Did you know that you can cook fish from frozen? In this post you’ll learn how to cook fish like cod and salmon from frozen – there’s a basic method plus one for breaded fish.
What do you do when you forget to take something out of the freezer for dinner? You know that mad panic. You’re halfway home from work or from picking up the kids when you realize that you don’t have any dinner plans. Suddenly you’re pulling a U-turn to head to the grocery store, find something quick and easy to make, stand in line to pay, and then finally back into the car and headed home.
And you still have to actually *make* dinner. But you know what? This doesn’t happen to me anymore. Not since I learned how to cook fish from frozen. (You can also make air fryer frozen fish.)
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
Can You Cook Fish From Frozen?
Yes! Now that I’ve discovered how to cook fish from frozen, there’s way fewer panicked evenings trying to figure out dinner. Since I learned this technique, I make sure to always have fish fillets or portions in the freezer ready to pop in the oven at a moment’s notice. Cod, salmon, and more are now so much easier to enjoy! Oh, and in case you’re curious, you can cook shrimp from frozen too. Now onto the fish fillets….
Video: How To Cook Fish From Frozen
Making Breaded Fish From Frozen
The recipe below is just for cooking fish without a breading. But if you want it breaded like in the picture, here’s what you do.
I lightly oiled cod portions and put them on a heavy-duty baking sheet that can withstand a high temperature then baked at 450°F until nearly cooked through (about 10 minutes).
Meanwhile, mix together 2 tablespoons of milk with 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. Set it aside.
In a separate bowl, combine ½ cup panko bread crumbs,1 tsp. olive oil, ⅛ tsp. salt, ⅛ tsp. black pepper,
¼ tsp. garlic powder. Keep stirring for a bit until all crumbs are moistened. Then toast those until nice and brown for a few minutes in a skillet on the stove over medium heat, or on a sheet pan in the 450F oven for 3-5 minutes (watch them carefully and stir once). However you cook them, transfer the crumbs out of the skillet or off the pan immediately so they don’t keep cooking.
I then removed the fish from the oven and brushed the tops of the fillets lightly with the Dijon-milk mixture, and then sprinkled the fillets with the toasted breadcrumbs.
The cod goes back into the oven until the fish registers 145°F on an instant-read thermometer and was flaky in the middle. Easy, right? I hope you love this easy and convenient way to cook fish! -Christine xo
More Cooking From Frozen Guides
You can find all sorts of instructions and tips for cooking from frozen on my site. Here’s some you’ll definitely want to check out.
Podcast Episode: Cooking Frozen Fish
Listen to me explain briefly about how to make this fish, along with some other great tips, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
How To Cook Fish From Frozen Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 14 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Did you know that you can cook fish from frozen? These are the basic instructions for cooking cod and salmon portions from frozen. To make the fish with crunchy crumb crust pictured here, the instructions are immediately above this recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 (4-6 oz.) cod or salmon portions
- 2 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil
- Salt, pepper, and/or other seasonings or sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Remove frozen fish from all packaging and rinse under cold running water to remove any ice crystals.
- Arrange fish in a single layer on a baking sheet. Brush lightly with oil on all sides.
- Bake for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and add seasonings or sauce.
- Continue to bake until hot and flaky in the center, about 8-12 more minutes. Thicker portions may need to be flipped over halfway through cooking and may require a few extra minutes to cook through.
Love this recipe? I’d appreciate it if you could scroll down and add a *5 star rating* to help others know they’ll love it as well!
This post originally appeared in April 2014 and was revised and republished in September 2023.
Turned out perfect. Thanks
You’re welcome, Edgar!
I used this recipe for frozen Pollock
After washing the ice crystal’s off.
I stacked them and they got stuck harder than a tongue on Christmas story.
It took so long to defrost and separate them. Just thought to share that this recipe could work with frozen pollock. Just avoid my mistake.
Sorry to hear that you ran into issue, Cristal! After rinsing the ice off, the fish should be put in a single layer on the baking sheet, not stacked on top of each other. It’ll be easier next time now!
So helpful! Exactly what I needed. Worked well with frozen basa. I seasoned one with spices and used a cilantro sauce (from a bottle) on the other.
Yum! Thanks for sharing, Cheryl!
Hi, re: my recently submitted question-
If printing my question, could you please use only my first name?
Thanks! Jill
No problem, Jill, I was able to edit your last name out before answering your question!
Is frozen halibut done at the same temp. 450? Thank you!
Jill, halibut can be a bit thicker than cod, so it might take a little bit longer. But yes, the same temperature can be used.
It was the best fish I think I have ever eaten. I put some old bay seasoning on the fish about 1/3 of the way into cooking and some Sprouts seasoning. I truly enjoyed the saturated seasoning. It was delicious.
Thanks for sharing, Paul! So glad you enjoyed and added your favorite seasonings.
Hi Christine,
Thanks for the recipe, delicious! My only issue was that, while using your timings, the fish was just slightly dry. I’ll use the recipe again, I’ll just take off a minute or two. Thanks!
Thank you for the feedback, Pat!
Delicious and super easy (besides fast).
I used 7 large frozen Swai fillets.
Increased the milk/dijon mixture. Which is a must for the taste!
Doubled the crumbs mixture. I didn’t toasted first.
Baked the fillets for 5 minutes, flipped them and rubbed the toppings on it as directed. Baked for another 15minutes or so.
It turned out amazing. 5 of us for dinner, including a 13yo boy. Everyone was scrapping the crumbs from the pan and we barely had leftovers.
Thank you!!!!
Love to hear that, Eliana! Thank you so much for coming back to comment.