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!!
Hey Nagi, this is genuinely the first time that I have posted a recipe review. I have made this dish a few times now and the only small change I’ve made from your original recipe is to add a tiny dash of white wine and some lemon zest to the sauce (I’m a citrus freak!). I’ve used many a recipe found online for inspiration, but this one is 100% special, particularly with basa. Thank you x
Delicious
Oh my – this was so easy and delicious! Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Nagi
this was really yummy, I cooked 5 times the recipe for my family Christmas party, and everybody loved it. thank you.
That’s awesome Chris!!
This is really easy to make and it tastes great. I used frozen hoki fillets and served it with broccolini, carrots, and mashed potato.
Sounds amazing Lainie!
Can’t tell you how many times I have made this recipe. It’s my go to when I have a last minute dinner party. Thank you
That’s great to hear Johara!
Hi, I’m going to try this—it sounds yummy. Do you think it will work with cod?
Just made this fish with Cod loins and it was very fast and my family loved it ! This is also a recipe that is simple enough to remember.
Yes definitely May, enjoy!!
Another sensational dish, so tasty, restaurant quality, thank you Nagi
You’re so welcome Meaghan, thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
Very delicious, thank you
You’re so welcome Jeanette!!
Made this last night per recipe, except that I used fresh catfish. VERY good!,
Sounds amazing Suzanne!
This was great! The best part was that it was so so quick to make !
YES! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sasha!- N x
Made this as a test run recently and was super impressed so cooking for 9 tonight (son’s birthday). So easy and absolutely delicious. Thank you.
Enjoy Karen! A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to your son!
Absolutely delicious and so easy! As a working woman I really appreciate this!
That’s lovely to hear Janice ❤️
Great and so quick and easy
Perfect Brian!
This was absolutely delicious, my son loved it too! The eschallots really added to the flavour. Yummo! Thank you for always making such gorgeous recipes 🙂
Thanks for the great feedback Monica – N x
Outstanding flavors and soooo easy to make. Company loved it!
Wahoo, that’s great!
Tempting photos as it looks absolutely delicious ! Lemon Cream is my favorite thing and will surely try this recipe.
I hope you love it Sarah!
Absolutely loved this easy fish recipe! The sauce was delicious. So many fish recipes use breading, but I was glad this was gluten free.
This was a great recipe! Super quick and so yummy! Thank you so much for this recipe 🙂
This recipe is super easy but tastes like something you would have spent a lot of time on! It’s super delish! Thank you for another great recipe!
Hello Nagi, this recipe is unbelievably easy and the most delicious way to eat fish I have ever cooked. The family put it on their list as a keeper. Yum.
Perfect Christine, I’m so glad you loved it!