Bacalhau Recipes15 Classic Portuguese Ways to Cook Salt Cod
The 15 classic bacalhau recipes Portugal cooks most, from à Brás and com natas to Gomes de Sá and pataniscas, with which cut to buy for each one.
By Mesa de Portugal Kitchen · Updated · 7 min read
The best-known bacalhau recipes are bacalhau à Brás (shredded cod with potatoes and egg), bacalhau com natas (a creamy bake), bacalhau à Gomes de Sá (a Porto bake with potatoes, onion and olives), bacalhau à Lagareiro (roasted loin drowned in olive oil) and pastéis de bacalhau (fritters). Below are 15 classics, grouped by the cut of cod each one needs.
Every recipe here starts with soaked cod. If you haven't done it before, read how to soak bacalhau first, and how to buy bacalhau to pick the right grade and cut.
Shredded cod recipes (use desfiado or thin pieces)
These are the everyday dishes. They use cheaper, thinner cod or ready-shredded desfiado, and most are on the table in under an hour once the fish is soaked.
1. Bacalhau à Brás
Shredded cod fried with onion and matchstick potatoes, bound with barely set eggs and finished with black olives and parsley. Born in Lisbon and on almost every tasca menu. Our bacalhau à Brás recipe.
2. Bacalhau com natas
Flaked cod, onion and cubed fried potatoes in a béchamel and cream sauce, baked until golden. A favourite for family lunches because it can be made ahead. Our bacalhau com natas recipe.
3. Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá
A Porto classic named after José Luís Gomes de Sá, a 19th-century cod merchant from the city. The cod is soaked in hot milk, flaked and baked with sliced potatoes, onions and garlic in olive oil, then topped with hard-boiled eggs and black olives.
4. Bacalhau espiritual
A soufflé-like bake: shredded cod with grated carrot, onion and a creamy sauce, topped with cheese or breadcrumbs. Softer and lighter than com natas.
5. Bacalhau à Zé do Pipo
Another Porto dish, named after José Valentim, known as Zé do Pipo, who ran a restaurant in the city. Cod cooked in milk, layered with onions, piped with a border of mashed potato and covered in mayonnaise, then baked until the top browns.
6. Roupa velha
"Old clothes": the Christmas Day leftovers. The cod, potatoes and cabbage from Christmas Eve are chopped and fried with lots of garlic and olive oil. Many people like it more than the original meal.
Fritters and salads
7. Pastéis de bacalhau
The oval cod and potato fritters, crisp outside and fluffy inside, found in every café and at every party. In the north they're often called bolinhos de bacalhau. Our air fryer pastéis de bacalhau.
8. Pataniscas de bacalhau
Flat, irregular fritters of flaked cod in a batter with onion and parsley. Lighter than pastéis and quicker to make. Traditionally eaten with arroz de feijão, a wet rice with red beans. Our guide to Portuguese rice dishes explains that loose rice style.
9. Salada de bacalhau com grão
Warm or cold cod with chickpeas (grão), chopped onion, garlic, parsley, hard-boiled egg, olive oil and vinegar. A cheap, filling weekday lunch, and good for using up a tin of chickpeas.
10. Salada de bacalhau com feijão-frade
The same idea with black-eyed beans. Common as a starter or a summer lunch.
11. Punheta de bacalhau
A raw cod salad: soaked cod torn into strips by hand, mixed with onion, garlic, olive oil and vinegar, and left to "cook" in the dressing. The name is cheeky slang, and Portuguese people will smile when you order it. It needs well-soaked, good-quality cod, since it is never heated.
Loins and steaks (use lombo or thick posta)
These are the special-occasion dishes. Buy graúdo or especial grade so the loins are thick and juicy.
12. Bacalhau à Lagareiro
The "olive-press" style. A thick loin is roasted, or grilled, then covered in hot olive oil with sliced garlic and served with batatas a murro, small potatoes baked in their skins and punched open. Our batatas a murro recipe is the side to make with it. The same method works for octopus in our polvo à lagareiro.
