Arctic Char substitute

Best substitute

Steelhead Trout

Use the same amount as the arctic char you are replacing

Best for roasting whole fillets

Close match

Steelhead trout is the closest swap and works 1:1 with no other changes. Rainbow trout is next best. Farmed Atlantic salmon also works 1:1 but is fattier, stronger tasting and usually cut thicker, so give it 2 to 4 extra minutes. Coho salmon splits the difference between the two.

Other arctic char substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Rainbow Trout
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Ordinary farmed trout, sold as smaller butterflied fillets with paler flesh.
What changes
Best for
pan-frying, baking in foil, grilling
Leaner and thinner, so it cooks in about two thirds of the time and dries out faster. Add a knob of butter or an extra drizzle of oil to make up for the missing fat, and check it two minutes early. Flavour is clean and mild rather than rich.
3Farmed Atlantic Salmon
Different taste
Use the same amount
The salmon in every supermarket, noticeably fattier and deeper orange than char.
What changes
Best for
roasting, grilling, broiling, slow-baking
Tastes distinctly more of salmon, so a delicate lemon-and-herb dish built around char will come out bolder and oilier. Fillets are usually thicker, so allow 2 to 4 more minutes, and go easy on added fat because the fish supplies plenty.
4Coho Salmon
Different texture
Use the same amount
Wild Pacific silver salmon, medium in fat and gentler in flavour than sockeye.
What changes
Best for
roasting, pan-searing, poaching
Closer to char than Atlantic salmon is, with a firmer flake and a redder colour. Being leaner it overcooks quickly, so pull it off the heat while the centre still looks slightly translucent.
5Black Cod (Sablefish)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
A very fatty white-fleshed fish with large silky flakes.
What changes
Best for
miso-marinated broiling, roasting, poaching in butter
Use this when you care about the rich, moist mouthfeel rather than the pink colour. It is even more buttery than char and almost impossible to dry out, but the plate looks white instead of coral, and the flakes are much larger and looser.
6Branzino or Sea Bass Fillets
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Lean white fish with firm small flakes and crisp-friendly skin.
What changes
Best for
pan-searing skin-on, roasting whole, serving with a sauce
The furthest from char on this list and the option to reach for only when the recipe is really about crisp skin and a sauce. There is no oily richness at all, so the dish tastes lighter and needs more butter, oil or a proper pan sauce to feel finished.

What is Arctic Char?

Arctic Char is a cold-water fish in the same family as salmon and trout, often sold simply as char or alpine char, with pale pink-orange flesh that tastes milder than salmon and a little richer than trout.

Cooking tips

Char fillets are usually thinner than salmon, so start checking at the 8 minute mark in a 400F oven. Pull it when the thickest part reads about 125F and the centre still looks a little glossy; it carries on cooking on the plate.
The fat sits just under the skin, so cook it skin-side down in a dry-ish hot pan for most of the time and flip only once, for the last minute. Press the fillet flat for the first 20 seconds so the skin does not dome and buckle.
Give the fillet 10 minutes in a light brine (a tablespoon of salt in two cups of cold water) before cooking. It firms the flesh, seasons it through and stops the white albumin from weeping out.
The flavour is delicate, so heavy blackening rubs or strong smoke bury it. Lemon, dill, brown butter, capers and horseradish all work; a wall of cumin and chilli does not.
If you are swapping char into a recipe that names it and you have only salmon, cut the salmon fillet a bit thinner or butterfly a thick end so the timings in the recipe still hold.

Frequently asked questions

Is arctic char the same as salmon?

No, but they are close relatives, which is why they cook so similarly. Char sits between trout and salmon: the flesh is pink-orange like salmon, the fat content is a little lower, and the flavour is milder and less oily. If a recipe calls for char and you buy salmon, the dish works, it just tastes more strongly of fish.

Can I use trout instead of arctic char?

Yes, and steelhead trout is the best swap there is. Ordinary rainbow trout also works but the fillets are thinner and leaner, so cook them for less time and add a little butter or oil to replace the missing fat.

Can I just leave it out?

Not really, because char is the protein the dish is built on rather than a seasoning. If you have no fish at all, the sauce, potatoes or grain in the recipe will happily carry a chicken thigh or a slab of firm tofu instead, but you are then cooking a different dish and should follow timings for that protein.

Does the cooking time change if I substitute?

Usually yes, and thickness matters more than the species. Rainbow trout runs 2 to 3 minutes faster than char, and a thick supermarket salmon fillet runs 2 to 4 minutes slower. Judge by the thickest point rather than the clock.

Why is arctic char often hard to find?

It is farmed in relatively small volumes, mostly in Iceland and Canada, and much of it goes to restaurants rather than supermarket fish counters. That is why so many recipes that specify char end up being cooked with trout or salmon at home.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Arctic Char substitute

Other arctic char substitutes

2Rainbow Trout

3Farmed Atlantic Salmon

4Coho Salmon

5Black Cod (Sablefish)

6Branzino or Sea Bass Fillets