If you are looking for an easy and delicious meal that can feed your whole family and falls under the Mediterranean diet, then this Mediterranean cod recipe is perfect for you! This healthy meal is ready to go in under thirty minutes. Make this Mediterranean dish today.
We love fish in my household. Some of our recent favorites have been zaatar salmon, gluten free fried fish, and Christmas salmon (which you could make and should make all year round). We also love zaatar and harissa, key Mediterranean flavors. They are the perfect spices for this healthy fish dinner. This mediterranean baked cod recipe is ready in under thirty minutes, and that isn’t the only good reason to make it. This flaky cod is an easy recipe and a great dinner for the whole family.
🍽 What is the Mediterranean Diet?
The Mediterranean diet is a diet inspired by the way people have eaten for centuries in countries like Italy, Spain, Greece and France. It’s based on fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, seafood, nuts, olive oil, and moderate consumption of poultry, dairy products, red wine and sweets. The Mediterranean diet is known for its health benefits, and is widely considered to be one of the healthiest and most sustainable diets out there.
❓what are zaatar and harissa?
Two staples of Mediterranean cuisine! Here’s the lowdown:
Za’atar: a Middle Eastern spice blend usually made of sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, and salt. It has a slightly tangy, earthy, and nutty flavor and is commonly used as a seasoning for meats, veggies, breads, and dips.
Harissa: a spicy North African chili paste made from roasted red peppers, garlic, olive oil, and a blend of spices like cumin, caraway, and coriander. It has a fiery kick and is often used as a condiment, marinade, or ingredient in stews and tagines. It’s basically the ketchup of the Mediterranean.
🥔 What to serve with this mediterranean cod recipe?
I love to keep on brand and serve this with my harissa potatoes. You could also serve it with cauliflower rice, or use my garlic yogurt to top this. It pairs really nicely with the lemon sauce.
🥣 WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU NEED:
Medium bowl
Cast iron pan
Thermometer (if you want to make sure your fish is fully cooked)
📜 Ingredients for this Mediterranean Cod Recipe
Olive oil: is the oil you will fry the fish in, and it goes in the sauce.
Cod Filets: Cod fish is a meaty white fish and is perfect for this dish. You can use fresh cod or frozen. If using frozen, make sure your fish fillet is thawed prior to cooking.
Gluten Free Flour: I like to use King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour. If you want to try to emulate regular flour (wheat flour) or all purpose flour, it is best you avoid single flours (i.e. white rice flour) and go for a gluten-free flour mix.
Spices: Harissa and Zaatar are the best spices and give such great flavor.
Lemon Juice: To help lift up the flavor of the dish
Butter: To give some richness to the sauce
Garlic: For your sauce
Lemon: Lemon slices are a beautiful topper for this dish
Parsley: I love to top this dish with a pop of color and the parsley is perfect for that
📜 HOW TO MAKE THIS easy baked cod RECIPE:
Set your oven: to 425 degrees F. Even though we panfry this recipe, it gets baked as well for extra flavor.
Dry the fish: Take paper towels and pat down the fish filets. You want to make sure that they are dry for your fish dry. If the pieces of fish are too wet, it will not coat properly and it will not give you a crispy coating, but a soggy one.
Take a large skillet: specifically cast iron and place the oil in the pan. Have it on a medium-high heat. By allowing the oil to heat up, it will help crisp up the coating on the fish when it is put into the pan.
Melt your butter: and mix it together with the lemon juice and olive oil (do not add the garlic or spices yet). Pour ¼ of the sauce into a bowl that you can then dip the fillets into.
Mix your dry ingredients: You do not need a large bowl for this but rather a medium or small bowl and a plate. Mix the dry ingredients together, and pour onto a plate so that you can dip the fish into it.
Dip the fish: first into the sauce mixture and then place fish into the flour mixture. Once they are covered, place in your skillet in the hot oil. Fry them for 2-4 minutes per side (until they are golden brown) on a medium heat.
Bake: Once you have panfried the fish, put the garlic into your sauce, along with the remaining zaatar and harissa. Place it into your pan. Do not pour it over your fish as you want the top to stay crispy. Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven: and serve immediately.
Fish is cooked when the internal temperature is 145°F. If you’d like to serve this with wine to liven up your dinner, a dry white wine pairs best with fish like cod and tilapia.