13. Bacalhau assado (or na brasa)
A loin roasted in the oven, or grilled over charcoal, then dressed with olive oil, garlic and onion. Simple, and it lets good cod speak for itself. Our air fryer bacalhau assado.
14. Bacalhau à Braga
Thick pieces of cod fried in olive oil, served with sliced fried potatoes and plenty of soft-cooked onion. A northern classic, rich and generous.
15. Bacalhau cozido com todos
Boiled cod "with everything": potatoes, Portuguese cabbage, carrots, hard-boiled eggs and sometimes chickpeas, all dressed with olive oil and garlic at the table. It's the traditional dinner on Christmas Eve. See our Portuguese Christmas food guide.
Portuguese clay chouriço roaster, large
The large size of the classic made-in-Portugal assador, for a full chouriço plus a few extra slices.
Tip: Use on a heatproof surface, away from anything flammable.
Which bacalhau recipe should I start with?
If you've never cooked salt cod, start with bacalhau à Brás. It uses shredded cod, which soaks fastest, and it's hard to get wrong.
For a dinner party, make bacalhau com natas or Gomes de Sá. Both can be assembled in the morning and baked when guests arrive. For a showpiece, buy one thick loin per person and make à Lagareiro.
For a party or petiscos night, make pastéis or pataniscas. Our Portuguese petiscos night guide shows how to build a spread around them.
Costa Nova oval baker, 30 cm
An oven-to-table baking dish, the right size for bacalhau com natas or arroz de pato for four to six.
Tip: Oven-, microwave- and dishwasher-safe stoneware.
Common mistakes with bacalhau dishes
- Not tasting the cod before cooking. Under-soaked cod ruins a dish, and you can't fix it later. Poach a flake and taste.
- Salting the dish too early. Even well-soaked cod brings salt. Season at the end.
- Boiling the cod hard. Bring it to a gentle simmer and turn off the heat. Boiled hard, it goes rubbery.
- Using the wrong cut. Thin tail pieces dry out when roasted. Thick loins are wasted in fritters.
- Skimping on olive oil. Portuguese bacalhau dishes use a lot of it. Our Portuguese olive oil guide explains what to buy.
What you’ll need
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Portuguese clay chouriço roaster, large
The large size of the classic made-in-Portugal assador, for a full chouriço plus a few extra slices.
Tip: Use on a heatproof surface, away from anything flammable.
Costa Nova oval baker, 30 cm
An oven-to-table baking dish, the right size for bacalhau com natas or arroz de pato for four to six.
Tip: Oven-, microwave- and dishwasher-safe stoneware.
Authentic Portuguese Cooking (cookbook)
Over 185 classic recipes from mainland Portugal, the Azores and Madeira. A highly rated home-cooking reference.
Tip: Good for family recipes you remember but never wrote down.
Cosori TurboBlaze 6 Qt Air Fryer
One of Amazon's best-selling air fryers. The 6 Qt basket fits a batch of pastéis de bacalhau or chicken thighs for four, and the ceramic coating is PFAS-free.
Tip: Size is what matters for Portuguese cooking: 5.5–6 Qt feeds 2–4 people in one batch.
Frequently asked
What is the most popular bacalhau recipe in Portugal?
Do you have to soak bacalhau before cooking?
What is the difference between pastéis and pataniscas de bacalhau?
Can I use fresh cod instead of bacalhau?
Recipes from this story
TraditionalBacalhau à BrásSalt Cod with Eggs and Potatoes
Lisbon's favourite salt cod dish: flaked bacalhau, matchstick potatoes and onions, bound with barely-set eggs and finished with olives and parsley.
TraditionalBacalhau com NatasCreamy Baked Salt Cod
Flaked salt cod, golden potatoes and onions baked in a creamy sauce until bubbling. The comforting bacalhau dish of Portuguese family lunches.
Air FryerPastéis de Bacalhau in the Air Fryer
Portugal's favourite salt cod fritters made in the air fryer: crisp outside, fluffy inside, with no pot of hot oil. Includes how to soak the bacalhau.