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If you’re looking for a one pan fish supper that’s sure to impress look no further than our Baked Mediterranean Cod with Cherry Tomatoes and Beans. Ready in just 30 minutes this cod tray bake is filled with bright, summery flavours and is a new way to cook cod the whole family will love!
One pan meals are perfect for busy weeknights, and this one is our new favourite! First, white beans and on-the-vine cherry tomatoes are tossed with lots of olive oil, fresh lemon and herbal za’atar. Then, while they’re roasting thick, flaky fillets of cod are topped with a quick harissa butter. Finally, the whole thing is finished with a generous shower of fresh herbs. Honestly, this delicious recipe for Baked Mediterranean Cod with Cherry Tomatoes is a super simple dinner that is sure to wow, and also special enough to serve guests!
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It’s super simple to put together and takes 30 minutes from start to finish.
- The recipe is hands-off; the oven does the hard work.
- The flavours are bright, spiced and zesty, it’s a little different to just pan-frying cod.
- It’s adaptable to what you might have in your cupboard and fridge as long as you have fish and harissa.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Lemon – this recipe uses the zest of the lemon which maintains its brightness even after roasting.
Za’atar – this is a Middle Eastern spice mix with thyme, oregano as well as sesame and cumin, to name a few. It’s savoury, nutty and a little tangy too.
Cannellini beans – a small versatile white bean that is soft and takes on the harissa flavour well.
Cherry tomatoes – we find on the vine ones have the best flavour and they look pretty in the dish, but use what you have.
Cod loin fillets – use MSC-certified fish, the best quality you can find. Any other chunky, sustainable white fish works too.
Rose Harissa – If you haven’t used it before, it’s a spicy, smoky North African condiment. Belazu make a really delicious one but any works.
Unsalted butter – I use unsalted to control the salt level in this dish.
Fresh herbs – a mix of parsley, dill and basil is what makes this dish so bright and fresh. You could use two of the three if you don’t have all three on hand.
Substitutions and Variations
Cod – you can use any chunky white dish such as haddock or hake. Salmon would also work too but I love the flavours of white fish here. Prawns would also work. Cook the tomatoes and beans for 5 minutes longer then add harissa tossed king prawns and cook for a further 5 minutes!
Cannellini beans – any white bean works such as butterbeans or even chickpeas. Use either two cans or 1 large jar, Bold Bean Co. is great.
Cherry tomatoes – you could also use large tomatoes, chopped into chunks but I do find cherry tomatoes are the sweetest.
Spices – this would be delicious with chilli flakes, fennel seeds, or more sumac.
Cooking Tips
How to zest a lemon: ideally a Microplane is the best tool. You can use it across so many tasks, it’s my favourite kitchen tool so it’s worth the investment. It’s the easiest way to zest citrus fruit without going into the white pith, which can make it bitter. If you have a regular grater, just go slowly and try to remove the yellow zest and not go through the white pith.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you really have to, leftovers can be kept in an airtight container for 2 days in the fridge. If you need, I would reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until hot all the way through. However, fish does not reheat well, and cod is one of the few fish that is not that great cold so ideally, I would just cook the amount of cod you need and eat that fresh. Then the tomatoes and beans make delicious leftovers. Making this recipe with prawns works well too, and those leftovers keep better and can be eaten cold.
Yes! Honestly, if it goes with tomatoes and it goes with beans it will be delicious here – we sometimes make this with leftover pesto, sundried tomato paste, tapenade, even some gochujang. Yum!
Both would give slightly different vibes, but both Aleppo chilli flakes and Ras el Hanout would make good substitutes.
Cod is fully cooked when it flakes easily when you prod it gently with a knife. It should also be white and opaque all the way through, not translucent.
Yes, frozen fish works fine but it must be fully thawed. Continue as instructed in the recipe.
You Might Also Enjoy
If you like this baked Mediterranean cod, try our Crispy Homemade Cod Goujons, Easy Creamy Chicken with Tomatoes and Cannellini Beans and Baked Salmon with Pesto Crust.
Vegetarian Dishes
Feta Saganaki
Easy Baking Recipes
Plum Yogurt Cake
Easy Dessert Recipes
San Sebastián Cheesecake
Lunch Recipes
Torta Pasqualina
Made this recipe and loved it?
I would love love LOVE if you could leave a review in the comments… I love hearing what you thought, any changes you made, the stories behind what made you try my recipes. Also, if you share a photo on Instagram, please tag me @desertislanddishes, it makes my day to see you making my creations!
Baked Mediterranean Cod with Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 tsp za’atar
- 2 x 400g cannellini beans, or 1 x 700g jar
- 250 g vine cherry tomatoes
- salt
- 4 chunky cod loin fillets
- 2 tbsp rose harissa
- 70 g softened unsalted butter
- Small handful of parsley
- Small handful of dill
- Small handful of basil
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan.
- Toss the olive oil, lemon, za’atar, cannellini and cherry tomatoes in a large roasting tin with a good scrunch of salt. Mix together then roast for 10 mins.
- Meanwhile, mash the butter and harissa together with a pinch of salt. After the 10 mins of cooking, nestle the fish into the beans and top each one with a spoon of the butter. Cook for a further 8-10 mins, until the fish is cooked through and flakes when poked gently with a knife.
- Finish everything with lots of herbs and a nice drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve up and enjoy!
This is so easy and delicious – it truly cooks itself. I served it with some crispy lemony potatoes and cavolo nero. I can also confirm the leftover beans and tomatoes are delicious the next day, we had them on toast! I love all of Margie’s recipes, and slowly but surely I’m working my way through reviewing my favourites, especially once they become part of our weekly meal plan. That’s when you know a recipe is a winner!