Baked Cod with Burst Tomatoes, Basil, Garlic and Lemon- a fast and easy weeknight dinner that is healthy and delicious! Keto and Gluten-free. Video!
This recipe for Baked Cod with burst tomatoes, basil, garlic and lemon couldnt be any simpler! It takes about 10 minutes of prep before going in the oven to bake. So easy and it turns out super tasty every time.
Here I’ve served the Baked Cod over black rice pilaf with a side of baked zucchini. A healthy nutritious dinner the whole family will love!
Simple Baked Cod | 60-sec Video
What you will need:
- Cod (or substitue other white fish)
- olive oil
- cherry or grape tomatoes
- garlic
- shallot
- lemon
- basil
- salt and pepper
What type of cod to use?
Look for Alaskan Cod, or True Cod or Atlantic Cod at least an inch thick, to ensure even cooking time with the tomatoes.
Frozen cod will also work, just make sure to thaw it first and pat dry.
What to substitute cod with?
Feel free to substitute other types of fish here too – salmon, haddock, black cod, sea bass, halibut, mahi-mahi – anything at least an inch thick.
How to make baked cod:
- Place tomatoes in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, add garlic and shallots and season with salt and pepper. Bake until tomatoes start to burst.
- Season the fish, nestle it into baking dish and continue baking. Add the zest and basil leaves.
- Serve with Black Rice Pilaf , or Everyday Quinoa, Creamy polenta, Smashed Potatoes or Mashed Potatoes
- Leftovers are great for up to 3 days!
Other recipes you may like:
- Forbidden Black Rice: Incredible Benefits
- Baked Cod with Asparagus, Lemon, Garlic & Thyme!
- Baked Zucchini with Garlicky Parmesan Breadcrumbs
- Crispy Herby Smashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Risotto!
- Instant Pot Polenta
- 20 Simple Healthy Fish & Seafood Recipes
- Fast and Healthy Weeknight Dinners
It is surprisingly good for how easy it is! Give it a try and let me know what you think!
xoxo
Print
Baked Cod with Burst Tomatoes
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: fish, main, Keto, paleo
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Northwest
Description
Baked Cod with Tomatoes, Basil, Garlic and Lemon- a fast and easy weeknight dinner that is healthy and delicious!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, more for brushing
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or sherry vinegar
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes ( mixed colors are nice here)
- 1 lemon – zest (set aside) and lemon slices
- 1– 1 1/4 lb cod fillets 4 -6 pieces ( thicker pieces work best here -1 inch thick or more) see notes
- salt, pepper and Aleppo chili flakes to taste
- 1/4 cup basil leaves torn
Serve over Black Rice Pilaf , or Everyday Quinoa, Creamy polenta, Smashed Potatoes or Mashed Potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil and vinegar into a 9 x13 inch baking dish. Scatter the shallots and garlic. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and lemon slices and toss. Roast 10 minutes. Give the tomatoes a good shake.
- While tomatoes are roasting, pat the fish dry and brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and Aleppo chili flakes. Nestle the fish in the baking dish, between the tomatoes.
- Lower heat to 400F.
- Bake the fish for 8-10 minutes then give the pan a good shake, jostling the tomatoes a bit. Scatter with lemon zest. Bake 3-4 more minutes or until fish is cooked through to your liking.
- When done, add the torn basil leaves, tossing them with the warm tomatoes with tongs so the basil wilts slightly. Then garnish each piece of fish with a few wilted basil leaves.
- Serve immediately!
- Leftovers taste great for up to 3 days.
Notes
Serve with Black Rice Pilaf , or Everyday Quinoa, Creamy polenta, Smashed Potatoes or Mashed Potatoes
Feel free to sub other fish for this recipe- just make sure it is at least one inch thick – to ensure even cooking times with the tomatoes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 227
- Sugar: 2.5 g
- Sodium: 372.2 mg
- Fat: 11.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 4.5 g
- Fiber: 1.3 g
- Protein: 26.2 g
- Cholesterol: 60.9 mg
Can leftovers be frozen?
Hi Natalie- I haven’t tried freezing this- it should be fine- my only hesitation is fish may crumble a bit when reheated.
I have made this about 5 times now using multi-colour tomatoes and basil from the garden, and have loved it every time. It is lovely paired with Parmesan cheese and peas orzo.
