Baked cod never tasted so good, with garlic and herbs baked into the form of FISH CAKES! A light, easy, and paleo friendly baked cod cakes recipe you’ll want to make again and again. Serve with a flavorful marinara sauce for a light appetizer or low carb meal. Packed with Omega 3’s for extra BRAIN BOOSTing nutrients. Freezer friendly.
Wait… baked cod cakes? In October? Is that allowed? Um, yes! Yes, it is. As I sit here typing this post, the high is going to be 95F today. I cringe (and sweat). Just a little. But I see this two ways. I could complain about how Texas heat in October is so not fair when all I want to do is bake pumpkin in all the things. OR… I could take advantage of warmer temperatures and make a “lighter” paleo recipe for the week. You know, to even out the salted caramel that is taunting me. Okay, I’m exaggerating a wee bit.
The fact is I made these paleo oven baked cod cakes a few weeks ago for meal prep. Gasp, I meal prepped! It’s true.
They made a perfect lunch companion to soup or even a grab and go high protein snack. Yep. DELICIOUS ya’ll!
One of the other reasons I absolutely love these baked COD fish cakes (or even salmon cakes for that matter), is the nourishment it provides. High in Omega 3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), as well as quality, lean protein. Omega-3 fatty acid (an essential fatty acid) can help to ease joint stiffness as well as reduce inflammation in your muscles post workout. Ya ya, I know. You’ve heard it all before. Fish does a BODY GOOD! In fact, I like to think that part of the reason my husband healed from a knee injury (without surgery) was due to the amount of fish I fed him! Can I take credit for that? Humbly, of course. LOL!
But, can I let you in on a secret? In regard to my love for oven baked cod cakes of course.
You see, by mid week I’m in need of a serious brain calming. Please tell me I’m not the only one. So much thinking, or in my case, OVERTHINKING. We get caught up in MUST DO ALL THE THINGS and then our brain kinda goes haywire. AM I RIGHT? You are nodding your head, aren’t you?! Haha.
Well, good news for us, over-thinkers anonymous. Research has shown omega-3 fats may help manage boost your mood! Um, this why they call fish the Happy Food or Brain Food. Omega-3s can aid in the production those “good mood” neurotransmitters, including dopamine and serotonin. Think of it this way ya’ll, our brain is made up largely of fat. It needs nourishment in the form of healthy fats. Essential fatty acids (fat that our bodies cannot produce alone), such as omega-3s, help “feed” it to maintain proper function. Case and point, even though Wild Caught Cod is a leaner (lower fat) fish, it’s still has a good source of Omega 3’s! Which makes this a light and healthy brain boosting meal. Oh and mood calming for me! Just what we all need in the middle of Fall Craziness, yes?
You do realize that I just used up a lot of brain power right there, boasting about baked Cod cakes and healthy fats. Which means I better make a double batch of these STAT! Come on you know you love my nerdy nutrition talks.
Okay ya’ll, it’s time to get to the GOOD part. Skipping the chatter to bake and eat all the COD! Like OH MY COD these are good.
We use sizzlefish wild caught cod in our baked cod cakes.
It’s such a versatile white fish with non-fish taste. Which is why these heavenly herbs (like basil and thyme) are perfect with this light and flaky fish. Not to mention garlic. You can never go wrong with too much garlic. Am I right?
Easy Garlic Herb Oven Baked Cod Cakes {Paleo, Low Carb}
Ingredients
- 7-8 ounces of Wild Caught Cod
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 to 3/4 cup almond flour (use more if you have less fish)
- 2 tbsp coconut flour (make sure it's not clumpy)
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic (about 2 small garlic cloves)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 5 basil leaves (chopped and stems removed)
- 2 thyme sprigs (stems removed) or 1/4 tsp dried
creamy Marinara sauce is optional. See notes for ingredients.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking tray with foil or grease it well.
- Next make sure your cod is washed, skinned removed, and then cut or pulled into small pieces. Similar to that of canned fish.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat or whisk your eggs.
- Next place your cod, flours, spices, and garlic a bowl. Add in your eggs and mix again.
- Fold in your herbs.
- After mixing, grab a handful (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup) of the batter and roll into a ball.
- Place on baking tray.
- Repeat until you have 6 cakes.
- Press cakes flat with hand or spoon. Cakes should be about 3 inches wide or so.
