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Home Fish recipes

Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce

By:Nagi
Published:8 Jul '19Updated:11 Oct '22
1,250 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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”!

Close up photo of Baked Fish recipe with Lemon Cream Sauce in a white pan, fresh out of the oven

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:

  1. Mix butter, cream, garlic, mustard and lemon;

  2. Pour over fish; and

  3. 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

Overhead photo Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce in a white baking dish, fresh out of the oven

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!

Spoon drizzling Lemon Cream Sauce over Baked Fish (one pan fish and sauce recipe!)

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.

Ingredients in Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce

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

  • Fresh Lemon Potato Salad or Greek Lemon Roasted Potatoes 

  • Potatoes au Gratin, Easy Creamy Potato Casserole or Mini Potato Gratin Stacks

  • Mushroom Rice, Kale Garlic Butter Rice or Tomato Basil Rice

And more fish recipes:

Overhead photo of 2 plates of Acqua Pazza - Italian Poached Fish
Acqua Pazza – Italian Poached Fish
Crispy Skin Salmon in a skillet, fresh off the stove
Crispy Skin Salmon
Overhead photo of a crispy pan fried fish fillet drizzled with Lemon Butter Sauce and sprinkled with parsley. On a white plate.
Killer Lemon Butter Sauce for Fish
Overhead photo of Crispy Pan Fried Fish with a side of asparagus and beans
Crispy Pan Fried Fish
Close up of Brazilian Fish Stew in a bowl, ready to be eaten
Brazilian Fish Stew (Moqueca Baiana)
A spectacular way to serve salmon which is crazy fast, crazy easy and crazy delicious! Honey Garlic Salmon recipetineats.com
Honey Garlic Salmon
If this Lemon Honey Glazed Salmon takes more than 8 minutes to make, you've overcooked the salmon. That sauce is lip smackingly delicious! recipetineats.com
Lemon Honey Glazed Salmon
Two Homemade Filet-O-Fish (BAKED!) stacked on top of each other with a side of fries
Homemade Filet-O-Fish (BAKED!!)
Close up of Fish Pie in white baking dish showing creamy filling with fish flakes
Fish Pie (for Easter!)
Fish Chowder Soup in a bowl, ready to be eaten
Fish Chowder Soup
Close up of Asian Glazed Baked Barramundi on coconut rice with a side of cucumber salad
Asian Glazed Baked Barramundi recipe
Freshly cooked flathead seasoned with homemade spice mix for fish
Fish recipes
Overhead photo of Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce on a plate with mashed potato and a side salad (rocket parmesan balsamic dressing)

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!

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce

Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce (One Baking Dish!)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 10 minutes mins
Total: 15 minutes mins
Dinner
Western
4.97 from 500 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
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Recipe video above. A fantastic quick-fix dinner – baked fish in a lemon cream sauce, all made in ONE PAN! Don’t let the short ingredient list fool you, this tastes so good! The key to the tasty sauce is the fish juices that leeches out while baking and is essentially the broth for the sauce! 

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:

1. Fish – Any fillets or cutlets/steaks about 1.5 – 2 cm / 1/2 / 4/5″ thick will work great with this because they cook quickly in the oven. 
Great for: Ling (pictured), Tilapia, Snapper, Barramundi, Silver Dory, John Dory, Basa, Hokki, Perch, Flathead
OK for very lean fish like Swordfish, tuna (sauce adds richness!) but be VERY careful about not overcooking the fish.
Not great for:
  • salmon (too fatty, sauce splits)
  • very thin delicate fish like flounder, Dover Sole
  • small whole fish like sardines or mackerel 
If using thicker fish fillets that take longer to cook, you might need to thin the sauce out a bit at the end with a tiny bit of water.
Frozen fish – thaw completely, PAT DRY with paper towels to remove as much excess water as possible. Chances are, your sauce will be a little thin for your liking because frozen fish drops so much more liquid than fresh – see Note 4 for how to fix this. 
2. Healthier options – the cream can be substituted with evaporated milk which is still quite nice. If swapping with light cream, increase mustard by 2 tsp.
3. Eschallots – the small onions, also called French Onions in Australia, and just simply shallots in the US.
Sub with the white part of green onions or really finely minced normal onions. Adds a little something-something to the sauce so don’t leave it out!
4. Sauce – not intended to be thick and gravy-like. It is a light lemon cream sauce, suited to fish. However, it should not be watery.
Sauce consistency will differ depending on the fish that you use – different fish leech different amounts of water while baking. If you really want to thicken the sauce, just take the fish out of the baking dish and return the pan to the oven for a few minutes (it will thicken quickly so keep an eye on it!)
5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 180g/6 oz white fish fillets like John Dory/Tilapia are used and that all sauce is consumed.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 213gCalories: 282cal (14%)Carbohydrates: 1gProtein: 34.1g (68%)Fat: 16.1g (25%)Saturated Fat: 9.8g (61%)Cholesterol: 128mg (43%)Sodium: 194mg (8%)Potassium: 28mg (1%)Vitamin A: 450IU (9%)Vitamin C: 4.1mg (5%)Calcium: 50mg (5%)Iron: 2mg (11%)
Keywords: baked fish, lemon cream sauce for fish
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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!

