Cod Piccata is a delicious seafood adaptation of traditional piccata. Fillets of cod are dredged and pan-fried. The piccata sauce is a zesty, lemony butter sauce that complements the fish perfectly. This light, healthy recipe is a very easy to make, family friendly dinner that is great for busy weeknights.
This post contains affiliate links. See our Disclosure Statement for more information.
Piccata recipes are typically made with thin sliced cuts of veal or chicken. My first piccata recipe was actually for Keto Chicken Piccata and I love it so much that I’ve made a couple more variations, including this Cod Piccata.
Piccata is an easy, but incredibly flavorful, classic Italian dish. You would typically dredge the meat or seafood in regular all purpose flour, but I switched it out for almond flour to keep this recipe lower in carbohydrates and gluten free.
The sauce is a simple combination of lemon, butter, white wine and capers. Shallots, garlic, and fresh parsley are added for even more flavor. It really is an amazing combination of flavors.
Looking for more ways to prepare cod? Try these recipes for Fried Cod, Potato Crusted Cod and Cod Cakes with Lemon and Garlic.
Why This Recipe Works
This is a quick, 15 minute, one pan recipe that you can make on just the stove top. It’s a very easy, family friendly dish that is the perfect busy weeknight dinner, yet still impressive enough to serve guests when entertaining, as well.
It’s zesty, fresh, and delicious and is sure to be a new favorite seafood dinner. Cod is very mild, flaky, and kid friendly. You can also use other mild white fish in this recipe, such as halibut, grouper, or tilapia, for example.
You can enjoy this healthy recipe if you are following a low carb, keto, or even gluten free diet. There are only 6 net carbs. See the notes section of the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ways to reduce the carb count even more.
How to Make Cod Piccata
What You Need To Make This Recipe
Be sure use to use real lemon juice and garlic for the best flavor, and blanched almond flour for the best texture. If you are not low carb or gluten free, you can use regular all purpose flour.
Because this recipe is made entirely on the stovetop, thinner cuts of cod work best. If you can only find thicker cuts, you may have to finish cooking it in the oven (in an oven-proof skillet, of course!).
Chef’s Tip: To lower the net carbs in this recipe even more, you can eliminate the shallot and/or almond flour. The cod can be cooked with just salt and pepper (no flour) in the same manner as instructed in the recipe.
The entire recipe and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. You can print the recipe from the card, if needed.
I have been using wild, Alaskan cod, from Sitka Salmon Shares for the past several months. Sitka is a kind of like a CSA for seafood. I’m a premium member and have never loved seafood as much as I do now.
If you want to check them out, they will give you $25 off of your first order, if you order before September 19, 2020 and use code DLB.
Prep!
This recipe comes together really quickly, so be sure to do all your mincing, dicing, and juicing before you begin.
If you are using frozen cod, be sure it is fully thawed before you begin.
Create!
- Cook The Cod: you are going to dredge and cook the cod first. Test the melted butter and oil to ensure it’s very hot before adding the fish. You can do this by carefully sprinkling a few drops of water over it to see if it sizzles and pops.
- Make The Piccata Sauce: the piccata sauce takes just a few minutes to make. You’ll first cook the garlic and shallot to soften it, then stir in the remaining ingredients.
Chef’s Tip: it’s important to make sure the butter and oil are hot before adding the cod. This is important to ensure that the flour coating stays on and doesn’t get soggy, which can be a bit challenging when working with flakier types of fish, like cod.
Present!
Add the cod back to the pan, top with the sauce, and garnish with fresh parsley.
Tips and Techniques
- You can use chicken stock or, even better, chicken bone broth instead of white wine. I have also made this recipe using a dry sherry wine and it was delicious!
- Store leftovers separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use within 3-4 days.
FAQ’s
What Do You Serve With Cod Piccata?
Classic piccata is often served over pasta. If you’re gluten free, you can simply use gluten free pasta. To keep the recipe low carb, you can serve it over roasted spaghetti squash or with a simple side of low carb veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, or even Brussels sprouts.
Is Cod Piccata Low Carb?
Piccata is not a low carb dish. It’s dredged in wheat flour and often served over pasta. However, this particular recipe uses almond flour to greatly reduce the carb count making it not only low in carbs, but also keto friendly.
What Are Capers?
Capers are actually flower buds from a plant that is native to the Mediterranean area of the world. They are pickled in a brine that gives them their signature salty, tangy taste and adds zesty, briny flavor to recipes.
More Cod Recipes
Love this Cod Piccata recipe? Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for more!
If you try this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would please leave a comment and star rating. Thanks!
Cod Piccata
Ingredients
Cod Fish
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1.5 pounds cod fish fillets
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Piccata Sauce
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 shallot (finely diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 cup white wine (or chicken stock)
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup capers (drained)
- fresh parsley (optional, garnish)
Instructions
Cod Fish
- Mix together the almond flour, salt and pepper on a plate. Dredge the cod in the flour mixture and place on a plate.
- Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Once the butter-oil mixture is hot and sizzles when drops of water are sprinkled over it, add the cod. Cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 2 minutes or until the fish is opaque throughout and easily flakes with a fork. Remove to a clean plate.
Piccata Sauce
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining butter to the pan. Once melted, add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes
- Slowly pour in the wine, raise the heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce by half, scraping up any browned bits. Add the lemon juice and capers and stir.
- Place the cod back into the pan to warm through.
- Serve the cod topped with spoonfuls of the piccata sauce and garnished with fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
Tips and Techniques
- To lower the net carbs in this recipe even more, you can eliminate the shallot and/or almond flour. The cod can be cooked with just salt and pepper (no flour) in the same manner as instructed in the recipe.
- It’s important to make sure the butter and oil are hot before adding the cod. This is important to ensure that the flour coating stays on and doesn’t get soggy, which can be a bit challenging when working with flakier types of fish, like cod.
- Store leftovers separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use within 3-4 days.