Pan Fried Cod with Lentils & Avocado
This Pan Fried Cod with Lentils & Avocado is a restaurant-quality dish. The combination of flaky seasoned fish with creamy lentils and avocado, sauteed leafy greens, and cumin makes this meal feel really special. It’s also surprisingly easy to make and comes together in about a half hour, which means you can have a gourmet seafood dinner ready at home any day of the week!
Ingredients in the Lentils & Avocado
There’s something about buttery lentils, avocado, and greens that just makes our mouths water. These textures and flavors pair beautifully with the pan fried, seasoned cod. Here’s what you’ll need for the lentils and avocado:
- Sweet onion – we like to use Vidalia or other sweet onions in this dish because they add such sweet balance to the vegetables and proteins.
- Rainbow chard – we love using rainbow chard for color and mild bitterness. If you can’t find rainbow chard, any other variety of chard would work. You could also use kale, but it would make the lentils slightly more bitter.
- Cooked lentils – using vacuum packed, pre-cooked lentils makes this dish really easy to put together. If you can’t find cooked lentils, you could cook them from scratch yourself, if you want.
- Avocado – the avocados get buttery and soft when mixed with the lentils and veggies at the end, and they add a nice creaminess to the dish.
- Vegetable broth, lime, and water – the lentils and veggies need some liquid to make them come together.
- Cumin – cumin adds a nice earthy flavor to the lentils and avocado.
- Butter – butter gives the dish richness.
Ingredients in the Pan Fried Cod
For this dish, the pan fried cod gets coated in homemade taco seasoning and cooked in a hot pan until golden brown and flaky. Here’s what you’ll need for the pan fried cod:
- Taco Seasoning – for our homemade taco seasoning, we use a blend of cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, dried oregano, smoked paprika, sugar, and salt and pepper. This recipe for the cod uses a 1/2 batch of our seasoning mix.
- Cod filets – we love using cod here because it’s healthy, it cooks quickly, and it has a very mild flavor that goes well with the taco seasoning and lentils and avocado.
- Olive oil and butter – the olive oil helps pan fry the fish, while the butter is added near the end for basting and extra flavor.
How to make the Pan Fried Cod with Lentils & Avocado
To make this dish, we recommend cooking the lentils and avocado in a pan while you’re cooking the fish in a separate pan. This helps cut down on time so that your meal can be ready to eat faster.
Making the Lentils & Avocado
To make the lentils and avocado, first mix together the taco seasoning ingredients and set it aside. Next, add 1 tbsp of butter to a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the onions, season then with salt, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add another tablespoon of butter and all of the chard to the pan. Season the chard with salt and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Mix in the lentils, broth, cumin, and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.* Add the water, another tablespoon of butter, and the lime juice. Taste for seasoning. Remove the lentils from the heat and gently mix in the avocados.
*Note: you can make the fish during the 10 minutes when you let the lentils cook.
Making the Pan Fried Cod
To make the pan fried cod, first drizzle ½ tbsp of olive oil onto each piece of fish, making sure to get both sides of each filet. Add about 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning to each side of each fish filet and pat it into the fish.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a cast iron pan (you could also use a non-stick or stainless steel). When the oil is hot, add the fish, cooking about 3-5 minutes on the first side (if your fish is very thick, you may need more time; if it’s very thin, you’ll need less time). Flip the fish filets over and add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan. Use a spoon to baste fish with butter, then cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the fish registers 130°F to 135°F with an instant read thermometer.
Remove the fish from the pan and let it rest for a couple minutes. It’ll keep cooking from residual heat as it rests.
Finishing
To plate, top the lentils with the fish and garnish with chives, if desired.
Pan Fried Cod with Lentils & Avocado
Ingredients
Lentils & Avocado
- ½ sweet onion, diced
- 1 bunch rainbow chard, chopped (bigger stems removed)
- 1 pound cooked lentils
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 avocados, cubed
- ½ lime, juiced
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- ½ cup water
- Salt, to taste
Taco Seasoning
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp cayenne
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp sugar
Pan Fried Cod
- 2 pounds cod filets, about 4 pieces
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning, or your preferred amount
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 2 tbsp butter
- Diced chives, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the taco seasoning ingredients together and set aside.
- Add 1 tbsp butter to a large non-stick pan over medium heat, then add onions. Season with a little salt and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add another tbsp of butter to the pan, then add the chard. Season with a pinch of salt and cook for 5-7 minutes or until chard is slightly wilted.
- Mix in the lentils, then add the broth and cumin and cook on low or medium-low heat for about 10 minutes so the flavors can develop.
- While the lentils cook, pat the fish dry and drizzle about a ½ tbsp of olive oil onto each piece, making sure to get both sides of each filet.
- Distribute taco seasoning onto the fish, making sure to season each side of the fish filets. Pat the seasoning into the fish.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a cast iron pan (you could also use a non-stick or stainless steel). When the oil is hot, add the fish, cooking about 3-5 minutes on the first side (if your fish is very thick, you may need more time; if it’s very thin, you’ll need less time).
- Flip your fish over to cook the other side, then add 2 tbsp of butter to the pan. Use a spoon to baste the fish with the butter. Cook for about 3-4 minutes on this side, or until the fish registers 130°F to 135°F with an instant read thermometer. Remove from pan and let rest. The fish will continue to cook from residual heat as it rests.
- To finish the lentils, add ½ cup water, another tbsp of butter, and the lime juice to the lentil pan. Taste for salt and cumin (add more, if desired).
- Remove the lentils from the heat and gently mix in the avocados.
- Spoon some lentils and avocado onto a plate and top with a piece of the pan fried cod. Garnish with chives, if desired.
