Baked Cod with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Updated Jun 25, 2025
This easy Baked Cod with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is a light, flavorful dinner featuring tender fish and a savory, smoky sauce.
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Roasting red peppers creates a charred sweetness that’s absolutely delicious with grilled fish and veggies. For this preparation, though, I made an oven-roasted pepper sauce to serve as the bed for some simply seasoned Baked Cod.
The result is a Baked Cod with Red Pepper Sauce that is Whole30 compatible and provides the perfect balance with a bright, acidic sauce and the flaky, light fish on top. Serve this one with roasted potatoes for a complete meal in less than an hour any night of the week.
Baked Cod with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
This easy Baked Cod with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is a light, flavorful dinner featuring tender fish and a savory, smoky sauce.
Ingredients
- For the Red Pepper Sauce:
- 3 red bell peppers
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced (about ½ large onion)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- For the Baked Cod:
- 1 pound cod, about 4 to 6 oz. per serving
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Fresh basil, optional
- Lemon wedges, optional
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with foil. Cut bell peppers in half, through the stem. Remove stem, seeds and ribs and face cut-side down on foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and place in oven set to broil for 15 to 17 minutes, until skins are fully charred.
- While peppers are roasting, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until translucent. Add in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Remove peppers from the oven and set oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Carefully fold up the foil to create a sealed packet so the peppers steam inside. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, until peppers are cool enough to touch. Peel away and discard skins.
- Add roasted peppers and cooked onion/garlic mixture to a blender with 2 tablespoons olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper flakes. Puree until smooth.
- Dry cod filets with a paper towel. Brush with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet, and bake on the middle rack for 12 to 14 minutes, until fish reaches 145 degrees in the thickest part and just begins to flake apart.
- Pour red pepper sauce onto a rimmed plate. Arrange cod filets into the sauce, garnish with chopped basil and lemon wedges (optional) and serve.
- Serving suggestion: Add a side of steamed, riced vegetables or roasted potatoes to soak up the Red Pepper Sauce.
Notes
Store leftover red pepper sauce refrigerated in a container with an air-tight lid.
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