Foods This easy baked fish with lemon butter sauce will have you feeling like a chef from the comfort of your kitchen!
I have to admit, the first time I was faced with the task of cooking fish for dinner I was a little apprehensive. At the time I was completing my internship as a cook for an orphan camp in Buryatia, Far East Russia. The main cook told me we were having fish for dinner. I was to prepare it.
Until then, my experience with fish was canned tuna. But this meal was not to be so easy on me. There on the makeshift counter was a pile of freshly-caught fish. Whole fish.
I had no idea what I was doing.
Patiently they showed me how to scale the fish. And then, to my surprise, we chopped the fish into three parts—head, middle, and tail—and threw the pieces into a pot for a stew. Eyeballs and everything.
Needless to say, the Russian kids had a blast watching me eat that stew.
If you’re worried this recipe is going to be anything like that one, rest assured it won’t be. Nowadays I prefer to get my fish pre-scaled, gutted, and filleted from the freezer section at our local Costco.
Baked Fish with Lemon Butter Sauce: Simple and Delicious!
But, just like my Russian fish experience, this recipe is pretty simple. Make a little sauce. Pour over fish. Bake fish. Devour. This recipe is easy peasy and totally delicious enough to make you feel more like a chef and less like a camp cook.
Not only is this easy baked fish recipe easy and delicious, it’s also pretty kid friendly. Which is as important as easy and delicious to this momma of five! My kids love the tangy lemon butter sauce and I love watching the fish disappear from their plates.
While you can use this sauce on many types of fish, I prefer to serve it with wild-caught flounder. Flounder is a light-tasting, cold water fish high vitamin D, B6, and 12, as well as niacin, phosphorus, potassium, protein, and selenium.
If you’re worried about fishy-ness smell and taste, flounder doesn’t have much of it (in my expert mom-opinion, that is). It also tastes delicious in a creamy chowder, or slathered in browned butter, garlic and dill.
Easy Baked Fish with Lemon Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 5-6 fillets of fish I like to use flounder or hake
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup butter or ghee
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 cloves
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice about 1/2 a lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest about 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F.
- Arrange fish on jellyroll pan (a cookie sheet with sides) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- In small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- When butter is melted stir in garlic. Let sizzle a minute or two until fragrant, then turn off the heat and add in remaining ingredients.
- Spoon sauce over fish (about 1 1/2 tablespoons per fillet) and bake for 10 minutes, or until flakey.
- Serve hot, with leftover sauce for drizzling.
Nutrition
More Easy and Healthy Dinner Recipes:
- Easy and Mouthwatering Sweet Fire Skillet Dinner
- Quick & Healthy Sweet Potato Hash
- 40 Delicious Make-Ahead Keto Freezer Meals
- Easy Gluten-Free Mini Pizzas
- Easy Paleo Honey Lemon Chicken Recipe
Great recipe! I’ve got tons of fish in the freezer but I’m always at a loss for how to cook it. Lemon butter sauce sounds great, I’m going to have to give it a try!
Thanks, Stefani! I hope you get a chance to enjoy it! 🙂
I cook fish all the time and when I want to splurge I add a little butter. As you have done, it makes the fish so tender and adds such a richness to the flavor.
I agree, Peter! Butter adds a wonderful flavor to fish. 🙂
What a lovely fresh summer meal. We are eating a lot of meals like this at the mo,ent.
Thank you, Dannii!
I’m not sure I could have eaten that stew but I could certainly ate this dish. It looks and sounds delicious!
Haha! Thanks, Vicki. 😉
I LOVE seafood and this sounds so divine especially the lemon butter sauce….YUM!
Thanks, Charla! 🙂 I hope you get a chance to enjoy it!
This sounds extremely tasty. I would give it a try
I hope you get a chance to enjoy it! 🙂
I do love easy, kid-friendly ways to cook fish! And this recipe looks great. Lots of flavor and a snap to put together.
Exactly! How could you go wrong with easy and kid-friendly? 😉
Looks delicious! I really need to add more fish to my families diets! I think i will try this recipe next week 🙂
Thanks, Jessica! I hope you enjoy it!
Such a classic way to cook up some fish!
It is, Rebecca! 🙂 Classic and delish!
I always like when there’s an easy way to prepare nutritious food that tastes great, too! This recipe hits the mark! I’ve pinned it!
Thanks, Cathy! I hope you get a chance to enjoy it! 🙂
Sounds light and perfect for a summer dinner! But then again, I’m a sucker for anything with lemon in the summer. Thanks for the dinner inspiration!
~jules
Glad to give a little inspiration, Jules! 😉 I’m a fellow lemon-lover. 😉
This sounds so good! What’s better than butter sauce, right? Thanks for sharing!!
Exactly. 😉 Glad to share!
I do my fish in lemon and coconut oil all the time – I LOVE IT (and so do the kids)! Delicious and healthy! I’ll have to try your version.
Thanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).
Wishing you a lovely weekend.
xoxo
Coconut oil sounds like a great dairy-free sub for the butter. 😉
Thanks so much for sharing this awesome Baked Fish with us at Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you are having a great weekend and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Glad to share, Helen!
My hubby will love this recipe! I am so delighted that you shared your healthy and delicious Baked Fish with Lemon Butter Sauce with us at the Healthy Happy Green Natural Party! I’m Pinning and sharing this!
I hope he has a chance to enjoy it, Deborah! 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
I love fish! Thank you for linking up to last week’s Tasty Tuesday linky. I have pinned your recipe the the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board. I hope you’ll join us again this week!
Glad to share, Ashley! Thanks for stopping by!
Raia, I love how simple (and delicious) this sounds! Pinning for later! Thanks so much for linking up with us at You Link It We Make It! We hope you’ll drop by and visit us again! – Kim @ knockitoffkim.com
Thank you, Kim!
This looks so amazing and I just love how simple it is!
Thanks, Elle. 😉 I’m all about simple.
Sounds delish! Thanks for sharing at You Link It, We Make It – hope to see you back tomorrow to party!
Thanks April! 🙂
Congratulations!
Your recipe is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Enjoy your Red Plate and have a great weekend.
Miz Helen
Thank you so much, Helen! 🙂
Such a perfect healthy dinner!
Thanks, Rebecca! 🙂
I absolutely love fish with lemon. This simple recipe is just what I need!
I hope you enjoy it, Celeste! 🙂
This looks so good! I need to try this so I can use up all that fish I bought and froze during lent. 😀
Haha! I hope you get a chance to enjoy it, Elise!
This is my kind of recipe. Quick and easy for those busy evenings. The fish looks so flaky!
Thanks, Amanda!
What a delicious and easy dinner recipe! I am going to try this one this week!