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Home Fish recipes

Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce

By:Nagi
Published:8 Jul '19Updated:11 Oct '22
1,228 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 483 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!

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1,228 Comments

  1. Lesly says

    July 29, 2023 at 4:29 pm

    5 stars
    Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce ….simply amazing! Delicious and easy … what more could one ask? Love, love, love it!

    Reply
  2. Joseph says

    July 21, 2023 at 11:45 am

    5 stars
    great after a long day of work

    Reply
  3. Maria Coleman says

    July 21, 2023 at 8:41 am

    Your recipe for fish in a delicious sauce sounds just great. I would love to buy your book about fish recipes. Thank you 🙏 xx

    Reply
  4. Harini says

    July 11, 2023 at 9:47 pm

    5 stars
    I cooked this using frozen barramundi I’ve got in my freezer stash and it was amazing! Quick yet super delicious. I served it with rice and pickled red onion on top! DELICIOUS!! ❤️❤️❤️

    Reply
  5. Ariane says

    July 10, 2023 at 11:43 am

    4 stars
    We used saddle-tail snapper for this one. It was quite nice. I think I may have left something out because it just didn’t hit the highs of all the other RTE recipes I’ve made 😉

    Reply
  6. Sam says

    July 2, 2023 at 12:39 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe has become a staple in our household. Easy, tasty, and quick! Thanks for sharing! 😊

    Reply
  7. Sue says

    June 28, 2023 at 7:51 pm

    5 stars
    Love this so easy and tasty served with mash potatoes and steamed broccoli

    Reply
  8. Julz Nichols says

    June 25, 2023 at 7:57 pm

    5 stars
    I love this recipe. I’ve made it twice over and differently each time. Tonight I used spring onions instead of eschallots and because I’m lactose intolerant, I used coconut cream. Came out a treat.

    Reply
  9. Robyn says

    June 25, 2023 at 6:51 pm

    5 stars
    Another quick delicious meal, I served with cauli rice and zucchini. This one will be be a regular fish recipe.

    Reply
  10. Lynn says

    June 24, 2023 at 9:33 am

    5 stars
    We pulled this recipe from your fabulous cookbook “Dinner”, which I love. The fish was deliciously flavorful and so quick to prepare. And who doesn’t love a meal that goes from fridge to table in 20 minutes (I was slow prepping). Thank you, Nagi, for all the hard work you put into creating these recipes and compiling a cookbook I continue to reach for!

    Reply
  11. Teresa says

    June 22, 2023 at 12:09 pm

    5 stars
    Just made this tonight using some whiting filets that I had in the freezer. It turned out amazing. I doubled the sauce but it was so good that I think I’ll quadruple the recipe next time. I served it with jasmine rice and fried cabbage. Just chef’s kiss!

    Reply
  12. Meryl Reed says

    June 14, 2023 at 10:08 am

    5 stars
    Was looking for something to do with the tilapia I had in the freezer. Happened to have most of the ingredients on hand. Used 1/2 and 1/2, baby garlic (not mature yet) and spring onions from the garden as subs. It looked like the cream curdled from the lemon, but it tasted fine and the result was delish. Teen and early 20s kids loved it as did I. Going in the recipe folder of winners!

    Reply
  13. Rachael says

    June 13, 2023 at 7:59 pm

    A winner! My kids aren’t fans of fish but they loved this. I added a bit of tarragon and would definitely make more sauce next time it was so delicious!

    Reply
  14. Shazza says

    June 5, 2023 at 8:27 am

    5 stars
    Incredible recipe and so, so easy ! Thanks Nagi

    Reply
  15. Maryann says

    May 25, 2023 at 11:17 am

    5 stars
    I’ve never cooked fish in my house! This turned out fantastic! I had to make changes since we made it on the fly. We used half and half, not cream, brown mustard not Dijon, garlic power, not garlic and used regular onion. It turned out so good and easy! I can only imagine how delicious it is with the correct ingredients!! Great receipt! Fast, easy and delicious!!

    Reply
  16. Sharon says

    April 24, 2023 at 7:06 pm

    5 stars
    This has become a regular. I have added green prawns or marinara mix half way through. Have also doubled the sauce. Great with mash and greens.

    Reply
  17. Dromomaniac says

    April 24, 2023 at 2:32 am

    5 stars
    OMG! This was so easy to make & so delicious! I would make this for friends & family again for sure – the fish was moist & delicious and the sauce was sublime. I served it with pasta & steamed veggies. Thank you so much for the recipe, Nagi!

    Reply
  18. Martha Formosa says

    April 23, 2023 at 1:23 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent recipe! Thanks for creating and sharing! The sauce is delicious and the hake fish was cooked to perfection!

    Reply
  19. sJudy Kirkpatrick says

    April 18, 2023 at 9:38 am

    5 stars
    Please give my previous comment 5 stars as I forgot to before

    Reply
  20. Judy Kirkpatrick says

    April 18, 2023 at 6:47 am

    I made this for my family this Easter. My daughter is dairy free so I made it with coconut cream instead. Delicious, thank you Nagi. xxx

    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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