This 15-minute Blackened Cod Recipe is a healthy and delicious dinner-in-a-hurry. You can use a store-bought cajun seasoning mix or whip up your own from pantry ingredients. Let's get this Fish Friday party started!
This easy recipe has a prep time of 5 minutes and a cooking time of less than 10 minutes.
You probably already have butter in your fridge and a bottle of cajun seasoning blend in the spice drawer. If you need to make your own spice blend, this Homemade Blackening Seasoning is the perfect solution.
I have found the best way to get the perfect char on the blackened fillet while retaining the flaky texture of the cod is to use a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. But if your best option is a non-stick skillet, no worries! You'll still get a lovely fish dinner with super-savory topping.
If you want to add more easy cod recipes to your weekly menu, check out my Blackened Cod, Southern Breaded Cod and my How to Cook Cod Tutorial.
What you'll need to make this recipe:
Before we get to the step by step directions, a few notes about the ingredients:
Fish: the recipe calls for cod, but this simple blackening method can be used on almost any fish, from grouper to halibut to a rich, fatty fish like salmon.
Brown sugar: a touch of brown sugar helps with caramelization and adds a balanced sweetness to the super-savory seasoning. Omit if you prefer to cook without sugar.
Full ingredient list and measurements included in the printable recipe card below.
Step by step instructions:
1. Butter and season fish
To begin, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl. Combine store-bought or homemade Cajun seasoning and sugar on a small plate. If using ready-made seasoning, I always taste a bit of the spice mixture to determine if it needs a pinch more salt to balance the flavor.
Use paper towels or a tea towel to dry your fish well, removing any excess moisture. Then dip the top of each of your fresh cod fillets into the melted butter, then dredge in Cajun blackening seasoning on one side.
(Alternately, you can use a pastry brush to apply the butter to the top of your fillets, then sprinkle liberally with blackening seasoning.)
2. Sear fish in skillet
Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, gently add in your cod fillets, seasoning side down. Lightly season the second side with Cajun spice.
Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the fillets are about 70% cooked through and the seasoning is deeply browned. Flip fillets gently and sear for an additional 1-2 minutes, until fully cooked.
3. Garnish and serve
Serve finished blackened cod with lemon wedges. For a quick and easy seafood sauce, add Creamy Cajun Shrimp Sauce.
Looking for more super easy seafood recipes?
FAQ's and Serving Suggestions:
Buttery cod is widely available and the perfect match for the mix of spices in blackening seasoning. But it is by no means your only option! Any flaky white fish will work, including halibut, hake, haddock, catfish and tilapia. You could also blacken salmon, steelhead trout or Arctic char.
You can use avocado oil or another neutral, high-heat oil instead of butter. But the process of blackening fish depends on the milk solids in the butter to accelerate the "blackening" process.Ā So try it with butter first! I think you'll like the authentic flavors.
Grilling the fish will taste delicious, but it won't achieve the same blackening effect that using a cast-iron skillet or other solid surface pan.
My favorite combination is to serve the blackened fillets over Crispy Grit Cakes with Creamy Cajun Sauce over the top. Delicious and fancy but also quite easy. If you're in a hurry and need quick side dishes with big flavor, try Garlic Lemon Seasoned Green Beans and a baked potato or Mediterranean Basmati with Lemon and Dill.
For simple preparations like blackened fish, I prefer to use fresh fish, if I can find it. If frozen is your best or only option, thaw your fish in the refrigerator overnight, I like to thaw fillets on a rack over a baking sheet, to allow as much water as possible to drain from the fillets. Then take an extra minute to dry the fillets out with paper towels before buttering and seasoning the top of the fish.
Blackening and grilling are two different methods ofĀ dry, high heat cooking.Ā
Grilling involves cooking food over an open flame (or in a ridged grilling pan on the stove), while blackening is a cooking process involving butter and dry spices which create a charred outer layer on the fish.
To store, transfer leftover fish fillets to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Easy Blackened Cod Recipe
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
4-6 oz cod fillets
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter. Combine Cajun seasoning and sugar on a small plate. Dip top of cod fillets in melted butter, then dredge in Cajun blackening seasoning.
- Preheat cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add in cod fillets, seasoning side down. Lightly season the second side. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the fillets are about 70% cooked through and the seasoning is deeply browned. Flip fillets gently and sear for an additional 1-2 minutes, until fully cooked.Ā
- Serve with lemon wedges and Creamy Cajun Shrimp Sauce.
Notes
- This recipe can be used on almost any kind of fish, from cod to grouper to salmon. Use what you have!
- The process of blackening fish depends on the milk solids in the butter to accelerate the "blackening" process. So while you can use oil instead of butter in the recipe, you'll miss out a bit on the authentic flavors.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Easy Recipes
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American, Cajun
Carol
Wow! I didn't know the trick about using butter to help with the blackening process. It's a game-changer! I've made this recipe using cod and now salmon. Both were fantastic. Do you think I could use it on shrimp? Thanks for the recipe! Love learning something new in the kitchen.
Christina Jolam
Great to hear, Carol! You could absolutely use this recipe on shrimp. I recommend tossing the shrimp (be sure it's very dry...press between towels to remove as much extra water as possible) in the melted butter, then in the blackening mix. The little bit of brown sugar will be even more important for shrimp to help them caramelize quickly, as the cooking time will be even less! Cook in a hot skillet for about 2 minutes per side. Let me know what you think!