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Overhead view white platter filled with baked cod fillets and small bowl of aioli sauce.

Crispy Baked Cod with Lemon-Garlic Aioli

A crunchy and crispy fish dinner is easy to make with our simple technique, gluten-free “breadcrumb” coating, and tender, affordable cod. Serve the oven-baked cod pieces with our simple five-ingredient aioli dipping sauce for the ultimate flavorful, light, and good-for-you meal.

Prep: 20 minsCook: 20 minsTotal: 40 mins
Servings: 4-6 servings 1x

Ingredients

For the Cod:

  • 1 to 1 ½ lbs cod fillets*
  • 6 oz tortilla chips (pieces, crumbles, or whole chips)
  • 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon fine salt 
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 23 tablespoons Primal Kitchen Mayo 
  • Nonstick cooking spray (Try: Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Spray)

For The Lemon-Garlic Aioli:

  • 1/3 cup Primal Kitchen Mayo 
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (½ lemon)
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (¼ lemon)
  • 1 garlic clove, grated or finely minced
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried dill
  • Pinch of coarse sea salt
  • Optional for serving: Lemon wedges, capers, and fresh chives or parsley

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Place 1-2 metal wire cooling racks over top of a baking sheet. 
  2. Rinse the fish under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the fillets into approximate 3- to 4-ounce pieces (4 to 8 pieces total); set aside. 
  3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tortilla chips, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Grind until the mixture resembles the texture of breadcrumbs. 

  4. Place 2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise in a small dish. Using a silicone pastry brush, brush a thin coating of the mayonnaise on both sides of each piece of fish. Then gently but firmly press each piece of fish into the tortilla chip breadcrumbs until evenly coated on all sides. 
  5. Place the coated fish pieces on the prepared wire rack over top of the baking sheet. Mist the nonstick cooking spray over the top of each fish piece. (NOTE: This step is important to ensure the coating gets crispy in the oven.) 

  6. Bake on the middle rack in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. 
  7. While the fish is baking, prepare the aioli: In a small bowl, combine the ⅓ cup mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, and dill. 

  8. Remove the fish from the oven and test to make sure it flakes easily with a fork (if not, return to the oven for 2-5 minutes). Serve fish with the aioli sauce and garnish servings with lemon wedges, capers, and/or chopped chives, if desired.

Notes

*In place of the cod fillets, you could use black cod, haddock, hake, cusk, tilapia, pollock, striped bass, white sea bass, or any type of white fish that you enjoy. You could also use scallops or shrimp.

Air Fryer Directions: Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF. Coat the fish as directed through step 4. Mist the air fryer basket with nonstick cooking spray, and mist the coated fish pieces with nonstick spray. Place the coated fish pieces in the air fryer basket (working in batches, if needed) and air fryer for 10 minutes. Gently turn each piece over and air fryer for 3-5 minutes more. 

Nutrition Information

  • Serving Size: 4 oz cod with 1 1/2 tablespoons aioli
  • Calories: 303
  • Fat: 18 g
  • (Sat Fat: 2 g)
  • Sodium: 600 mg
  • Carbohydrate: 16 g
  • (Fiber: 3 g
  • Sugar: 0g)
  • Protein: 17 g
  • Cholesterol: 50 mg

Dietary

© The Real Food Dietitians
Recipe By: Jessie Shafer