Haddock substitute

Best substitute

Cod

Use the same amount by weight as the haddock you are replacing

Best for fish and chips

Close match

Cod is the answer and swaps in at the same weight with nothing else changed, since the two fish are close relatives sold side by side. The only adjustment is timing, because a thick cod loin needs a few more minutes than a thin haddock tail fillet. Hake is the next closest and is often cheaper, and pollock or whiting will do the job for less money still, though both are softer and wetter, so dry them well and dust them with flour before battering or they can break up. Halibut is a luxurious swap for baked haddock but firmer and far less forgiving. For a proper fish and chips, stay inside the cod family: haddock's contribution is a big moist tender flake inside a crisp batter, and thin soft fish such as tilapia cannot give you that.

Other haddock substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Hake
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Another cod-family fish, popular in Britain, Spain and Portugal and usually cheaper than haddock.
What changes
Best for
fish and chips, baked fish, fish pie, chowder, poaching in milk, fish cakes
Arguably closer to haddock than cod is, and worth asking for. Hake has a soft, fine, almost creamy flake and a very mild sweet flavor, and it fries and bakes well. Its weakness is that the flesh is delicate and deteriorates faster than cod or haddock, so buy it very fresh, handle it gently and do not poach it at more than a bare simmer. It also holds more water, so pat it dry hard before battering.
3Pollock or whiting
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
The budget members of the same family, widely sold frozen.
What changes
Best for
fish and chips, breaded fillets and fish fingers, fish cakes, chowder, fish pie
Both work and both cost significantly less, which is why the fish in most frozen breaded products is one of them. The compromise is structure: they are softer and wetter than haddock, with a smaller flake that can turn slightly mushy, so a battered fillet is more likely to shed its coating and a poached one can collapse into a chowder rather than sitting in it as pieces. Two fixes help: chill the fillet and blot it thoroughly, then dust it in dry flour before it goes into batter or breadcrumbs. Whiting is the more delicate of the two.
4Halibut
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
A thick, firm, premium flatfish, cut into steaks or portions.
What changes
Best for
baked haddock recipes, roasting, pan-searing, poaching, special-occasion dishes
An upgrade in price and in eating quality, and a real change in character. Halibut is dense, meaty and steak-like, with a firm bite rather than a soft flake, and it is sweeter and cleaner tasting. It shines baked with butter and crumbs in the New England style. Two warnings: it is unforgiving and dries out within a minute or two past done, so pull it at 130F to 135F, and its firmness is largely wasted inside deep-fried batter, where haddock's tender flake is the whole point.
5Tilapia, catfish or basa
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, with a shorter cook
Farmed freshwater fillets, the cheapest and most available option in much of the United States.
What changes
Best for
breaded and fried fillets, baked fish with crumbs, fish tacos, fish sandwiches, weeknight fillets
Perfectly acceptable and honestly reported: these are thinner, softer and blander than haddock, so a fish and chips made with them looks smaller on the plate and tastes flatter, with a small shreddy flake instead of the thick moist petals a good haddock gives. Catfish is the firmest of the three and the best of them for frying; tilapia is the mildest. They cook faster, often three minutes a side, so watch them. Season a little more assertively than the recipe says, since there is less inherent sweetness to work with.
6Barramundi, striped bass, rockfish or ocean perch
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Firmer white fish with more flavor of their own, usually sold skin-on.
What changes
Best for
baked haddock recipes, pan-searing, grilling, chowder, roasting whole fillets
Good choices where the fish is meant to be seen and tasted rather than battered. All have a firmer flake that holds together in a pan or a stew, and they can be seared skin-on for a crisp finish, which haddock does poorly. They taste more distinctly of themselves, so a delicate poached-in-milk dish will lose the mild sweetness it was built around. Barramundi is the closest of the group to haddock in mildness, and ocean perch is the cheapest.

What is Haddock?

