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!!
This recipe is amazing.. It makes the fish taste 100 times better than fish.. you won’t understand until you try it.
That’s awesome Kyle! N x
This is the only way my family will eat fish. I haven’t changed the recipe at all I’ve made it over 30 times. So tonight we are going to add shrimp and see how that works. BEST FISH RECIPE OUT THERE!!!!
Delicious! It remind me to a creamy lemon fish dish that I ate in Iceland (although that one had capers).
I have made this twice and totally delicious- like a restaurant. I swapped the shallot for sauteed leek, added a splash of white wine and made the sauce on the stove. The second time my cod was a little thick so baked for a few mins without the sauce and then finished with the sauce- so good 🙂
Sorry- also omitted the garlic 🙂
Delicious way to cook fish. Absolutely loved it over mash.
Heck, I might use it only for a batch of steamed or sauted veges.
YES! Yum! N x
I am rating the sauce, which is great. I used a thick filet of cod, which I think is a bit too “steaky” for this wonderful sauce. Sole or Snapper would be better suited IMO, with adjustments for cooking time. One might consider sauteing the fish and adding a small bit of fish sauce to the original sauce before pouring it over. Thanks for another delicious recipe. BTW, sauce was perfect over red potato and steamed broccoli.
Sounds perfect Sharon – I’m so glad you loved it! N x
This is the best fish dinner ever! Especially for whiting filets. I laid on the filets sliced onions in lieu of shallots and it tasted very good; added a nice crunch.
Love your recipe and never fail me once…Tried a few and always so nice. Wanna try this but I dont have Dijon Mustard. Can I omit this? If not possible any other sub?
Hi Kathryn, do you have any other mustard, like wholegrain? If not, you can use omit it. N x
I don’t have any mustard. I omitted it but still itssssss sooooo yummmyyyyyy. My hubby said wow the sauce is nice. Next time I am going to get myself some Dijon Mustard. Thank you so much for this wonderful yet fast recipe. Manage to whip this up after work.
This was magnificent! And so simple to make, with stuff we already had in the house. Amazingly tasty!
Thank you for the easy-to-follow recipe! The fish is light and the sauce yummy. I made mashed potatoes and a salad with balsamic vinegar to go with it. Wish the sauce is a bit more though. Will definitely try it again!
This was absolutely delicious. My kid who normally hates fish couldn’t stop eating lol. My new go to. Question though please…could I “brown” the butter in this recipe for that extra nutty flavor or would it not work?
I’m excited to try making this, and am wondering whether this will go well with baked crispy fish? Since you said the sauce gets better with the fish stock during baking. I know I can just make the sauce separately, but I’m not sure if it’ll turn out great. Thoughts?
Can I use anything else besides mustard?
I absolutely loved this recipe! So simple but very classy and elegant. I think that the fish needs to be absolutely as fresh as possible for full flavor. I added a little tarragon too. A green salad and baby potatoes were a perfect accompaniment. I will definitely make this again .
Perfect Anna!! N x
Absolutely lovely! Bursting with flavor! I added a bit of our dried dill & used the evaporated milk, and as you recommended, extra dijon. My fish was boneless cod fillets.The sauce was loose but soooo full of flavor! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe 🙂 I will be making this again!
You’re so welcome Carrie! N x
Thank you for this recipe. I’m usually not a fan of fish so I don’t cook it much but this recipe is literally the best fish ever. I will make this all the time now. So easy too and done fairly fast. My husband approves as well ☺️
My husband and I felt like we went to a fine dining restaurant when we had this…soo good…
This was a fabulous recipe to make during lockdown and I improvised by adding, chilli flakes (for some heat), and spinach into the creamy mix and slather the mixture on top of the fish…was just amazeballs…
Sounds perfect Ash! N x
This looks delicious! I am one person with three frozen filets to cook with. How long will the finished dinner keep in the fridge? Can I freeze leftovers once cooked to save for later? Thanks so much!!
Hi Stephanie, this one isn’t great to freeze but leftovers will be fine in the fridge for 2 days. N x
Made this tonight my husband and I both thought it was the best fish we’ve ever tasted.
Love trying out your recipes and never disappointed
That’s awesome Leanne! N x