This super easy 25 minute weeknight dinner recipe for Almond Parmesan Crusted Low Carb Cod with garlicky spinach is also gluten free, keto friendly, and extra flavorful!
As we slog through a cold and gray January (at least in my neck of the woods here!), let’s continue on with this month’s theme of easy, low carb, gluten free, keto friendly recipes to help some of you stick to your New Year’s Resolutions. Up today: Almond Parmesan Crusted Low Carb Cod with garlicky spinach, a simple all-in-one 25 minute weeknight dinner recipe.
Almond Parmesan crusted cod is an all ALDI recipe, inspired by this week’s sale on frozen wild-caught Alaskan cod. (Two pounds ran me just $8.99 at my store, which is a great price.) One bag netted us two family dinners — and, the fillets are individually wrapped, so no worries if you have a smaller family and want to open the bag and use them gradually over time.
In our house, Middle School Guy was actually the biggest fan of this easy almond crusted cod recipe… although he says he’d prefer his sans spinach. Kids, I tell ya… 🙂 Don’t you listen to him, though, because the spinach really rounds out the complete dinner here and works so well together with the baked cod and its almond Parmesan topping.
Almond Parmesan Crusted Low Carb Cod with garlicky spinach
Ingredients
– for the cod
16 oz cod fillets, thawed, if frozen
1 Tbsp butter, melted
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Lime juice, to taste
– for the spinach
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz bag fresh spinach
1/2 tsp minced garlic, or more to taste (about one clove)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Splash of fresh lime juice
Directions
First, bake the cod:
Thaw cod, if frozen. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and melt the butter.
Place cod on the parchment paper lined baking sheet and brush with butter, then season with salt & pepper.
Add almonds, Parmesan, and spices to a small food chopper or food processor. Pulse lightly to coarsely chop, until just crumbled and combined.
Spread some of crumbled almond Parmesan mixture across the top of each piece of cod, press it in lightly, then add the rest of the almond Parmesan mixture so that each piece of fish is generously topped.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. (This will depend on thickness; reduce cooking time if you have thin fillets.)
While the fish is baking, saute your spinach:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for one minute. Add garlic and saute briefly, then add spinach. Season with crushed red pepper, sea salt, and black pepper, then squeeze in a splash of lime juice.
Saute over medium heat, stirring often, until spinach is wilted and dark green.
To serve:
Squeeze fresh lime juice over the baked cod, then serve the baked fish over a bed of garlicky sauteed spinach. Use additional lime wedges for garnish, if desired.
Note: This recipe makes a lot of topping — but as you eat the cod the topping also adds extra flavor to the spinach, so everything works together here. You can substitute a different firm white fish such as flounder or tilapia, but reduce cooking time if you are using thinner fillets and check for doneness at 10 minutes.
Simple Almond Crusted Cod is an easy weeknight dinner idea
Just 25 minutes start to finish for this complete weeknight dinner — and, it’s low carb, gluten free, and keto friendly? What else could you really ask for in one recipe? The almond and Parmesan add lots of flavor to the slightly chewy cod, which pairs with the soft & garlicky spinach for a complementary contrast in both flavor and texture. Be sure to add the fresh lime juice at the end to brighten up all of the flavors, too!
Almond Parmesan Crusted Low Carb Cod with garlicky spinach, printable recipe
Almond Parmesan Crusted Low Carb Cod with garlicky spinach
Ingredients
- for the cod
- 16 oz cod fillets thawed, if frozen
- 1 Tbsp butter melted
- Sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Lime juice to taste
- for the spinach
- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz bag fresh spinach
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic or more to taste (about one clove)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- Sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Splash of fresh lime juice
Instructions
First, bake the cod:
- Thaw cod, if frozen. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and melt the butter.
- Place cod on the parchment paper lined baking sheet and brush with butter, then season with salt & pepper.
- Add almonds, Parmesan, and spices to a small food chopper or food processor. Pulse lightly to coarsely chop, until just crumbled and combined.
- Spread some of crumbled almond Parmesan mixture across the top of each piece of cod, press it in lightly, then add the rest of the almond Parmesan mixture so that each piece of fish is generously topped.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. (This will depend on thickness; reduce cooking time if you have thin fillets.)
While the fish is baking, saute your spinach:
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for one minute. Add garlic and saute briefly, then add spinach.