Haddock is Haddock is a lean North Atlantic fish from the cod family, sold as white fillets with a fine, tender, generously sized flake and a slightly sweeter, more delicate flavor than cod, and it is the traditional choice for British fish and chips and New England baked fish; small ones are sold in the northeastern United States as scrod.

Cooking tips

Choose within the family and everything else takes care of itself. Cod, haddock, hake, pollock, whiting and scrod are all gadids and behave in essentially the same way in a pan, a fryer or a poaching liquid. Once you step outside that family, to tilapia, halibut or bass, you are changing thickness, firmness and flake size at the same time, and you should adjust the method rather than just the timing.
Time by thickness rather than by fish. Roughly ten minutes per inch at 400F, or three to four minutes a side in a hot pan for a half-inch fillet. Haddock fillets taper badly, so a single fillet often has a half-inch tail and a one-inch shoulder; either tuck the thin end under itself or cut the fillet in two and pull the thin piece out early.
Salt the fillet twenty minutes before it goes in the batter, then pat it dry. Salt firms the surface of the flesh and draws out moisture, and a dry surface is what makes the batter grip. Then dredge in dry flour, shake off the excess and dip in the batter. Skipping the flour step is the usual reason a piece of fish slips out of its coating in the fryer, and it matters even more with softer substitutes like pollock.
Never boil haddock or any of its relatives. In a chowder, a fish pie or a milk poach, bring the liquid to a bare tremble, slide the fish in and cook it for five to eight minutes until it just flakes. A rolling boil tightens the protein, squeezes out moisture and turns tender fillets stringy and dry, and it also shatters the flake into mush.
Frozen at sea is usually better than a fresh fillet of unknown age, particularly with hake and haddock, which do not keep well. Thaw it in the fridge overnight on a rack so the water drains away, then blot it. Never thaw white fish in warm water if you plan to fry it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use cod instead of haddock for fish and chips?

Yes, and the two are entirely interchangeable at the same weight; which one is better is a matter of regional loyalty rather than fact. Cod gives you bigger, firmer flakes and a slightly more savory taste, haddock gives you a finer, sweeter, more tender flake, and both are excellent in batter. The only practical adjustment is that cod loin is usually thicker, so allow a few more minutes in the fryer and check that the center is opaque.

What is scrod, and is it the same as haddock?

Scrod is a market term used in New England for small young fish of the cod family, most often haddock and sometimes cod, cut into portion-sized fillets. It is not a separate species. So any recipe calling for scrod is satisfied by haddock or cod, and vice versa, and the substitutes on this page all apply. Being small, scrod fillets are thin, so watch the timing.

Can I use smoked haddock instead of fresh haddock?

Only if you want a very different dish. Smoked haddock, sold undyed or dyed and in Scotland as finnan haddie, is brined and cold-smoked, so it is salty and strongly aromatic, and it is meant for kedgeree, cullen skink and fish pie. In a battered fish and chips or a delicate baked fillet it would be overwhelming and far too salty. Going the other way, fresh haddock can stand in for smoked in a fish pie if you salt it lightly and add smokiness elsewhere, such as a little smoked bacon in the base.

Can I use frozen haddock, and does it need special handling?

Frozen-at-sea haddock is reliable and often fresher in effect than a fillet that has sat on ice for days. Thaw it overnight in the fridge on a rack set over a plate so the melt water drains off, then blot both sides firmly. For frying, that drying step is not optional, since surface water turns to steam and lifts the batter away from the fish. Do not refreeze it once thawed.

What if I cannot get any white fish at all?

For a baked or crumbed haddock dish, a thin chicken breast cutlet takes the same crumb coating and roughly the same time, though it must be cooked through to 165F and will obviously not taste of fish. For a fish pie or chowder, canned or pouched tuna or salmon folded in at the end works, remembering they are already cooked. Neither is a substitution in the true sense, and it is worth checking the freezer aisle for pollock or basa before going down either road.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Haddock substitute

Other haddock substitutes

2Hake

3Pollock or whiting

4Halibut

5Tilapia, catfish or basa

6Barramundi, striped bass, rockfish or ocean perch