Miso cod is the simple seafood recipe we turn to for an easy date night in! It’s healthy, quick to prep, and has a short cook time, meaning we can make it on a weeknight or a weekend! Best of all, it tastes great.
If you haven’t cooking with miso paste before, you’re in for a treat. It’s a great way to impart a ton of flavor with minimal effort. You can buy it at most major grocery stores these days, and it’ll keep for months in your fridge. You’ll find yourself adding it to eeverything!
We love serving this weeknight miso cod with oven roasted broccoli and sautéed carrots, shiitake mushrooms, and white rice. One bite and you’ll totally feel like you’re dining in a fancy schmancy restaurant! The cod simply melts in your mouth. Let’s make it!

Ingredients For Miso Cod
For the miso marinated fish:
- Cod
- Miso paste
- Sake
- Soy sauce, low sodium!
- Sesame oil
- Mirin or rice vinegar
- Ginger paste
- Honey
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the vegetables:
- Carrots
- Baby shiitake mushrooms
- Scallions
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Don’t forget white rice for serving! You’ll want to sop up every last drop of the miso marinade. And for sure no judgment if you lick the plate clean.
(Been there, done that.)
We use our rice cooker almost exclusively these days (it’s that reliable!!), but you can also make rice in an Instant Pot if that’s more your thing.

How To Make Miso Cod
- First, sauté carrots and shiitake mushrooms until soft. Next, add scallions sliced into 2″ pieces, then cook until blistered. Remove and set veggies aside.
- Add cod fillets (reserve the miso marinade!) to the skillet and cook 2 minutes, then carefully flip the fish over.
- Place the cooked veggies on top, then pour on the remaining miso marinade. Cook in a preheated oven to 400 F for 8 minutes. The internal temperature of the cod fillets should be between 140-145 F.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and additional thinly sliced scallions just before serving.
If you don’t already own a fish spatula, highly recommend! They are inexpensive and can be used for flipping and scooping anything, not just seafood. This is the one tool I use every single day, but it is especially helpful when flipping the cod fillets over.
We recommend the Thermapen MK4 to check for doneness on all meats!

What’s The Difference Between Cod and Black Cod?
Okay, first — we used regular ol’ Atlantic cod in this recipe. It’s inexpensive (which we love!), but can often times be bland (don’t love that so much!). The flesh is leaner than black cod, making it a flakier fish (versus delicate, melty layers). It’s a great option, however, in applications where there is a super flavorful sauce being applied. Hooray!
Black cod, also known as Sablefish or Butterfish, is super luxurious and much more expensive. It’s got a buttery texture and is fattier than cod. We are crazy about it — and trust me, if I see that bad boy on a menu, there is 99.9% likelihood that I’m ordering it.
Both will work beautifully for miso cod. If you’re making this for a special date night in and the budget allows, I would totally splurge on Sablefish. If it’s just your run of the mill Wednesday night, ain’t no shame in buying Atlantic or Pacific cod. It’ll be delish!

What To Serve With Miso Glazed Cod
A good amount of fluffy rice and all the sautéed or roasted veggies! We recommend baby shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and oven roasted broccoli, but use any vegetables you love. Just make sure to sauté them before transferring the fish to the oven so everything finishes cooking around the same time.
Think of this as an elevated stir fry. All the same add-ins are still welcome, whether you want water chestnuts and baby corn or onions and bok choy. The more the merrier, ya know?

Just before serving, sprinkle the miso cod with thinly sliced scallions (yes, more of them!) and sesame seeds.
Talk about a beautiful presentation! If you are a seafood lover — or even just a miso lover — we think this will become a new weeknight staple! So crazy flavorful.
And the texture of the cod fillets? Melt in your mouth delicious.

