Perfect for a family dinner, this baked cod with panko is so easy to make! It's made with a herb panko crust that gives so much flavor and can be paired with sides of your choice.
Choose from so many more fish dinner ideas with my round-up of frozen cod recipes!
Fish dishes always make for a healthy dinner idea, and we can add so much flavor! Much like my almond crusted cod, air fryer frozen cod and sweet potato fish cakes, this panko baked cod recipe uses frozen fish and pantry staples making it so easy for a busy weeknight.
Adding herbs and garlic makes the panko bread crumbs extra tasty, and who doesn't love that crunchy crust topping for the fish! Pair with sides such as my steamed pak choi and my herb cauliflower rice for a healthy family meal.
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Easy to make with freezer and pantry staples. We turn to the freezer to use frozen cod fish fillets for this recipe, and the panko crust is made with mostly pantry staples. No need to run to the store hopefully!
Healthy family dinner. Perfect as a balanced meal along with sides of your choice.
Easy cod recipe. It takes minutes to make the panko crust, then the cod is baked to perfection!
🦀 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Frozen cod fillets - just head to the freezer for this recipe!
- Panko bread crumbs - these are the Japanese-style bread crumbs that give such a nice crunch. You can usually find them in the store, and often in the World foods aisle where I am.
- Garlic - I suggest using fresh garlic cloves, but garlic powder can be used in a pinch.
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap apple cider vinegar for lemon juice. If it works for you, then you can use lemon juice as your acid instead.
Add a small knob of butter. For an even more indulgent panko crusted cod, then add a little butter to the crust topping.
Use dried herbs instead of fresh. If you don't have fresh herbs to hand, using dried is fine too. Just reduce the quantity a little as dried is more pungent.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this baked cod with panko is very simple, with just a few steps:
Step 1
Bake the cod fillets. Add the frozen cod fillets to an ovenproof dish and cover with aluminium foil. Bake for 15 minutes (image 1).
Step 2
Make the panko bread crumb crust. Combine the panko with the olive oil, apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice), herbs and garlic. Stir well so that it becomes a little sticky (image 2).
Recipe tip: if the panko crust seems too dry, add a little more olive oil or butter.
Step 3
Add the panko crust. Once the cod has had 15 minutes baking in the oven, use a small spoon to pat on the panko crust topping (image 3).
Step 4
Bake the panko cod. Return the cod to the oven and bake (uncovered) for another 15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked throughout and white and flaky (image 4).
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Cover the cod fillets with foil on the first bake, so they don't dry out.
- If you can, spoon any excess liquid out of your baking dish after the fish has had the first 15 minutes of cook time.
- If the crust seems too dry you can add a little more olive oil to the mixture.
- Adjust the amount of garlic and herbs to taste preference.
- Make sure the cod is white and can easily be flaked with a fork throughout before serving.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Panko is a Japanese-style bread crumb. It's made from processed crustless white bread and has a dry flaky and crunchy texture.
Yes, other white fish fillets such as pollock are good!
Yes, the recipe as it is written is dairy free. Make sure not to use butter in the panko crust to keep it suitable for that dietary requirement.
🍽 How to serve baked cod with panko
As it's such a versatile dinner idea, you can serve this cod with panko with hot or cold sides.
- For hot sides, this fish goes perfectly with my roasted zucchini and potatoes, or my celeriac and sweet potato mash. A baked sweet potato is good too.
- In the summer, you may like to pair with a simple green salad, or perhaps some more vegetable-based salads such as my beets and broccoli salad, my pear fennel salad or my herbed quinoa arugula salad.
🥣 More tasty fish dishes
Find so many fun ideas on my fish recipes page, including my baked cod with herb pesto and these recent recipes:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐ and comment if you have tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Baked Cod with Panko
Ingredients
- 2 cod fillets frozen
For the panko crust
- ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1.5 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced or finely diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves finely diced
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 390F.
- Place the frozen cod fillets in an ovenproof dish and cover with aluminium foil. Bake for 15 minutes.
- While the fish is baking, make the panko crust by combining all the ingredients and giving them a good stir. Add more olive oil or a little butter if the crust is too dry.
- Remove the fish from the oven and spoon any excess liquid out of the dish if you can. Remove the foil cover and pat on the panko crust. Return to the oven and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the cod is white throughout and can easily be flaked with a fork.
Notes
- Cover the cod fillets with foil on the first bake, so they don't dry out.
- If you can, spoon any excess liquid out of your baking dish after the fish has had the first 15 minutes of cook time.
- If the crust seems too dry you can add a little more olive oil to the mixture.
- Adjust the amount of garlic and herbs to taste preference.
- Make sure the cod is white and can easily be flaked with a fork throughout before serving.
- Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- frozen cod , which scores 0. You may wish to see the SIGHI advice on cooking fish.
- wheat (panko), apple cider vinegar and garlic, which score 1.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
Andrea says
Hi Claire-
If I’m using fresh cod, my piece is thinner than the pictures of your frozen cod fillets, do I need to cook for 15 covered in foil? Or do you think 15 min uncovered with the coating is sufficient?
Excited to try this.
Claire says
Hi Andrea, as I only ever use frozen fish due to histamine issues, I couldn't say that I've tried it myself. I had a look at some recipes online using fresh fish and they cooked for 12-15 minutes (depending on thickness) without using foil. Hope it works well and you enjoy!
Hilary says
This was delicious, and such a great, MCAS-friendly way to get lean protein! My husband, who has no dietary restrictions and loves his food, even really liked this recipe!
Claire says
So glad you like it! An easy fish dish is always helpful as a family meal isn't it.