When you are done with this recipe, make my cod au gratin recipe.
🍱 HOW TO STORE THIS mediterranean cod?
This is of course best served right after it is made as it has the crisp on top but should you wish to store it (it does reheat well), store it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. Eat within 2-3 days.
❓What are key ingredients of the Mediterranean Diet?
Foods of the Mediterranean diet include:
- Fruits and veggies, lemon (lemon zest), cherry tomatoes, red onion, especially leafy greens, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, and garlic
- Legumes like green beans, lentils, and chickpeas
- Whole grains like whole wheat bread, brown rice, and oatmeal
- Seafood such as fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, white fish (like cod fillets), shrimp, and squid
- Nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, and pumpkin seeds
- Olives; kalamata olives, green olives, black olives, extra virgin olive oil as the main source of added fat
- Moderate amounts of dairy like yogurt, feta cheese, and milk
- Poultry in moderation
- Herbs: fresh herbs like fresh parsley, fresh basil
🌟 LEAVE A RATING AND REVIEW! 🌟
Did you love this recipe? If you did, let me know! And let others know too by leaving a comment and star rating. Reviews are incredibly useful in helping other people find my site and make my recipes. Thank you so much!
Laura
🔎 Looking for more Fish Recipes?
Easy Mediterranean Cod: Baked Fish Recipe with Lemon
Equipment
- 1 Cast Iron Pan
- 1 Medium Bowl
- 1 Plate
- 1 Thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 Filet Cod
- 2 tablespoon Butter unsalted
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 5 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 Cup Flour King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour
- 2 tablespoon Harissa
- 2 tablespoon Zaatar
- 3 Cloves Garlic minced
Instructions
- Set your oven: to 425 degrees F. Even though we panfry this recipe, it gets baked as well for extra flavor.
- Dry the fish: Take paper towels and pat down the fish filets. You want to make sure that they are dry for your fish dry. If the pieces of fish are too wet, it will not coat properly and it will not give you a crispy coating, but a soggy one.
- Take a large skillet: specifically cast iron and place the oil in the pan. Have it on a medium-high heat. By allowing the oil to heat up, it will help crisp up the coating on the fish when it is put into the pan.
- Melt your butter: and mix it together with the lemon juice and olive oil (do not add the garlic or spices yet). Pour ¼ of the sauce into a bowl that you can then dip the fillets into.
- Mix your dry ingredients: You do not need a large bowl for this but rather a medium or small bowl and a plate. Mix the flour, 1 tablespoon of harissa, 1 tablespoon of zaatar together. Place on a plate so you can dip the fish into it.
- Dip the fish: first into the sauce mixture and then place fish into the flour mixture. Once they are covered, place in your skillet in the hot oil. Fry them for 2-4 minutes per side (until they are golden brown) on a medium heat.
- Bake: Once you have panfried the fish, put the garlic into your sauce, along with the remaining zaatar and harissa. Place it into your pan. Do not pour it over your fish as you want the top to stay crispy. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven: and serve immediately.
Julie C. says
This is a recipe I will be adding to our weekly rotation!! The cod was so flavorful and tender!
Laura Sirkovsky-Kauffman says
So glad you loved it Julie xx
Alessandra says
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to make it! I have lots of frozen cod so this is perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Joanne says
What cod do you recommend for this recipe? I know I can get black cod and lingcod here.
Laura Sirkovsky-Kauffman says
I have never tried black cod but I bet it would be delicious with this recipe!
L Smith says
I want to get on the Mediterranean diet. This looks fantastic. I love this recipe! So flavorful.
Laura Sirkovsky-Kauffman says
Glad you love it!
Jomelyn says
Cod is one of our favorite fish here in the Pacific Northwest! This recipe is delicious and easy to make.
Laura Sirkovsky-Kauffman says
So glad you like it!
Deepti Singhal says
I am becoming a fan of the Mediterranean diet and love this recipe. Can’t wait to try it!
Laura Sirkovsky-Kauffman says
Hope you love it Deepti!
Tressa says
I’ve made a similar recipe for flounder, but this cod recipe is absolutely delicious!
Laura Sirkovsky-Kauffman says
So good! Glad you love it.