Pollock substitute

Best substitute

Cod

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

Best for fish and chips

Close match

Cod and haddock are the two best substitutes for pollock and both go in at 1:1 with no change to the recipe. Haddock is the closest match in softness and mild sweetness, cod is a little firmer and more forgiving if you overcook it, and hake, whiting or basa all work if that is what your shop has.

Other pollock substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Haddock
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The closest match of all, and the standard swap in British fish shops.
What changes
Haddock has the same soft, fine flake and low oil content as pollock with a touch more sweetness and a slightly more delicate finish, so a fried fillet tastes marginally sweeter and a fish pie is a little more tender. Nothing about your timing or method needs to change.
Best for
fish and chips, fish pie, baked fish, chowder, fish finger sandwiches
Smoked haddock is a completely different ingredient and will make your dish taste of smoke. Buy plain white haddock for this swap.
3Hake
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Another cod-family relative, so the flavor is right, but hake is softer and wetter than pollock and its large flakes let go of each other readily.
What changes
That is a bonus in a saucy braise, where it melts into the sauce beautifully, and a liability on a grill or in a fryer, where a fillet can collapse when you turn it. Handle it once and use a fish spatula.
Best for
braised fish in sauce, baked fish, chowder, fish stew, poached fish
Cook hake a minute or two less than you would pollock; it goes from just-done to falling apart quickly.
4Whiting or silver hake
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Cheap, mild and very close in flavor, but the fillets are thinner and considerably more fragile.
What changes
Breaded and fried, whiting is excellent and tastes almost identical to fried pollock, just more tender and quicker to cook. In a chowder or a stew it will disintegrate into shreds rather than staying in pieces, which some people like and some do not.
Best for
fried fish, breaded fillets, fish sandwiches, fish cakes
Because whiting fillets are thin, cut frying and baking times by roughly a third and watch them closely.
5Basa, swai or tilapia
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
The cheapest and most widely stocked stand-ins, and the right choice when price is the point.
What changes
All three are farmed, boneless and denser than pollock, with a slightly sweeter, faintly earthy or muddy background note instead of pollock's clean sea flavor. The denser flesh actually holds its shape better in curries and stews, but it does not break into proper flakes, so a fish pie made with tilapia eats more solid and less light.
Best for
curries, stews, pan-fried fillets, breaded fish, fish tacos
These fillets carry a lot of water. Thaw fully, pat very dry and use a hot pan or they will steam rather than brown.
6Flounder or sole
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
A good swap when the recipe is a quick pan-fry or a rolled and baked fillet, and a poor one for anything long-cooked.
What changes
Flounder is more delicate and more finely textured than pollock, so it tastes lighter and sweeter but offers no substance in a chowder, where it vanishes. Thin fillets cook in three or four minutes total.
Best for
pan-fried fillets, meuniere, rolled and baked fillets, quick baked fish
Fold thin flounder fillets in half before baking so they cook at a similar rate to a thicker pollock piece.

What is Pollock?

Pollock is a lean, very mild white fish in the cod family, also spelled pollack and sold as Alaska pollock, coley or saithe, with soft fine flakes and almost no oil, and it is the fish inside most fish sticks, fast-food fish sandwiches and imitation crab.

Cooking tips

Pollock and pollack are not always the same fish. Alaska pollock is the very white, very mild fish in fish sticks and surimi. Atlantic pollock, sold in Britain and Ireland as coley or saithe, has grayer, slightly stronger-tasting flesh that whitens as it cooks. If a recipe reads dark and you expected snow-white fish, you have coley, and it is not a mistake.
Pollock holds a lot of water and has almost no fat, which is why it steams and goes woolly in a lukewarm pan. Pat the fillets thoroughly dry, salt them ten minutes ahead, and use a genuinely hot pan or oven so the surface sets before the inside overcooks.
Its low oil content means pollock dries out fast. Pull it off the heat when the center has just turned opaque and still gives a little; it finishes cooking in the residual heat on the plate.
Almost all pollock in shops is frozen at sea, and it is genuinely good frozen fish. Thaw it overnight in the fridge rather than in water, then blot it, because a fast thaw leaves the flakes waterlogged and mushy.
In batter, pollock's mildness is the feature, not a shortcoming. If you swap to a stronger fish like mackerel or a farmed fish with an earthy note, add lemon and a little more salt to the batter or the dish will taste heavier than you intended.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use cod instead of pollock in fish and chips?

Yes, and most people prefer it. Cod is firmer with larger flakes, so the fillet stays in one piece under the batter and eats a bit meatier, and it tastes marginally sweeter. The only adjustments are cost and timing: cod fillets are usually thicker, so give them a couple of extra minutes in the fryer and check that the center is opaque.

Can I just leave the pollock out?

Not if it is the protein in the dish, which it almost always is. Pollock is doing structural work as the piece of fish you eat, not seasoning work, so leaving it out of fish and chips or a fish pie removes the dish. In a mixed chowder you could increase the potato and add clams or shrimp instead, but you are then cooking a different soup.

Is pollock the same as coley or saithe?

Coley and saithe are British and Irish names for Atlantic pollock, so yes, they are pollock. The flesh is grayer and a little more strongly flavored than Alaska pollock, and it lightens considerably during cooking. Recipes calling for coley or saithe work unchanged with any pollock, and equally with cod or haddock.

What is the cheapest substitute for pollock?

Basa, swai or tilapia, all of which usually cost the same or less and are stocked frozen almost everywhere. Accept that the flesh is denser and slightly sweeter with a faint earthy note rather than pollock's clean, briny mildness, and that it will not flake as prettily. Pat it very dry before cooking, because these fillets hold a lot of water.

Can I substitute pollock in imitation crab or fish cakes?

Pollock is the fish traditionally used for both because its lean, low-oil flesh binds well and tastes of very little. If you are making fish cakes and cannot get pollock, cod, hake or whiting all bind similarly. Avoid oily fish such as salmon or mackerel unless you actually want the cake to taste of them, because their fat changes both the flavor and how well the mixture holds.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Pollock substitute

Other pollock substitutes

2Haddock

3Hake

4Whiting or silver hake

5Basa, swai or tilapia

6Flounder or sole