Awesome Graham!
It was amazing !! I just used sliced Roma tomatoes since I didn’t have cherry tomatoes .
It was delicious !! Thank you so much for this recipe – perfect for my dinner on intermittent fasting and low carb🤗
Oh perfect Cindy!
Hello just getting the ingredients ready and you have red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar. But it doesn’t indicate when to use this in the instructions. Wait your advIce, thank you.
Oops, fixed it sorry- add with the oil.
Went to supermarket snd there was a pack of reduced Atlantic cod so Just made this I used 3 large old tomatoes chopped which I had in and dried basil which I had it was absolutely delicious my mouth is still zinging! I served it with mashed sweet potatoes. A fantastic and simple recipe! Thank you 😊
Made it for dinner last night. So easy and delicious. I used fresh herbs from my hydroponic garden….yum. Thanks for the recipe.
I absolutely love this recipe and this time I made the garlicky breaded zucchini, which are to die for!
I have made this with cod and wondered if tilapia would work too?
Yes, just watch baking time- it may cook much quicker as it is usually thinner.
How long do you let it bake and at what degree?
Scroll down to the recipe card, below the post. 🙂
Was a hit! My first time cooking fish and very impressed, so much flavour. My boyfriend even asked for this on his birthday! Thanks Sylvia 🙂
Unfortunately this dish didn’t do it for me. I followed the recipe to a tee. I felt like the Cod was fairly bland, it just tasted like whatever I seasoned it with (so basically, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and lemon). It definitely was healthy and looked beautiful, but the flavors weren’t there for me. Any suggestions? Or is cod just simply a more mild fish?
It is definitely a mild, not oily fish. Maybe it is just not for you?
Made this tonight as just what I needed to use available ingredients. It was very tasty and can be altered accordingly.
🙌 Great to hear.
What could I substitute for the tomatoes? My household isn’t a fan of tomatotes.
What about red bell pepper?
Just made this recipe and it was amazing! What is the best way to reheat the left overs?
I would just gently bake- 350F
Thank u!
easy to make, but help with European measurements,but overall very good.
Thank Nigels!
What do you think i could use instead of the lemons?
Hi Abby you could leave them out? Or lime?
So glad I found this dish makes the fish so much more enjoyable and definitely going in my folder to use again. I did sautéed potatoes and courgette to go with it, the perfect match.
Perfect!Glad it worked for you! 🙌
Very good. I’d recommend piercing the tomatoes before cooking. Since I didn’t have fresh basil, I sprinkled the cod with crab seasoning.
where does all the sodium in this recipe come from? just the salt? I think I may try mrs dash instead
I’m sorry Gary there was an error in the calculator. Fixed now. 🙂
This recipe is 10/10. It was affordable, easy to make, healthy and most importantly, delicious! Definitely a recipe to add to your repertoire!
thanks Sophia!
Made this tonight for the 1st time, PERFECT! I followed the instructions as given (maybe I added a little more garlic 😉) and the whole family loved it. Even my son who hates cooked tomatoes ate the whole thing! He said these were the only kind of cooked tomatoes he’d ever eat. Woah.. Perfectly cooked fish, light and flaky. Served over quinoa (another thing my sons not terribly fond of) and he still ate it all. Really simple but that’s what makes it great. So very delicious, 5+ stars. Thank you!!
Awesome to hear Mark – so happy your son liked this!
Substituted salmon for cod. Simple and tasty, served it at a party as a second heavier entree and it worked well.
This was so delicious and beautiful! And dead simple. I’ve made it twice so far. I even love eating the slightly roasted lemon slices. I serve it with steamed zucchini. This is going into our regular rotation!
I like eating the lemon too! Glad you liked it. 😉
Loved this! The lemon flavor was perfectly subtle and exactly right. We had it with your pesto zucchini noodles. Easy, cheap, and healthful. Thank you!
Love your pairing! great idea! Thanks!
Made this last night as I surprisingly had everything on hand. Used cherry tomatoes from my garden and frozen cod filets. Excellent! My family says “Make it again mom!”. Thanks Sylvia for a simple tasty recipe.
Im so excited to try this. I’m new to cooking fish and this looks really easy and doable. Plus cod is so affordable where I live. Do you think frozen cod is ok to use?