Lemon Herb Butter Baked Cod with Asparagus and Tomatoes

This easy, one-pan baked cod dish that will become one of your favorites after one bite. Easily made in 30 minutes with asparagus, tomatoes, and a tasty lemon-herb butter topping.
4.79 from 19 votes
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a large baked cod filet covered in herbs on the baking pan with asparagus and cherry tomatoes.

While salmon is the most popular fish, I always have to remind myself that there are many more fantastic fish options out there. Cod is a lovely white fish with big filets, beautiful flakes and very milk flavor. You can pair cod with just about any flavor and it’s friendly to most cooking methods.

Most of the time, I make my cod lightly breaded, seared, and then finished in the oven. For this recipe, I wanted to keep this gluten free, breading free, batter free, simply a flaky buttery filet of cod embellished with beautiful herbs. Butter sauce with parsley and lemon is a lovely finish and bring a lot of flavor. A perfect spring dinner!

flaked baked cod with lemon herbs and butter and baked with asparagus and tomatoes.

Using Other Fish In This Recipe

  • You can easily used another white fish filet like hake, flounder, haddock, pollock, or halibut. These types of fish are similar in texture and thickness.
  • Remember you can use frozen fish if needed. Just note that using fresh fish will always be a better result but it’s not as readily available and frozen.
  • When using frozen fish, remember: frozen fish does have a higher water content when thawed. White fish, like cod and haddock, is already a lean fish with less fat content in it than salmon. So this excess water tends to actually make the fish drier and breading softer as it cooks. If you do use frozen fish, make sure to slow-thaw it in the refrigerator rather than that is quickly in a sink!

How Can I Tell if the Fish is Done?

  • The most fool-proof way to tell if any of your meats are done is with an instant read digital meat thermometer. Safe fish temperature is 145°F.
  • If you don’t have a meat thermometer handy, you can flake off one filet at the thicker end and peek inside. When it’s done, it will flake easily and still be juicy inside. The flesh should be turned opaque all the way through the center as well.
large filet of baked cod made with butter, lemon, and herbs and some flaked off with a fork.

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Lemon Herb Butter Cod with Asparagus and Tomatoes Recipe

This easy, one-pan baked cod dish that will become one of your favorites after one bite. Easily made in 30 minutes with asparagus, tomatoes, and a tasty lemon-herb butter topping.
4.79 from 19 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 469kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

  • 1 lb cod fillets
  • 1 bunch asparagus sprigs about 12
  • 6 oz cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • 4 tbsp butter salted
  • 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
  • 1 lemon (zest and juice)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • salt
  • fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400℉ and lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet. 
  • Place cod fillet on the sheet and season it with some salt and pepper.
  • Cut off white ends of asparagus and cut the springs in half. Cut tomatoes in half as well. 
  • Spread asparagus and tomatoes around the cod. 
  • Melt butter and mix in parsley, lemon, and garlic powder.
  • Pour the butter mixture over cod and some over veggies. 
  • Bake cod and veggies for 18-22 minutes (depending on the thickness of cod.)

Notes

How To Tell If Fish Is Done: The most fool-proof way to tell if any of your meats are done is with an instant read digital meat thermometer. Safe fish temperature is 145°F.
If you don’t have a meat thermometer handy, you can flake off one filet at the thicker end and peek inside. When it’s done, it will flake easily and still be juicy inside. The flesh should be turned opaque all the way through the center as well.

Nutrition

Calories: 469kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 158mg | Sodium: 321mg | Potassium: 1698mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 3256IU | Vitamin C: 68mg | Calcium: 127mg | Iron: 7mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles or tag #willcookforsmiles!

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All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

4.79 from 19 votes (17 ratings without comment)

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6 Comments

  1. Babs Wakefield says:

    5 stars
    Beautiful. I added some sweet potatoes chucks in the oven and mopped juices up with a slice of ciabatta.

    1. That sounds so good, I will have to try it myself. I am so glad you liked the recipe! 🙂

  2. Cindy Prince says:

    5 stars
    This recipe was very easy to make. It was very very good, also it looked great on a plate. I can’t wait to try some more of your recipe. Thank you.

    1. So wonderful to hear! Thank you, Cindy 🙂

  3. shirley johnson says:

    NOW YOU’RE COOKING!!!!!!!
    I grew up in England, Irish Catholic family…………fish all the time – home cooked – that’s why we were called the maceral snappers ! I don’t like shrimp but I’ll improvise on that one. Any veggie oven baked recipes would be lovely also. thanks.

    1. Haha, thank you, Shirley!
      I definitely need to get more fish variety in my repertoire.

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