Baked Fish Recipe for Cod with Tartar Sauce

baked fish recipe

Cod fillets make a great baked fish recipe. This recipe is great for all types of fish, especially cod or tilapia fish fillets, which are generally good buys at the supermarket. Cod and
tilapia are both low key fish with a mild flavor, so baking them in the oven with a homemade tartar sauce and panko breadcrumb topping adds a nice twist. This baked fish recipe cooks up quick and is
perfect for family meals.

What You Need for this Baked Fish Recipe

2 COD FILLETS (about 8oz each)
½ ONION (sliced)
½ cup PANKO BREADCRUMBS check current prices on Amazon
1 Tbsp melted BUTTER
½ tsp PAPRIKA (optional)
SALT and PEPPER to taste
chopped fresh DILL
spray cooking OIL for pan and onions
sauce:
½ cup MAYONNAISE
some chopped fresh DILL
1-2 Tbsp chopped PICKLES or PICKLE RELISH
spoonful or two of the pickling solution or
1 Tbsp fresh LEMON JUICE (add zest for extra lemony-ness)
(also…add a sqeeze of dijon mustard if desired)

baked fish recipe
cod is often a great buy at the supermarket

How to Make a Baked Fish Recipe

  • Pat the cod fillets dry and lightly season with salt and pepper
  • Heat a skillet on the stove top and melt butter.
  • Turn burner off, add breadcrumbs to the skillet and stir until butter is absorbed.
  • Add salt, pepper, any other spices desired, ½ of the chopped dill, and mix well.
  • To make the sauce, combine the remaining dill, mayonnaise, chopped pickles, and pickling solution or lemon juice, in a bowl, and stir until smooth.
  • Spray a baking pan or aluminium foil with cooking spray. If you need an oven-safe pan, you can check here for current prices for baking sheets on Amazon.
  • Lay onion slices in pan and place fillets over top the onions.
  • Evenly coat the tops of the fish with the tartar sauce mixture.
  • Sprinkle and press the seasoned panko crumbs into the sauce.
  • Place pan in oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until the crumb topping has turned a nice, golden brown.
  • Serve with rice and veggies.
    And enjoy!

And for another easy fish recipe, here’s a quick way to cook up a crispy skin Stove top Salmon Fillet Recipe.

how to cook salmon
Keep salmon skin-side up to preserve crispiness

Thanks for checking out our baked fish recipe, and all of our recipes. Be sure and sign up for our mailing list and never miss a new Chef Buck cooking video, and also click a button below and share the dishes with your friends. We appreciate all the kind comments and support, and we’ll see you next time in the kitchen!

Thanks for watching our recipe videos!

We include affiliate links for products on our website, so if you make a purchase after clicking on our links, we may earn a commission which helps us produce more videos and drink more coffee :^)                                                                                                We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program providing a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, so we can make more videos.

Share and Enjoy !

Fried Catfish Recipe without the Mess

fried catfish recipe

Here’s a faux fried catfish recipe that’s not fried, but tastes just as good as fried catfish and with a lot less mess. Cornmeal is essential for the breading, but along with flour you can also add crushed saltines or panko breadcrumbs. Catfish tastes best with tartar sauce, so we’ll throw together a simple tartar sauce, too.

Better Than Fried Catfish Ingredients

1 lbs. CATFISH
½ cup CORNMEAL
½ cup FLOUR
1 cup SALTINE CRACKERS (crushed) *optional
OLIVE OIL
SPICES…whatever you like
…in this video I use:
1 tsp PAPRIKA
1 tsp GARLIC POWDER
½ tsp CAYENNE PEPPER
1 tsp OREGANO
1 tsp THYME
1 tsp SALT
1 tsp BLACK PEPPER

also add 1tsp TURMERIC POWDER for great color

Tartar Sauce Ingredients:
1 cup MAYONNAISE
about 1/3 cup SWEET RELISH
1 tsp PICKLED JALAPENO (minced)
1-2 Tbsp JALAPENO PICKLING SOLUTION
(or sub lemon juice for the pickling juice)

Not Fried Catfish Recipe Directions

Catfish and tartar sauce are like Ying and Yang, so first things first, make the tartar sauce.
In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sweet relish, jalapeno slices, and a little of the pickling solution. Ideally you do this a day ahead of time, or at the very least, a few hours; it’ll have a lot more flavor.

Not a fan of jalapeno peppers? Leave the peppers and pickling juices out, and substitute lemon juice instead. Mix well and refrigerate.

fried catfish recipe
Catfish tastes best with tartar sauce (and coleslaw!)

In a bowl, crush the saltine crackers, or you can substitute your favorite bread crumbs. Add the corn meal, all-purpose flour, and whatever spices and herbs you love.

The breading I use in this video is super tasty. Sometimes I use curry powder, which tastes fantastic, and also adds great color because of the turmeric. Whatever spices you use, be generous; catfish should be super flavorful! Remember, whatever spice you use will be balanced by the creamy tartar sauce.

On a baking sheet, generously coat the catfish with olive oil. Check current prices for baking sheets on Amazon. Coat both sides of the fish, and the pan. Dredge the fish in the breading, coating both sides.

Coat the fish well, and press the crumbs into the fish. Place on the baking pan and cook in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. You can up the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and shorten the cooking time.

Cook until the fish is well-colored and bounces back when pressed. The fish in this video cooked for 45 minutes, but the pieces were quite large.

Make Your Side Dishes as the Fish Bakes

Fried catfish, and this not quite fried catfish recipe, go great with coleslaw, greens, and hush puppies. I’m usually too lazy to make all of that, and often I’ll just serve catfish with coleslaw and garlic toast.

For the perfect catfish dinner side dish, try this Classic Coleslaw Recipe.

crunchy slaw
classic coleslaw recipe

Thanks For Watching Our Recipe Videos!

Thanks for checking out this easy catfish recipe, and all of our recipes. Sign up for our mailing list so you’ll never miss a new recipe. Also click a button below and share the dishes with your friends. You can also follow Chef Buck on Youtube. We appreciate all the kind comments and support, and we’ll see you next time in the kitchen!

If you like what CG and I do, support us on Patreon, or throw us a tip in our Paypal Tip Jar. We’ll happily enjoy a coffee on the road – Thanks! We appreciate all the support, and we’ll see you next time in the kitchen!

We include affiliate links for products on our website. Making a purchase after clicking on our links and we may earn a commission which helps us produce more videos and drink more coffee :^) We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program. It provides a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, so we can make more videos.

Share and Enjoy !

Follow Me!