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!!
Wow! Delicious. I didn’t have cream so used 1% milk and added some flour, heating it with other ingredients in the microwave. We felt like we had a great dinner at a great seafod restaurant!
Delicious tasting fish dish .
I found the rockling a little too thick and it took much longer to cook as a result . Thinned the sauce down with water as recommended and was perfect , although I’d probably use a thinner cut of fish next time .
This recipe sounds fabulous, but what can I substitute if I am making it for people who can’t have dairy?
Absolutely delicious. A real go-to. Barramundi works like a charm.
This is such a fabulous recipe! The fish is absolutely wonderful. Taste is amazing. Cannot stop raving about it Nagi. My daughter, who dislikes fish, asked for second helping after tasting it. Thank you so much!!!
This is FANTASTIC! I know the amount of lemon and dejon seems extreme, trust me, follow recipe exactly, YOU WILL KEEP THIS FOR COMPANY IT’S THAT GOOD!
Super simple to make and I had most of the ingredients on hand. Turned out great, a bit salty but that’s my fault. Will definitely make this again
Would like to try this recipe with Orange Roughy. Will it work as well?
Hi Nagi! just wondering if i can use sour cream instead?
My family loved this. My son usually only likes fried fish and My husband don’t really like real lemon in recipes but they both want me to make it again. Great recipe.
Not for this one Sabra’s, it’s a little too sour and thick. N x
Hi! Can I use halibut?
Sure can Katy! N x
I love this recipe so much, I make it at least once a month 😊Thanks Nagi for the amazing receipts
Dear Nagi,
By “cream” do you also mean sour cream? I have a delicious heavy sour cream in my fridge (hoping I can use it).
Thanks(:
Well this is just absolutely blimin delicious AND super easy too…yum!!! Thanks Nagi
This is the best fish dish I’ve ever made. The sauce is so incredible. My four children all loved it so much. I couldn’t find enough fresh fish at the market for our family so I used frozen. I added the sauce/ onions for the last ten minutes of cooking. For fun I made your corn bread on the side which was also so incredible. I’m so excited to make the cornbread for Thanksgiving, and I think we might have this fish every week. because it was sooooooooo good!!
Just made it for the first time and we all enjoyed it. Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe😍
Made this for the second time tonight. I forgot how delicious it was. Served with mashed potato, peas and pamesan crisps. Delicious
Oh my goodness! Made this for the first time today and it was simply delicious. Thank you so much.
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Nicki!!! N x
I just made this…and omg…its absolutely delicious…thank you…thank you…thank you
I used boring, frozen whiting fillets and the finished dish tasted like a fancy restaurant entree. Yummm! I served it with your recipe for mushroom rice recipe and steamed zucchini. Thanks for yet another brilliant recipe.
Wahoo, that’s awesome Christine!! N x
Great recipe. Made this yesterday for Sunday dinner and the family loved it! Love your videos and recipe format. Keep up the good work, Nagi.
This was fantastic and will certainly be part of my recipe collection!