Pike substitute

Best substitute

Walleye or pikeperch (sander)

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

Best for quenelles

Close match

The nearest fish to pike in both flavour and behaviour, and the standard swap in European and Midwestern kitchens alike.

Other pike substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Lake whitefish
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The other traditional gefilte fish and fish-dumpling fish - lean, sweet and reliably sticky when ground.
What changes
Best for
gefilte fish, quenelles, fish balls, poached fish loaves, fish cakes
Whitefish is slightly softer and a little fattier than pike, which makes the finished dumpling marginally richer and more tender rather than springy. In gefilte fish it is often used alongside pike and carp precisely for that softness. Grind it cold, keep the bowl over ice, and it binds without any extra egg.
3Cod, haddock or pollock
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, plus 1 extra egg white per pound
Available everywhere and perfectly usable, but wetter and less naturally tacky than pike.
What changes
Best for
quenelles, fish balls, gefilte fish, fish cakes, poached fish loaves
These carry considerably more water than pike, so a mixture made with them can slump instead of setting into a light dumpling. Two fixes, and use both: press the ground fish in a sieve or squeeze it in a clean towel to drive off free water, and add one extra egg white per pound of fish, or a tablespoon of matzo meal, to tighten the bind. Flavour is milder and less sweet - correct with a little more onion, white pepper and salt.
4Carp
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
The other classic gefilte fish - richer, more gelatinous and noticeably stronger tasting.
What changes
Best for
gefilte fish, fish balls, poached fish loaves, braised whole fish
Carp is fattier and more gelatinous than pike, so a mixture made with it sets very firmly and the poaching liquid jells strongly on cooling - which many people consider the point of gefilte fish. The flavour is fuller and can be faintly muddy depending on where the fish came from; extra onion, sugar and pepper is the traditional correction. Most classic recipes use a blend of pike, whitefish and carp, so substituting one for another shifts the balance rather than breaking the dish.
5Halibut
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
Expensive, but the finest-textured quenelle you will make outside of pike itself.
What changes
Best for
quenelles, fish mousse, terrines, poached dumplings
Halibut is lean and firm like pike and grinds to a smooth, pale, well-behaved paste, so a quenelle mixture holds without extra egg. The flavour is cleaner and less sweet than pike, so the sauce - a Nantua or a crayfish butter in the classic version - carries more of the character. Cost is the only real objection; a pound of halibut for a batch of dumplings is a serious outlay.
6Monkfish
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Very firm and slightly sweet, giving a denser and chewier result than pike does.
What changes
Best for
fish balls, fish terrines, stews, skewers
Monkfish is the densest of these options, so a ground mixture sets solid and a dumpling made from it eats more like a fish meatball than a light quenelle. That suits Asian-style fish balls and firm terrines very well and suits a delicate quenelle de brochet less well. It is boneless, which makes it easy to work with, and it is sweeter than cod.

What is Pike?

Pike is Pike, usually northern pike and known in French recipes as brochet, is a long freshwater predator with very lean, sweet, dense white flesh laced with fine Y-shaped bones, which is why it is traditionally ground rather than served as a plain fillet.

Cooking tips

In quenelles and gefilte fish, pike is chosen for structure rather than flavour - lean, low-fat, protein-rich flesh that turns tacky when ground and sets into a springy dumpling. Choose the substitute on that basis. Oily fish like salmon or mackerel will not set the same way and their flavour takes over the dish, so they are the wrong tool here even though they are excellent fish.
Keep everything cold. Grind the fish straight from the fridge, sit the mixing bowl in ice water, and stop as soon as the paste comes together. Warm fish paste breaks and weeps liquid, and the dumpling then falls apart in the poaching water. This matters more with the wetter substitutes like cod and pollock than it does with pike.
Test one dumpling before committing the batch. Drop a teaspoon of the mixture into barely simmering salted water and give it 4-5 minutes. If it spreads, work in another egg white or a spoonful of matzo meal; if it is heavy, loosen with a tablespoon of cream or cold water.
Poach at a bare shiver, never a boil - somewhere around 175-185F (80-85C). A rolling boil tears quenelles and gefilte fish apart no matter which fish you used.
If you are cooking pike as a plain fillet rather than grinding it, the Y-bones are the whole problem: they fork and cannot be pulled straight out. Either have the fishmonger remove the Y-bone strip, or score the raw fillet at close intervals so the bones soften during a hard fry. This is exactly why walleye is the easier fish.
One safety point: recipes for pickled or preserved fish are tested formulas where the amount of acid and salt is doing the preserving. Swapping the fish is normally fine, but do not alter the vinegar, salt or water quantities in a pickling or canning recipe, and follow guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation for any home-preserved fish.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best substitute for pike in quenelles de brochet?

Walleye first, then halibut, then cod. Pike is chosen because it is exceptionally lean and its ground flesh turns sticky, which is what makes the dumpling light and springy. With cod or pollock, squeeze the ground fish dry and add one extra egg white per pound so the mixture still sets.

Can I make gefilte fish without pike?

Yes - most recipes already use a blend, and whitefish and carp are as traditional as pike. Whitefish alone gives a softer, milder result; carp alone gives a richer, firmer one that jells strongly. Cod or pollock works too, with an extra egg white per pound to compensate for the extra water.

Is walleye the same as pike?

No. Walleye is a perch relative, not a pike, though it is called pikeperch in Europe and looks vaguely similar. For cooking they are close: both lean, sweet freshwater fish with firm white flesh. Walleye has ordinary bones rather than pike's forked Y-bones, which is why many cooks prefer it.

Can I use salmon instead of pike?

Not for ground preparations. Salmon is oily where pike is lean, so a quenelle or gefilte fish made from it sets differently, tastes strongly of salmon and turns pink - a different dish, not a substitution. As a whole pan-fried or roasted fillet in place of pike, salmon is fine but much richer.

Can I just leave the pike out?

Not in a recipe built around it, because the fish is the structure as well as the flavour - a quenelle with no fish is just choux paste. Substitute another lean white fish instead. If you need the dish without fish entirely, that is a different recipe rather than a substitution.

Why is pike so hard to buy?

It is a freshwater sport fish rather than a commercial one. There is almost no retail supply chain for it in North America, and in Europe it turns up seasonally at specialist fishmongers. Anglers eat most of what is caught, which is why a French recipe for brochet often sends home cooks looking for a swap.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Pike substitute

Other pike substitutes

2Lake whitefish

3Cod, haddock or pollock

4Carp

5Halibut

6Monkfish