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!!
Justie says
OMH… I LOVE this sauce. Is it bad I ate it without the fish? 🤔🤔😂😂
Thank you. You are so amazing
Eric Fosburgh says
I saved the rest of the sauce that the fish cooked in to eat on potatoes or something!
Denise says
Magi… this recipe was sooo delicious! I made it twice this week and my friends and family and I LOVED it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I just served it with jasmine rice and peas and it was so easy and quick and delicious 😋
Thank you for sharing! This will be one of my go-to recipes ⭐️
Fred says
I try new recipes when my wife travels. Some she hears about, many stay secret. I went fishing this weekend and caught several Georgia whiting and instead of my go-to fish tacos, I tried your recipe. Wow! I definitely have a new favorite and I cannot wait to prepare it for my wife. Guess I’ll have to go fishing again!
Judy Dolata says
Nagi,
I needed a fish recipe for friends who don’t eat meat. I served this with your kale rice and the results were amazing! Many compliments especially from those who make fun of kale…they thought it was parsley! It is the first time I have made your recipes, but certainly not the last.
Thank you!
Linda Hutchinson says
Hi Nagi. I found your recipe whilst looking for a different sauce and wow I wasn’t,t disappointed the favours where just mouth watering so easy to make too this has to be my all time favourite sauce for my fish. And I will be for sure making this again and again.
Thk you so much. 😀😀😘
Nagi says
FANTASTIC!!! So glad you enjoyed this Linda, thanks for letting me know! N x
Amanda says
Delish! Hubby says ‘restaurant quality’. Definitely making this again. Thanks
Amy Verhagen says
So simple to make and unbelievably delicious! I’ve cooked this several times now and it’s perfect every time – thank you, Nagi! 🙂
Nagi says
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Amy! Thank you for letting me know! N x
Bella says
Hi sorry bought red snapper filets… they look a bigger how much longer should I cook them and how much more sauce should I do… do I double the sauce
Tyler O. says
Made this last night and it turned out perfectly. Easy and quick, thanks!
Taz says
Oh sweet Jesus is right. This was so easy and so tasty. I made mine with your mushroom rice…I know mushrooms sounds weird with fish but who cares I love your mushroom recipe and had a serious craving for it. This fish was outstanding! So much flavor.
Will some publisher out there give this talented lady a recipe book deal already! Or a tv show! Or both!
Kelly says
Made this last night. Big hit with everyone. Thanks
Véronique says
O m’y jesus this fish recipe is soooo amazing. The sauce is outrageous. I’ll be making it again soon. Thank u so much for sharing
Nagi says
Glad to hear you enjoyed this Veronique!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x ❤️
Brandy says
What you recommend serving with this? It looks delicious!
Nagi says
Hi Brandy! How about Garlic Butter kale Rice?? It’s packed with kale but you can’t tell 🙂 Even kale haters love it!!
Claire says
Absolutely fabulous! Thank you for the recipe.
P.S. We aren’t a seafood loving family….we LOVED this!
Nagi says
Glad to hear you enjoyed this Claire!! Thanks for letting me know – N x ❤️
Jennifer says
Can you sub the heavy cream for cream of mushroom soup?
Nagi says
Hi Jennifer – unfortunately I don’t know, I’ve never tried and I don’t use canned soup for cooking so I can’t guess 🙂 N x
Cj huling says
O my word , what a great recipe! I used flounder fillets and they came out great. Served them with steamed asparagus and jasmine rice… my husband’s comment:”a marvelous dish”
Diana Ye says
This is so easy to make and taste so good! So creamy and totally removed the fishy taste. Love it! I tried putting dill instead of parsley and also topped some cheese on top when grilling. It turn out awesome !
Nagi says
Glad you enjoyed it Diane! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Margot says
I searched the internet for ages for a creamy fish dish and was struck by how easy this dish looked to prepare so I thought I’d give it a go. I was astounded that a dish that was so quick and easy was sooooo delicious. I’ve never commented on a recipe before but this was just such a brilliant dish I just had to take the time to say thanks!
Terri says
This was fabulous. Will be my go to once. Week. I used cod and served with broccoli and brown rice
Nagi says
That’s so great to hear Terri! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
Terri says
This was fabulous! I used cod and served with brown rice and broccoli.amazing
Marie says
So easy and tasty. Served with smashed potatoes and salad. Great way to make use of extra lemons! Thanks Nagi.
Nagi says
Great to hear Marie! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! N x