Name: Baked Cod with Tomato Olive Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs cod fillets (fresh or fully thawed, about 1 inch thick); 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes; 1/2 cup Kalamata olives (pitted and roughly chopped); 2 tbsp capers (drained); 4 cloves garlic (thinly sliced); 3 tbsp olive oil (divided); 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional); 1/2 tsp kosher salt (plus more for seasoning the fish); 1/4 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped, for serving)

From the roundup: 24 High Protein Dinner Recipes Easy Enough for Busy Weeknights

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This baked cod with tomato olive sauce has become my go-to when I need dinner on the table fast and I am genuinely out of ideas. The cod fillets go straight into the baking dish with crushed tomatoes, Kalamata olives, capers, and garlic, then the whole thing bakes uncovered at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. There is no stovetop sauce to babysit and no second pan.

Your actual hands-on time is about 10 minutes: pat the fish dry, stir the sauce together in the dish, lay the fillets in, and slide it into the oven. After that you can set the timer and walk away. The fish soaks up the tomato and brine as it cooks, so by the time it flakes apart it already tastes like you did something impressive.

Serve it straight from the baking dish with crusty bread or couscous to catch the sauce. My family rarely leaves any in the pan, but when they do, the leftovers are genuinely good the next day at lunch.

How this one landed in the rotation

I made this for the first time on a Thursday when I had two cod fillets from the week before that needed to be used up and a can of crushed tomatoes that had been sitting in the pantry for a month. I threw in the olives and capers mostly because they were already open in the fridge. It came out better than I expected, which is honestly how a lot of our regular dinners start.

The one thing I learned the hard way: do not skip patting the fish completely dry before it goes in the dish. The first time I rushed that step, the surface of the cod looked pale and a little waterlogged even though it was cooked through. Takes thirty extra seconds and it makes a real difference in how the finished fish looks and holds together.

Why you will love this

One baking dish from start to finish, no separate sauce pan to wash.
Ready in 30 minutes including prep, which actually means 30 minutes, not 45.
Cod is one of the more affordable white fish options and holds up well in a saucy braise like this.
Naturally fits Mediterranean, gluten-free, and low-carb eating without any modifications.
Leftovers reheat well in a low oven, so next-day lunch is already handled.

Tips for success

Pat the cod completely dry before seasoning. Any surface moisture will steam the fish instead of letting it take on any color or texture, and the fillets will look gray and soft rather than opaque and flaky.
Watch the thickness of your fillets, not just the clock. Thin tail pieces can be done at 18 minutes while thick center-cut fillets need the full 22. If your fillets are very uneven, tuck the thin edges under slightly to slow them down.
Do not overlap the fillets in the dish. They need space around them so the heat circulates and the fish cooks evenly. Crowding them together traps steam and makes the texture mushy.
Pull the dish when the fish flakes apart with gentle pressure from a fork and the center looks fully opaque. If you wait until it looks done from the top, it is usually already overcooked in the middle.

If the sauce turns out too thin or watery

Some crushed tomatoes are more watery than others depending on the brand. If your sauce looks thin coming out of the oven, just spoon the fish out and set the baking dish on the stovetop over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes to reduce it a bit.
Make sure you drained the capers before adding them. Extra brine in the dish adds liquid you do not need.
Baking uncovered is important here. A covered dish traps steam and thins the sauce. If you accidentally covered it, add 5 minutes uncovered at the end.
Using fillets that are fully thawed and patted dry also helps. Frozen fish that is not completely thawed releases a lot of water as it cooks.

Substitutions

Halibut or tilapia work in place of cod at a similar thickness, though tilapia fillets tend to run thinner so check them at 18 minutes. Green olives can stand in for Kalamata if that is what you have open. If your family does not love capers, skip them and add a small squeeze of lemon juice over the fish right before serving. A can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes works fine when crushed tomatoes are not in the pantry, and it adds a little smokiness to the sauce.

For picky eaters who object to olives or capers, you can pull their portion of fish out of the dish before adding those ingredients, season their fillets separately, and bake everything together. The sauce still works without them, it is just simpler and less briny.

Make-ahead and storage

You can mix the tomato olive sauce together in the baking dish up to a day ahead and refrigerate it covered. When you are ready to cook, nestle the cod into the cold sauce and add 3 to 4 minutes to the bake time since you are starting from cold. Store leftover fish and sauce together in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

To reheat, cover the dish loosely with foil and warm it in a 300-degree oven for about 10 minutes until just heated through. Avoid the microwave if you can because it toughens the fish quickly. Freezing is not recommended for this one. Cooked cod becomes watery and falls apart after thawing, and the texture is not worth it.

Brittany Stage