This New England Baked Haddock is so comforting, delicious, and easy to make!
If you are from New England, you have had New England Baked Haddock.
If you aren’t or haven’t had it… you need to get it in your mouth ASAP. And I mean like, now.
Well, read this post first, then run to the store and get all the supplies you need for it.
… did I mention this recipe has only three ingredients, besides salt and pepper? Yes, three.
Fish, butter, and bread crumbs. And lemon, if you want it! Which makes this a simple, quick, and inexpensive meal to make.
This is a very traditional dish in New England, and is often served as the fish option at weddings and other shindigs. It can be ordered at almost any seafood restaurant, and is so melt-in-your-mouth yummy, it will be hard to go back to eating fish any other way!
New England baked haddock is perfect for when you want something pescetarian, but a little more soul-satisfying than your light and healthy grilled fish.
It’s almost like fish meets casserole. It’s warm and hearty, and will satisfy even the meat lovingest of the meat lovers as a main course.
Traditionally, baked haddock is made using Ritz crackers (which are from New England) crumbled up with butter and spread on top of the fish, then baked in the oven with lemon and herbs.
However, you can get the same delicious effect by using whole wheat bread crumbs and lots of butter (to get that awesome buttery Ritz-y taste).
This way, you can avoid all of the many ingredients found in Ritz crackers: UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL, SALT, LEAVENING (CALCIUM PHOSPHATE AND/OR BAKING SODA), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SOY LECITHIN, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NATURAL FLAVOR. For such an innocent-seeming cracker, it’s a hotbed of processed ingredients.
Yep, I’ll stick with homemade bread crumbs and butter any time (I just toast up some whole wheat bread, throw it in my food processor for a minute, and bam! Homemade bread crumbs!).
OK, now you may go to the store, get your ingredients, and make this as soon as you get back. Go! Now! And then come back here and let me know what you think :-)
And just so you know, you can use any light-tasting white fish (haddock, tilapia, cod, pollock, catfish, flounder, etc.) for this meal. That way, if you are like me, you can buy what’s on sale and save a little moolah :-)
Here’s the printable recipe, as well as the products I recommend for this New England Baked Haddock!
New England Baked Haddock- real food edition
New England baked haddock is one of the most delicious fish dishes you will ever have, yet it is so simple! With only three ingredients and 5 minutes of hands-on time, you will have an elegant, crowd-pleasing meal.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Seafood
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 lb. haddock, rinsed and patted dry (or other mild-tasting white fish, such as catfish, flounder, pollock, or cod)
- 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I make my own by throwing some toasted whole wheat bread in a food processor)
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- salt and pepper, to taste
- lemon wedges/slices, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Pour a little of the melted butter in a baking sheet or dish and spread to coat the bottom.
- Combine the bread crumbs with the rest of the melted butter (since I make my own bread crumbs, I just add the butter to the bread crumbs directly in the food processor)
- Salt and pepper both sides of the fish, and lay in the buttered baking dish.
- Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over the fish
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked thoroughly (and flakes easily)
- Serve on top of lemon slices and with fresh lemon wedges to squeeze liberally!
Notes
- I do my best to provide accurate nutrition information for my recipes, but I am not a nutritionist. The provided nutrition information is my best estimate. It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
- Calories: 421
- Sugar: 1.7 g
- Sodium: 443 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 11.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.4 g
- Fiber: 1.2 g
- Protein: 38.8 g
- Cholesterol: 149 mg
Keywords: fish, seafood, New England, haddock
Hi, I'm Elizabeth! I create easy, real food recipes for busy people. I'm a former HS art teacher, now full time food blogger. I live near Austin, TX with my hubby and two baby girls.
You are so right about the ritz crackers and the questionable ingredients. Using the whole wheat breadcrumbs is brilliant but if you want to use the cracker crumbs you can buy Late July brand crackers they are organic and have none of the bad ingredients. Thanks for the recipe so good!
★★★★★
Thanks for the tip, I’ll have to try the Late July brand! I wrote this post before having kids, and now that I have them, homemade bread crumbs all of a sudden seem like so much work… :-) Glad you liked the recipe!
I have had Late July Classic Rich Crackers, and they are definitely a cut above the competition. You can see their packaging and nutritional information at the bottom of this page:
http://www.latejuly.com/snacks
Rite Aid (soon to be Walgreens) carries these crackers.
My hubs and I lived in, and fished out of, Newburyport for many years. I owned a North Shore Restaurant for a while. Here is the hands down best haddock recipe I have made, and it’s not much different from your recipe:
Haddock filets placed on a buttered baker or cookie sheet. The thin tail end could be tucked under.
A slice of Swiss cheese on top of each filet. (The Swiss is mild enough so you hardly know it’s there, but it kind of holds all the other stuff together)
Ritz crumbs to cover the fish and cheese – I use a mixture of crushed Ritz, fresh minced parsley, and a lot of butter that has had a DASH of garlic powder and a SMIDGE of honey added to it. (I use unsalted butter OR low salt Ritz – salted butter and regular Ritz is too salty for me). (Go easy on the garlic and honey. It’s very easy to overdo, and you want to be able to taste the haddock)
Top it all with a spattering of sliced almonds, then bake about 20 mins. @ 375. Let the dish sit a couple minutes before serving, so it holds together nicely.
Here’s a hint: Put the Ritz in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Pour the melted butter and the rest of the crumb ingredients over the crumbs in the bag, reseal and kneed it til it’s mixed thoroughly. The crumb mixture goes right from the bag to the fish…easy cleanup!!
I have used Worcestershire too, and that’s very good! I’ve mixed Panko with the Ritz – nice crunch. I have used the above recipe, but in addition, I placed the fish over a little heavy cream in the pan, and that adds a nice little bit of decadence.
My gang went haddock fishing yesterday!! I find that letting the very fresh, uncooked, filets sit in the fridge for one or two days improves the flavor and the texture of the finished product…really!
Newburyport’s my hometown! Love it there. I wonder if I ever went to your restaurant. Thanks for the tip about tucking the tail end under- I’ve never tried it and am always disappointed when the fish doesn’t cook evenly. Genius! And the Swiss cheese idea- YUM! Can’t wait to try.
This may be a bit off-topic, but those of you who enjoy New England style clam chowder will be pleased to see that a classic book from 1975 is about to be re-issued:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-england-chowder-the-king-of-soups?
A New Englander here. Never made it this way but I am going to try it tonight. I will sprinkle it with Lemon Pepper and salt and then the Ritz cracker mixture.
Hope you liked it! Love the idea of adding lemon pepper.