White Fish substitute

Best substitute

Cod, haddock or hake (the default)

Use the same amount by weight as the white fish you are replacing

Best for fish and chips

Close match

Cod is the default answer and works in almost any recipe that says white fish. The only choice that actually matters is firm versus delicate: if the recipe says firm white fish and involves a stew, curry, taco, skewer or grill, use cod, halibut, haddock, hake, grouper, snapper or monkfish. If it is a quick pan-fry with butter and lemon, use sole, plaice, flounder or tilapia. Frozen pollock or basa is the cheap option that works for anything battered or breaded. Swap by weight, 1:1, and adjust time to thickness - about 10 minutes per inch in a 400F (200C) oven.

Other white fish substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Halibut, grouper, monkfish or snapper (when the recipe says firm)
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The genuinely firm fish - these survive a hot grill, a bubbling stew and being turned with tongs.
What changes
Best for
grilling, skewers, fish stews and cioppino, curries, tacos, searing
This is what firm white fish actually means: flesh dense enough that it does not disintegrate when stirred. Monkfish is the extreme case, almost lobster-like and slightly sweet. Halibut is lean and punishes overcooking, so pull it while the centre is barely translucent. Grouper and snapper are more flavourful than cod and will make themselves heard through a mild sauce.
3Tilapia or basa (the cheap and available option)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
The two fish almost every supermarket has, frozen, all year - mild, soft and forgiving in a coating.
What changes
Best for
breaded or battered fish, baked fish, fish tacos, curries, stir-fries
Both are blander than cod and can carry a faint earthy note, which lemon, lime or a spiced sauce covers. Both hold a lot of water: thaw fully in the fridge, press dry with paper towels, and salt for 15 minutes before cooking or the fish steams rather than browns. Tilapia is the firmer of the two and the better choice for baking; basa is softer and best inside batter or a sauce.
4Sole, plaice or flounder (when the recipe is delicate)
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Thin flatfish fillets for anything that gets floured, fried fast and finished with butter and lemon.
What changes
Best for
pan-frying, meuniere, rolled or stuffed fillets, goujons, quick suppers
These cook in 3-4 minutes total and cannot be stirred into anything - they break apart on contact. Use them where the fish is served whole on the plate, never in a stew or a curry. Flavour is mild and slightly sweet, texture is soft sheets rather than flakes. Flour them lightly and turn them once, with a wide spatula.
5Frozen pollock or whiting
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
The fish inside most fish fingers and fast-food fillets - honest, cheap and perfectly good in a coating.
What changes
Best for
battered fish, fish fingers, fish cakes, fish sandwiches, chowder
Pollock is softer and slightly wetter than cod and its flakes are smaller, so it is less impressive served plain and virtually indistinguishable inside batter or breadcrumbs. It is also the base of most surimi and fish cakes. Thaw properly and dry it well; frozen-solid fillets dropped into hot oil release water and ruin the coating.
6Canned tuna or salmon (pantry answer, limited uses)
Taste and texture differ
About 12 oz drained canned fish for 1 lb fresh white fish
Not a swap for a fillet on a plate, but genuinely fine where the fish gets flaked and mixed with other things.
What changes
Best for
fish cakes, fish pie filling, pasta bakes, croquettes, chowder
Canned fish is already cooked, so add it at the very end and only warm it through - simmering it turns it dry and stringy. The flavour is much stronger and saltier than fresh white fish, so cut back on added salt and taste before seasoning. It will never pass in a recipe where the fish is meant to arrive as a piece.
7Firm tofu, banana blossom or hearts of palm (no fish at all)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
The honest answer for cooking without fish - these mimic the flake and the neutrality, not the flavour.
What changes
Best for
battered fish, fish tacos, fish-style cakes, curries
Banana blossom is the best of the three for battered fish because it separates into flake-like layers; hearts of palm shred convincingly for tacos; pressed extra-firm tofu is the most available and the most neutral. None of them taste of the sea, so add the marine note back with a sheet of nori pressed against the surface, a little kelp granule or a splash of caper brine. Say what it is on the plate rather than pretending.

What is White Fish?

White Fish is White fish is not one species but a catch-all recipe term for any lean, mild-flavoured fish with pale flesh that cooks up white and flaky - cod, haddock, pollock, hake, halibut, tilapia, sole, snapper and sea bass all qualify.

Cooking tips

Thickness matters far more than species. Cook any white fish about 10 minutes per inch of thickness in a 400F (200C) oven, or 3-4 minutes per side in a pan for a 1-inch fillet. Swapping cod for tilapia changes the flavour a little; swapping a 1-inch fillet for a half-inch one and not changing the time ruins the dish.
Salt the fillets 15-20 minutes before cooking and pat them dry. It firms the surface, draws out the water that makes fish steam instead of brown, and it is the single biggest improvement available to soft supermarket fish like tilapia, basa, pollock and hoki.
In a stew, curry or chowder, add white fish in large pieces during the last 5-8 minutes and stop stirring once it is in. Almost every complaint about fish disintegrating in a stew comes from adding it too early and moving it around.
White fish is lean, which means it has no fat of its own to keep it moist. The oil, butter, coconut milk or sauce in the recipe is doing that job, so do not reduce it - and finish the fish with acid, because lemon or lime is what makes a mild fish taste like something.
The white fish sold as whitefish in the Great Lakes region is a specific freshwater fish, famous smoked, and is not the same thing as the generic recipe term. If a recipe calls for smoked whitefish, no fresh white fish fillet will substitute for it - you want smoked fish.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a firm white fish?

Cod, haddock, halibut, hake, grouper, snapper, sea bass, monkfish, lingcod and mahi-mahi. These have flesh dense enough to hold together on a grill, on a skewer or in a simmering stew. Sole, plaice, flounder, basa and tilapia are the delicate end - they are fine white fish, but they fall apart if stirred.

What is the cheapest white fish that still tastes good?

Frozen pollock, tilapia or basa, in that order for texture. All three are mild and inexpensive, and all three are much better than their reputation once you thaw them properly, press them dry and salt them briefly before cooking. In batter or breadcrumbs, few people can tell them from cod.

Can I use frozen fish when a recipe says fresh white fish?

Yes. Most white fish sold as fresh was frozen at sea anyway. Thaw it overnight in the fridge rather than in water or a microwave, drain the liquid, and pat it thoroughly dry. The only thing frozen fish does worse is hold together, so be a little gentler turning it.

Can I just leave the white fish out?

Only if the recipe has another protein in it. In a fish pie, a chowder or a curry you can replace it with prawns, scallops, chickpeas or potatoes and still have a good dish. In a recipe where the fish is the centre of the plate, leaving it out leaves you with a sauce - swap in another mild fish, or use pressed tofu or banana blossom and treat it as a different dish.

Does the type of white fish change the cooking time?

Barely - thickness does. A half-inch sole fillet is done in 3 minutes; a 1.5-inch halibut steak needs 12-15. Measure the thickest part, allow roughly 10 minutes per inch at 400F (200C), and stop when the flesh turns opaque and separates when you press it with a fork.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

White Fish substitute

Other white fish substitutes

2Halibut, grouper, monkfish or snapper (when the recipe says firm)

3Tilapia or basa (the cheap and available option)

4Sole, plaice or flounder (when the recipe is delicate)

5Frozen pollock or whiting

6Canned tuna or salmon (pantry answer, limited uses)

7Firm tofu, banana blossom or hearts of palm (no fish at all)