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These best cod recipes will please everyone around the table! Here are easy and healthy ways to make this fish taste exciting.

Cod Recipes
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We admit, “We’re having cod for dinner!” doesn’t have the sexiest ring to it. But here’s the thing. Cod has a mild, pure flavor that’s not fishy at all: it’s even milder than salmon! Because of its approachable flavor, cod is a great starter fish for people who don’t think they like fish. Bake it coated in spices for Fish Tacos, or fry it and top it with crunchy coleslaw as a Fish Sandwich.

Here are all the best healthy cod recipes to make this versatile fish please everyone around the table! Along with recipes from this website, we’ve got recipes from experts  Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby Cakes, Imma Adamu of Immaculate Bites, Gina Homolka of Skinnytaste, and Jessica Merchant of How Sweet Eats.

And now…cod recipes everyone will love!

More of the best healthy fish recipes

Love eating seafood? Us too. Here are a few more resources for healthy and easy fish recipes:

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Easy Pan Fried Cod (& More Recipes!)

Pan fried cod
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5 from 5 reviews

This pan fried cod is the best white fish you’ll have! Flavored simply with spices and olive oil, it’s healthy, stunning and irresistible all at once.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 2 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 7 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Seafood
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/2 pounds cod (4 fillets)
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (also called pimentón)*
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter (or olive oil, for dairy-free)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Finely chopped Italian parsley, for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed, and kosher salt. Pat the cod dry and sprinkle all sides with the seasoning.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the butter and olive oil. When butter is melted, add the cod and cook for 2 minutes.
  3. Flip the cod and pour the lemon juice over the fish. Cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes until the cod is tender and starts to flake when you prick it with a fork (adjust based on the thickness of the fillets). Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve immediately, drizzled with the sauce.

Notes

*If you can’t find it, you can use sweet paprika. But smoked paprika brings the best flavor with a hint of smokiness.

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

Leave a Comment

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7 Comments

  1. Suzanne says:

    Made this tonight and we both raved at how good it was!!!






  2. Mary McCreath says:

    Amazing super fast dinner. Paired with blanched asparagus and carrots. A win for my picky 18 year old. “Next time you make that, can you make more”….






  3. Corinne Souza says:

    Hi, I tried the cod fish recipe tonight and I am so glad I did. I was perfect in every way. It was a very fast prep, cooked in 10 minutes and one pan. We had mash potatoes and I did fry an onion in the pan after I took the fish out. I would tell anyone to try this, it was delicious!






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      So glad you enjoyed!

  4. DAN @ Sauce Grandmaster says:

    hi Sonja & Alex
    I’ve always liked to experiment with fish recipes.
    But I find that most of the recipes for cod are lemon. Why is that?






    1. Sara says:

      They complement each other. Cod doesn’t have a strong, bright, fresh flavor but lemon does. Lemon is both a light and bright without overpowering the qualities of the fish.

      Another herb, spice, or vegetable (dill, cayenne, tomato, etc.) might go well with it, but overpower it as the main ingredient.

      Lemon also has a way of removing unpleasant odors (use to wash hands after touching garlic or onions) so it maybe also makes fish taste less “fishy”.

  5. Sonja Overhiser says:

    Let us know if you have any questions!