Baked Stuffed Cod or Haddock Recipe

By
Hank Shaw
Hank Shaw
Hank Shaw
Hank Shaw is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and author of four cookbooks. He has expertise in wild foods and has written over 1,000 recipes.
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Updated on 02/15/22
Baked stuffed cod recipe

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 65 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings

Many years ago, New England's coastal regions stuffed fish for their Thanksgiving dinner rather than a turkey and, most often, that fish was cod or haddock. Cod is a saltwater fish with white, lean, and firm flesh. Haddock is a saltwater fish that is related to cod, but is smaller in size. In this recipe, stuffing a whole fish results in a flaky, mild fish with just a touch of smokiness from the bacon strips laid over the whole fish during baking.

To be truly traditional, you would serve this cod recipe with boiled or roasted potatoes and peas, but you could go anywhere with this. If you use a large cod for this recipe, you can serve 4 to 6, a haddock will probably serve only two.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole cod, or haddock

  • 1 batch stuffing of your choice

  • Kosher salt, to taste

  • 8 to 10 strips bacon

  • Lemons, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for baked stuffed cod
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  2. Make sure the cod or haddock is well scaled and washed. You can leave the head on or off. Snip off the fins with shears or scissors.

    Cut open
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  3. Pat the exterior and interior dry with paper toweling. Salt it lightly and place it on a greased baking sheet.

    Pat the exterior
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  4. Preheat oven to 400 F.

  5. Stuff the cavity of the fish with your favorite stuffing. Put the excess stuffing in a casserole dish to cook alongside the fish.

    Stuff the cavity
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  6. Close the cavity of the cod with the skewers by threading them in and out of the belly.

    Close the cavity
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  7. Lay strips of bacon over the fish on the diagonal. If you remove the head, make sure bacon strips cover the cut end well or it will dry out.

    Lay strips of bacon
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  8. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes per inch of thickness of the cod, usually between 40 to 50 minutes.

    Bake in the oven
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  9. Once the bacon is crisp, remove it, and serve it with the potatoes. Remove the bacon at least 10 minutes before the end of cooking to crisp up the fish skin.

    Bacon is crisp
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  10. To serve, carefully remove the cod from the baking sheet—you may need to use two large spatulas—to a serving platter. Remove the skewers and let the stuffing spill out on the platter.

    Remove cod
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  11. Arrange the lemons and the boiled or roasted potatoes around and serve at once.

    Serve
    ​The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
830 Calories
43g Fat
29g Carbs
80g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 830
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 43g 56%
Saturated Fat 10g 50%
Cholesterol 268mg 89%
Sodium 1190mg 52%
Total Carbohydrate 29g 11%
Dietary Fiber 4g 15%
Total Sugars 7g
Protein 80g
Vitamin C 71mg 357%
Calcium 92mg 7%
Iron 3mg 15%
Potassium 1745mg 37%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)