Striped Bass substitute

Best substitute

Hybrid striped bass

Use the same amount by weight as the striped bass you are replacing

Best for grilled fillets

Close match

Black sea bass is the closest substitute and goes in at 1:1 with no changes. Farmed hybrid striped bass is the same fish domesticated and is usually easier to buy than the wild fish. Red drum, redfish or snapper all work well, and grouper is the choice if the recipe involves a grill. For the richness rather than the flake, salmon is a surprisingly good swap in roasted and grilled preparations.

Other striped bass substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Black sea bass
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The best true substitute.
What changes
Black sea bass has the same clean sweet flavor, a similarly firm flesh that stays in one piece under a spatula, and skin that goes properly crisp. It is a little leaner and finer-flaked than striped bass, so a roasted fillet reads slightly more delicate and slightly less meaty, and it lacks the faint richness that makes striper so good simply grilled. Fillets are smaller, so buy more of them.
Best for
pan-seared fillets, roasted fish, grilled fish, steamed whole fish, fish stew
Ask for it scaled; the scales are tough. Excellent whole-roasted as well as filleted.
3Red drum or redfish
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
A genuinely good match, and the standard swap along the Gulf Coast.
What changes
Redfish is firm and large-flaked like striped bass with a slightly sweeter, slightly more mineral flavor, and its thick scales and skin make it superb for blackening and for cooking on the half shell. The flesh is marginally leaner, so it dries out a shade faster and benefits from butter, oil or a sauce.
Best for
blackened fish, grilled fillets, roasted fish, pan-seared fish, fish stew
Black drum and sheepshead behave similarly. Redfish on the half shell means cooked with skin and scales on, which is a good trick for any thick-skinned fish.
4Red snapper
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
Widely available and dependable.
What changes
Snapper is lean and medium-firm with a sweet clean flavor, and skin-on fillets crisp beautifully, so a pan-seared or roasted preparation works very well. What changes is body: snapper has less fat, so the flesh is drier and the flavor lighter, and where a striped bass fillet tastes almost rich, a snapper fillet tastes bright and clean. Add a butter sauce or plenty of olive oil to close that gap.
Best for
roasted fish, pan-seared fillets, whole roasted fish, grilled fish, ceviche
Pacific rockfish is often sold as Pacific snapper and is a cheaper version of the same idea, a bit softer and less sweet.
5Grouper
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
The choice when the recipe involves fire or a long simmer.
What changes
Grouper is denser and firmer than striped bass with a thick meaty flake, so it will not break on a grill grate or fall apart in a stew after ten minutes. The trade-off is that it is much milder and much leaner, so it does not deliver striper's faint richness, and its skin is thick and rubbery rather than crisp-friendly, so it is usually removed.
Best for
grilling, fish skewers, stews and braises, blackened fish, fish sandwiches
Because grouper is lean and thick, take it off the heat the moment the center turns opaque; it goes chalky quickly.
6Salmon
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Not a lookalike, but often the right practical answer for roasted, grilled and slow-cooked recipes, because it replaces the thing that makes striped bass distinctive: fat.
What changes
A salmon fillet stays moist under the same treatment, crisps its skin the same way, and forgives a couple of extra minutes in the oven. It is unmistakably salmon, though, so the dish turns orange, richer and more assertive, and delicate white-fish sauces will taste out of place.
Best for
roasted fish, grilled fillets, slow-roasted fish, crisp-skin preparations
Use the same weight and the same timing. Steelhead or arctic char are milder and closer in flavor if salmon feels too strong.

What is Striped Bass?

Striped Bass is Striped bass, called striper by anglers and rockfish around the Chesapeake, is a moderately fatty Atlantic fish with firm large-flaked white flesh, a mildly sweet flavor with more character than cod, and thick skin that crisps into something worth eating.

Cooking tips

Striped bass is one of the few white fish with enough fat to be genuinely good cooked plainly over fire, and the skin is the best part. Scale it, dry it thoroughly, salt it fifteen minutes ahead, blot it again, and put it skin-side down in a hot pan with a brief press. Any of the substitutes on this page except grouper reward the same treatment.
The flesh is firm and large-flaked, which is why striper survives grilling and brothy stews. If you substitute a softer fish such as cod, hake or haddock, add it to liquid in the last five minutes off the boil and do not stir, or you will get fish soup.
Wild striped bass is seasonal and heavily regulated, and in some states it cannot legally be sold at all, which is why fish counters carry the farmed hybrid instead. If a recipe specifies wild striper and you have farmed, expect a milder and slightly leaner result and season a touch more confidently.
Fillets from a big wild fish are thick and unevenly shaped. Portion them into pieces of roughly equal thickness rather than equal weight, and consider finishing thick pieces in a 400F oven after searing rather than pushing the pan heat higher.
State fish consumption advisories exist for wild striped bass in a number of Atlantic waters, particularly for large older fish and for children and people who are pregnant. Check the advisory for the specific water your fish came from rather than treating all striped bass as equivalent.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best substitute for striped bass?

Black sea bass if you want the closest flavor and texture, and farmed hybrid striped bass if you simply want the same fish more easily. Red drum and red snapper are both very good and widely stocked. If the recipe is grilled or roasted and you care more about the fish staying moist than about matching the flake, salmon does the job well despite tasting nothing like striper.

Is striped bass the same as rockfish?

Around the Chesapeake, yes, rockfish is the regional name for striped bass and always has been. Elsewhere in the country rockfish means one of many Pacific Sebastes species, which is a leaner, softer, milder fish sold as rock cod or Pacific snapper. If a recipe reads rich and meaty and comes from Maryland or Virginia, it means striped bass.

Can I just leave the striped bass out?

No, it is the centerpiece of any recipe that names it. In a mixed seafood stew or a bouillabaisse you can make up the difference with more clams, mussels or shrimp and the dish will still be excellent. In a grilled or roasted fillet recipe there is nothing left without the fish, so substitute rather than omit.

Can I use cod instead of striped bass?

You can, with lowered expectations and one change of technique. Cod is much leaner and softer with a bigger looser flake, so it will not hold together on a grill and its skin does not crisp usefully. Roast or bake it instead of grilling, add butter or olive oil to compensate for the missing fat, and finish with lemon. It will taste clean and pleasant rather than rich.

How much striped bass do I need per person?

About six ounces of skinless fillet per person as a main course, or eight ounces skin-on. A whole one-and-a-half pound hybrid striped bass, gutted and scaled, feeds one person generously or two modestly. These figures hold for black sea bass, snapper and redfish as well, so you can shop by weight rather than by fish.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Striped Bass substitute

Other striped bass substitutes

2Black sea bass

3Red drum or redfish

4Red snapper

5Grouper

6Salmon