Whiting substitute

Best substitute

Hake or silver hake

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

Best for fried fish

Close match

Effectively the same fish. Silver hake is literally what American shops mean by whiting, and European hake is its bigger relative with the same soft moist flesh, large tender flakes and clean mild sweetness. The only adjustment is thickness, since a European hake fillet is much heftier than a small whiting and needs a few extra minutes. Both share whiting's tendency to fall apart, so handle them once.

Other whiting substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Haddock
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The most useful practical swap, and the one most fish-and-chip shops would reach for.
What changes
Haddock has whiting's soft tender flake and gentle sweetness but is sturdier and thicker, so a battered fillet holds together better in the fryer and a baked one portions more neatly. Flavor-wise it is a shade more marine and slightly more distinctive, which is generally an improvement.
Best for
fried fish, fish and chips, breaded fillets, fish pie, chowder, fish cakes
Because haddock fillets are thicker, add two to three minutes to a fry timed for thin whiting. Buy plain, not smoked.
3Pollock or coley
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Cheap, mild and very close in flavor, with a slightly firmer and slightly coarser flake than whiting.
What changes
Fried in cornmeal or batter it is barely distinguishable, and in a chowder it actually holds its shape better, where whiting shreds into the broth. Atlantic pollock, sold as coley or saithe, has greyer raw flesh with a marginally stronger flavor that whitens and mellows as it cooks.
Best for
fried fish, fish and chips, chowder, baked fish, fish cakes, fish sandwiches
Pollock fillets vary a lot in thickness; portion them evenly so they cook at the same rate.
4Cod
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
The quality upgrade, and the safest fish if your whiting recipe keeps collapsing on you.
What changes
Cod is firmer with thick white flakes that stay intact through frying, baking and even a short braise, and its flavor is cleaner and sweeter than whiting's. What you lose is whiting's particular tenderness, so a fried cod fillet eats meatier and more substantial and less melting. Cod loin is far thicker, so extend the cooking time noticeably.
Best for
fish and chips, baked fish, chowder, fish cakes, braised fish
Cut cod loin into whiting-sized strips if you want it to fry in the same time as the recipe specifies.
5Flounder, plaice or sole
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
A close match for whiting's thinness and delicacy and a step up in sweetness.
What changes
These flatfish fry in three or four minutes and taste noticeably finer than whiting, which makes them excellent for a quick pan-fry with butter and lemon. They are just as fragile, so they will not survive a stew, and their flesh is finer and less gelatinous, which makes them a poor choice for fish cakes or anything that must bind.
Best for
pan-frying, breaded fillets, meuniere, rolled and baked fillets
Turn them once only, with a thin fish spatula, and stop cooking the moment they turn opaque.
6Basa, swai or tilapia
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
The budget choice and the most widely stocked.
What changes
Basa and swai are soft and mild like whiting but wetter and even more likely to break up, so dry them hard and cook them hot. Tilapia is the opposite problem: it is firmer and denser, which means it holds together better in a curry or on a griddle but tastes noticeably less tender and carries a faint earthy note where whiting is clean and sweet.
Best for
breaded fish, fried fish, fish tacos, curries, baked fish
None of the three is a good substitute in fish cakes, quenelles or a fish mousse, because they do not bind the way whiting does.

What is Whiting?

Whiting is Whiting is a small, cheap, very lean cod-family fish, sold in the United States as silver hake and in France as merlan, whose flesh is unusually soft and moist with a fine sweet flake that cooks quickly and breaks apart easily.

Cooking tips

Whiting is the most fragile common white fish, and the reason is that it is extremely lean and holds a lot of water. Salt the fillets ten minutes ahead, blot them dry, then coat them in seasoned flour or cornmeal. The coating is not only for crunch; it holds the fillet together while it cooks.
Cook whiting hot and briefly. Thin fillets need only two to three minutes a side in a hot pan or a couple of minutes in 350F oil, and the fish goes from tender to shredded very quickly. Turn it once, with a thin fish spatula, and do not poke at it.
Whiting is often sold whole or as small bone-in fillets, and pin bones are common. Run your fingers along the fillet before coating it, and if you fry small whole whiting, the spine lifts out in one piece once the fish is cooked.
The same low-fat, gelatin-rich flesh that makes whiting hard to fry makes it superb in fish cakes, fish balls, quenelles and fish mousse, because it binds without any help. If a recipe uses whiting for that purpose, substitute hake, pollock or cod rather than tilapia, catfish or salmon, whose fat and firmness give you a looser, greasier mixture.
American and British whiting are different fish. In the US, whiting means silver hake; in the UK and Ireland it means Merlangius merlangus. They cook almost identically, so no adjustment is needed, but it explains why a British whiting recipe describes a slightly firmer fish than the American one.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best substitute for whiting?

Hake, because it is the same or a very close relative and shares whiting's soft moist flesh and delicate sweetness. If you cannot get hake, haddock is the best fish available in ordinary supermarkets and fries almost identically, with a slightly sturdier fillet. Pollock, cod, flounder and basa all work depending on whether you want the fish softer or firmer.

Is whiting the same as hake?

In the United States, yes: whiting on a label almost always means silver hake, Merluccius bilinearis. In Britain and Ireland whiting is a separate but closely related cod-family fish, and hake there means the larger European hake. All of them are lean, mild, soft-fleshed and interchangeable in recipes, so the naming confusion rarely matters at the stove.

Can I just leave the whiting out?

No, because whiting recipes are almost always fried fish, fish cakes or fish soup, where it is the protein and in the case of fish cakes also the binder. Any mild lean white fish substitutes at the same weight. Leaving it out of a fish cake mixture would give you seasoned mashed potato, which is a different and much less interesting thing.

Why does my whiting fall apart in the pan?

Because it is very lean and very moist and the fillets are thin, so it has almost nothing holding it together. Blot it thoroughly dry, salt it ahead of time, dredge it in seasoned flour or cornmeal, use a genuinely hot pan with enough oil, and turn it exactly once. If it still breaks up, switch to haddock or cod, which are structurally much stronger.

Is whiting a good fish to eat?

It is a good, inexpensive, mild-tasting fish that has been the backbone of budget fried-fish cookery in the Mid-Atlantic and in Britain for generations, and it is low in mercury. Its reputation suffers only because it is soft and bony rather than because of any flavor problem. Cooked hot and fast with a light coating, it is genuinely delicious.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Whiting substitute

Other whiting substitutes

2Haddock

3Pollock or coley

4Cod

5Flounder, plaice or sole

6Basa, swai or tilapia