Butter-Baked Haddock

This Butter-Baked Haddock is my all-time favorite fish recipe. It’s quick and easy (ready in less than 30 minutes!), and the result is tender, moist, flaky, flavorful fish every time!

this recipe

This, my friends, is the recipe that made me enjoy cooking fish. I’ve tried lots of fish recipes over the years, most of which I never made a second time. But this one… Oh, yes. This one is a keeper!

Growing up, we always had fish for Christmas Eve dinner. And I’m not gonna lie. More often than not, it was take-out from Long John Silver’s (now, don’t go laughing at that…it’s a really good memory for me!).

My mom and I would wait in that super long line for what seemed like hours. But it gave her a break from all the holiday cooking and baking, and it was a treat for all of us (fact: it’s still one of my guilty pleasures to this day!).

BUT there were also lots of times when my mom cooked the fish herself. She always made haddock baked in the oven with butter. It was so simple yet so delicious (and I didn’t even like fish back then)!

I’ve kept up the tradition of serving fish on Christmas Eve, but for some reason that I still can’t figure out, up until last year, I never actually made my mom’s recipe. What the heck?

Each year, I would try a new recipe, and each year I would be disappointed.

Last year, it finally hit me: I already had the recipe I was looking for! So I searched through my mom’s recipe book, and there it was, a handwritten recipe simply titled “Haddock.”

It was every bit as yummy as I remembered, and it will be on my Christmas Eve menu forever more!

Ingredients you need:

• Haddock fillets
• Butter
• Lemon juice
• Salt and pepper
• Paprika
• Dried parsley

Here’s a look at how to make Butter-Baked Haddock:

Tips & Tidbits:

• If you’ve got picky eaters in your house, haddock is a great fish to serve because it has a very mild, lightly sweet flavor that isn’t fishy.
• Other white fish, such as cod, could be used in this recipe.
• The cook time will depend on the thickness of the fish. I’ve gotten haddock fillets that were long, thin, and only ¼ to ½ inch thick. I’ve also gotten ones that were short and about 1 inch thick (I prefer to use these thicker ones).
• The fish is done when it has turned opaque and flakes easily with a fork. According to the FDA, the internal temperature should be 145°F.
• I use thawed frozen fish because, sadly, I can’t get fresh fish where I live. But if you can get it fresh, definitely use it!
• Yep, it’s a whole stick of butter, but it’s mainly used for cooking the fish. Most of it will get left behind in the pan.
• That being said, I definitely recommend drizzling some of that yummy butter over each serving of fish because it makes it extra delicious.
• And if you really want to take it over the top, you can get yourself a little ramekin, fill it with some of that butter, and dip your fish into it like you would lobster!

We love this fish so much that we now refer to it as just “The Fish,” and we eat it all year long, not just on Christmas Eve!

It goes perfectly with my Rice and Pasta Pilaf or Rice With Mixed Vegetables.

I hope you try this recipe for Butter-Baked Haddock and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!

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Recipe was updated on 9/28/21 to add recommendations for the pan size.