Catfish substitute
Tilapia fillets
Use the same amount by weight, cooking 2 to 3 minutes less as the catfish you are replacing
The other cheap farmed white fillet, thinner and milder than catfish.
Other catfish substitutes
Ranked, with the exact amount to use
Substitutes for Catfish with ratios
2Basa, swai or pangasius
Close matchWhat changes
- Best for
- fried fish, baked fillets, curries and stews, fish sandwiches, any catfish recipe
Genuinely the closest thing on a shelf, because these are catfish in the broad sense, farmed the same way and sold for the same money. The fillets are thinner than American channel catfish and a little softer and slightly oilier, so they stay moist when baked but need a firm hand when frying. They are also blander, without much of the sweetness or earthiness catfish carries, so season a touch more heavily. Press them very dry after thawing.
3Cod, haddock or pollock
Taste and texture differWhat changes
- Best for
- fried fish, baked fish, chowder, fish sandwiches, fish tacos, blackened fillets
Very good fish and a clear flavor change: cleaner, sweeter and unmistakably of the sea, with none of catfish's freshwater earthiness. The flake is much larger and looser, which looks handsome on a plate but makes them fragile, so a piece of battered cod is more likely to break in the fryer or fall apart when lifted out. Chill the fillet, blot it dry and dredge firmly in flour before the cornmeal or batter. In a stew they will flake apart much sooner than catfish, so add them in the last five to eight minutes.
4Grouper, redfish, drum or striped bass
Different tasteWhat changes
- Best for
- etouffee, court bouillon, gumbo, grilled fillets, blackened fish, fried fish sandwiches
The right choice whenever the fish has to survive being simmered or turned, which is where catfish's density is doing the real work. All four hold in cubes without collapsing and take blackening seasoning beautifully, and redfish and drum are the traditional Louisiana choices for exactly these dishes. They cost more than catfish, sometimes a great deal more in the case of grouper, and they are cleaner and sweeter tasting, so a court bouillon made with them is brighter and less earthy.
5Freshwater trout, perch or walleye
Different textureWhat changes
- Best for
- pan-fried fish, cornmeal-crusted fillets, fish fry, baked fillets, shore lunches
Choose these if you want catfish's specific freshwater character and cannot get catfish. All three share that slightly sweet, faintly earthy, non-oceanic taste, and perch and walleye in particular are classic fish-fry material. They are considerably more delicate and thinner, so they cook in three or four minutes rather than six or seven and will fall apart if you fuss with them. Trout is oilier and richer than catfish, which makes it excellent pan-fried in butter and less suited to a deep fry.
6Alligator, shrimp or crawfish tails, for Louisiana dishes
Taste and texture differWhat changes
- Best for
- etouffee, gumbo, court bouillon, fried appetizers, sauce piquante
Worth knowing because in Louisiana cooking the sauce is the dish and the protein is interchangeable. Shrimp and crawfish belong in every one of these recipes already, are sweeter than catfish, and cook in two or three minutes, so add them at the very end. Cubed alligator tail gives you a firm springy bite and almost no flavor of its own, so it leans entirely on the seasoning. None of these will work in a cornmeal-fried fish plate where the point is a fillet, although fried shrimp is a fine substitute plate in its own right.
What is Catfish?
Catfish is a freshwater fish sold mostly as thick boneless fillets from US farms, denser, firmer and a little sweeter and richer than most white fish, with a mild earthy note that Southern cooking leans on and that some people would rather avoid.
Cooking tips
- Soak the fillets in milk or buttermilk for thirty to sixty minutes before cooking, then drain and pat dry. This is standard Southern practice and it does two things: it softens the muddy or earthy note, which is far stronger in wild river catfish than in farmed, and it gives the cornmeal something to stick to. If you substitute trout, perch or alligator, keep the soak for the same reason.
- Cornmeal, not flour, is the Southern coating, and it needs a dry fillet to grip. Mix cornmeal with a little flour, salt, cayenne and black pepper, press it on firmly and fry at 350F to 360F, allowing five to seven minutes for a thick catfish fillet. A wetter, softer substitute such as cod or pollock will shed the coating unless you blot it hard and dredge it in plain flour first.
- Catfish is thicker than most cheap white fish, which changes every timing in a recipe. A one-inch farmed fillet takes six or seven minutes in the fryer and twelve to fifteen minutes at 400F in the oven, while a tilapia fillet at half that thickness is done in half the time. When you substitute, look at the fillet rather than at the clock.
- If you are using wild or river catfish, trim the dark reddish strip along the lateral line and any yellow fat. That is where the muddy flavor concentrates, and removing it makes a much bigger difference than any soak. Farmed catfish is bred and fed to be mild and usually needs no trimming at all.
- In a stew, catfish holds its shape longer than most white fish, so if you switch to cod, haddock or tilapia, add them in the last five to eight minutes rather than simmering them for twenty. If you want cubes of fish that stay intact through a long etouffee, use grouper, redfish or drum instead.
Frequently asked questions
What fish tastes closest to catfish?
Does catfish taste muddy, and how do I avoid that?
Can I use tilapia to make fried catfish?
Can I just leave the catfish out of an etouffee?
Is frozen catfish as good as fresh, and how should I thaw it?
Related substitutes
More seafood substitutes