This easy Greek-style baked cod recipe has quickly become a regular on my dinner rotation! A handful of Mediterranean spices, plus a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic, give it glorious flavors! Be sure to watch the video below and grab my tips for what to serve along and how to store leftovers.
Following the Mediterranean diet, fish is kinda essential for my family. It's about the one food that shows up on the menu twice every week.
Sometimes, our fish dinners go far--as far as a fish stew from Sicily or an Egyptian-inspired fish Shakshuka cooked in a tasty tomato sauce. But more often than not, I opt for something simple like steamed salmon or today's baked cod recipe with lemon and garlic.
Why this Cod Recipe Works?
Cod fillet is a beautiful thing. It's easy to cook, and because it's a mild-tasting fish, the ways to give it glorious flavor are endless.
This baked cod recipe takes on a bit of a Greek twist. The cod is lightly coated with a spiced flour mixture with coriander, paprika, and cumin. Quickly seared, then baked with lemon juice, Greek olive oil, and lots of minced garlic.
What to serve with this baked cod recipe?
It feels like I'm always recommending this Lebanese rice with vermicelli, but it makes the perfect bed for this lemony baked cod. Keep the Greek theme going by adding a side of traditional Greek salad. Or, for a heartier salad option, try this Mediterranean chickpea salad with eggplant.
Can I refrigerate or freeze leftover cooked fish?
When I make this baked cod recipe, I don't typically have leftovers. And as with all fish recipes, it is best eaten fresh on the day it is cooked, particularly because often times the fish was already frozen before it was cooked.
But, a reader recently asked this relevant question as she cooks for fewer people. Depending on how fresh the fish was to begin with, you can store the leftovers either in the fridge or even in the freezer. First, cool the fish a bit, but don't leave it in room temperature for more than 1 hour before refrigerating or freezing.
Arrange the cod in a shallow glass container with a tight lid and refrigerate for up to 2days. If you need to warm it up, simply use a medium-heated oven until just warmed through (there is always a chance the fish will be overcooked when you warm it up again).
Generally, cooked fish can be frozen for up to 1 month. My personal preference is not to freeze it, I do feel that the texture of the fish changes a little.
You may also like: Easy Seafood Paella; Mediterranean Whole Snapper with Garlic and Veggies; Grilled Shrimp with Roasted Garlic Cilantro Sauce; Greek Chicken and Potatoes.
Craving more? Check out more fish recipes. You may also like our to browse top Mediterranean diet recipes.
Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients
Mediterranean Baked Cod Recipe with Lemon and Garlic
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb Cod fillet pieces, 4-6 pieces
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Lemon Juice Mixture
- 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp melted butter
For Coating
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ¾ tsp sweet Spanish paprika
- ¾ tsp ground cumin
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Mix lemon juice, olive oil, and melted butter in a shallow bowl. Set aside
- In another shallow bowl, mix all-purpose flour, spices, salt and pepper. Set next to the lemon juice mixture.
- Pat fish fillet dry. Dip fish in the lemon juice mixture then dip in the flour mixture. Shake off excess flour. Reserve the lemon juice mixture for later.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat (watch the oil to be sure it is shimmering but not smoking). Add fish and sear on each side to give it some color, but do not fully cook (about a couple minutes on each side) Remove from heat.
- To the remaining lemon juice mixture, add the minced garlic and mix. Drizzle all over the fish fillets.
- Bake in the heated oven for until it begins to flake easily with a fork (10 minutes should do it, but begin checking earlier). Remove from heat and sprinkle chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Serving suggestions: Serve immediately with Lebanese rice and this Mediterranean chickpea salad or traditional Greek salad.
- Cook's Tip: This recipe has been edited adding step #5 to achieve more color. Be sure to use a fish spatula to carefully turn the fish in the skillet.
- Leftover Storage: If you have any leftovers, let the fish cool a bit, then arrange in a shallow glass container with a tight lid. You can refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, or freeze for up to one month. My personal preference is not to freeze fish as, sometimes, the texture does change.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils and spices.
Nutrition
Truly one of the best fish recipes I’ve cooked! Everyone has raved about it and asked for the recipe. I gave them your website too. 😊
Awesome! Thanks, Kathey!
I've made this twice now, and we love the flavors! Each time though, I have had trouble getting the flour mixture to stick to the fish so it never gets a crust on it. Maybe it's because I have used frozen cod, using a quick thaw method, I don't know. But my dear Hubby loves lemon, so the flavors make up for the lack of a crust on the fish. Tonight I served it with a shiitake mushroom risotto (made in my electric pressure cooker), and a kale apple salad with a honey vinaigrette. We ate like royalty and savored every bite!
