When it comes to seafood, cod has a reputation for being a little… basic, for lack of a better term.
That might sound a little harsh, but let’s be real for a second: When was the last time you were excited or interested when your parent or partner mentioned that it was cod for dinner tonight?
Unless your partner or parent happens to be Gordon Ramsay levels of a professional cook, the chances are that you’ve not exactly been vaulting over your business to get home to the dinner table!
However, that’s not because cod is a bad ingredient to use in cooking. Not by a long shot.
This is a fish that has been caught and eaten by people for hundreds of years at this point and has come up with thousands of different recipes to use cod fish meat.
That’s the real problem here.
Cod, by its nature, has a pretty mild flavor, especially when compared to other kinds of seafood. And cooks have known this for as long as they have known about the fish.
So, the problem isn’t with the fish meat. It’s with the recipes we are using!
With the right recipe, even cod can be turned into a mouthwatering delicacy.
And that’s where we come in!
We’re going to show you some of the best cod recipes that we can find, to show you what this seafood can do!
1. Super Easy Beer Battered Fish & Chips
Starting this recipe list with a classic, we have an age-old traditional meal that many fans of cod will be familiar with.
Battered cod and fries are a staple dish in many parts of the world, including the United Kingdom, where this dish is considered a classic dinner meal to put on the table.
2. Pan Fried Cod
Of course, battering fish is only one way to prepare a fine piece of cod meat.
Pan-frying is another fan-favorite way to get the best results with your cod fillet!
Avoiding a lot of the fattier and greasier aspects that can sometimes come with deep-frying your food, pan-frying allows you to add tons of flavors to your cod, as we see and this recipe, and will see with many of the other meals that we have coming up on this list.
Plus, this recipe will only take 10 minutes to cook in the pan, meaning that you will have restaurant-quality food ready in no time at all!
3. Cod Arracanato
This is the first recipe in this guide that many readers may be a little new to.
This means that you’ll be blown away by the results that you can get!
This is a classic salty cod recipe that will be familiar to many people who live along the Adriatic coast of the Mediterranean, especially in Italy.
4. Cornmeal Crusted Cod & Sweet Potatoes
Now, as some of the recipes that we have shown so far make it easy to see, fried cod is an absolute treat to eat.
However, when you combine that with cornmeal breading as this recipe does, you can get some amazing texture to your fish dish too.
Combine that with an appropriate side, like the sweet potatoes here, and you’ll have the main meal that is both delicious and surprisingly easy to make for yourself!
5. Cod Fish Tacos
Now, everyone loves a good taco recipe.
And those that say that they don’t are either lying to themselves or have never had a good recipe to get them hooked (pardon the fish pun).
If the latter is the case, then this might just be the recipe that shows them what a good taco meal can look like!
The light and flaky cod meat allow it to mix well with the salad that you’ll be prepared with this dish.
One bite of this, and anyone will become a taco lover!
6. Turmeric Caramel Cod
One thing that cod is probably most known for, aside from being an abbreviation for a massively popular video-game franchise, is that the meat of the fish tends to be quite mild, with not a lot of strong flavor to itself, unless paired with salt, or some other condiment that will compliment it.
However, this also opens the floodgates for different kinds of flavors that it can be paired with.
For example, you wouldn’t exactly assume that cod and caramel go together all that well.
However, as this recipe shows, they’re practically a match made in heaven!
7. Cantonese Steamed Fish
Of course, cod has found its way into numerous recipes and menus around the world.
So, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Chinese chefs and cooks have found a few ways of incorporating this fish into new recipes.
Take this Cantonese dish, for example.
Not only is it a delicious steamed meal for anyone to eat, but it is deceptively simple as well, meaning that you don’t have to be an experienced cook to give this recipe a try!
8. Baked Cod With Lemon
Despite how common this combination of flavors has become, it never ceases to amaze just how well lemon goes with fish.
Whoever’s bright idea it was to combine citrus with seafood was ahead of their time, that’s for sure!
This baked recipe is the perfect dish to make for a quiet weekday evening. Mild and fragrant, it’s nothing too extravagant but is a filling warm meal that anyone can appreciate.
9. Spiced Tomato-Braised Fished
While we don’t mind taking our time with cooking, especially if we know that we’ll love the results by the end, we do also love a recipe that can be prepared in no time flat!
With just three steps to it and a cooking time that is shorter than some meal prep work alone, this is a dish that will taste amazing, and is the perfect last-minute dish to throw together, especially when you have no idea what you want to cook tonight!
10. Garlic Butter Baked Cod
When it comes to dressings or ingredients that you can add to a dish, garlic butter has to be one of the all-time favorites.
It always adds tons of flavor, as well as adding just a little heat to a dish that might otherwise come across as a little bland.
That makes it perfect for throwing in a baked cod recipe!
11. Perfect Grilled Cod
They say that perfection is unattainable in cooking.
However, when it comes to this recipe, we beg to differ!
While it may take a little practice and fine-tuning when it comes to getting this recipe just right, the results will quickly speak for themselves, once you take a bite of it!
12. Green Seasoning Baked Cod
This recipe is the perfect aromatic dish to prepare if you want to get people curious about this meal, even before they see it with their own eyes.
Rather than simply using green seasoning in this Trinidadian recipe, this dish goes straight to the source, using the original ingredient with a good green seasoning to bring you the freshest dish possible.
Only fitting of the freshest cod fillet possible!
13. Sheet Pan Mediterranean Cod
Mediterranean food loves its fish flavors, doesn’t it?
