Baked Cod Cherry Tomato (Printable Version)

Flaky cod fillets baked and served with a vibrant cherry tomato and herb sauce.

# What You'll Need:

→ Fish

01 - 4 skinless, boneless cod fillets (5.3–6.3 oz each)
02 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
03 - Salt, to taste
04 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Cherry Tomato Sauce

05 - 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
06 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
07 - 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
08 - 1 small shallot, finely diced
09 - 1 tablespoon capers, drained (optional)
10 - 1/4 cup dry white wine or fish stock
11 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
12 - 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
13 - 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
14 - 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

# Directions:

01 - Set the oven temperature to 400°F.
02 - Pat cod fillets dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.
03 - Lightly oil a baking dish and arrange cod fillets inside. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over them.
04 - Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook diced shallot for 2 minutes until translucent.
05 - Incorporate chopped garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, stirring continuously to avoid burning.
06 - Add halved cherry tomatoes and cook 3–4 minutes until softened and juices are released.
07 - Stir in capers if using, then add white wine, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Let simmer 3–4 minutes to reduce slightly.
08 - Remove from heat and mix in chopped basil and parsley.
09 - Spoon the cherry tomato sauce evenly over the cod fillets in the baking dish.
10 - Bake in the preheated oven for 15–18 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
11 - Serve immediately, optionally garnished with additional fresh herbs.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The fish stays impossibly tender while the sauce becomes this gorgeous, jammy thing that tastes like summer.
  • Everything happens in one baking dish, which means fewer pans to clean and more time to actually enjoy eating.
  • It comes together in under 40 minutes but tastes like you spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen.
02 -
  • Don't skip drying the cod—wet fish steams instead of gently bakes, and you lose all that tender delicate texture.
  • Watch the garlic closely when it goes in—30 seconds is the difference between fragrant and bitter, and there's no coming back from burned garlic.
  • The sauce finishes hotter than you might think it needs to be—it will concentrate as it cools slightly on the fish, so err toward thinner rather than thicker.
03 -
  • If your cherry tomatoes are mealy or flavorless, add a tiny pinch of sugar to the sauce—it won't make it sweet, just rounder and more tomato-forward.
  • Make the sauce while the oven preheats, then spoon it over the fish right before it goes in; timing it this way means everything finishes together instead of the sauce sitting around getting cold.
  • Leftovers are genuinely good cold the next day, flaked into a salad or just eaten straight from the fridge on a lazy afternoon.

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