Baked Filet o’Fish with Dill Mayonnaise

There was a time a few years ago that fish sticks were considered a food group in our house. It was all The Kid would eat night after night. Personally I used to love the Filet o’Fish from Mickey D’s. If you’ve ever eaten one, you know how the chewy bun they use gets stuck behind your front teeth when you take a bite. Ah the memories. 😉

It’s been forever since we’ve had breaded fish in either stick or filet form so I got creative with our fish the other night for dinner. I had frozen cod filets and they were perfect to use for baked filet o’fish without the fried grease or chewy bun. You can make these as either filets or cut them into stick size before breading to please the younger crowd.

You can throw them together in the same amount of time as removing the box of frozen sticks and making those but my version is so much better for you. Plus they taste better in my opinion because you can control the flavor in the breading and in the sauce. Experiment with different spices like cayenne for a spicy version.

Use more or less dill pickle or even sweet relish. If you prefer, use cocktail sauce or ketchup too. It’s pretty versatile and forgiving for beginner cooks. Get the kids involved and make it a family project to whip up sticks and filets for dinner.

Baked Filet o’Fish with Dill Mayonnaise 

• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 16 oz cod filets

• 1 dill pickle spear (approx 2 Tbsp)
• 1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
• 1 tsp lemon juice

• Fresh dill, optional
• Lemon or lime slice, optional

Preheat the broiler on your oven and cover a cookie sheet with tin foil. Lightly spray the sheet with non-stick spray. Mix the panko, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder in a shallow bowl.

Cut the cod into 4 evenly sized filets. Dredge the filets in the breadcrumb mixture, coating well on both sides. Place the filets on the prepared cookie sheet. Broil on both sides until the crust is browned and the filet is cooked thoroughly, flip halfway through to cook both sides.

The time to broil will vary based on the thickness of your fish pieces. I suggest having the oven rack 8 – 10 inches from the broiler element so that your crust doesn’t brown too much before your fish cooks. When the fish is completely cooked, remove from broiler.

Dice the dill pickle spear until you have about 2 Tbsp worth of pickle bits, and mix in a bowl with the lemon juice and mayonnaise. Serve the fish filet with the dill mayonnaise and a sprinkle of chopped fresh dill, if using.

Makes 4 servings at approximately 190  calories each – 16g protein, 10g carbs, and 10g fat.

Notes

• You can use any mild flavored white fish in this recipe – cod, flounder, perch, or even mahi mahi. I personally prefer smaller, thicker cut pieces instead of the larger, thinner pieces but to each his own. It just comes down to preference as they will taste the same regardless of size.
• If you have trouble getting your breadcrumbs to stick on your filets, dip them in a bit of water or almond milk first and then bread them. I didn’t need this step but depending on how moist your filets are, you might.
• If you want to save a bit of time, use premade tartar sauce (oh the horror!) instead of making your own with the pickle and mayo. It didn’t take much effort at all though to chop a pickle while the fish was cooking and I prefer the taste of making my own.