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Pan-Seared Lemon Butter Cod

Pan-Seared Lemon Butter Cod

Flaky cod seared in extra virgin olive oil and finished with a garlicky lemon butter pan sauce. Restaurant-level fish in 15 minutes, with one skillet and six everyday ingredients.

By Olivea Kitchen | Published June 12, 2026

Jump to Recipe
Prep 5 min
Cook 10 min
Total 15 min
Easy

Why We Love This Recipe

Cod is the gateway fish: mild, meaty, and nearly impossible to dislike. Here it sears in Olivea extra virgin olive oil until the edges turn golden, then a quick pan sauce of butter, garlic, and fresh lemon gets spooned over the top.

Pairing the two fats is deliberate. Olive oil handles the sear, bringing its monounsaturated fats and its peppery depth, while a measured amount of butter adds the silky richness a lemon pan sauce needs. Cod itself is lean, high-protein, and a solid source of selenium, B12, and phosphorus, dinner that eats light but satisfies.

A last thread of raw olive oil over the finished fish carries the polyphenols, including hydroxytyrosol, that make a fresh EVOO more than just a cooking fat.

View Nutrition Facts

Recipe Success Tips

Dry the fillets like you mean it.

Press the cod between paper towels until the surface is completely dry. Moisture is the enemy of a golden sear and the main reason fish sticks. Season right before the pan, since salt draws out water if it sits.

Do not move the fish early.

Lay the fillets down away from you and leave them alone for 3 to 4 minutes. Cod releases from the pan on its own once a crust forms. If it resists the spatula, it is not ready to flip.

Choose thick center-cut fillets.

Even thickness means even cooking. Thin tail pieces overcook before the middle of a thick one is done. If your fillets taper, fold the thin end under so the whole piece cooks at one pace.

Sear in olive oil, finish with butter.

Olivea EVOO handles the sear with flavor to spare, then the butter goes in at the end, off the highest heat, where it melts into the lemon and garlic without browning past golden. You get the best of both fats.

Flake test beats the clock.

Cod is done when it flakes at the thickest point under gentle pressure and looks opaque all the way through, about 145 F inside. Carryover heat finishes the last few degrees while you spoon over the sauce.

Ingredients

4
servings
  • 3 tbsp Olivea Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
  • 4 cod fillets, about 6 oz each
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Kitchen Tools You'll Need

Large Skillet
Fish Spatula
Citrus Juicer
Measuring Spoons
Chef's Knife

How to Cook Pan-Seared Lemon Butter Cod

PREP

1
Pat the cod fillets completely dry with paper towels and season both sides with the salt and pepper just before cooking. Mince the garlic, chop the parsley, and zest and juice the lemon.

SEAR

2
Heat 2 tablespoons of the Olivea extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the fillets in, presentation side down, and cook undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden and the fish releases easily.
3
Flip gently with a fish spatula and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the cod is opaque and flakes at the thickest point. Move the fillets to warm plates.

SAUCE

4
Drop the heat to medium-low and add the butter and garlic to the same skillet. Swirl for 30 seconds until fragrant and golden, then stir in the lemon juice and zest and scrape up the browned bits.
5
Pull the pan off the heat, stir in the parsley and the last tablespoon of olive oil, and spoon the sauce generously over the cod. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Serve the cod over rice or alongside lemon pasta with a simple green salad dressed in lemon vinaigrette. Roasted asparagus, green beans, or baby potatoes all love the extra pan sauce.
Add capers with the garlic for a piccata-style sauce, swap parsley for dill, or finish with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Halibut, haddock, mahi-mahi, and sea bass all work in place of cod with the same timing, adjusted for thickness. If you love a dill-forward finish, our lemon dill sauce for salmon is wonderful spooned over this cod too.
If this is your kind of weeknight cooking, one skillet and a lemony pan sauce, our easy lemon chicken runs on the same playbook with chicken breast instead of fish.
Cod is best straight from the pan, but leftovers keep refrigerated for 2 days. Reheat gently in a covered skillet over low heat with a spoonful of water, or flake it cold into a salad. The microwave turns it rubbery, so skip it.

Nutrition Facts per Serving

Nutrition Facts
Serving size 1 fillet with sauce
Calories 310
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g24%
Saturated Fat 7g35%
Trans Fat 0g
Unsaturated Fat 11.0g
Monounsaturated Fat 9.5g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1.5g
Cholesterol 105mg35%
Sodium 540mg23%
Total Carbohydrate 1g0%
Dietary Fiber 0g0%
Total Sugars 0g
Includes 0g Added Sugars 0%
Protein 31g62%
Vitamin C 8mg9%
Vitamin D 1mcg5%
Calcium 25mg2%
Iron 0.5mg3%
Potassium 470mg10%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

The Best No-Cook Way to Get Olive Oil Benefits

An olive oil sear plus a lemon butter finish gives this cod restaurant flavor in 15 minutes, and the final raw drizzle brings the oil's peppery best to the plate. For an effortless daily dose of olive polyphenols, the Olivea Hydroxytyrosol Supplement delivers them in one capsule, whatever is for dinner.

Olivea: Suplemento de hidroxitirosol
Olivea: Suplemento de hidroxitirosol
$40.00
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Frequently Asked Questions

Start with dry, well-chilled fillets, use a hot skillet with enough oil, and leave the fish alone until it releases on its own, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip once with a thin fish spatula and finish the second side gently. Most breakage comes from flipping too early or too often.
About 6 to 7 minutes total for inch-thick fillets: 3 to 4 minutes on the first side over medium-high heat and 2 to 3 on the second. It is done when it flakes at the thickest point and reaches 145 F inside.
Yes, and it is often the freshest option. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or sealed under cold running water for 20 to 30 minutes, then pat it very dry. Skipping the drying step is what makes thawed fish steam instead of sear.
Each fat does what it does best. Extra virgin olive oil handles the sear and brings fruity, peppery flavor plus heart-healthy fats, while a measured amount of butter gives the lemon pan sauce its silky body. The final raw drizzle of Olivea EVOO ties the dish together.
Mild, slightly sweet, and meaty, with large tender flakes and none of the strong flavor people worry about with fish. That mildness is why a bright lemon butter sauce suits it so well, and why cod converts fish skeptics.
Rice, lemony pasta, roasted potatoes, asparagus, or green beans, anything that can catch the extra sauce. A crisp salad with a sharp vinaigrette balances the buttery richness.
Yes. Halibut, haddock, mahi-mahi, and sea bass all take the same sear-and-sauce treatment. Adjust the time to thickness: thin fillets need a minute less per side, thick ones a minute more.
Very. Cod is lean, high in protein, and a good source of selenium, vitamin B12, and phosphorus. Cooked in extra virgin olive oil with a measured amount of butter, one serving lands around 310 calories with 31 grams of protein.

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