Nagi and Dozer snoozing in winter sun - July 2019

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!!

dozer-jimmys-beach
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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1,250 Comments

  1. Marilyn Stevens says

    April 9, 2024 at 6:32 am

    5 stars
    Just made this for a dinner Bed party to rave reviews. Afterwards, my husband said, you should always make our fish like this. Another winning recipe!

    Reply
  2. Xhana says

    March 4, 2024 at 5:30 pm

    5 stars
    Was looking for a new recipe for white fish, which my store had today. (They don’t get a lot of fresh water fish.) I make a ton of fish, but not much fresh water varieties.

    Made this almost exactly as written…I don’t cook with a lot of salt due to health issues, so I supplement lack of salt with other seasoning. Anyhow, the sauce was so delicious!! Will use this method again for other fish.

    Reply
  3. Tina petsas says

    February 26, 2024 at 6:22 pm

    5 stars
    These receipies are fantastic., I love cooking and experimenting to., and make my own inventions.,
    Thank you

    Reply
  4. Nicole says

    February 24, 2024 at 3:27 pm

    5 stars
    A delicious and easy recipe! It will be on repeat – works with thawed and fresh fish fillets.

    Reply
  5. Aris says

    February 17, 2024 at 11:53 am

    5 stars
    Delicious, tender, moist, flavorful. Prepared Ling Cod following instructions except for omitting garlic and reducing dijon mustard to only 2 teaspoons. Fisherman husband keeps requesting a repeat. Thank you for the help in dealing with a freezer full of fish I don’t want. LOL.

    Reply
  6. Sharon says

    February 7, 2024 at 9:55 pm

    5 stars
    Was worried as husband protective of the fish he has caught…made it anyway with WA Dhufish and it was a winner and hubby happy 🤗

    Reply
  7. Rinshin says

    February 6, 2024 at 5:50 am

    Love Dozer. Making this tonight with fresh Pacific rock and fresh dill. I like your recipes that I have tried and like your mom, also from Japan.

    Reply
  8. Linda says

    January 20, 2024 at 7:37 am

    5 stars
    Delicious, lovely lemony sauce, will definitely make agai

    Reply
  9. Monica P says

    January 16, 2024 at 12:17 pm

    I made this tonight. I could tell by reading the recipe that I wouldn’t need to make any adjustments. I followed the recipe exactly. I used fresh white fish. It was excellent. And it’s all gone.

    Reply
  10. Areej Khan says

    January 14, 2024 at 10:29 am

    5 stars
    Tried this for dinner using basa, it was a hit! Really delicious.

    Reply
  11. Sarah Kneeshaw says

    January 9, 2024 at 3:40 am

    5 stars
    I don’t often comment on recipes but this was *amazing*. Made it with defrosted white snapper, pressed a lot of water out so didn’t need to thicken. The sauce is flavourful without overpowering the fish. Had some creamy mash and a salad with this and will definitely be making this again

    Reply
  12. Marcelle Lowder says

    January 9, 2024 at 2:58 am

    Very excellent! Followed recipe exactly except used half of the fish but all of the sauce as I was serving only two. Can’t wait to make it again. Thank you from Charlotte, NC USA.

    Reply
  13. Lisa S. says

    January 6, 2024 at 1:13 am

    5 stars
    Made this last night with cod filets. Delish. I’ve never been much for baking my fish, prefer to pan sear, but the husband loved this, and I’ll definitely be making it again.

    Reply
  14. Khristine Del Rosario says

    January 5, 2024 at 10:23 pm

    5 stars
    Another win! So quick and easy Friday dinner sorted!

    Reply
  15. Alison says

    January 4, 2024 at 7:42 pm

    Loved this. Used sour cream and cooked for 8 minutes in the air fryer.

    Reply
  16. Em S says

    December 11, 2023 at 11:43 pm

    5 stars
    Made this tonight with thick wahoo fillets, so took about 15-17mins. Lemons are hard to come by where I live, but bottled lemon juice worked well. Absolutely sensational meal, the kids smashed it 5/5 ⭐️

    Reply
  17. Elaine Holland says

    December 4, 2023 at 5:48 am

    5 stars
    I have made this before and it went down very well with guests. I was making it again today and had everything prepped when our guests cancelled due to snow! Can I freeze this when it has been cooked? The fish was fresh and not previously frozen. Thanks 😊

    Reply
  18. Sara says

    December 1, 2023 at 1:13 pm

    5 stars
    Such an easy and delicious recipe! I am very picky when eating fish dishes but this is something I could eat every week. It’s on heavy rotation at home and we are always very happy afterwards. The only change we make is we add some capers on top.

    Reply
  19. Amanda says

    December 1, 2023 at 9:33 am

    5 stars
    This one was so delightful and so easy to make, it’s creamy without being too heavy. Perfect for a weeknight dinner!

    Reply
  20. Robyn Smith says

    November 29, 2023 at 7:48 pm

    5 stars
    We catch and eat a lot of fish. My husband normally cooks it, usually crumbed or fried. When I found this recipe I was a bit doubtful as to how it would work. Boy I was wrong. So simple but so tasty. Is now on high rotation on our meal plans. Thanks Nagi I can now cook fish.

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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