Baking frozen fish in oven is easy! This is how to cook frozen fish to tender perfectly with no breading to create a healthy high protein meal. From baking frozen tilapia, sole, to bass, mahi mahi and salmon we have tips and tricks to keep it moist and flaky on a sheet pan every time.
Baking Frozen Fish in Oven
Baking fish in oven at 375 degrees is here, that is what we consider to be the perfect temperature. You want a bit lower so it has time to thaw all the way thru to the center before the outside is fully cooked. That way the outcome will be perfect. Flaky flesh with a bit more texture on the top where your seasonings or dry rub are.
Most frozen fillets look about the same. Of course some varieties are going to be larger just because the fish itself is. Some will have skin on while other smaller types will be skinless. Neither of those will make a difference as far as the cook time goes, but size will create a bit of a change.
How to Bake Frozen Fish Fillets
This has been a game changer for us in general at our house. Many times I am busy working all day and don’t always remember the night before to take out dinner to eat 24 hours later. I am sure you have had these days too, many times over again….. As far as seasonings go we just used simple and basic here like;
- 2 fillets fish frozen, not defrosted
- Olive oil
- 1/4 tsp old bay, salt and coriander
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
If you have kids they may insist on having tarter sauce on the side when served. That is easy enough to do with equal parts of mayo and relish, done! Better yet give them a little dollop of our bang bang shrimp sauce which has a bit more of a kick to it and another kid fave in our house.
How Long to Cook Frozen Fish in Oven
That depends. If you are cooking something smaller like how to cook frozen mussels you’re looking at 10-12 min. For fillets;
20 to 25 minutes if rock hard vs. 15 minutes for fresh fish if it were defrosted. Remember that it is delicate and should NOT be baked too long so it turns grey. White (or whitish pink for salmon) is what you want to see when done, not translucent or that see thru fleshy color.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Mix lemon juice, olive oil, salt and spices in a bowl.
- Line a baking sheet with non stick foil (or spray with non stick spray) put frozen fish fillet on top.
- Brush the fillets with the marinade of oil, lemon juice and spices on both sides
- Put the tray in the oven and bake the fish for 20 minutes or until middle thickest spot is white. Before serving, top can be sprinkled with lemon
If you wanted to add a bit of breading like our oven fried fish you should sprinkle on the Panko after about 10 minutes so it will stick.
How to Cook Whole Frozen Fish
We have done this in the oven and in the air fryer as well. You can find many ways of how to cook a whole fish here if that is your preference.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Remove frozen whole fish from freezer and the packaging
- Run under cold water to remove any ice crystals that may be present
- Pat the fish dry with the paper towels
- Set whole fish on a baking sheet lined with non stick foil. If cooking more than one do not overlap them.
- Brush both sides with olive oil and some seasonings.
- Bake for 4-5 minutes to defrost it initially
Then continue to bake until the insides reach a safe 145 degrees F inside, flesh is flaky in the center, which typically takes another 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness.
Baking Frozen Fish
If you love seafood of all kinds you should try one of our easy salmon dinner recipes with sides that we love too. It isn’t just white varieties that turn out well right out of the freezer. You really can use any variety you love but I would choose pieces that have the same thickness all the way across and fit on a baking sheet well.
We talk all about how to cook frozen salmon here if you would like to try the pink variety as well. One of our favorites too. I think we could eat seafood every single week if I served it. SO if you are ready to skip the thawing process entirely and get the flesh to flake easily with every bite we have the step by step below.
A healthy under 30 minute meal you can pair with a salad, roast vegetables on another baking sheet or just a few bakery rolls.
