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.
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 On Cooking Frozen Fish
Listen to learn how to make this recipe, along with some great tips from Christine:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
Print
How To Cook Fish From Frozen
- 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.
GiGi V says
Loved this! I have a limited diet (low salt, pepper allergy etc.) so I left those out of the recipe. Toasted the panic (brilliant!) and had thin cuts of fish so watched the cooking time closely. Followed all else exactly, and roasted a few veggies in the hot oven at the same time. I used my All-Clad frying pan in lieu of a cookie sheet because I wasn’t sure what I had would hold up. I will use this recipe over and over. Thank you.
Christine Pittman says
Thank you for taking time to comment, Gigi! I’m so glad that you were able to make this recipe work for you.
KMA says
I have a 6 month old, and work from home. I totally forgot to put something in the fridge, and I didn’t want to order food.
This recipe was amazing.
The fish was literally cooked to perfection.
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
I’m so happy to hear that! It’s good to have easy options like this when the day doesn’t go as planned.
Fred AMbrose says
Nicely done … easy to pull together … and “elegant” in its simplicity … BEST OF ALL WORLDS …
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Thank you so much, Fred!
Anita Rubio says
Turns out great every time!!! I love the version with the toasted bread crumbs!!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Thanks so much, Anita! I love that version too.
Dora Harris says
Only question i have is do u leave it skin down or skin up or flip. Other than that cant wait to try this.
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Dora, for this recipe, the skin is not going to crisp up and it won’t be super-tasty unfortunately. Therefore, the skin ends up being irrelevant to how you cook it. I’d probably cook it skin-down the whole time so that the presentation when you serve it has the nice flaky fish showing. It will be easier to slide it off of the skin that way. And there’s no need to flip the fish over. Thanks for a great question!
Lilly says
Thank you! This worked out perfectly for whole red tilapia that were frozen solid. My husband likes fish well done so it took about 45 mins. I used my own seasonings but otherwise followed your instructions exactly. My husband and I agreed it was delicious!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Thanks so much, Lilly!
Addie says
I am a novice cook. It is a very easy and delicious recipe. It is a keeper!
Christine Pittman says
Thanks, Addie! I’m so glad you enjoyed.
Stacey says
I have to admit that I was skeptical, but was under a time crunch and have enjoyed other recipes from this site.
I’m *so glad I did because these turned out really well! My frozen haddock fillets were a little thicker, so I added four minutes to the final cook time. They were very tasty with just s&p, garlic and dill. I may never thaw fish again! Thank you, Christine!!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Stacey! So glad you gave it a try and thanks for leaving a comment to let me know.
Marble says
Thanks a lot for sharing this with all of us you actually know what you’re talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also visit my site =). We could have a link exchange contract between us!
Anne Miller says
thank you
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Anne!
Neda says
Saved my dinner tonight.
Thank you
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
Love to hear that, Neda! I’m glad you enjoyed.
Jadah says
Thank You! My frozen Cod & Haddock turn out perfect Every time!
★★★★★
Christine Pittman says
That’s great news, Jadah! So happy you like it.
sandeep jakhar says
Thanks for sharing with us!
Christine Pittman says
Kay, Thanks for your question. We’re working on adding this information to the article above. In the meantime, for 4 pieces of fish, mix together
½ cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. olive oil
⅛ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. garlic powder
It might take a moment for the oil to fully combine. Just keep mixing and it will moisten all the breadcrumbs. Spread it out on a baking sheet. Put your frozen fish fillets on a separate baking sheet as instructed in the above recipe. Put both baking sheets into the pre-heated 450F oven. Then mix together 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard with 1 tablespoon of milk. When the breadcrumbs are browned, 3-5 minutes, remove them and the fish from the oven. Brush the fish with the Dijon mixture. Then add the breadcrumbs on top. Bake until fish is hot and flaky in the center (145 F on an instant-read thermometer), about 8-12 more minutes.
Karen Garnica says
$180.00 for 2 pounds of prawns!!! Mark this one WEALTHY PEOPLE ONLY. I’ll try your cooking method, but no to prawns for $90 a pound.
Christine Pittman says
To clarify, through Catch Sitka, their spot prawns are actually 2 (2 lb.) bags for that price. I do understand that it doesn’t work for many peoples budget, Karen, and depending where you live you may be able to get better deals locally rather than having them shipped to you.
James says
What about halibut and rockfish? There’s so much misinformation on the internet that I have no idea how I’m supposed to cook these. They even say thawing them can make me sick!
Christine Pittman says
The same technique will work for any kind of frozen fish that is of similar thickness, James. Use an instant-read thermometer to check that it is at 145F in the middle and it is ready.
Logica says
I lone doing this with frozen Pollock fillets. Pollock is firm , almost dense fish with a mild flavor that accepts almost any kind of seasoning well, and Pollock is the most sustainable of all north American wild fisheries.
Christine Pittman says
Thanks for sharing with us!
Michael A Roche says
Christine,
You are an amazing person. Thank you for writing this very helpful recipe. Good luck with the kids.
Mike
★★★★★
Anita Acosta says
I remember either reading this or learning it in school when you cook fish you check to see if it flakes before you stop cooking it.That works for me. So there is no problem.
wild cod says
That crunchy topping is to die for! I never tried cooking from frozen, but I had some cod in the back of my freezer and just thought, what the heck. The result was so delicious!
★★★★★