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

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! 

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
15 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 282 kcal
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American

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

    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F (all oven types).
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Sprinkle fish with shallots, then pour over sauce.
  5. 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.

Notes

  • 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:
  • 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. 
  • 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.
  • 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!
  • 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!)
  • Nutrition per serving, assuming 180g/6 oz white fish fillets like John Dory/Tilapia are used and that all sauce is consumed.
  • salmon (too fatty, sauce splits)
  • very thin delicate fish like flounder, Dover Sole
  • small whole fish like sardines or mackerel 

Nutrition Information

Serving 213g Calories 282cal (14%) Carbohydrates 1g (0%) Protein 34.1g (68%) Fat 16.1g (25%) Saturated Fat 9.8g (49%) Cholesterol 128mg (43%) Sodium 194mg (8%) Potassium 28mg (1%) Vitamin A 450IU (9%) Vitamin C 4.1mg (5%) Calcium 50mg (5%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 282

% Daily Value*

Serving 213g
Calories 282cal 14%
Carbohydrates 1g 0%
Protein 34.1g 68%
Fat 16.1g 25%
Saturated Fat 9.8g 49%
Cholesterol 128mg 43%
Sodium 194mg 8%
Potassium 28mg 1%
Vitamin A 450IU 9%
Vitamin C 4.1mg 5%
Calcium 50mg 5%
Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.