- Place in oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and you can see fish is no longer opaque.
- Remove and let cool.
- Season with extra garlic, salt, pepper, if desired.
For the Marinara Sauce
- This is optional. I mix 1/2 to 2/3 cup tomato sauce with 1 tbsp paleo mayonnaise and 1 to 2 tsp tabasco or another hot sauce. You can also just add in red pepper or paprika to spice it up.
Recipe Notes
Feel free to double the batch. I would only use 3 eggs and not 4 if you do. These bake cod cakes also freeze well.
Don't have cod? Try halibut, tilapia, or another light white fish.
Sprinkle a little goat cheese in the batter if you'd like more rich cod cakes. Not paleo though.
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Nutrition Per Baked Cod Cake without the Sauce
The garlic and herbs combined with the light texture of white fish make these oven baked cod cakes taste so fresh! No over powering fishy tasty. Even non fish eaters will like these. I promise! I tested those waters too. Pun intended.
Serve the cod cakes with a creamy marinara sauce, hot sauce, or even ranch. It’s all delicious.
My suggestion would be to make a few batches and freeze half. They are great for lunches on the go, quick paleo meals, or high protein snacks!
Okie dokie. Let’s get some brain food and end the week on a mental high note. Capeesh?
Even tried baked Cod cakes? Favorite Brain Boosting Food? And….. go!
Cheers!
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I need you to feed me! I’m just starting to walk a little. Maybe more fish is needed to give me a healing boost? Lol
wish we could walk together. That’s all I’m doing too. and eating fish! haha
If these will boost my brain… GIVE THEM ALL TO ME
after I’m done with them, I will share. I need brain power times 10!
So amazing! I love all of the goodness here — fish, garlic, herbs, YUM! My kiddos would even love these!
I am so obsessed with crab cakes and am so intrigued to try cod cakes! I love cod so why not!? and that dipping sauce <3
You are right. There is no such thing as too much garlic.
yup. unless your allergic. LOL. that would be sadness
Oh wow – I was gonna complain about the forecasted 86 degrees here but am gonna shut ma piehole as 95 in October is cray cray! But what so NOT cray cray are these cod cakes! In fact they are downright brilliant! Nope, I haven’t had cod cakes before but I cannot wait to try this – so flavorful with the cumin in ’em! 🙂
I know. I don’t get it. But I guess it’s better than -5F! haha
These looks awesome… I totally thought they were biscuits at first!
And my brain… I need alllllll the omegas with the election crap. Trump makes my head hurt.
LOL! I so think they look like biscuits too! We can fool non fish eating people with these! Mwahahaha. And I can’t even talk about election. Not gonna. So much negativity. It’s sad
I’ve never baked fish cakes, but these look so beautiful and sound so good. I don’t know if I’ve ever had cod.
Yummm! These look amazing! I could eat fish all day every day so I’ve got to try these!
me too! love it!
My brain always needs a boost by this time in the week 🙂 Love the ingredients in these. I need more cod in my life! 🙂 I absolutely love that you use food to heal your family– something I am always thinking about and taking credit for too! My husband had a cold and I’ve been giving him green smoothies every morning, and he said they really do make him feel better.
I’m trying to find a cod cake recipe that’s as much cod and herbs/spices as possible, and no ‘fillers’. Do you think these would still hold up if I omitted the almond flour? Then I’d probably put less egg so it’s not as wet. I don’t expect them to hold up as well as with the almond flour, but maybe just enough to stay together if I ate it with a fork rather than my hand?
I think so. I would try adding egg white as well then. Almost like little omelettes. Does that make sense?
Yes it does. 🙂 If I decide to try this I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the quick reply!
I made this today and thought I’d share. I made 5x the recipe since i had that much fish that had to be cooked. I put everything in the food processor. Along with the fish I used 4 whole eggs, 3/4 egg whites (equivalent to 4 whole eggs), 4 tbs coconut flour, then all your herbs/spices x5 (except I forgot I ran out of cumin so I used curry powder). I pan fried some, and some I baked like you instructed. Not bad at all! They def didn’t turn out like a ‘regular’ fish cake, but I liked how there was little ‘filler’. I also froze some so I’m interested to see how those thaw for future meals. Thanks!
oh good to know they work well in batches! Yes, they kind of remind me of egg soufflé meets fish cakes, yes?