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 is the bomb. I made it with New Zeland Green Mussle, over a bed of angel hair pasta.
This will be my go to base for many dishes.
Thank you so much.
YES!!!! Sounds great Irene ❤️
I made a variation of this using the same sauce but I first half-boiled basmati rice in some stock then nestled the fish in the same pot and poured over this sauce and cooked with lid on for another 10 minutes. Delicious one pot wonder !
Perfect Christine 🙌
Yum, made the sauce separately with crispy pan fried Hollis. All plates wiped clean.
Sounds to die for Jo!
My three children loved this recipe as did I. So quick and easy to make. I’m obsessed with recipetineats.com!
Nagi! We thought we had died and gone to food heaven after making this dish!
Oh my goodness! Just so good!
A friend had happened to bring a 1 kg whole snapper over as it happens and I remembered seeing this recipe and thought I’d try it with a whole fish.
I just doubled the sauce and put the shallots on top and inside with some dill and lemon inside also and baked it for 25 mns.
It was soooo good! And that sauce with boiled chat potatoes! Yum!! I don’t usually care for fish much but this has ‘turned’ me’ Thankyou for another fabulous easy recipe!
That sounds divine Jacqui – I’m so glad you’re converted now!! – N x
…..again I forgot the stars. Not that it seems to matter since most of your recipes get rave reviews from everyone.
Thanks so much Anna!
Oooooh yeah! A perfect combination of flavors😋 I made it with gorgeous cod back filets and one and a half times the sauce. Cod back is quite chunky, so I cut the filets in half horizontally and served with boiled new potatoes (it’s summer here in the northern hemisphere). Loved it❣️
Perfect combo Anna!
Another winner Nagi. The sauce was to die for and I used basa which made it a very economical meal. Thanks so much for your recipes, your page is my “go to” whenever I am looking for something to cook ☺️☺️
I’m so glad you loved it Sandie, that’s great to hear!
Thank you we all loved this meal. You are my go to for my cooking thank you so much I now enjoy cooking. Hi Dozer
That’s awesome to hear Tanya!!
I made this recipe and oh my goodness! It was amazing! Such a wonderful sauce to go with the fish. Loved it!
I’m so glad you loved it Elaine!
Another winner Nagi. The sauce was to die for and I used basa which made it a very economical meal. Thanks so much for your recipes, your page is my “go to” whenever I am looking for something to cook ☺️☺️
Tonight’s dinner. Delicious! Used the white part of a spring onion and some beautiful whitefish. Follow WW so used light cream instead of heavy and it was still luscious. 6 Smart Points (vs. 8 for recipe as written). Just a delicate, delicious sauce. Will definitely make again when my husband returns to Singapore from China. This was so easy and quick to make! Thanks, Nagi!
I’m so glad you loved it Jeanne!
I got my 15yo son to make this last night and oh my goodness it was so good. I’m in love with the sauce- it’s divine. Thanks again for another great recipe Nagi. 💐
You’re so welcome Kyra, great to hear your son is in the kitchen too!
Just made these for dinner and loved them! Thank you! I’ll be keeping this recipe.
Wahoo that’s great Ashley!
I made this today. It was delicious. I have yet to come across one recipe of yours that isn’t. Thanks for all that you do to bring us such easy, tasty, keeper recipes!
Mimi
That’s so great to hear Mimi! Thank you – N x
A friend bought over a bag of lemons so I have just ordered some blue grenadier and am going to make this! Oh, and the fam have requested the lemon honey glazed salmon again. It is the BEST!! hooray!!
Perfect! Enjoy Miranda!
We cooked this tonight and it was fantastic the flavour was excellent
I really enjoy what dozer gets up to
Wahoo, thanks Jacqui!
Nagi .. another absolute triumph of a recipe tasted spectacular thank you xxx
You’re so welcome Veronica, thanks so much for letting me know!!
Thanks for this quick and tasty recipe Nagi. I made it with monkfish last night and the leftovers reheated beautifully tonight too!
I’m so glad you loved it Cathy!
Just made this as a quick supper late after work. Really amazing and so simple!
I added a bit of dill from the garden just perfect!
Yum! Dill would have been perfect Maxime 🙂
My family loved this. I loved this! There was love all around for this. So quick and easy to make.
That’s so nice to hear Anthony – N x