Delish! I used to really dislike cod until I tried this recipe, and wow is it awesome! I’m making it again tonight for the 4th time. It has become my husband’s favorite dinner. Thank you
I'm so glad to hear that, Lynn!!
This has become a go to recipe for our family. Fool proof if you follow the directions and packed with Umami. Foolishly, it took me 6 months before I decided to actually take a good close look at the rest of Mediterranean Dish website. Wow... I'm impressed! Great food, good advice and an easy to navigate website with hundreds of recipes.
Thanks, John! Hope you give some other recipes a try!!
I LOVED this recipe! This was the first time I seasoned cod on my own. Normally I buy pre-seasoned fillets from the fresh fish counter. I was so impressed by the rich flavors and surprised that it didn’t need to cook long in the oven. Now I want to make all the recipes on this site! Love!!!
Thanks so much! Can't wait to hear what else you try!!
This was absolutely delicious! It's a keeper!
Yay! Thanks so much, Rosanna!
Just made this and it was excellent. Will def make again.
The Greek-Style Baked Cod Recipe was incredible,,I made it last night,,I was a little concerned about the amount of garlic,,even though I use garlic a lot in my cooking,,it was amazing how it was not too strong or overpowering,,,but perfect,,my husband loved the dish as did I,,it will be come a very frequent dish for us,,as we east fish at least twice a week! THANKS SO MUCH,
I am going to try the Chicken spinach, ricotta, walnut recipe tonight,,I’m sure it will be delicious!!!
Thanks, Cindy! Can't wait to hear what you think of the next one :).
I really want to make this recipe this week but do not have sweet Spanish paprika and can not find a near-by store to buy some (rural KY). Any substitutions that would work? I have regular paprika and smoked paprika.
Hi, Jacqui! Regular paprika will work just fine :).
Making it for dinner tonight can’t wait. Can the cod be marinated before hand?
Thanks!
Hi, Syendo! I suppose it could be, but the spices and lemon/garlic sauce really do give it great flavor without any type of marinading.
This is one of my favorite cod recipes ! A win for the whole family !
I made this for my family recently and it went well. Made it from frozen cod and since I was short on time I defrosted the fish in the microwave. There was so much liquid I had to towel dry the fish and use a good coating of the flour mixture. But the flavors were great!
Thanks, Lorraine!
This has been a favorite since the first time I prepared it!
The seasoning is wonderful,
I did use Whole Foods Harrisa dry seasoning (also a fav).
I prepared the breaded fish hours ahead for a dinner party and it was a hit.
I am now on a diet so I have modified the recipe (all baked), dust with seasoned flour, using less olive oil , spraying the pan with ghee oil and using ghee oil to achieve the same wonderful taste and aroma.
love love love this
it is what is for dinner tonight.
I am loading this into myfitnesspal food diary recipes now.
I will have to check out more of your recommendations.
I love to use fresh herbs, garlic and olive oil to keep my cooking flavorful and healthy.
Wonderful, Sue! Thank you for sharing!
Best fish recipe ever! I’m not a huge fish fan, so the fact that this was super flavorful and delicious was great. I did make tzakiki and it went well together.
Thanks, Tasha!
Absolutely wonderful dish! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it, Sue!
So I’m trying to stay away from flour. I used garlic lemon, oregano, and butter. Still outstanding. And the smell in the kitchen oh my goodness!
Thanks for sharing, Jacqueline!
Hands down this is the best recipe for fish I have ever cooked! The seasonings are perfection! I doubled the coating amounts and the lemon sauce amounts - next time I will triple because they are so delish! I used Whole Foods frozen cod (365 WF brand) and the portions were perfect!
Thank you so much, Nancy!
Did you change the cooking time much using frozen fillet?
I made this with Whiting since my monger was out of cod. Great recipe, super simple. My family loved it. I didn’t have rice so I used some angel hair with garlic and oil and pepper flakes. Also I chopped up some asparagus I had and threw it in with the pasta. It was awesome. Thanks so much. I have a picture of the fish but I can’t paste it here for some reason.
Sounds wonderful, Lilly!
This was so easy and delicious! Hard to find fish recipes that my husband and son like, but everyone scarfed down this one. It will definitely be part of the rotation. Thanks!
This was sooo good. The flavor was amazing and the fish looked great in the cast iron. I made this with the Lebanese rice and your Greek salad recipe. You are making our switch to the Mediterranean diet very tasty and easy. Thank you Suzy.
I love hearing that! Thanks so much, Nicole!