12-Minute Baked Fish with a Simple Lemon Cream Sauce

Dinner comes together fast when the fish and the sauce cook in the same pan. Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce takes just 10 to 12 minutes in the oven. You warm a simple butter and cream mixture in the microwave, pour it over the fillets, and pull out a complete main course.

Choosing the fish

This dish is a great match for almost any white fish. You might choose flathead, snapper, ling, tilapia, dory, barramundi, basa, perch, or hokki. Fillets or cutlets measuring about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick will cook quickly and finish at an even rate. Leaner options such as tuna or swordfish work fine too, but you will need to keep a close eye on them in the oven. Even when baked directly in a rich sauce, a very lean piece of fish turns tough if it overcooks.

Frozen fish requires a little extra care. You must thaw it completely before starting the recipe. Pat the thawed fillets completely dry with paper towels. Excess water from frozen fish dilutes the cream sauce during baking.

Arrange the seasoned fillets carefully in the baking dish. Leave some space between the individual pieces. Tight spacing prevents the fish from cooking evenly.

The cream sauce

The sauce mixes together in a microwave-safe bowl or pitcher. Heavy cream gives the sauce the best consistency. You can substitute evaporated milk if you have that on hand. Light cream works too. You just need to add an extra two teaspoons of Dijon mustard to help a light cream sauce thicken.

The mustard acts as a thickening agent for the liquid. Any smooth, non-seedy mustard can replace the Dijon.

Feel free to swap out a few of the aromatics if you need to. If you are out of shallots, finely minced standard onions work beautifully, and the pale lower sections of scallions make a wonderful substitute too. Fresh lime juice easily steps in if you are short on lemons. Alternatively, you can simmer one-third cup of white wine down to just two tablespoons to use as your acidic base.

You melt the butter and cream in the microwave using two thirty-second bursts. Stir the liquid in between the bursts. The butter melts completely into the warm cream. The finished sauce feels light and fresh rather than thick and heavy.

Baking the fish

You pour this hot liquid directly over the raw fish and chopped shallots. The fish bakes in a single pan without any flipping.

If your fish fillets are on the thicker side, they will naturally need a bit more time in the oven. To keep the pan liquid from drying out during an extended bake, simply stir a splash of water into the mixture to thin it before you cook the dish.

If your fish releases a bit too much moisture during the bake, the pan liquid might turn out on the runny side. Do not worry because this is an easy fix. Simply lift the cooked fillets out of the baking dish to rest on a plate, then slide the pan right back into the oven. Let the sauce bubble in the heat for a short time until it reaches a better consistency.

What to serve with the fish

Transfer the baked fish to serving plates and spoon the warm pan sauce over each portion. Fresh parsley and lemon slices add color to the finished plates.

The extra pan sauce needs something to soak it up. Bread or mashed potatoes do this job well. You can also pair the fish with a cold side like cabbage salad, Greek salad, or potato salad. Warm sides like potato gratin or flavored rice round out the meal.