Baked Cod and Asparagus with Garlic Lemon Caper Sauce. Use pacific cod or black cod. Each cod fillet (together with asparagus and caper sauce) is baked in an individual foil pocket. One individual foil pocket with cod and asparagus equals one serving.
A delicious and easy recipe to cook any white fish – Pacific Cod (on photos), black cod, tilapia, halibat, mahi mahi, sea bass, etc. Healthy, low carb, gluten free recipe!
Ingredients you need to make baked cod
This delicious recipe will provide you with both the main dish (baked cod) and the side dish (asparagus) – and everything is baked together at the same time. There are only 7 ingredients:
- pacific cod fillets (you can use black cod, sea bass, or halibat)
- asparagus, ends trimmed
- Italian herbal seasoning (usually includes herbs like thyme, oregano, basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary – all of them or just a combination of some of them)
- garlic cloves, minced
- thinly sliced lemon
- capers, drained
- butter
Tips for making a perfect baked cod
- I wrap each individual cod fillet in a foil packet. This helps to keep all the juices around the cod and asparagus together while baking, and also makes it convenient to serve individual portions.
- Cod is such a flavorful, buttery fish, it doesn’t need much to taste good. I enhanced cod flavor only by using simple ingredients, such as capers (make sure to drain them), minced fresh garlic, freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Do not overbake the cod. Bake it for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven at 400 F. Your fish could be ready in 15 minutes depending on your oven and the thickness of a fillet. When your cod is done baking, it should cooked through and flaky.
How to bake cod
I use aluminum foil to bake each of 4 individual cod fillets separately, as individual portions, which can be handy. It also helps keep the juices inside each individual foil pocket.
First, preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare 4 separate foil pieces. Place equal portions of asparagus in the center of each foil. Season the asparagus with salt and pepper.
Place each cod fillet on top of asparagus. Season each cod fillet with a pinch of Italian herbal seasoning, salt, and pepper. Then, sprinkle minced garlic over each fillet and asparagus. Top each fish fillet with a thin lemon slice.
Next, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of capers over each cod fillet. Top each fish fillet with 1 tablespoon butter, thinly sliced. Wrap the foil over the cod to completely enclose it but do not wrap it too tightly or too close to the fish – leave some space.
Place foil-wrapped cod fish fillets on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 F until the fish is cooked through and flaky. Could be ready in 15 minutes depending on your oven and the thickness of fillet.
Side dishes to serve with baked cod
What is really great about this recipe is that you’re already cooking one side dish (the asparagus) together with the baked cod. So, you’re saving time and effort right there! If you want more side dishes, you could make a side of rice or mashed potatoes – both will go beautifully with the juices from the baked cod. If you want rice with flavor, I recommend this cilantro lime and black bean rice or this sun-dried tomato and basil rice. Also try this cilantro lime potato salad – it’s an excellent side for this fish!
More cod recipes
I am in love with cod thanks to its rich buttery texture, and I’ve cooked it many times. Check out the following cod recipes I made – they are all very different from this one and from one another:
- If you want a rich and sophisticated black cod dinner, I have a wonderful recipe for Black cod with balsamic shallot and pomegranate sauce .
- If you want something refreshing, like a perfect Summer cod recipe, try this Pan-Seared Black Cod with Tropical Fruit Salsa – it’s a Mediterranean style fish with the cilantro lime pineapple salsa.
- For an Asian cod, make this Asian Black Cod and fettuccine noodles coated with the homemade peanut sauce.
Baked Cod and Asparagus with Garlic Lemon Caper Sauce. Use pacific cod or black cod. Each cod fillet (together with asparagus and caper sauce) is baked in an individual foil pocket. Easy, healthy, delicious!
- 4 fillets cod (I used pacific cod)
- 1 lb asparagus (ends trimmed)
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (thyme, oregano)
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 lemon , thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup capers , drained
- 4 tablespoons butter
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Preheat oven to 400 F.
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Prepare 4 separate foil pieces (large enough to completely cover each fish fillet, when folded).
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Place equal portions of asparagus (ends trimmed) in the center of each foil. Season asparagus with salt and pepper. Place each fish fillet on top of asparagus. Season each fillet with a pinch of Italian herbal seasoning, salt, and pepper, and sprinkle minced garlic over each fillet and asparagus.
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Top each cod fillet with a thin lemon slice. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of capers over each fillet. Top each fillet with 1 tablespoon butter, thinly sliced.
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Wrap the foil ends over the top of the cod to completely enclose it but do not wrap too tightly or too close to the fish - leave some space.
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Place foil-wrapped fish fillets on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 F until the cod is cooked through and flaky. Could be ready in 15 minutes depending on your oven and the thickness of cod fillet.
This recipe was originally published on July 20, 2016, and republished with updates, cooking tips in May 2018.
If cooking this on a covered grill, how long do you leave it to cook?
I just made this for dinner tonight for my family and I, it was great. I didnt have lemon or capers, but it was the best baked fish i have made. The asparagus in the butter at the bottom was really good as well. I made plain white rice with it, and the butter from the foil really made the rice tasty. Thanks for the recipe, it will likely be a new go to for when I make cod.
So glad you tried this recipe and liked it! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your comment.
Tried this tonight it was delicious
So happy to hear that!
Hi Julia!
I’m planning to make this tonight- new to preparing fish. Is it okay to use frozen cod fillet for this recipe or does it require thawed fillet?
Thanks so much!
Jen
You have to use thawed fillet. Enjoy!
I made this fish along with your cilantro and black bean rice. All I can say is yyyyyuuuuuummmmm!! Thanks for sharing your recipes!
You’re very welcome, Karen! Love reading comments like yours! 🙂
Can i put this on the grill?
Yes, you can do this on the grill.
I made this with cooking spray and 1 tbsp of olive oil in place of all that butter, tasty. I do think your calorie count is off, though, since each tablespoon of butter has 100 calories and is loaded with saturated fat.
I am glad you liked it! The calorie count is per 1 serving, so there is 1 tablespoon of butter per serving, which is reflected in the calorie count.
Thank you! I’ll try this ASAP!
Enjoy!
thanks for sharing this recipe! It looks delicious !
Oh Julia – what a beautifully presented fish treat. It has all the ellements we both love. Jo, my husband, as a Keralite, HAS to have his daily ‘fix’ of fish and since I introduced him to Capers in Italy years ago, he can not get enough of them :). So within the next few days no doubt I will be using a nice piece of Tilapia for your recipe. Thank you, Carina