Looking for another recipe featuring miso paste? Check out these miso-marinated salmon bowls, which can be enjoyed warm or cold!
If you make this Miso Cod recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below.
And make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow along on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook for more Well Seasoned recipes! DON’T FORGET to tag us on social channels when you make a recipe at #wellseasonedstudio !! We LOVE seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
For more easy weeknight seafood recipes, check out the following:
- Slow baked salmon with herb shallot butter
- Spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clam sauce)
- Salmon piccata
- Classic fish cakes
- Salmon Piccata
Impossibly Tender & Flaky Miso Marinated Cod
Equipment
Ingredients
For the miso marinade
- ¼ cup miso paste
- 2 Tbsp sake
- 2 Tbsp mirin
- 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp honey
For the cod
- 1½ lb cod fillet see note below
- 1¼ tsp Kosher salt divided
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
- 2 cups carrots thinly sliced into ¼" pieces (about 4-5 carrots)
- 4 oz baby shiitake mushrooms stems removed, left whole
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 large scallions divided
- Sesame seeds for garnish
- For serving: white rice, steamed or roasted vegetables, scallions, cilantro, lime wedges, sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- Make the miso marinade. Season cod fillets on all sides with 1 tsp Kosher salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Place in a large tupperware or Ziploc bag. In a large bowl, combine ¼ cup miso paste, 2 Tbsp sake, 2 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp sesame oil, and 1 tsp honey. Whisk to combine, then pour over fish. Seal container, shake, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
- Cook the vegetables. Preheat oven to 400F. If needed, cut cod fillets so they fit easily in the skillet, reserving marinating liquid. Heat 2 Tbsp canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add 2 cups sliced carrots and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Add 4oz mushrooms and 1 Tbsp butter, then cook an additional 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add scallions. Trim the ends off 2 scallions, then cut into 2" pieces. Add to the skillet and sauté until blistered, another 3-4 minutes. Season with remaining ¼ tsp Kosher salt, stir, then transfer to a bowl.
- Cook the cod. Carefully add cod fillets to the warm, preheated pan. Cook for 2 minutes, then gently use a fish spatula to flip the fish over, being careful not to break it. Return cooked vegetables to the pan, then pour reserved miso marinade on top. Transfer the skillet to preheated oven and cook for 8 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 140-145F is reached.
- Garnish, then serve. Thinly slice remaining scallion (discard the root), then sprinkle on miso cod along with a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds, cilantro, and scallions for garnish. Serve immediately with white rice and roasted or steamed veggies.
Notes
- Nutrition facts do not include white rice or roasted broccoli.
- If you do not have ginger paste, replace with 2 tsp freshly grated or minced ginger.
- Make-ahead: Cod can marinate for up to 24 hours before cooking.
- This recipe uses Atlantic cod fillets, which are less expensive than Black Cod. The same method can be used for cooking Black Cod (has a more luxurious and buttery texture — highly recommend for a special occasion if you can find it!).
- If you do not have low-sodium soy sauce, do not season the fish with Kosher salt before marinating.
Oh wow! Made this tonight for the first time and it won’t be the last. This dish is as tasty as it is gorgeous — an absolute stunner and not difficult to prepare. What a winning combo. My fam went crazy for it! Served with the suggested roasted broccoli and white rice for a complete dinner. Thanks for a delicious meal I can now add to my repertoire! 🙌🏻
Isn’t it fabulous?! It’s one of those seriously impressive meals that actually doesn’t require a whole lot of work at all lol. The miso paste is a game changer — so much flavor!! xo, Ari
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! My Whole Foods Market had white miso, medium miso and red miso; comparing them to what you had pictured in the ingredients I went with the medium one and it worked great. Easy to prepare and very flavorful; we loved the whole shiitakes. Thanks for a great recipe!
It’s such a delicious, flavorful recipe! Glad you enjoyed the miso, you can use the leftovers infinitely! Toss with roasted veggies, brush on seafood or chicken before grilling, use in dressings – yum! xo, Ari
I had some Black Cod from Alaska in my deep freezer; added some Baby Bok Choy prior to the mushrooms per your suggestion and this was absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for sharing.
This is awesome!! Bok choy is perfect in here, so glad you enjoyed! xo, Ari
We had miso leftover from another recipe and searched for recipes with miso and fish and found yours. We made this tonight per the recipe. My wife and I really like the flavor.
Fish was finished in under 8 so we’ll have to keep an eye on that next time but still good.
Looking forward to adding other veggies…Bok choy perhaps was thinking of spinach but not sure when to add.
Thanks for the recipe.
Yes, add all the veggies!! It’s really easily adaptable to what you’ve got. Thanks so much for the feedback, Denny! xo, Ari