from the oven, so aim for just barely opaque in the thickest part.
  • Pat the fish completely dry before adding the butter; any moisture clinging to the surface will steam the fish instead of letting the butter sauce do its work.
03 -
  • Buy the freshest fish you can find, ideally from a counter where someone can tell you when it arrived—the fresher the fish, the less you need to do to make it taste spectacular.
  • Mincing garlic at the very last minute keeps its sharp edges bright; mince it too far ahead and it starts turning acrid and loses that sweet, gentle garlic flavor you're after.

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