Not only is this cod recipe packed with incredible flavor, but it is also an incredibly healthy meal t make too.
With the veggies, cod, and other seafood like shrimp, this dish is high in proteins and vitamins, low in fat, and especially low in carbs.
Perfect for helping you love your food while you may be trying to watch your weight!
Plus, with a cooking time of only 20 minutes, it’s also a very quick recipe that you can make for yourself!
14. Spicy Fish Taco Bowls With Mango Pico
As we’ve already said in a previous entry, tacos and cod are a beautiful combination of foods.
So, what would a taco bowl recipe look like with this mild-flavored fish meat?
Well, it might look a little like this amazing recipe!
15. Brothy Coconut-Mustard Fish
Now, time for something a little different to try with cod.
This dish includes a broth that is both lights, thanks to the coconut and cod meat, while still packing a lot of punchy flavor to it, thanks to the bottled mustard that is used.
The sauce in this meal is unlike any other!
16. Long John Silver’s Fish Batter Recipe
Okay, with this recipe, you have everything you could want in a dish.
You have the flaky cod meat that you love.
You have the fish batter that adds a little texture.
You have the perfect cut fries to go with it.
And, of course, you have a catchy name for your dish too!
17. Crispy Fish Sandwiches With Kale Coleslaw
Battered or breaded cod isn’t just for making an iconic British meal, however.
When prepared right, you can make an incredible fish sandwich with it too!
With a battered fish, making up the main feature, and a crunchy, yet still creamy coleslaw, sandwiched between two buns, you have the perfect meal in the palm of your hands.
18. Cod With Soy-Caramelized Onions & Potatoes
We do love to see a delicious cod fillet when paired with prepared potatoes here!
The zing from the caramelized onion makes this a great recipe for flavors and heat-lovers too!
19. Baked Cod In Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
We’ve had a green seasoning recipe here, now it’s time to try out a red pepper dish too!
Whether you’re serving it with fried, or on a bed of rice, this is a great recipe when you want to try adding more flavor to the mix.
20. Cajun Fish Tacos With Blood Orange Slaw
While we’ve covered a lot of seasoning and ingredients so far, we haven’t given cod a chance to be tried out with many Cajun flavors, if any.
This recipe changes that, combing it with blood orange slaw in the process!
21. Soy & Ginger Steamed Fish
Steamed fish can be a difficult recipe to crack, especially when you’re trying to add flavors to milder fish like cod.
However, with a strong ingredient, like ginger, that process becomes a lot easier!
22. Tomato & Coconut Curried Cod
Tomato and coconut milk go together in pretty much any kind of curry you can think of.
Plus, the balancing of the strong flavors of tomatoes is balanced out by the subtlety of the coconut milk, meaning that you’ll be able to appreciate the cod fish in this recipe too!
23. Lemon Panko Crusted Fish
With the panko being light and crushed in this recipe, you’ll have a cod recipe that both tastes great, and has a texture, unlike virtually any other recipe we’ve covered in this list!
24. Cod With Scallion-Sesame Butter
When you combine white fish with a ginger-flavored sauce, you have a fish recipe that is both flaky and packed with a flavorful punch, too!
25. Coconut Breaded Cod With Mango Salsa
Mango is a sweet fruit that doesn’t overpower other ingredients it is with, making it a great ingredient to pair with something like cod!
26. Authentic Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew)
This staple Brazilian recipe is loved across the country.
And, after tasting it, it will be loved in your household too!
27. Turmeric Fish With Rice Noodles & Herbs
It’s almost a crime that we haven’t included a cod and noodle recipe on this list yet.
Fortunately, with this ginger and turmeric-infused recipe, we’ve found a worthy meal to show you!
28. Spicy Cod Sandwich
Finishing back where we started, we have an incredible battered cod recipe here for you.
However, with this one being a spicy sandwich recipe instead, we’re not ending it on a cold one!
Frequently Asked Questions
With so many recipes for this food out there, there are plenty of ways that cod as a food can be made appealing.
However, many people may also have some concerns that cod isn’t a healthy ingredient to include in their recipes, especially if it will undo all the hard work of the diet that they are on.
However, dieters need not worry when eating this fish, as cod, like much other fish that are eaten around the world, are a great source of protein, vitamins, and minerals that the body needs, all while containing relatively low amounts of fat too.
This means that cod is an ideal fish for people to include in their keto diets, as well as many other non-vegan or vegetarian diets.
However, it should be noted that cod also contains trace amounts of mercury, as much large fish do, so it may be wise to avoid consuming excessive amounts of this fish in your diet, especially for children.
However, in moderate quantities, cod is a perfectly safe fish to eat.
This is an important one for many people to consider, as fish are notorious for being easy to spoil and start rotting.
Generally speaking, a properly stored piece of cod meat that has been cooked will for around 3 to 4 days if kept in the refrigerator.
Once your cod fish starts going gray or starts feeling slimy, then it needs to be disposed of.
Final Thoughts
All you need to do now, with all these recipes, is pick just one!
28 Amazing Cod Recipes For You To Try
Having trouble trying to make your cod fillets taste amazing? Need some extra inspiration? This guide will have everything you need to get started!
Ingredients
Directions
- Pick a recipe from above
- Click the recipe name and visit the website
- Collect the ingredients and the food
- Enjoy – don’t forget to leave a review
Recipe Video
Cooking is great for your mental, physical, and emotional health. What’s the worst that could happen? Find a recipe that you like the sound of and cook it along with me. You might even unlock a new passion!
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