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 turned out amazing, the sauce is heavenly. Looking forward to making more of your recipes.
That’s great Jenny!!
What temp do you bake this at? you have 39 Degrees F do you mean 390?
Hi Gail – Preheat oven to 200C / 390F (all ovens).
Just making this for the second time this week. It’s absolutely delicious. Thanks for the recipe😆
You’re so welcome Joanne!
Just had this for dinner with new potatoes and spinach. Absolutely delicious👍
Yum! Thanks for letting me know Joyce!
Made this for dinner last night. It was amazing. I put it over angel hair pasta. Next time I’ll make a little extra sauce and use a heavier cream so it will stick to the pasta better. Also love lemon and would use about 2 and 1/2 tablespoons lemon rather than a tablespoon and a half it just needed a little more brightness to it. Again an amazing recipe that will be put into my repertoire!
I’m so glad you loved it Jacque!
Just had this for lunch with some baked potatoes and peas, we absolutely loved it (we love every recipe we try from your website) :)))
That’s awesome Sandra!
I plan to make this tomorrow night as it looks incredible. One question: Do you use shallots, which look a little similar to garlic bulbs or scallions, which are really spring onions? In the video, it appears you are using scallions. Thank you.
Hi Judi, I’m using Eschallots/French Onions here – N x
Oh my, what a fantastic recipe Nagi.. first made this with fish and we all loved it, second time I couldnt be bothered going out to the shops to get fish so made it with chicken tenderloins I had in the freezer… both ways its fabulous. Thanks 🙂
That’s great to hear Anya!
I plan to take this dish for a friend’s party. What is the best way to reheat the fish without drying it out. Or is it best to serve at room temperature. A quick reply will be greatly appreciated.
Microwave is best to retain moistness! Put sauce in separate container and microwave to reheat that too – mix well. Consider making extra sauce if you’re taking somewhere!:)
Hi Nagi
Thank you for the prompt response. I made it for the party and was absolutely delicious. I very gently reheated it in the microwave which worked well. I doubled the sauce as you suggested so there was plenty to mop up with the lovely Italian bread.
Tried this recipe tonight and the family love it.
Will try it with kefir instead if cream the next time.
I’ve tried a few of your recipes and they worked every time. Thank you for sharing.
The family loved it. I will be making it again. I am not a fish lover, but this was A-OK!
Perfect Barbara ❤️
Hi Nagi,
I used salmon with your recipe and it was so delish!
Love all your recipes xx
That’s great Maxine!
Hi can this recipe be eaten with white rice??
Sure can Lizette!
Excellent! I usually don’t care for baked fish, but how can you go wrong with cream and garlic. I used some good sized tilapia. Will certainly make this again.
You’re converted Marsha!!!
Yet again, another amazing dish which turned out perfectly. Your website is my absolute go to for ideas!
That’s so great to hear Charlotte!
Made this tonight and it was soooo good! Had potato mash on the side and of course I added MORE butter and cream. 😊 Delicious. Thanks Nagi.
Perfect Danielle! You can never have enough butter and cream 😉
I made this recipe, Baked Fish with Cream Sauce, and it was wonderful! I love fish so this was a perfect recipe for me. Dozer is a Dog lovers dream. Cherish him while you can. My Gizmo was 18 yrs. old when I lost him. Thanks for the recipes and the sharing of your baby with us.
Oh I cherish him every day! ❤️
How many mils us a quarter of a cup
Hi Lorraine – 60ml
This recipe miraculously turned boring tilapia fillets into a delicious meal. So, so easy and delicious. I’ll make this again! Your blog has become my go-to source for dinner inspiration. There are a zillion other cooking bloggers out there with recipes that look good, but your recipes actually taste good. Thank you!!
Very tasty and soo easy to make. Thanks Nagi!
Thank you SO much Christine, I really appreciate it!
Absolutely delicious! Loved the lemon cream sauce. We used deep sea Perch ( Orange Roughy) and it was just wow thanks Nagy – another great recipe.
Perfect Lesley, sounds amazing!
I don’t often leave comments though I’ve tried many of your recipes.
This is really exceptional for its ease of preparation and total deliciousness. Kudos, Nagi.
Wahoo, thanks Sharon!