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Simple meals are the best meals, especially if you're new to the keto diet. This keto dinner recipe has the perfect balance of protein, carbs and fat. You have crispy skin-on cod for protein, broccoli for fibre and cheese sauce for fats and flavour.
This keto fish dinner recipe takes no more than 20 minutes to make from scratch, and that includes the keto cheese sauce. I made this meal for two but it's really easy to scale up if you're cooking for more people. (Two servings will require you to make half of my famous Keto Cheese Sauce recipe.)
Recipe Substitutions
If you're not a fan of fish or you don't have any, drizzle the cheese sauce over some Poached Chicken & Broccoli instead of the olive oil & lemon sauce.
Instead of broccoli you can use other low-carb vegetables such as green beans, broccoli or zucchini noodles. You can find more options in this keto food list.
Finally, you can try swapping the cheese sauce with some of the options below:
Hands-on Overall
Serving size 1 cod loin + broccoli + 1/4 cup sauce
Nutritional values (per 1 cod loin + broccoli + 1/4 cup sauce)
Net carbs6.4 grams
Protein34.9 grams
Fat29.3 grams
Calories433 kcal
Calories from carbs 6%, protein 33%, fat 61%
Total carbs9.7 gramsFiber3.3 gramsSugars3.1 gramsSaturated fat17.3 gramsSodium344 mg(15% RDA)Magnesium80 mg(20% RDA)Potassium1,057 mg(53% EMR)
Ingredients (makes 2 servings)
Cheese sauce:
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream (30 ml)
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (14 g/ 0.5 oz)
- 2 tbsp cream cheese or soft goat cheese (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
- 1/4 cup grated cheddar or hard cheese of choice (28 g/ 1 oz)
- pinch of sea salt, if needed
- 1 tbsp water or more cream if you need to thin it down
Cod & broccoli:
- 1 bunch broccolini or 1 small broccoli (250 g/ 8.8 oz)
- 2 skin-on cod loins (300 g/ 10.6 oz)
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp ghee or virgin avocado oil (15 ml)
Instructions
- Make the cheese sauce. Place the cream and butter into a small sauce pan and gently heat up. Add the grated cheddar cheese (or any hard cheese of choice) and cream cheese.
- Stir until melted and bring to a simmer. Once you see bubbles, take off the heat. Mix until smooth and creamy. If you prefer a thicker sauce, cook for 3-5 more minutes while stirring. If too thick, add a splash of water or cream.
- Pat dry the cod loins (or you can use fillets) with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat a skillet or a non stick pan greased with ghee (or avocado oil) over a medium-high heat. Add the cod loins, skin side down, and depending on the thickness of the fish, cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the skin is crisped un and the sides are opaque. Flip on the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes. When done, set aside and keep warm.
- While the cod is cooking, cut the ends off the broccolini, and cut in half. Place the broccolini (or broccoli florets) to a double boiler, or a pot filled with boiling water, and cook for 4-5 minutes, enough for the broccoli to get crisp-tender.
- Serve the broccoli with the crispy cod and cheese sauce (about 1/4 cup/ 60 ml cheese sauce per serving). Sprinkle with more pepper to taste.
- Eat immediately or store for up to a day. Reheat before serving.
- Tip: The cheese sauce should be eaten immediately or kept at room temperature before serving. If you do need to refrigerate and then heat it up, make sure to heat up gently over a low heat while stirring to prevent the butter from separating and the cheese sauce from clumping up.
Crispy Cod with Broccoli & Cheese Sauce
Step by Step
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream (30 ml)
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (14 g/ 0.5 oz)
- 2 tbsp cream cheese or soft goat cheese (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
- 1/4 cup grated cheddar or hard cheese of choice (28 g/ 1 oz)
- pinch of sea salt, if needed
- 1 tbsp water or more cream if you need to thin it down
- 1 bunch broccolini or 1 small broccoli (250 g/ 8.8 oz)
- 2 skin-on cod loins (300 g/ 10.6 oz)
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp ghee or virgin avocado oil (15 ml)
Instructions
- Make the cheese sauce. Place the cream and butter into a small sauce pan and gently heat up. Add the grated cheddar cheese (or any hard cheese of choice) and cream cheese.
- Stir until melted and bring to a simmer. Once you see bubbles, take off the heat. Mix until smooth and creamy. If you prefer a thicker sauce, cook for 3-5 more minutes while stirring. If too thick, add a splash of water or cream.
- Pat dry the cod loins (or you can use fillets) with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Heat a skillet or a non stick pan greased with ghee (or avocado oil) over a medium-high heat. Add the cod loins, skin side down, and depending on the thickness of the fish, cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the skin is crisped un and the sides are opaque. Flip on the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes. When done, set aside and keep warm.
- While the cod is cooking, cut the ends off the broccolini, and cut in half. Place the broccolini (or broccoli florets) to a double boiler, or a pot filled with boiling water, and cook for 4-5 minutes, enough for the broccoli to get crisp-tender.
- Serve the broccoli with the crispy cod and cheese sauce (about 1/4 cup/ 60 ml cheese sauce per serving). Sprinkle with more pepper to taste.
- Eat immediately or store for up to a day. Reheat before serving.
- Tip: The cheese sauce should be eaten immediately or kept at room temperature before serving. If you do need to refrigerate and then heat it up, make sure to heat up gently over a low heat while stirring to prevent the butter from separating and the cheese sauce from clumping up.
Nutrition (per serving, 1 cod loin + broccoli + 1/4 cup sauce)
Calories433kcal
Net Carbs6.4g
Carbohydrates9.7g
Protein34.9g
Fat29.3g
Saturated Fat17.3g
Fiber3.3g
Sugar3.1g
Sodium344mg
Magnesium80mg
Potassium1,057mg
Detailed nutritional breakdown (per 1 cod loin + broccoli + 1/4 cup sauce)
| Total per 1 cod loin + broccoli + 1/4 cup sauce |
| 6.4 g | 34.9 g | 29.3 g | 433 kcal |
| Cream, heavy whipping, pouring, full-fat (30-40% fat) |
| 0.4 g | 0.3 g | 5.7 g | 55 kcal |
| Butter, unsalted, grass-fed |
| 0 g | 0.1 g | 5.8 g | 51 kcal |
| Cream cheese, soft (full-fat) |
| 0.5 g | 1.1 g | 4.2 g | 37 kcal |
| Cheddar cheese |
| 0.4 g | 3.2 g | 4.7 g | 57 kcal |
| Water, still |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Broccoli, broccolini, fresh |
| 5.1 g | 3.5 g | 0.5 g | 43 kcal |
| Fish, cod, Atlantic, raw |
| 0 g | 26.7 g | 1 g | 123 kcal |
| Salt, sea salt |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Pepper, black, spices |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Ghee, clarified butter |
| 0 g | 0 g | 7.5 g | 68 kcal |
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