Name: Foil Packet Cod with Tomatoes, Potatoes & Lemon
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2 people
Ingredients: 4 sheets of aluminium foil (large enough to create the packets); 2 Tbsp butter; 4 medium-sized potatoes (thinly sliced); 1 large tomato (sliced); 1 lemon (juice of); 0.5 lemon (sliced); fresh basil leaves; 300 g cod filets; sea salt flakes; fresh ground black pepper

Foil Packet Cod with Tomatoes, Potatoes & Lemon

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A quick, easy & healthy foil packet dinner that takes less than 5 minutes of prep and then cooks itself in the oven. All loaded with yummy tomato, lemon & basil flavors.

foil packet cod with tomatoes, potatoes, lemon and basil

This dish reminds me so much of a dish my mom used to make for me as a kid, everytime I had been sick. It was her go-to tasty (even back then I wouldn’t go near anything bland) yet approachable dish (you know when you’re kinda too weak to eat real food, but soup’s just not cutting it anymore).

Back then I remember it as being mainly fish & tomatoes , cooked in foil in the oven and served over white rice. This version has a few more ingredients, and all the more taste, but is just as quick & easy to make.

butter, potatoes and tomatoes on aluminium foil

What Fish to Choose For Foil Packets

Most fish types will benefit from cooking in foil packets, and I’ve seen so many yummy recipes for salmon as well as whole fish cooked like this. Whichever you choose – make sure whatever else you put in that packet will be cooked in about the same amount of time. While tomatoes benefit from a bit of overcooking – all the more sauce! – you don’t want to overcook your fish. But at the same time, you want your potatoes to be done. So thin fish filets might not be the best choice.

butter, tomatoes, basil, lemon slices and potatoes on aluminium foil

Cod, on the other hand, cooks in about the same time as the potato slices. I use frozen cod filets for this, but I let them thaw before cooking. Using fresh cod would of course be delicious as well, but I see no need to be all that fancy for this dish. It’s yummy enough as it is – and frozen cod filets are so easy to have on hand in the freezer.

Cooking in Foil Packets

Now cooking in a foil pack is one of my favorite tricks, and so simple a way of cooking both in the oven and on the grill. There’s no risk of your food burning, so you can leave it alone for the whole cook time. And all the juices stay inside the package to ensure a juicy result as well as a delicious sauce to go with it. This sauce is perfect over rice or if – like here – you already have your whole meal in the package, go ahead and grab a piece of bread and sop it up.

cooked cod in foil packet with tomatoes, potatoes, lemon and basil

How to Serve Foil Packets

I usually serve my foil packets as they are, all closed up like a little present, and then let my guests do the unwrapping themselves. If you want to, you can also pour it all in a bowl, and have it be more of a stew. Whatever you do – make sure to include the sauce. It’s the very best part of this dish!

foil packet cod with tomatoes, potatoes, asil and lemon

Have you made fish in foil packets before? Which type of fish do you prefer to use? Let me know in the comments below!

Did you try this recipe? Let me know what you thought of it mbyy leaving a comment and a rating below! And if you post it anywhere – please tag me @alwaysusebutter and use the hashtag #alwaysusebutter.