Baked Cod with Mediterranean Salsa full of cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and capers is a flavorful and healthy dish that’s perfect for summer!

Why We Love Baked Cod with Mediterranean Salsa

Healthy way to enjoy fish. Baked fish is a good source of protein and retains omega-3 fatty acids better than frying.
Incredible flavors. I love tender, moist fish like cod, but baked cod by itself can be bit bland. But when paired with this fresh salsa full of tangy, herby goodness, baked fish tastes amazing!
Quick and easy to cook. You can bake the fish in 18 minutes or less and whip up Mediterranean Salsa in 5 minutes, making this an ideal meal even for week nights.

Mediterranean Salsa is Colorful and Full of Summer Flavors!

This salsa is a vibrant, delicious accompaniment to baked cod. All you need are:

Cherry tomatoes: Tomatoes are in season and any type of ripe, sweet, cherry tomatoes will do.
Kalamata olives: These olives adds wonderful, briny, salty flavor to the salsa.
Capers: They add delicious tangy flavor.
Pickled red onions: I always keep this stocked in my fridge. This is also very easy to make, but you can purchase a jar in just about any grocery store these days.
Whole grain Dijon mustard
Italian parsley: Lots of fragrant fresh herb like chopped parsley is a must for Mediterranean dishes.
Olive oil
Sugar: Sugar balances out tangy, acidic flavors of capers and Dijon mustard.

Combine ingredients and transfer to a serving bowl. Set it aside while you wait for your cod to finish baking. That’s it!

How to Make Baked Cod

You can bake cod in the oven or when the weather is great use the outside grill.

This recipe works great with other white fish like halibut, grouper or haddock.

First marinate cod fillets with 2 tablespoons lemon juice for 5 minutes.
While the fish is marinating prepare a sheet pan and line with aluminum foil. If you’re like me and prefer to cook fish outdoors, have a large sheet of aluminum foil to place on the grill. This makes it easier to pick up the fish without fillets sticking to the grill and breaking apart.
Drizzle ¼ cups olive oil on sheet pan or foil.
Season cod fillets with salt, fresh ground pepper, and paprika.
Add ¼ cup flour to a small plate and coat bottom of fillets with flour. Coating fish with some flour will lock its natural flavors and moisture.
Place fillets on the sheet pan/foil, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour on top of fish.
Bake in a 400° oven/outside grill for 15-18 minutes. Cooking time depends on the thickness of fish. My fillets were ½” to ¾” thick and they were done in 18 minutes.

Let cod fillets cool for few minutes, then transfer to your favorite tableware for serving. Enjoy tender, moist cod with plenty of Mediterranean salsa!

Tableware and Side Dish Options

Featured here is one of my favorite summer time tableware, Burleigh Pottery’s Dark Blue Felicity collection. I love the contrast of dark blue floral pattern against the white. On warm summer days, these pieces look so soothing, fresh and dishes with vibrant colors really complement these pieces.

This is a collection that has been discontinued by Burleigh but I wish they bring these pieces back as limited edition pieces.

To complete this delicious cod dish, I prepared some red quinoa and steamed broccolini. You can also try:

Couscous
Rice pilaf
Brown rice
Grilled veggies

More Summertime Seafood Recipes

Print Recipe

Baked Cod with Mediterranean Salsa

Prep Time15

Cook Time18

Ingredients

For Mediterranean Salsa

4-5 ounces cherry tomatoes cut crosswise
¾ cup kalamata olives sliced
1½ tbsp capers
⅓ cup pickled red onions, chopped
1 tbsp whole grain dijon mustard
1 cup italian parsley, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp sugar

For Baked Cod

1¼ lb cod fillet cut in four pieces (you can also use halibut, grouper, or haddock)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground paprika
¼ cup olive oil + 2 tablespoons
¼ cup flour + 1 tablespoon

Instructions

Mediterranean Salsa

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl except for olive oil and sugar.
Stir in olive oil and sugar to the salsa and mix well. Serve at room temperature with baked cod.

Baked Cod

Wipe cod fillets with paper towel and place them on a plate. Add lemon juice on top of fish and let it marinate for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, line a sheet pan with aluminum foil or if using an outside grill, prepare a large sheet of foil to place on top of the grill. Drizzle ¼ cups olive oil on sheet pan/aluminum foil and preheat oven/outside grill to 400°.
Season fillets with salt, ground pepper and paprika. In a separate plate, add ¼ cup flour and coat bottom of fillets with flour.
Transfer fish to the sheet pan/aluminum foil, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour on top of fillets. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the fish is flaky.
Let fillets cool for few minutes. Spoon Mediterranean salsa over the fish and enjoy!