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!!
Hi Nagi – Can I use coconut cream or other dairy-free sub for this?
Hi Amanda, lactose free cream or coconut cream will work fine here 🙂 N x
I made this dish yesterday for my parents anniversary and they absolutely loved it! I was worried my cooking wouldn’t be restaurant quality but they said the dish was even better 🙂 the only problem I had was the sauce not thickening but they seemed to like it watery. thank you for the amazing recipe!
I’m so happy they enjoyed it Clarice!! N x
Made this tonight using haddock, it was amazing. my hubby said it was fine dining! I used soured cream as it was all I had; perfect.
I do like your recipes Nagi! X
We tried this recipe last night using Red Emperor – it looked and tasted exactly the same as when we ate at a fine-dining riverside restaurant a few months ago. I said at the time that I wish I knew how they made the sauce – I’m sure this is it!
This recipe works so well, so easy & so delicious, it’s now my go-to fish solution! I shared it with a group of friends on FB page “Lets Cook” and it’s become a huge hit there too!
Will this work with cod?
Yes. I used Pacific cod. Next time I am doubling the sauce.
Hi Arlene, yes 100%! Enjoy – N x
Hi Nagi! I really love your recipes, and I have a question for this one, is there another way to cook the sauce without a microwave?
Thanks!
I made this recipe using tilapia for my mother who usually will only eat fish if she has a jar of tartar sauce real close. It was amazing, she ate the whole piece. We both loved it. Will be making this again and again. Thank you. Linda from Oceanside, CA
New favourite website! These meals are right up my street!
Thanks so much Shiree!! N x
Cooked this tonight for the first time. So good and so easy! A delicious fish dish. I usually let my husband cook the fish but this recipe gives me confidence. Thanks Nagi x
Thanks for a a delicious meal, Nagi! It honestly was sensational and will be a firm family staple going forward. My 4yo licked the fish but didn’t move it off the plate, so that’s a good start!
😂 At least it wasn’t on the floor Felicity! N x
I have been wanting to make this for a while, and finally made I it last night. It was delicious. I used snapper. Will definitely make it again.
I’m so glad you loved it Shelley!! N x
I was looking for a nice baked fish recipe recently and tried this. Made it twice now and honestly it’s the best fish dish I have had made at home or in a restaurant for many many years. BTW: I am 85 and new to cooking but not to eating
Hey Nagi, does this work with barramundi that still has skin on it?
Hi Ang, yes that will be fine 🙂 N x
How ma y degrees in the oven?
Hi Melasel, Preheat oven to 200C / 390F (all ovens) – the first step in the instructions 🙂 N x
I had this for the first time tonight and it was absolutely amazing. Definitely a stayer. Even the other half said “can we have this again tomorrow?” 😂
WOOT! Sounds like you nailed it! N x
Have made this several times now. Delicious, easy to prepare and cook, easy clean up. Popular recipe in our house
Hi Nagi
Thank you for the recipe. It was very easy and superrrrrr yummy. I will cook many more of your recipes.
That’s great to hear Riskiana!! N x
My wife is Lithuanian and loves fish. This is now her favourite meal and I have to make it at least once a week. Never commented on a recipe site before but I felt I needed to with this. Thank you for a simple but absolutely beautiful dish. Outstanding.
Hi Nagi, I had a carton of low fat reduced cream to use, so we had this one night then Easy Creamy Cheesy Potato the next. Tonight I put together the leftovers of both (there are only 2 of us!!) as a luxurious fish pie with frozen peas between the layers. It was A MA ZING! Nearly every night we say, “Thank you, Nagi”.
Love from Carol in Auckland x
BRILLIANT recipe. I’m always so scared to cook fish, but this completely blew me away. Thank you!!