- Season with crushed red pepper, sea salt, and black pepper, then squeeze in a splash of lime juice.
- Saute over medium heat, stirring often, until spinach is wilted and dark green.
To serve:
- Squeeze fresh lime juice over the baked cod, then serve the baked fish over a bed of garlicky sauteed spinach. Use additional lime wedges for garnish, if desired.
Notes
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Deb says
This recipe sounds delicious. Do you know if the cod is caught and processed in the United States?
rachel says
Thanks! I just looked at the bag. It’s caught in Alaska, but processed in China.
Lori says
Do you know how many carbs to this recipe? It sounds great! Looking for salmon recipes too!
rachel says
I do not, sorry. People often use something like MyFitnessPal to calculate for themselves.
https://www.mashupmom.com/sheet-pan-salmon-and-green-beans-with-lemon-garlic-butter/ <-- you can substitute asparagus to keep it lower carb. 🙂
Nicole says
This is from myfitnesspal.com
Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 226
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 15 g 23 %
Saturated Fat 3 g 13 %
Monounsaturated Fat 6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 68 mg 23 %
Sodium 1697 mg 71 %
Potassium 434 mg 12 %
Total Carbohydrate 6 g 2 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g 12 %
Sugars 1 g
Protein 20 g 41 %
Vitamin A 294 %
Vitamin C 27 %
Calcium 93 %
Iron 7 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.
Alexandra says
Yum! This sounds delicious – I bet the crust adds so much flavour and a lovely texture to the dish.
Amy says
Can this dish be frozen?
rachel says
I haven’t tried — it takes so little time to make. I wouldn’t freeze it with the spinach, though, and am not sure how the topping would come out.
Bettylu says
How many carbs are in one serving?
rachel says
You can use something like MyFitnessPal https://www.myfitnesspal.com/ or Happy Forks https://happyforks.com/ to get an estimate.
Terry says
I loved this recipe. The spinach was a perfect compliment with the cod. I would definitely make this again. 🙂
Colleen says
I didn’t make the spinach instead I served with fresh Parmesan garlic butter cauliflower rice and it was amazingly delicious!! I will be making this again!! Thank you for the recipe. Mmmm-mmmm good!! So quick and easy too.
Ninjette says
I ACTUALLY MADE THIS (LOL – my pet peeve is a “review” that says “this looks good, I’m going to make it”)
I followed the recipe exactly, it looked like a photo in a cookbook and tasted even better! Even my husband, who is not a big almond lover, gobbled up seconds. The crust was absolutely delectable and perfectly complimented the sweetness of the cod. Although I pressed the topping into the fish firmly, some did fall off onto the parchment, but it was so delicious that we ate it right off the paper. This one is a keeper – thank you!!!
Dana Usinger says
Hahahah! I loved that you “actually made this”! I feel the same way….like, get to the point gang! 🙂
Camilla says
This was delicious, a hit with the whole family. With Corona and more time at home my kids are cooking one meal a week and this was my 12 year old’s pick! Thanks for a keeper recipe!
Walter H Howard says
Hey, instead of sending people someplace else, how about just posting the nutrition on your recipes?
Anita says
This was incredibly good! My only change was to add some chili seasoned pistachios to my processor with almonds and parm….kicked it up just a notch. Thank you!
Valarie says
Great very easy meal! Made it tonight & followed recipe exactly. Could not have been easier, will be making again.
Our favorite local restaurant serves this exact dish over mashed potatoes what could be better!
Keith says
First time in a long time I have enjoyed fish. Thanks!
Anne Marie Riou says
Thank you for a killer recipe!!
This is the best supper I’ve made in a long time, absolutely delicious! The only thing that I did that was outside of the recipe was to toast the almonds and to put the fillets in a nonstick ovenproof skillet instead of a parchment lined tray. Excellent results too, the juice from the fish made a little puddle around each fillet that turned a beautiful golden brown crust that was really tasty. Being that there are only two of us, I halved the recipe so I just ground the spices & almonds in my mortar & pestle, that too worked very well.
Oh, yeah, I added a few toasted sesame seeds to the spinach too.
My husband is not doing low carb so I made Basmati Rice for him and he said it went very well together. We will keep making this from now on, even if Im not doing Keto anymore.
rachel says
So glad you enjoyed it! Toasting the almonds is a great idea.